Hi :)

I know it's been so long, and I have no excuse. I've been writing on this chapter for about two months now and it only turned out to be a short filler. But, I hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless.

Thank you all for being so patience with me. I'm forever grateful.

Ally

My stomach twisted as I stared at my father's number, thumb hovering over the call button, shaking slightly. The coffee I had been sipping on the past few minutes suddenly made me feel nauseous.

I glanced at the time once more before sighing.

If I didn't call within the next ten minutes, I would have to wait until tonight to call them, and the last thing I wanted was to go another day without being on good terms with them.

Shaking my head, I pressed the button and put the cell to my ear, breath hitching whenever the first ring came through. I cursed silently – I shouldn't be this nervous to talk to my parents, but when the ringing stopped, my stomach felt like it was in throat.

Hey, neonata.

Tears instantly filled my eyes at the sound of his gentle tone.

"Hey, daddy."

Silence fell between us for a moment before I let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry," I whispered, voice cracking. "I shouldn't have walked out like that, and I know you meant well. I'm so sorry that I made you fee – ."

Sweetheart, sweetheart.

I instantly stopped talking.

It's okay. You don't have anything to be sorry for. I shouldn't have investigated it, not after two years, not when things were beginning to go back to normal.

If I wasn't mistaken, I heard the softest sniffle.

I'm just thankful you called. I was 8 hours shy of making my way up to Littleton. So was your mother.

His voice was light, but I knew just how serious he was. My parents and I never fought, not even when I had been a bratty teenager. Growing up, while they were my parents first, they were also my best friends. I was their only child, and that meant, not only were they my entire world, but I was also theirs's.

I couldn't imagine my life without them, and for me to walk out the way I had without so much as an 'I love you', knowing just how valuable those words were in a moment like that, was selfish on my part.

"Where's mom," I asked softly.

I'm right here, baby. I'm so glad you called. I love you so much.

The tears that filled my eyes fell quickly down my cheeks.

"I love you, too. The both of you. So much." I sniffed. "I'm so sorry."

We are sorry, too. Your father and I are taking a weekend off in two weeks. We can come up and see you, if you would like?

I smiled at the nerves in my mother's voice.

"I'd love that," I replied sweetly.

That's settled then. I could hear the smile in her voice. I've got to head in early. I love you, Allyson.

"I love you. Have a good day."

There was a whisper of sweet words between my parents before I heard my father kiss her and bid her a goodbye. Then, there was my father and I, a silence that had fallen over us full of question, and my father knew what was coming. With a sigh, I leaned my elbows onto my counter, resting my forehead in the palm of my hand.

"Why was the autopsy report missing?"

It didn't matter that he had looked into Dallas's case, and it didn't matter that he had requested an autopsy report. Why had it been missing? It wasn't always unusual for an autopsy report to be misplaced, especially in a case file so outside of its jurisdiction, but Dallas's accident should have been put under investigation after the toxicology report was released – it never was.

Everyone was told that several things could have happened; most likely falling asleep behind the wheel or being distracted by his phone. I had always thought it was the latter considering, but even now, no one knew of the voicemail – his phone had been destroyed.

Except for Austin. I had told him.

I shook the thought away.

I don't know, sweetheart. He sighed, and I knew he was running his hand over his short head of hair. It wasn't easy to get, I had to contact the coroner in Littleton. It wasn't the same coroner as when Dallas passed, and it took him days to find it, said that it looked like an 'out of sight, out of mind' thing.

I swallowed. "So, you think it was intentionally removed?"

No, I think it was intentionally placed with the hope that it was never found.

Austin

To say I was on edge would have been an understatement.

All weekend, a broken brunette had been running through my mind on autopilot. Those chocolate eyes filled with tears that sparkled in the moonlight of my office the only thing I had been able to see whenever I laid down to sleep. And each time I picked up my cell, I found myself close to dialing her number.

But I hadn't. Because no matter how much I found myself wanting to take her pain away, I couldn't – no one could except her.

"One more," I demanded, a little harshly, at the man in front of me. He side-eyed me, trying to catch his breath as he reached out to steady the swinging bag. When I raised a single brow, he bowed his head and returned to his stance.

I stared out of the open door of my kickboxing room, looking out over the first floor of the gym as I watched the main entrance. Glancing down at my watch, I took in a deep breath as I seen it was still fifteen minutes until seven.

"You looking for someone?"

I turned my head back towards my client; a man a little older than myself that had a beer belly when we first started three weeks ago – which he still did, only not as round. His voice was heavy with exhaustion but clipped with an annoyance. He had barely been hitting the bag and had only stopped complaining under his breath five minutes ago. Needless to stay, my patiences with him were wearing thin.

"Did I say you could stop?"

He grumbled and my jaw clenched. With another huff, he continued.

His situation was similar to Ally's – a family member had gotten him a six-week membership when we had been gifting them away for our grand opening. But whereas Ally had earned my respect with the desire to get better, the client before me was only here to please his wife.

As I watched him struggle, I shook my head. "Alright, let's call it," I mumbled, walking towards the folded towels on the shelf and tossing him one. He caught it just in time while glancing at the clock on the wall.

"We still have ten more minutes," he panted, but stepped away from the bag while undoing his gloves. "You normally kick my ass the entire hour."

"Wait, you get an hour? It's an hour and a half for me."

My breath caught at the sound of her voice – light and playful.

When my eyes landed on her, I felt the concern that had been weighing on my chest lift just an inch. Her smile was soft, but genuine before it grew in greeting towards the man beside me. Those eyes that had been filled with so much grief only two nights ago were brighter, easier. And although she seemed a little tired with dark circles plaguing beneath her red rimmed eyes, it hadn't been what I was expecting.

And relief flooded through me.

"Because you need it," I shrugged, and she shook her head on a low chuckle.

Truthfully, she was always scheduled for an hour, but somehow the session always carried on longer than anticipated. Not that I cared, I had schedule more time for her after the first session.

"It doesn't look like she needs it," the man claimed, eyes traveling over her, and I, not so gently, urged him towards the door. "I'll see you Wednesday," he said, walking towards the door. I didn't give him a chance to bid us a goodbye, slamming the door as soon as he stepped on the other side of the frame.

Turning back towards Ally, she gave me a little smile, shy with a hint of sadness. I ran my eyes over her, holding in a stiff breath. She was dressed differently today. She supported her normal black leggings, but it was the fitted, long sleeve athletic shirt that was as blue as the Colorado sky that I had never seen her wear before – it was always baggy tees and hoodies.

And after three sessions a week for three weeks, I could finally see the results of her hard work. Her hips and thighs were filling out, something I had been noticing for days now. Her shoulders were straighter now, always lifted a little higher than when I had first met her.

And her chest…fuck.

I cleared my thoughts by taking a step towards her. "This is new," I claimed, tugging at the dri-fit fabric near her abdomen, and before I could help myself, my thumb caressed just above her hip bone.

She nodded, glancing down at my hand with lingering eyes before tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, it's Cassidy's. She left it at my place last week, so I figured I'd borrow it."

I pulled my arm, looking down at her knuckles, I noticed that the badges had been changed. Reaching forward, I slipped my hand beneath hers, bring it towards my face. "How's this feeling?"

Ally shrugged, "they were really sore yesterday, but this morning they weren't so bad. I still can't clench my fists though."

I nodded, dropping her hand and taking a step back. "That's normal. They should be better by Wednesday. I wanna take you down to the first floor and work on some lower body with weights."

Ally nodded, but neither of us moved. I watched her for a second, lips tilting a little when her eyes found mine.

Whatever I was feeling towards her was becoming stronger – much to my dismay. I had noticed it weeks ago, maybe I had even felt it the first day I had met her. Each time she stepped into this gym, I watched her grow stronger; mentally and physically. I was drawn to her resiliency, to the determine she had yet to see within herself.

This woman had so much to offer the world, and with each step she took forward, she rediscovered herself in a new light.

It also didn't help that she was fucking beautiful and didn't even know it.

She had no doubt been through some shit – Saturday night had been a testimony to that. I had been beyond confused when I had gotten a message from Kira while lying in bed, saying that Ally had swung by to work out, but looked upset. I knew then, while immediately rolling myself out of bed, that whatever it was couldn't have been good, but she had surprised the shit out of me with the drugs – the voicemail.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that behind those brown eyes and bright smile that she would be hiding that. Her words played on repeat in my mind, and I wanted to know more.

I wanted to get inside her head because while she may have been smiling right now, I knew better. I wouldn't lie and say it didn't ease my nerves, but her eyes were too red supported by circles too dark, and when there was no one else to smile for other than me, it dimmed, just a little. I didn't buy her 'I'm perfectly fine' bullshit and I never had.

"Okay," Ally said with a half-smile, moving to turn towards the door before I grabbed her forearm. She stilled, facing me again, head tilted back to look up at me with curious eyes. My own danced between hers before trailing over her face, and I didn't even have to ask for her to know exactly what I wanted.

"I'm fine," she whispered softly.

I stepped a little closer, my chest nearly flush against hers as I brought my hand up and thumbed just underneath her eye. She inhaled sharply, eyes fluttering closed for only a second before reopening, locking with mine, full of emotions – none, however, that resembled Saturday night.

"You haven't been sleeping?"

She sighed, moving to tuck her chin, but my fingers slid beneath her jaw. "I'm trying," she admitted softly. "I've been having nightmares."

My thumb moved, sliding back and forth atop of her cheek bone, and she leaned into it slightly, eyes closing completely – I felt my chest constrict. God, I was an asshole. Here she was still mourning the loss of the person she loved, and I couldn't control my damn feelings long enough to not touch her.

But then her eyes reopened, and she was smiling softly again.

"But I talked with Trish yesterday and my parents this morning. So, I'm feeling a little better," she said. "You were right. I can't change it, and I know it wasn't my fault. I have to move on. I'm just – ." She took in a deep breath, pulling away from me and my hand fell to her shoulder. "I'm having trouble clearing my head."

I gave her a nod before clicking my tongue. "Well." I turned her towards the door. "Let's go see if me kicking your ass helps." And her head tilted back on a loud laugh.

An hour later and I was growing more and more impressed with Ally. Despite her lack of sleep and emotional turmoil, she didn't back down from anything I gave her, nor was I making it easy for her.

I watched as she wiped her forehead with a towel, sitting with her knees bent and arms resting across them as she stared up at me, a satisfied grin on her face. "You had no faith that I was growing to be able to do that superset," she stated, and I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Your core strength is shit," I shrugged, and she rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at me before holding her hand up. Reaching down, I grasped her sweaty hand, cautious of her knuckles as I pulled her to her feet. "We need to rewrap these before you go," I said, tapping the gauze with my index finger. "But we are ending with legs."

She tossed her head back on a groan and I gave her a pointed look, gesturing towards the leg press. With a playful roll of her eyes, she made her way across the gym before taking a seat and placing her feet against the flat metal surface slightly above her. Adjusting the weight, I instructed for her to do ten.

I watched her form, making a few adjustments and comments as she hit ten with ease, and I leaned down to add twenty more pounds.

"Austin," she eyed wearily. "I don't think I'll be able to do that much."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

She took in a deep breath.

"Come on, give me ten."

She pushed out the bar that racked the weight and shifted her feet before bringing it down in a slow, calculated squat. While she didn't seem to struggle, I did notice her clenched jaw as she let out a heavy breath through her nose.

"In through your nose, out through your mouth," I reminded, squatting down beside her as she done another on a correct breath. Once she got to about eight, her legs began shaking and she glanced at me once her legs were straight instead of continuing down into another one. "You got two more, let's go."

With another groan, she bent her legs, bringing the weight down before struggling again to get it back up. Her fingers clenched at her sides, her body shifting in her seat, face flushing and legs shaking.

And fuck me if I didn't picture her in this state while in my bed. I shook my head with a silent curse.

"Push, Ally," I demanded, and when she got it to the top and let out a breath, she shook her head, eyes locked on mine. "I said one more."

"I feel like you are coaching me through labor," she gritted, and shook my head in amusement. She took in a deep breath but still shook her head. "Austin, I can't," she trailed but I cut her off, reaching forward and grabbing her chin in my hands.

"How many times are you going to tell yourself you can't do something when you know damn well you can." My words caught her off guard, her eyes flickering between mine before they settled into a little glare. "Squat the damn weight."

Forcing her chin out of my hands, she readjusted herself in the seat before bending her knees again, squatting the weight with ease, and right before she could settle the weight back on the rack, I popped the top of her thigh.

"Another one."

Her eyes popped open as she glared at me, but she didn't argue as she gave me one more, her entire body shaking. And as soon as she completed the weight, my hand was between her feet, pushing the weight back up and onto the rack.

"Freaking liar," she muttered under her breath, and I chuckled. Looking back at her, I gave the outside of her thigh another pat.

"One more never means one more."

"Clearly," she said, forcing herself to her feet, groaning slightly. "I'm not gonna be able to move tomorrow." She sat on the nearest unoccupied weight bench, taking a sip of her water.

"You think you are done," I asked, and her head snapped up.

"You said I was done with the last squat," she exclaimed, a little wide eyed.

"I meant you were done with that exercise. You got lunges and then you are done."

She waivered, her eyes turning pleading. "I hate lunges," she whispered, earning a laugh from me.

"I know."

"So don't make me do them."

I shook my head. "Nope. Up. I want ten across and ten back."

Her bottom lip poked out, and I rolled my eyes with a shake of my head. "That isn't going to work on me, Ally. I want ten lunges." She sighed dramatically, pushing her water bottle towards me with more force than necessary.

Without another word, she turned and began doing lunges across the gym. Glancing down at my watch, I began carving out the amount of time I would need to stretch Ally out before she had to leave, adding an extra five minutes to change her wraps. When I looked back up, I found Ally in conversation with a woman who had just walked into the gym, only a handful of steps from the women's locker room.

I tilted my head, observing them from afar as they spoke. The older brunette woman was a regular in the gym but normally came later in the afternoon, but she wasn't anyone I recognized in Ally's life – not that I knew much. However, from the look of unmistakable disdain on the woman's face and the way that Ally's body was stiffer than a board, I gathered it wasn't someone she was happy to see. Or rather the woman wasn't happy to see Ally.

A forced smile formed across Ally's face as she talked to the woman, bright and wide as her arms wrapped around her midsection. And I wasn't going to impose – that was until I saw the woman lower her face closer to Ally's, and I saw Ally's bottom lip began to tremble, her eyes averting to the floor as the woman continued to speak. Then I was next to Ally within four strides.

"It was a shame he wasted so much time on yo – ."

"Is there something I can help you with?"

Ally glanced up at me, lips popped open in surprise, and I hadn't been mistaken when I see her eyes bright with unshed tears. Stepping between in front of the woman, I looked down at Ally, reaching forward to run my fingers over her upper arm. "Finish your workout and then head upstairs," I ordered softly.

She looked up at me, blinking away whatever pain she had been feeling before nodding, her eyes glancing behind me at the woman once more. "It was good to see you." With those timid words, Ally turned with a deep breath, continuing with her lunges while I turned back towards the woman.

"If you'll excuse me," she said, moving to walk past me when I reached to grab her arm, trying to keep my grip to a minimum. She gasped dramatically, taking a step back to look up at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. "Do not touch me. I'll have you reported."

I raised a brow at her threat, glaring down at her, and she cowered when I took another step towards her. "We have a strict no bullying policy and from what I just witnessed, that's exactly what you were doing to a girl half your age. So, I wouldn't be making threats if I were you."

She looked applaud. "I was not bullying he – ."

I was growing bored with this conversation and all I wanted was to get upstairs to Ally.

"Shut up," I snapped, and her mouth instantly closed as she took a step back. "I don't know who you are, but I'm about to go find out. And if I see you even speak to her again, I will have you removed from this gym."

"Excuse me?"

I shrugged, turning my back to her as I called out over my shoulder.

"I don't need to repeat myself."

I took the stairs two at a time, my mind shifting through everything Ally could have possibly told me to pinpoint exactly who the woman downstairs was. I had never heard of her speak about anyone other than her parents, Trish and Cassidy, and Dallas. The woman had to be old enough to be her mother, but I knew there was no way it was. Ally spoke of her mother highly, and there wasn't a single resemblance between the two.

"It was a shame he wasted so much time on you."

The woman hadn't finished the sentence, but I knew damn well where it was going. Between that and the look on Ally's face – as if out of all the things she had been dealt the past two days, hearing those words were going to be her breaking point – subconsciously, I began putting it all together.

Therefore, I wasn't surprised to find Ally standing in the middle of the room, sniffling softly to herself as she tried desperately to wipe away stray tears. She turned to face me, forcing the saddest smile I had seen to date all the while her bottom lip trembled.

"Who was that?"

I tried to keep my voice soft and careful. I tried reminding myself that it wasn't my place to demand anything of her, but at the sight of her so heartbroken for the second time in the last three days, the amount of patiences I had left was dwindling.

Ally's shoulders rose on a heavy sigh.

"Dallas's mother."

So..what do we think? Leave a review and let me know! I love hearing from you guys!

Also, just a question - have any of you guys read 'It Ends With Us' by Colleen Hoover? If so, were you as emotionally damaged from it as I was? I'm still not okay, lol.

But anyways. Thank you so much for reading. I hope to have the next chapter out soon!

Until next time

-meg