I wake up at about noon today. I open my curtains to let the sunlight in. I look over at Austin's house and see that he's sitting at his window. He glances at my house and gestures for me to put my window up. I put it up. Was he waiting for me to wake up? Oh, shit. Why did I put my window up? I'm supposed to be mad at him. It's too late now.
"What do you want?" I snap at him.
"What's got your panties in a twist?" he asks.
"The fact that Ashley's panties are in a twist," I mutter.
"I can't hear you," he tells me.
Good, I think to myself.
"So do you wanna hang out again today?" he asks.
"Um, nah, I think I'm just gonna have a lazy day. You know, stay at home," I tell him. Suddenly, he picks up his phone. He holds up a finger to me and starts talking into it. I just go ahead and close my window and my curtains. I sit down on my bed.
"You're always on my mind. I think about you all the time," I sing under my breath. Ashley floats into my mind. "Um… no." I grab my songbook and write all of this down. I write Ashley's name in the corner to remind myself not to make it too much of a love song. Damn it, why am I writing this in the first place? I'm mad at him. My phone vibrates and I answer it without looking to see who it is. It's probably Trish.
"What do you want? If you want to talk about Austin, I don't feel like it right now," I tell her. That was mean. "I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." There's a moment of silence.
"I just wanted to know if you would open your window again," Austin says.
"Austin! Um, I'm sorry. I… I thought you were Trish…" I tell him.
"Why would she want to talk about me?" he asks.
"Uh… Who were you talking to on the phone?" I change the subject.
"Oh, it was just Ashley," he tells me. I let out a sound of disgust at her name. "So why would Trish want to talk about me?" Damn.
"Let's not talk about it," I say. Ooh! I write it down in my book. Then I sing it forgetting I'm on the phone with Austin. "Let's not talk about it. Drama: we can live without it," I sing.
"What? Did you just sing that?" he asks.
"Oh, sorry," I say.
"What is up with you today?" he asks.
"Nothing," I say.
"I can tell there's something," he tells me.
"Hey girl, I can tell there's somethin'… even when you say it's nothin'…" I sing.
"Ally, what—? Are you writing a song while we're talking?" he asks.
"What? No, of course not," I lie to him. I shove a strand of hair into my mouth. I look down at my songbook. I feel like there's a big gap.
"Catch a wave if we're bored; there's a clock we'll ignore. Find a way… around it," I sing as I write it on top of what I just wrote. That first part would be true if I were still in Miami. I don't know anything else to write.
"Uh, sorry, Austin, I've gotta go," I tell him. I hear him sigh.
"Okay, bye," he says sadly. I hang up the phone and put it on my bed. I hear a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I say. My dad walks in.
"Ally, I'm going to go see Steve. It may be a little while until I get back," he tells me. Steve is the man I was talking about. The man I told Austin was going to see with my dad.
"Hey, Dad, can I go with you?" I ask. He gives me a weird look.
"You… want to go see Steve?" he asks me. Yeah, I really don't like Steve. He talks nonstop and his hair has a green streak in it. I mean, who dyes their hair an unnatural color like that? And if they do, dye your whole head; not just a streak. It looks stupid. And he can never get my name right. He always calls me Sally.
"You're right," I tell him.
"Okay, do you think you can hold down the fort?" he asks.
"Of course," I say.
"Don't invite anyone over," he tells me firmly.
"Dad, really, who am I going to invite over?" I ask. He glances at my window. "I won't invite him over, I swear."
"Alright, I'll be back soon," he says and he leaves my room. It's a few seconds before I hear the front door close. I read over the page in my book. I think about it in my brain and the notes flash across my eyes. I play them out on my keyboard and write them down before I forget them.
"You told him that I was going to poison him, didn't you?" a voice asks me.
"What?" I ask. "Where are you?" Suddenly, a woman is sitting on the edge of my bed.
"Why did you tell him?!" she screams at me.
"I didn't tell him!" I exclaim. What the hell is this crazy lady talking about? She lunges at me and wraps her hands around my neck. "Get… off… of… me!" I choke out.
"You told him I was going to kill him so I'll have to kill you too!" she yells.
"I didn't, I swear!" I tell her. I stand up, ready to try and fight back. But she shoves me to my window. She keeps one hand wrapped around my neck while she opens it. She pushes me out of it so now I'm just hanging. If she lets go and I fall from this height, I could break several, several bones. I feel the blood rushing to my head. I'm already feeling a bit dizzy. The woman slowly loosens her grip on me.
"Ally!" I hear someone exclaim. Austin runs away from his window and to his door. The woman pulls me back into my room and disappears. I collapse onto the floor because my head hurts so badly.
"Ohhh," I groan. About a minute later, Austin's in my room. It's officially impossible to stay mad at him. I'm still lying on my floor trying to block out the sounds around me.
"Ally, what just happened?" he asks me. His words pound into my brain like a hammer. He takes my arm and stands me up. He leads me to my bed and sits down beside me.
"Ally, I need you to tell me what happened. Who was that woman and why was she trying to drop you out of your window?" he asks slowly. I try to speak but all that comes out is a moan. I point to my head.
"Oh, your head hurts?" he asks. I nod which makes it worse. I moan again. I reach for my songbook but I can't get it. Austin hands it to me and I write something down. I set it back down on the bed. Austin picks it up and I gesture for him to give it back. I write something else down and put it down on the bed.
"Don't touch my book," he reads without picking it up. "Okay, so this ghost appeared and got mad at you because she thought that you told her husband that she was going to kill him?" I think I can speak now.
"Yeah, then she said that since I told him she was going to kill him, she was going to have to kill me," I murmur to him.
"It's okay, Ally, I'm here for you," he tells me.
"I know. Thank you for that," I say. He gives me a hug. Our cheeks brush and I feel warmth spread throughout my body.
"You'd better go. I don't know exactly when my dad will be back," I tell him. He sighs.
"Will I see you later?" he asks. I notice something moving behind him. I peek over his shoulder and see the woman. I scream and Austin whips his head around.
"Who are you?" Austin asks.
"You both told him, didn't you?" she asks quietly. She narrows her eyes at us. "Didn't you?!" she screams.
"No, we didn't, I told you!" I shout.
"Now, I'll have to kill you both," she says. She runs to us and Austin uses his body as a shield over mine. I don't feel any impact though. Austin turns around. I look too and the lady is gone. Tears begin pouring down my face.
"Austin, please don't leave me," I say through sobs.
"I won't. I promise," he tells me. He stretches out on my bed, wraps his arms around me again and I sink into them. As I wipe my tears, I hear Austin's phone ring.
"Hello?" he answers it. "Babe, can't I spend just one day without you?" I realize something.
His girlfriend is a complete and utter idiot.
If she really had been on her period, which she obviously wasn't because you can't be on it for two weeks, she wouldn't have been able to have sex with Austin. You can't have sex on your period. I mean, I guess you could but it would be extremely… erm… messy.
"Babe, I will come and see you tomorrow, okay?" he asks. He pauses. "All night long," he tells her smiling to himself. Jesus, again? What are they? Nymphomaniacs? I mean, really. That's disgusting. I sigh as he hangs up the phone.
"Could you please not talk about fucking when I'm around?" I ask.
"Sorry," he says insincerely. I take my head off of his chest. "What?"
"Do you realize how pissed your girlfriend would be if she saw us?" I ask. He pulls me back into his arms.
"Do you realize that she can't just come inside your house?" he asks. My face flushes.
"I have a question," I say.
"Fire," he tells me.
"Austin, do you like m-?" We hear a noise downstairs. Austin jumps up but I grab his wrist. "Don't leave me alone!" I exclaim.
"Then come with me. I'll protect you, I promise," he says taking my hand. He leads me downstairs.
"Austin, what are you doing here?" I hear my dad ask. Oh, no.
"Oh, um... hi, M-Mr. Dawson," Austin says.
"Dad! Um, what are you doing back so soon?" I ask.
"That's not important. The question on the table is: why is Austin here when I specifically told you not to invite him over?" he asks.
"Dad, there was a ghost! Up in my room! She was about to drop me out of my window and Austin came to save me!" I exclaim to him.
"Ally, you don't have to make stuff up. Just tell me the truth," my dad tells me slowly.
"That is the truth, Dad! This house is haunted!" I exclaim.
"Ally, stop lying to me," he says firmly. I sigh and decide to tell him 'the truth.'
"You're right, Dad. I invited him over and disrespected your rules. I'm sorry," I tell him.
"What?!" Austin asks. "No, there was a ghost and she was about to kill your daughter!"
"Austin, it's alright. We don't have to keep the charade up. We've been caught," I tell him. He gives me a weird look.
"Thank you, Ally, for being honest with me. Unfortunately, I'll have to ground you. Now, um... how long are you supposed to ground someone?" he asks. He's never had to ground me before so he doesn't know.
"Usually a month. But for things like this, only about a week. Take my word for it. I get grounded all the time," Austin says. I hit him in the arm. "Uh, ignore that last part," he tells my dad.
"Thank you, Austin. Ally, you're grounded for a week. No phone, no laptop, no friends-" What friends? I have about two. Well, at least he isn't taking my keyboard. "-And no keyboard," he finishes.
"What?!" I exclaim. "Dad, you can't do that!"
"Yes, I can. Now go get them," he tells me.
"Can I at least say goodbye to Austin since I won't be able to see him for a week?" I ask. My dad sighs.
"Sure," he finally decides. I walk Austin to the door.
I give him a hug and whisper in his ear, "Leave your window open tonight." He smiles and walks out the door. I walk past my dad and up to my room. He follows me.
"Here's my phone," I hand him my phone, "My laptop," I hand him my laptop, "And my k-k-keyboard," I finish pointing to it.
"I'll take your songbook too," he tells me. My eyes widen.
"No, you really can't do that," I say grabbing it off of my bed and hugging it to my chest.
"Hand it over," he tells me.
"Dad, can I at least put it in your room? You know how I am about people touching my book," I tell him.
"Fine," he says. I bring it to his room and place it carefully in his drawer.
"Can I trust you not to touch it?" I ask. He nods.
"Yes, honey. I promise I won't touch it," he says.
"Oh, wait, can I call Trish and tell her I'm grounded so she won't try to contact me?" I ask. He sighs and takes my phone out of the drawer. I call Trish.
"Hello?" she answers.
"Hey, Trish. Um, don't try to call, text, or video chat me because I'm grounded for a week," I tell her.
"What? The Great Ally Dawson who never does anything wrong is grounded?" she asks me.
"Yeah, I'll explain next week," I tell her.
"Alright, you better call me as soon as you get all your stuff back," she demands.
"I will, I swear," I tell her. We hang up and I hand my phone back to my dad.
"D-Dad, can I write a lyric down in my songbook?" I ask. He starts to reach for it but pulls his hand back.
"Hey, I know what you're doing," he tells me. Darn it, he's on to me. I sigh.
"Okay, Dad, fine," I say walking out of his room. I walk into my room and sit on my bed. This is going to be a long week.
A few hours later when it gets dark, I tiptoe out of my room to my dad's door. I press my ear against it and hear him snoring. I walk back to my room. I carefully pull my window up and look out of it. I see Austin sitting at his open window.
"Austin," I call loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough not to wake my dad. He looks up.
"Why'd you lie to your dad?" is the first thing out of his mouth.
"Because I knew he'd never believe the thing about the ghosts so I decided to tell him what he wanted to hear," I explain.
"I wish you hadn't done that. Now I can't see you except through a window," he tells me. "Hey, what were you going to ask me before your dad came home?"
"Oh, um, that... I was going to ask you..." I trail off.
Just ask him, Ally! my head screams at me.
"I wanted to know if you liked me." As soon as it leaves my lips, I clamp my hands over them.
I slam my head down on the window sill.
"I do," I hear Austin say. I jerk my head up.
"You-you do?" I ask. He nods sheepishly. I smile.
"And I would ask you out or something if it wasn't for-"
"-The she-devil."
"-Ashley," he tells me.
"Yeah, I understand," I tell him. I wonder if he knows how she hates me.
Hello, my minions. Oops, I mean readers... ;) Anyway, I hoped you liked this chapter. Finally, he admitted that he likes her... But there's still this stupid little idiotic problem called Ashley... Omg, I have a question for you guys. Has anyone ever seen The Odds or Daydream Nation? I saw both of them recently and it changed my whole perspective on Calum Worthy... Review!
Love, Kenzie