Austin stood frozen in the spot. His fingers traced his now-throbbing cheeks. He had no idea what possessed him. But the phone call had dampened his mood and hearing that yet another member would walk out from his life, made him panic.
His train of thoughts was broken by loud sobs, coming from his bathroom.
Finally aware of what had happened, Austin looked around to find Didi knocking on the bathroom door, trying to get Ally to come out.
No...NO..NOOO! Was all that was playing in his mind. Bathroom - the room of torture tools!
Swiftly, he made his way to the wooden door and knocked.
"Ally!" he pleaded, "Open the door!"
Hearing his voice, her sobbing seemed to grow louder.
"Ally, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking, "I didn't mean any of that."
He tried to make eye-contact with Didi, begging her for help, but she seemed to be lost in thought.
She is suicidal. Austin mouthed to her and her eyes widened. She then ran to her jeep to retrieve the tools for opening the door.
Once he was left alone, Austin slid down the door and brought his knees to his chest.
"Ally, listen to me," Austin tried once more, "It's just that first, the phone call and then I heard that you were going to leave me too and I just lost it!"
Her sobs subsided and he could hear sniffs from the other side of the door.
He could feel her listening and taking that as a good sign, he continued, "Trust me, Ally, there's nothing more I regret than saying all that awful stuff to you. I really don't believe any of that except the fact that I should accompany you."
He could feel her slide down the door on the other side, mimicking his position.
"Ally, please say something," he begged, almost crying in despair, "You are very important to me, I don't want to lose you too."
He was losing hope now, she wasn't responding to him.
Then all of a sudden, he heard her whisper his name. The second he heard it, his erratic heartbeat calmed down and he sighed in relief.
"Austin," she croaked, "I can't force you to accompany me! You have a life here."
"And you don't?" he retorted.
"No, Austin," she disagreed, "You don't understand. No one would believe me. I'm a depressed girl and this gives people furthermore reasons to accuse me."
"Ally," Austin sighed. He could feel her insecurities. He has the same demons, but for different reasons.
"Open the door," he pleaded, "We'll figure it out."
From the corner of his eye, he saw Didi holding her 'Tool Pouch', that's what she called it, anyways. Sensing her worry, he raised his hand and shook his head.
"Ally, please," he repeated, "Open the door."
Slowly he heard her get up, which he followed and then the unmistakable click of the lock was heard.
The door opened to reveal the pale girl, who appeared to have been crying her eyes out. Austin sighed in relief and did the one thing he found himself doing in the past many hours. He hugged her tightly as if she were his only lifeline, but this time however, she did not return the action and this made him frown. She was standing in front of him, her arms glued to her sides, while her face remained unreadable. She looked numb.
And he knew that she had some very unforgiving thoughts in the bathroom. He slowly dragged her to his room, once again. Didi followed the duo to the room, leaning on the doorframe as she watched Austin help her to bed and kneel in front of her, while her gaze settled to the carpeted floor. She knew that there wasn't much she could do to help, so she pulled out her phone and found her way to the couch, to keep track of the situation.
Meanwhile, Austin wiped the tears on her face with his hands, "I'm really sorry, Ally. It's just that Jimmy called to check if I was involved in the murder as well," he explained.
At this, Ally lifted her downcast eyes to meet his gaze.
"Well, someone leaked out the news that I helped you into the car and drove you away. Not exactly me, but the pancake sticker on my car is the supposed mark and I..I panicked and lied to him, but I have a feeling that he figured it out and will send the police and take you away and then I heard you say that you were going to leave me like all of them did: my mom, my dad, my friends, just about everyone and I let my anger get the best of me and-" Austin's rant was cut off by a loud sob and he noticed the tears falling from her eyes.
Immediately, she scooped him into an embrace that spoke a million words through silence. He could feel how incredibly sorry she was to drag him into her problem and how she hated to be so weak. He, on the other hand, felt relief flood through his system as he kept mumbling, "It's not your fault," into her ears.
Finally, once they pulled away, they stared into each other's eyes. Ally let out a breath she had no idea, she was holding back. "It was my mom," she said.
Looking at his confused expression, she explained, "You asked me who hurt me, right? It was my mom." He nodded slowly, acknowledging for her to continue.
"Well, it's not exactly a sob story," she started off, "She was always home in the beginning. And I was very attached to her. We were a very happy family, until she slowly started disappearing. After that, I was raised mostly by my dad, but then again, she was my mom and I could never hate her. So around the time I was fourteen, I went through a tough time in school. Like bullies and all and I horribly needed her at that time. There are some girl things only a mom can understand and I wanted her with me so badly but..but she.. She," Ally fumbled, trying to keep control of her silent crying.
Austin took her hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze to which she nodded gratefully then continued, "She picked a job in Africa, actually. And that's when dad told me that she works in a wildlife reserve making it hard for her to visit regularly. For a while it was comforting to know that she was still a part of my life. But, it didn't take long to have that self-assurance ripped apart. Well, sixteen year-old me came home to a sobbing dad who explains how mom filed for divorce and gave him full right over me. That moment I felt abandoned. I was numb. Apparently, she found someone better and went for it!" Ally screeched, her body shaking with sobs.
"And guess what? She not only took away my idea of happiness, but my sanity as well. At sixteen, though, the bullying had reached its peak and my dad started staying away. I reminded him too much of mom, I guess. And when you're a friendless, parentless loser, you kind of have nothing to live for. It took a toll on me and I started using methods of self-harm. I'm not exactly suicidal, it's just that after seven years of dormancy, when I lost dad and all, it just resurfaced," Ally narrated , her voice now hollow. Her tears were long gone, but her face was scrunched up in a frown and her eyes were wide, as if she were reliving those years.
Slowly, she lifted her head to meet his eyes, searching for even the slightest sign of pity. But Austin's eyes radiated nothing more than a sort of understanding. There was not a sliver of sympathy, just a small smile and she took the effort to return the smile.
The room was engulfed in a comfortable silence.
"It was hard, wasn't it?" Austin questioned.
She nodded in agreement, "It took one year in a health facility to get my mindset changed."
"And you haven't seen your mother since?" Austin asked.
"The last time I saw my mother was the day she walked out almost seven years ago. She left behind her bracelet for me and she did call for a month, after which she didn't even respond to my email," she sighed sadly.
"It's going to be okay. I'm here with you now," Austin stated truthfully.
And at that moment, for the first time in her life, she believed those words. Never before had they sounded more sincere.
Suddenly, Didi barged into the room. "Austin, Ally. You need to run. NOW!"
"Huh?" Ally asked, confused.
"The witness I told you about, well, he identified the culprit's car to be a Black Sierra with a custom-made pancake sticker on the back," she screeched, glaring at him.
He smiled sheepishly, but Ally questioned, "Why Austin in particular? There could be other cars with such a sticker, right?"
Didi laughed, "In the whole of Miami, there are only three cars with that sort of sticker. One in blue and the other is currently out of state. Now, you two need to get out of here. Based on my estimation, they'll be here in about an hour, once the MPD receives the info."
Ally seemed thoughtful for a moment, "But, wouldn't running away make their suspicions true?" she asked.
"While that may seem true," Didi reasoned, "Not running away, would get you both convicted."
"But what if, I go into hiding, while Austin stays here?" she asked.
"No. Not happening. I'm already involved, remember," Austin stated, "We are 'partners' in crime," he commented.
"No, you're not understanding," Ally clarified, "See, since you are willing to help me, why don't you drop me off to some place safe and return back here to give your statement?"
"That's actually not wrong," Didi confirmed.
"We'll see about that, but where to go?" Austin asked, ignoring Ally's attempts to keep him safe.
"To Dez's place," Didi answered, "I'll explain the situation to him. Now, hurry!"