I was in a dark alley. Shadows danced on the building to my left, wavering in what must have been the light from some kind of fire. Loud voices drifted down the alley to where I stood. They seemed to wrap tight around my body and pull me towards the end of the alley like an invisible lasso. The soft light grew closer and the voices became louder and louder. There was a large round of laughter, then the familiar click of a lighter, and then silence.
The force pulled me around the corner, and stopped as I faced a dead end. There was nothing- no people, no fire, nothing. The grip on my body suddenly vanished, making me feel cold and exposed. I went to turn around and look around, but I couldn't move my feet. It was like they were glued to the cement.
The sound of a lighter click filled the still air. I turned my head around as far as I could, and I saw that there I was absolutely alone. The sound of laughter filled the air again. My eyes scanned every inch of the space, but there was no one, and yet it sounded as if the people were right next to me.
Suddenly, two large hands clamped down on my shoulders, making me yelp. I tried to scream, but the hand on my right shoulder was replaced to cover my mouth. There was a mouth by my ear, and the smell of cigars floated on the person's breath.
"We've been waiting for you." The person crooned into my ear. The masculine voice was very familiar. I shuddered.
"We?" I mumbled through his hand.
He removed his hand from my mouth and clapped it back onto my shoulder. His billowing laugh boomed off the walls of the buildings.
"I don't see what's so funny. What do you want from me?" I asked, pulling in all my courage.
"We, have come to get what rightfully belongs to us."
"We? Us? I don't understand what you're talking about."
His grip tightened on my shoulders, making me cry out in pain.
"You stupid little girl!" He laughed. "You naïve little child. Open your eyes, Ally."
I wanted to ask him what he meant, but his grip only tightened and he started shaking me. I closed my eyes for a few seconds. When I opened them, a scream caught in my throat. The fire that I had originally thought I saw the light from was occupying most of the space. The men that had confronted me in front of the apartment a while ago were around the fire, talking, laughing, and lighting up cigars.
The worst thing was that my dad was there. He wasn't standing around the fire; he was in the fire.
I pulled against the man behind me, wanting to get to my dad. He was tied to a stake in the middle of the fire. The fire only lapped at his feet, but his face was covered with sweat and soot. The men had obviously beat him before tying him up, as his lip was split and his shirt was streaked with blood.
"DAD!" I screamed struggling against the man. He kept shaking me, but I kept writhing about, trying to escape his grasp.
My dad's eyes met mine and my heart wrenched. His face was so dull, as if he was dead on the inside. Tears streamed down my face. Dad's head lolled to the side.
"Stop it! Why are you doing this?" I screamed through my tears.
The man closest to me stopped fiddling with his lighter and gave me a wicked smirk.
"He says he can't gives us what we's wants." He throws his cigar into the fire and pulls another one out from his shirt pocket. "And we's don't fools 'round wit chumps like hims."
The fire was starting to pick up.
"DAD!" I screamed as loud as I could. "DAD!"
He picked his head back up. Even with all the loud chatter of the men, I heard him as clear as day.
"Open your eyes Ally."
It seemed as if everything was fading away. I couldn't see his face anymore, and soon everything was gone.
"ALLY!"
I opened my eyes to see Austin's face right in front of mine. His hands were on my shoulders and he was shaking me.
"Ally!" He cried seeing that my eyes were open.
"Wha-" I sat up. I was in my bed at Austin's house. My face was wet with tears and my hands were shaking. I was gasping for air, my chest heaving.
"Were you having a bad dream?" Austin asked gently.
I took a moment to catch my bearings. "I-I guess. I-it was so weird."
It had felt so real. Austin took my hand gently and rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. "Want to talk about it?"
I nodded slowly, still trying to piece everything together. "I-I was in an alley. And then I was pulled to this dead end and then there was this man, and a lot of other men, and my dad, and there was fire, and-"
"Whoa, Ally slow down!" He rubbed my shoulder comfortingly. I took a deep breath.
"Well basically those guys that are after my dad- they were burning him because he didn't have what they want."
Austin's arms enveloped me and I melted into the embrace. "It's all okay, Ally. I'm sure your Dad is fine."
"But it felt so real." I whispered, a tear rolling down my cheek. He held me for a while longer before I finally pulled away.
I wiped away my tears. "What time is it?"
He looked over the clock. "2:23"
I fell back against the pillow. "I'm sorry for waking you."
"Oh Ally," he said gently. "You really scared me. You were screaming and crying and thrashing around. I was trying to wake you but you wouldn't wake up."
I closed my eyes and squeezed his hand gently.
"Will you lay with me?" I asked quickly.
"Of course."
I scooted to the other side of the bed as he pulled back the covers. He climbed in and I moved closer to his warm body. We were facing each other, and his eyes met mine.
"Don't worry, I'll fight off the bad dreams for you." He smiled.
I grinned and closed my eyes. His arm wrapped around my body and I snuggled in even closer. I was feeling what always came with Austin's embrace-it felt like I was home.
A&A
On Monday morning, Austin insisted that I stay home. I put up a fight, arguing that I was fine and actually wanted to go to school, but he was very insistent and I finally gave in. Mike and Mimi left for work at the same time that Austin left for school, leaving me alone in the house.
I wandered around the house most of the morning until I finally ended up in Austin's room. I smiled. It smelt like him. It was a sent that was familiar and comforting. I ran my hands along some of Austin's instruments. I stopped as I reached the guitar. When I was laying with Austin, some lyrics had flitted through my head, but I didn't bother to write them down. I hadn't thought they were that good, but as my hand hovered over the guitar, they came flowing back to me, along with snippets of melody.
Grabbing the guitar, I hurried into my room and scribbled furiously into my song book. I played around with chords until I finally had a whole song by a little after noon. I began strumming and singing the song to myself.
I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart
But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start
You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go
You put your arms around me and I'm home
How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?
I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown
I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let our love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home
I faintly heard the sound of the front door open. I knew it had to be Mimi because she got home a little before Austin gets home from school.
The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved
I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone
You put your arms around me
And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go...
I hope that you see right through my walls
I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling
I'll never let our love get so close
You put your arms around me and I'm home
There was clapping from the doorway, scaring me and making me drop the guitar. I shot to my feet and spun around. Austin was leaning against the doorway.
"You need to stop doing that!" I screeched.
Austin smirked. "But I like watching you sing."
I scoffed. "What are you doing here, anyways? Shouldn't you be at school right now?"
"I skipped seventh period so I could check on you."
I crossed my arms and frowned. "I'm fine. You shouldn't have ditched. This is going to look so bad on your record!"
Austin laughed. "Ally! Calm down! School just isn't the same without you. It's so… boring."
I laughed and sat back down on the bed.
"So," Austin said slowly, "I make you feel safe?"
I looked down at my hands and blushed. "You know you do, and I'm grateful for that."
Austin smiled and squeezed my hand. "I'd do anything for you."
A&A
1:12 AM.
The blaring red numbers stared at me. I couldn't stop tossing and turning. I was partly afraid of having another nightmare, but the biggest reason I couldn't sleep was that there was so many thoughts reeling through my head at a million miles per hour.
I couldn't stand it anymore. I got up and started pacing around my room.
I was such a fool. Did I think I'd be able to live here forever and live happily ever after? I groaned.
My dad is still out there. I don't know what those men want, but I sure as hell wanted to find out. Austin would never let me go after those guys.
Austin. What would I do about him? He's been nothing but the sweetest to me. I don't deserve his friendship. I know that deep down I was masking some deeper feelings for him. I couldn't deny that I'm not the same without him. He changed my life. But I knew that he didn't feel the same. I was just something for him to watch over.
I ran my hands through my hair. The moon shone through the window and cast a spotlight on my duffel bag. I quickly tore a page from my songbook and scribbled furiously. I put the piece of paper on my pillow. I shoved everything that was laying around into my duffel bag. I took one last look around the room, slipped out the hallway, out the front door, and into the lonely night.
A&A
Well hello there. Long time no see.
I honestly don't know why it took me so long to write this. It's the shortest chapter that I've written for this story, and I'm really sorry. So much has been happening lately. My birthday was on March 28. Then it was spring break. I've been in a dark place for a while, and the only benefit of that was that I've been getting all these really cool story ideas that I can't wait to share.
I've been really doubting my self-worth lately. I've been questioning how good my stories are, and I have to admit I've come close to giving up on my writing. What has kept me going is that this story has gotten to 50 reviews. This is the most I've ever gotten. It makes me feel really, really good inside and you guys keep me going. So when I say I really appreciate reviews, you have no idea.
I love you all so so so much. Thank you for reading :)
Oh and let me know what you thought about this chapter. I know it wasn't the best and it's kind of rushed, but I kind of want to hurry the story along. And did you like the dream? I thought it would be kind of an interesting start to the chapter but I had a hard time figuring out how to transition from that so… yeah.
The song in this chapter was arms by Christina Perri
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|April|