Knocking is never a good sign. Especially to Ally. The constant clicking of the door made her nervous and she buried her face in Austin's shoulder.
Austin himself was pretty shaken up by the sound, but Ally's sudden action broke him from his trance.
"Do you think it's the police?" she whispered.
Unsure of his answer, Austin replied, his voice cracking, "I don't know."
She looked at him, as if calculating her whole life ahead, before saying, "Answer the door."
"Huh?" He asked, confused. He was almost convinced that she would rather escape through the window than open the door.
"Look Austin. It's my mess. If the police are here to arrest me, then I don't want you to go down with me. I'll convince them that I sneaked in. It would be like you weren't even involved," she stated, smiling weakly at him.
Hearing her say this, he shook his head and lowered his hands from her shoulders to her hands, before saying, "I knew what I signed up for the second I asked you to join me. What happened wasn't your fault. Neither is it mine. We're in this together, okay?"
Her smile seemed to get warmer as she hugged him yet again to express her gratitude.
Cautiously, he stood up and made his way to the door.
The moment he reached the door, he started cursing the Gods on why he didn't listen to Donna when she asked him to get a peephole on the front door.
Slowly, he turned the lock and opened the door.
He sighed in relief to see Didi, standing in front of him in her uniform.
She was sweating profusely and she entered the house, without even greeting him.
"Make yourself at home," he said sarcastically.
"I don't have time for this," she exclaimed, claiming her usual place on the couch.
Her navy blue uniform seemed to make her appear intimidating. She was a police officer after all: The overall incharge of the Miami Police Department, to be exact.
Didi was twenty-five; the elder of the Wade siblings. She is probably the goofiest in her family, but when it came to her job, she was as serious as a block of wood. And Austin had to learn that the hard way.
"What brings you here?" he asked, sweating slightly at the idea of hiding Ally.
"Well, it's an interesting story, actually," she began and started rambling about how her morning started with an unexpected phone call about a missing girl, suspected for murder.
As she rambled on, Didi, ran her eyes over Austin's posture. She was a trained professional, after all and despite the fact that he was very capable of hiding things, she found Austin sweating and playing with his fingers.
He could feel her blue eyes, studying him like a hawk. He tried to keep his cool, praying to God that she wouldn't catch him. But, boy was he wrong!
She finally ended her ramble with a sentence that made him gulp, "So that brings me back to the question as to why I am here. This Ally girl murdered her father and got away and I know she works with you right?"
He nodded.
"So tell me kid, what do you think was her motive? I mean, can you believe it? What kind of monster does that?!" she cried exasperated.
The last statement had tarnished Austin's self-control, "Really? What makes you believe that she committed the crime, huh? Just because she disappeared from the scene, doesn't directly make her the culprit."
Seeing Didi frame a retort to his claim, he continued, "What if she got home to see her father dead? Or she probably saw the murderer and chased him to some abandoned alley? What if she ran away or chose to hide because she was afraid or by the time she could recover from the shock, the entire world was pointing fingers at her, huh?" he scoffed angrily.
His outburst was followed by silence. Austin was never the kind of guy to yell at someone, but he did not regret it. And the fact that he had just defended the brunette, who he hardly knew against his sister, seemed to terrify him.
"So this girl means a lot to you?" Didi asked in a softer voice.
"Umm..No," he stammered, "I...hardly know her."
"Yeah right," Didi sighed, "And that's exactly why, you helped her into your car and are now hiding her," she replied sarcastically.
Austin's eyes widened at the deduction, "Wh..What?" he asked.
"We have a witness, who saw a man carry the girl into a Black GMC Sierra with a pancake sticker on the back window. I didn't believe him at first, but after your speech, it appears to be true. So stop playing dumb," she stated, monotonously.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Austin pressed. At times like this he really wished his sister snapped out of police mode and stayed playful.
She was now glaring at him, "Austin," her tone held warning.
Austin felt completely trapped, at the moment. He knew that admitting the truth meant that Ally would be convicted. And hiding it, would put him in trouble too. But for some peculiar reason, he was willing to take a chance, despite the fact that he never really liked her at work, overlooking the slight crush he had on her, back in his teenage.
He continued to act confused at Didi's accusation. But fate seemed to have other things planned for him. Suddenly, a loud thud, followed by a groan was heard.
Hearing this, he grimaced.
"What was that?" Didi asked with a smirk.
"Oh.. my cat!" he lied.
"And when did you get a cat?" she questioned.
"It's a stray, comes through the window," he continued his streak of believable lies.
But Didi was sick of his defiance, "Oh, so it wouldn't matter if I checked?"
"No!" he exclaimed, but she was already halfway up the stairs. He followed and right before she opened the bedroom door, he laid his hand on the knob.
"Austin, you and I, we both know you are lying, so why even try?" she questioned.
"She is innocent," he pleaded desperately, finally letting his act crumble, "Please, she did not do it."
Didi seemed to ponder for a moment. Never before had her brother begged her to believe him like this. "How are you so sure?" she asked, looking into his wide eyes.
"OK, fine! I'll give her a chance to explain. But if I still find her guilty, she is coming with me," Didi agreed.
And Austin nodded, slowly withdrawing his hand from the door knob. At least Ally had a chance to explain!
Then Didi opened the door to the bedroom and stepped in to find the girl sprawled over the floor.
Slowly, she lifted her head and rubbed it with her palm to reduce the pain. No matter how depressed she was, her clumsiness always got the best of her.
As she looked up, a red-haired woman clad in a navy blue uniform entered her line of vision.
Recognizing the symbol of MPD, Ally sat up and started rambling, "Miss, I..I snuck in here. I don't know any blonde guy, who owns this place. Wait, no.. I don't know the owner. He could be brunette or raven haired, but then again, I was running away to hide. And snuck in and I swear Austin- I mean the owner who I definitely don't know, was not helping me, and… You know what, just arrest me!"
Hearing her say all this made Didi laugh and she could hear the silent chuckles from her brother behind her. The very fact that this girl, very awkwardly denied Austin's involvement in her case (by revealing he helped her) and seeing her sprawled across the floor, when she entered, was enough proof to convince Didi that the brunette could never even hurt a fly.
But then again, criminals are capable of faking personalities. Somehow though, Ally seemed genuine, not to forget Austin's unwavering support for her and possible crush on the klutz. Didi smiled as she got closer to her.
"Gosh girl! You look like death! Is my brother not feeding you enough?" she asked in a friendly tone.
"Brother?" Ally questioned, her face paling.
"Ya, you know the blonde or possibly brunette owner, who you don't know?" she teased as Ally blushed in embarassment.
Austin laughed at the conversation, earning a glare from Ally, once she noticed his presence.
"Look Ally," Didi started, seriousness dripping in her tone, "I want you to tell me everything that happened. I can't help you until I know you are genuine," she remarked, taking a seat on the bed.
Ally adjusted herself to sit cross-legged on the floor, while Austin chose to sit beside her as a mode of support for her and she smiled gratefully at him.
Taking a deep breath, Ally asked, "What do you want to know, ma'am?"
And that's how she started retelling the situation to Didi, with Austin adding in some details, as well.
They probably talked for an hour or two, when the telephone started ringing in the living room. Austin, got up to answer the phone, leaving behind the two women to engage in another conversation.
"I'm sorry ma'am," Ally began, "I never really wanted to involve Austin in any of this. I tried to get him to stop helping me, but he was too stubborn. And for that I am extremely grateful."
"Call me Didi," she corrected, "And don't worry about Austin, he knows what he's doing. I am worried about you, girl. What are you planning to do?"
"I was going to leave today, probably catch a bus to another city and stay away, for a while," Ally concluded.
"You are not going anywhere," a voice asserted from the doorway, "You are not going anywhere without me."
Austin entered the room, with the cordless in his hand.
Ally shook her head, "I don't want to put you in danger!" she exclaimed.
"There is a killer on the loose. Where is the guarantee that he wouldn't try to get you too?" Austin said, his voice rising.
"Well, I would prefer me dying alone, rather than having you die, trying to protect me!" she yelled.
"Well, you can't help it, can you princess, now that I'm involved anyways," he stated, venom oozing in his voice.
Ally was surprised to see Austin switch personalities so quickly. This was the sort of argument they used to have, before the party. One thing she knew about Austin was the fact that he was short-tempered. And once he gets angry, nothing could bring him back to reality. Seeing that he was furious at something, Ally deduced that the phone call he received was probably very unpleasant.
On hearing his statement, though, something inside her snapped.
"Wow! Great, so now you're blaming me for your involvement?" she asked sardonically.
"Of course, it's your fault," he countered.
"Technically, you were the one who decided to bring me here, when you could have left me to die!" she shouted.
"Ya, sorry that I felt bad to see you all broken," he continued his rant.
What he did not realize was the tears flowing from her eyes.
"And you know what? I truly regret helping you, considering how you hardly even listen to me! You, princess, are bad luck!" he huffed. She couldn't form words at his accusations. She knew they were true, so why counter? Slowly, she stood up, moving closer to him. As she moved ahead, she started feeling smaller and smaller, as his words sunk in.
All this while, Didi sat on the bed, silently, watching the two interact. She wanted to stop them, but they both needed to get the frustration out. But with the next statement she knew that things were getting out of hand.
"Maybe, you did murder your father, after all!" he exclaimed and the next thing he felt was a slap on his face, leaving behind a stinging sensation and bringing him back to reality.
The next thing he heard was the bathroom door, being banged shut, as Ally cooped herself into the room, to let herself fall apart. Maybe she was a burden after all!