A loud banging made me bolt upright in bed. I looked at the clock. It was 2:56 AM. My heart started beating a million miles a minute. There's someone in the house.

I quietly slipped out of bed and creeped down the hall. It was pitch black dark, so I carefully felt my way along the wall. I heard rustling in the kitchen, followed by the sound of the fridge door opening. I slowly peered around the corner.

"Dad?" I gasped. There he was, illuminated by the fridge light. He held the container of spaghetti that Austin's mom gave me in his hands. "Where have you been?!"

"Out." He said gruffly. "Where the hell did you get this?" He held up the spaghetti.

"I-Um, had dinner at Trish's house," I lied.

"Who have you told?" Flames danced in his eyes, he was sober, but angry.

"Told what?"

"Don't play dumb with me! Who have you told about our… situation?" He was yelling now.

My mind momentarily flashed to Austin. "N-no one."

"GOD DAMN IT ALLY." He screamed, throwing the container at the wall. It busted open, noodles clinging to the wall and sauce running down like a waterfall. I flinched and backed up to the wall.

"W-what's wrong, Dad?" I said, barely able to speak above a whisper.

He went and sat on the couch, putting his head in his hands. I watched as he sat there breathing heavily for a few minutes.

"There are people-bad people- that are after me." He said quietly, finally looking at me. "I owe them something, and they won't give up until they get it from me."

"What do you owe them?" I walked cautiously closer.

"I-It's better if you didn't know." Dad leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling. "I really screwed thing up for us. I'm so sorry, Ally."

A tear fell down my cheek. Dad looked over and tried to smile, but it came across as more of a grimace.

"I need to go away for a while."

My words failed me. I wasn't sure how to react. "B-but you just got back! How am I supposed to survive by myself?" I couldn't hold back the tears that were streaming down my face.

"It's to keep you safe. If I'm far away from you, they can't hurt you." I sat down on the couch next to him. He reached over and smoothed my hair away from my face. "Don't worry. You'll figure out something; you're a smart girl. But you should be happy that I'm taking the fall. This is all your fault anyways."

Anger boiled inside me. I quickly stood up, away from his touch, and stood in front of him.

"NO!" I screamed. "YOU CAN'T JUST EXPECT ME TO 'FIGURE SOMETHING OUT'! WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY BECAUSE OF YOU. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT." I pointed straight at him, angry tears filling my mouth. "You're leaving your seventeen-year-old daughter alone for God knows how long with no money, food, nothing. You promised Mom that you'd take care of me. You call this taking care of me? Yeah, some father of the year! I'm not going to be able to go to college because of you. It's all because of you. Don't you dare blame it on me."

I stormed to my room, quickly finding my duffel bag and began shoving whatever my hands found into it. Dad appeared at the doorway.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't speak to your father like that."

I ignored him, concentrating on putting things into the bag. I didn't have much stuff, I didn't even bother to pack my clothes, just shoes, makeup, undergarments, and toiletries. I grabbed my school backpack and put it on my shoulders. I zipped up the duffel bag and put it across my body. I slipped on my Converse and brushed past my dad.

"What the hell are you doing? Get back here right now."

I was already at the front door. Gripping the handle, I turned around and glared at him. "No. What do you care anyways? You can't tell me what to do. I'm doing what I should have done so long ago: getting away from you. I don't care if I never see you again. Goodbye."

As I ran down the steps, I heard him calling after me, but I just kept running, the duffel bag clunking against my body. I ran towards the only person I could think of: Austin.

A&A

When I got to his house, the sun was coming up. I didn't have a watch, but I guessed it was around five thirty. My body hurt from running and my eyelids drooped. I stared at the gate. What if no one's home? What if I wake them up? What if he turns me away?

I stood in front of the buzzer, just staring at it, for about five minutes. I finally willed myself to move my hand. After a few minutes, I was just about to walk away when there was static on the other end.

"Ally, dear is that you?" Mrs. Moon's voice said on the other side. "Oh dear, come in!"

The gate opened. I stood there for a moment. My feet carried me up the driveway until I was about ten feet from the front door, where Mrs. Moon stood. When I saw her standing there with a concerned look, I broke down. I dropped to the ground and sobs overcame me.

"Ally!" She rushed over and flung her arms around me. She held onto me tightly. He touch was warm and motherly, something I hadn't felt in so long. I melted into her embrace, sobbing into my hands. She ran her hand over my head in a comforting gesture.

"Mom? What are you doing-" I looked up to see Austin standing in the doorway, looking like he just got out of bed. He found my eyes and his face immediately dropped. "Ally!"

He ran over to where me and Mrs. Moon were huddled on the ground and dropped to his knees. Seeing him made me sob harder, but as he took my face in his hands and examined me, I managed the slightest smile. "Hi" I choked out.

"Oh Ally." Austin flung his arms around me. Mrs. Moon removed her arms, and just sat with us, rubbing my back. I cried into Austin's shirt as his grip tightened around me.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" He asked, pulling back slightly. I nodded and sniffed.

"I am now."

"Oh Ally, please come in." Mrs. Moon said, standing up. "Let me take your bags."

Austin helped me up as I handed my backpack and duffel bag to Mrs. Moon. Austin put his arm around me as we walked into the house. He led me to the right, into a comfy living room. He sat me down on a plush couch and quickly fetched a box of tissues. I gratefully took one and blew my nose.

Mrs. Moon walked in took a seat in an armchair across from me. Austin sat next to me, his gaze never leaving my face.

"Ally, what's wrong, honey?" Mrs. Moon said lightly, her expression gentle.

I sniffed and looked down at my hands. "Um-well…" My voice was scratchy and I coughed to clear my throat.

"Well first of all," I started, "I lied to you last night. My dad hadn't come home yet when I was talking to you, and he wasn't on a business trip- I had no idea where he was. At about three in the morning, I thought someone had broken into the apartment, but it was my dad. He was angry. He told me he was leaving me alone because of… reasons. We have no money, or food. I asked him how I was supposed to live; he said I'd figure something out. He blamed all of our problems on me. He blames me for us having absolutely nothing, when he's the one who gambled away our money. He gambled away the college money that my Mom set aside before she died. I couldn't stand it any longer, so I packed my things and left. This was the only place I could think of to go to."

Austin grabbed my hand. A stray tear slipped down my face. Mrs. Moon looked like she was going to cry.

"A-Ally, I'm so sorry. I had absolutely no idea. You're more than welcome to stay her for as long as you want."

"Thank you so much Mrs. Moon." I couldn't believe how nice she was being. She stood up, walked over to me, and squeezed my hand.

"I'm going to go make breakfast."

When she left, I looked over at Austin.

"You should have told me your dad wasn't home. You could have stayed here for the night." He said gently, his thumb drawing circles on the back of my hand, which made my stomach flutter. "I'm glad you came here though. I feel better with you here-knowing that I can help you."

I smiled at him.

"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."

A&A

After eating some breakfast, Austin grabbed my bags and motioned for me to follow him upstairs. He led me down the hall, turning like he was going to his room, but he stopped at the door right before his. He opened it, revealing a huge guest room.

It was simple, just a bed on a platform centered in the middle of the closest wall, but it was beautiful. I leaped onto the bed. It was just as comfy as Austin's. Austin laughed and set my bags on top a chair. I closed my eyes as Austin sat at the edge of the bed.

Suddenly I shot up, startling Austin.

"What time is it?!" Austin looked at his phone.

"8:30." I panicked. I rushed over to my bag and started rummaging through it.

"We're late for school!"

Austin just sat there. I looked back at him like he was crazy. "Why aren't you getting ready?"

Austin laughed and walked over, pulling me away from my bag and back to the bed. "It's Saturday."

My body slumped. "Oh."

Austin laughed and layed back on the bed. "Even if it was a school day, I don't think it would be good for you to go today, after the morning you've had."

I looked down at my hands. "But I have to."

"Why?"

I sighed. "I have to go to school so I can keep my grades up. I want to go to college, and the only way to do that is to get good grades so maybe I can get a scholarship."

Austin propped himself up on his elbow. "Missing one day of school doesn't mean you won't get into college. Ally, a college would be crazy not to offer you a full ride. You're the smartest girl I know."

"I just want to make certain. College is my only opportunity to get far, far away from here."

Austin gave me a small smile and reached over and squeezed my hand. "Everything will work out, I promise."

A&A

When I woke up the next morning, I panicked for a moment, forgetting where I was. When I remembered that I was at Austin's house, I relaxed. I stretched my arms out.

When I opened the door to my room, I noticed that Austin's was ajar. I walked over and poked my head inside. There was no sign of him. I heard water running behind the door to my left, so I figured he was taking a shower. I walked into his room, admiring all his instruments. I stopped at his guitar. I picked it up and sat on the edge of his bed.

I didn't know how to play the guitar as well as I did the piano, but I knew a little from what my mom taught me. I strummed a little bit, until finally I was strumming a familiar melody. It was a song that I wrote when my dad decided to move us to an apartment. I started humming along. Then I started singing.

I know they say you can't go home again.
I just had to come back one last time.
Ma'am I know you don't know me from Adam.
But these handprints on the front steps are mine.
And up those stairs, in that little back bedroom
is where I did my homework and I learned to play guitar.
And I bet you didn't know under that live oak
my favorite dog is buried in the yard.

A tear came to my eyes. Memories of when my family was a family played through my head.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
this brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here it's like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself
if I could just come in I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
from the house that built me.

My heart yearned to go back to the times when my mom was still alive.

Mama cut out pictures of houses for years.
From 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines.
Plans were drawn, concrete poured,
and nail by nail and board by board
Daddy gave life to mama's dream.

I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
this brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here it's like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself.
If I could just come in I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
from the house that built me.

You leave home, you move on and you do the best you can.
I got lost in this whole world and forgot who I am.

I strummed the last chord and hung my head. The sound of clapping made me jump and nearly drop the guitar. I looked up to see Austin leaning against the door frame.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: you are such an amazing singer, Ally!" He crossed the room and sat next to me.

I blushed. "T-thanks. I didn't know you were listening."

Austin smiled and took the guitar from my hands, resting it on his lap. He mindlessly tried to recreate the melody. "I've never heard that song before. Who sings it?"

I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "Me."

Austin laughed and plucked at the guitar. "I meant like who wrote it?"

"Me."

Austin froze and looked up at me. "You write songs?!"

"Um, yeah. I mean I used to."

"Wow! You're so talented! I couldn't write a song to save my life! When did you write that song?"

"I wrote it a little after my mom died and my dad told me he was selling our house."

"It's really beautiful."

I smiled and looked down at my lap. When I looked up, Austin was staring at me. "What?"

Austin smiled admiringly. "There's so much I have left to learn about you."

A&A

IMPORTANT NOTE: I forgot to mention this in the last chapter but I'm putting picture references in my profile, like for last chapter I put a reference for Ally's room in my profile, also.

Hey guys! I originally had no inspiration for this chapter and I put off writing it on Sunday, but today I forced myself to sit down and start typing and then I was on a roll. I hope you like this chapter! There's a lot of drama in this chapter, but trust me I have something very… special planned for later down the road, but it's a loooooong way down the road so you'll have to stick around ;)

Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter! This story has the most reviews I've ever gotten and I honestly get a little emotional. :)

The song in this chapter is The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert.

Reviews rock!

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|April|