"Wait, why Dez's place?" Austin asked.
"Because his place is off-limits," Didi answered, "He lives on the other side of Miami. A two hour journey," she finalised.
"One second," Ally interrupted, "Who's Dez?"
"Our brother," they choruses.
Now Ally was even more confused, "So if he's your brother, wouldn't that be the most obvious place for the police to find you?"
Austin started squirming uncontrollably under her gaze.
"We're not actual siblings," Austin answered.
"Huh?" Ally asked, bewildered by the sudden twist in the plot, "So you're half-siblings?"
"Actually, we're not related," Austin summed up,
"Umm, I'll explain it to you in the car," he assured the confused girl.
Then turning to Didi, he asked, "Are you sure it's safe?"
"Who works for the police here?" She asked exasperated.
"But Dez's," He whined, "Why?"
"Because I said so," Didi retorted, effectively shutting Austin up.
Austin nodded wordlessy and glared at Ally who was desperately trying to stifle her giggles. Then he grabbed a duffle bag from his cupboard and started packing.
"You don't have anything with you, do you?" Didi asked a distracted Ally.
She shook her head vigorously.
"Don't worry, we'll help you," she assured.
At that moment, Ally stared at the redhead in awe with gratitude flooding her eyes.
No words could describe what the girl felt at that moment. She was unable to express it, so she pounced on the officer, tackling her in a tight hug, hoping to have the moment etched into her memory.
Didi returned the hug without hesitation, soothing her brunette locks in a motherly fashion.
"Don't worry, girl," Didi assured, "You're not alone."
Seeking comfort in her words, the brunette whispered,"Thank you. Thank you for everything."
They stood like that for a minute or two, before a stern voice interrupted them, "As nice as this is, shouldn't we be heading out?"
The girls pulled away with Ally smiling sweetly at Didi and Didi smacking Austin across the chest, "Jealousy is not a good look on you," she commented before throwing him a key.
"Can I not drive Chibbi?" He whined.
"Chibbi?" Ally asked, holding back a giggle.
"Yes, it's my car, have a problem?" He asked, raising his eyebrows challengingly.
"Nope. Cute name," she commented, amused.
"Guys," Didi interrupted before Austin could open his mouth, " Leave. Now! Take Dakota and leave behind your car keys," she concluded.
Grabbing Ally's hand, clutching his duffel and nodding a goodbye to his sister, Austin entered the silver car on his driveway.
"Meet Dakota," Austin sighed, " I can't believe I have to leave Chibbi here," he muttered before driving away from his home.
"So what will happen to your Chibbi and house?" Ally asked, curiously, laughing slightly at the name.
"Didi will take care of it. And what are you laughing about? Haven't you seen people name cars before?" He asked slightly annoyed.
"No, naming cars is normal, but naming it Chibbi isn't," she started, " Well mine was named Dude."
"Wait, you have a car?" He asked.
"I had. Remember the ones our company gives to employees. Mine was taken away last year because of a small accident," Ally explained.
Austin wanted to know more about the accident but something about her tone stopped him from wanting to know. "So, why Dude?" He asked after a while.
"Well Dood means death in Dutch," she shrugged, "Poor thing, died in an accident, caused by me," she mocked.
"Wow! That just got dark," he commented then realized, "Wait, you know Dutch?" He asked in adoration. He only knew two languages and one of them, he couldn't even read with.
"No," Ally giggled, "I used Google Translate."
"Wow! So much effort to name a car. Bravo," he mocked her.
"Well, Chibbi is not even putting in effort. I mean, naming a car is like naming a kid, it needs patience," Ally stated.
"Wow! I feel sorry for your future husband. Poor thing will have to endure all your torturous antics," he mock-sympathised, "And your first born? Will that kid even live to survive with you?" Austin teased.
"Not if it's yours," she retorted and then regretted immediately.
Austin's eyes widened for a minute and he almost swivelled the car off the road, before applying the brakes.
Then, he turned to stare at her, wide-eyed.
She laughed nervously, placing a strand of stray hair behind her ear. "Let's forget I said that. Sorry, I acted on impulse there."
"Not a very good comeback if you ask me," Austin teased, before wiggling his eyebrows, "But you did imply some things, would you-" he was interrupted by a smack on his arm.
He laughed at her flustered face, before starting the car, "First you flirt, then you blush and now you abuse me? What a woman!" he sarcastically commented.
He heard her chuckle and smile in satisfaction of hearing that comforting sound.
"So," she began nervously and Austin knew what was coming, "What is the situation with Dez?"
"It's a long story," he sighed.
"Then, it's good we've got time, then," she pressed on.
He knew that Ally was persuasive, being a journalist and all, but he never realized how convincing her tone could be.
"You see, Didi and Dez are siblings," he started and seeing Ally nod from the peripheral of her vision, he continued, "And I consider them siblings, but we are not related by blood."
"So, adopted then?" she asked.
"No, it's even more complicated," he continued, "Have you heard of Little Sunshine Orphanage?"
"Yes, the one in Louisiana, right?" she asked, "The one that shut down due to complaints on child labour?"
"Ya, that one," he confirmed, "I was there, till I was ten. Abandoned since birth. It was definitely NOT a pleasant experience. They are very devious people. There was a lot of cheating involved in the financial conditions and we were being abused. So, many of us children made a plan to run away, one day. Lucky for us, the orphanage board did take pity on us and got us educated, so most of us could read. Taking my birth certificate, I ran into the Wade family, who were apparently on vacation. They took me in and coincidently, Dennis, who was a part of the police force was in-charge of the orphanage case and caused it to shut down. That's why we are not related," I finished.
"But legally, wouldn't that make you siblings?" Ally asked confused.
"That's the thing," I started, " I was not officially adopted by the Wades. There was another problem at the time. The orphanage owner, who had lost his only source of income, had loathed me for ruining his life and to protect me from getting caught in his crime circle, they accepted me into the family unofficially."
This was followed by silence. He expected Ally to freak out or treat him weirdly, but what she did surprised Austin in more ways than one.
She placed her hand over his hand, resting on his thigh, while he drove and said softly, "You, my friend, are brave. So freaking brave! And I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me."
Austin let out a small smile at her compliment.
"Wow! So you guys grew up together, huh?" Ally asked.
"Pretty much," he answered, "Thy are such great people, you know. Donna and Dennis would treat me as their own, while Dez was my BFF, Didi became my sister," he smiled fondly.
After a small pause, Ally questioned, "But why did you carry your birth certificate?"
"It was the only proof of my identity they had," he answered, "Apparently, my parents didn't want me and thought that leaving me there would be a great idea."
Sensing the pain in his voice, Ally intertwined their fingers, "So, you've tried to find your parents, I'm guessing."
He didn't respond for a while. "It is pretty easy to find them with their names so boldly written on your birth certificate," he said, in his hollow voice.
Ally didn't want to press this issue more, so she went for the next best tactic: change the topic.
"Why were you so reluctant to go to Dez's place?" Ally asked.
"Dez lives with his fiance and they are a pretty dumb couple, not to be judgemental, but it's a fact. And it is gross!" he exclaimed.
"Oh," Ally smiled in her teasing voice, "So you are one of those 'love is gross- I don't believe in it' sort of people?"
"Not exactly, but you seem like a 'love is magical- love is eternal' sort of person," he teased back.
"That is true," she stated with pride.
"Good for you," he smiled at the brunette, who had now given her attention to the passing scenery.
"Why don't you turn on the radio?" Ally asked.
"Didi has it programmed to only broadcast News channels and it gets very depressing after a while," Austin replied, "And I figured you didn't want to hear about...the issue."
Ally appreciated the concern in his voice. At that moment, she thanked God for giving her such a wonderful friend as support.
Desperate to change the topic again, the brunette whined, "I'm in desperate need of clothes! They are so baggy!"
Austin shifted his eyes from the road to run over her, only to realize that the girl was in his clothes and she looked far from comfortable.
He grinned, happy about Didi's suggestion now, "Then, it's a good thing that Carrie is a fashion designer. You can borrow clothes from her. Though I don't mind you using my clothes, you look cute in them."
She groaned, trying to hide her growing blush, but Austin caught it anyway, "I'm going to sleep. Do. Not. Disturb!" she exclaimed.
Austin laughed at her awkwardness. He found her ability to mak any situation awkward incredibly adorable.
Knowing that she was tired from all the drama and the fact that she hated travelling, he let her sleep.
And slowly, she drifted off to a short slumber.