That next morning, Alexa woke with a yawn.
She hadn't slept the best that night. Sirens went past the apartment over and over again the night before, and Alexa felt too tired to go check it out.
It was eight a.m., the time Allyson almost always left for work. Knowing Allyson, that time was probably forgotten as it always was. Reluctantly, she crawled out of bed, standing up and looking outside the window.
It was a cold, snowy day, but Alexa didn't mind one bit. Her and Allyson had always had a fascination with snow, one of the things that had brought them to New York in the first place. (It was a shame Allyson wouldn't be able to see this snowy day, little did Alexa know.)
She groggily walked into Allyson's room, rubbing her eyes. She opened the door, smiling at the sleepy lump laying under the covers.
"Oh, Allyyyyyyyyy! Wake upppppp!" Alexa exclaimed, throwing a pillow at her.
The lump didn't move.
Alexa threw it again.
No motion at all.
Alexa frowned, walking over to the bed, "Alls, you gotta wake up, it's a school day."
The lump didn't move. Again.
She sighed and pulled the blankets off, revealing Allyson's life sized stuffed bear that she always cuddled with at night.
Alexa giggled in relief, standing back up and walking into the kitchen.
She already left, Alexa thought.
But, when she walked into the kitchen, Allyson's bag was still on the counter, as it was the night before.
Alexa furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of a scenario where Allyson would leave her bag at home during work.
Maybe she forgot it, maybe she didn't need it today. Or maybe she got her stuff out of it, Alexa thought, sighing softly.
But when she looked in the bag, her things were still there. Alexa grew slightly fearful.
She grabbed her phone, dialing Allyson's number. But, no one answered.
"Ally, it's me Alexa. I'm getting worried. Your bag is still here and you normally sleep in too late. I'm probably just overreacting, but please call and let me know you're alright. Please, Ally. Bye." Alexa left a message, then hung up and set her phone down.
She sighed, a nervous frown coming over her lips.
Allyson hadn't slept at all that night. And neither had Austin.
After getting into their hotel room, they had both taken showers, gotten changed, and laid in bed. Not saying a word to each other.
They both faced opposite directions. Both were too scared to sleep. For different reasons though.
Allyson was terrified that he would hurt her; that she was indeed in true danger and she needed to get out. But she couldn't get past the fact that if she tried to escape, he might hurt her even more. She knew he was dangerous, and completely capable of hurting her. So, why wouldn't he?
Truth be told, Austin wouldn't hurt a fly. Actually, he was more scared than Allyson was. He wasn't what everyone thought he was, but no one understood that. No one cared. No one would ever care.
He felt terrible that a poor, scared, innocent girl lay in the bed next to his and feared him. He didn't want that. He didn't want any of this at all.
At around nine a.m., Austin was dying to sleep but knew he couldn't. He got out of bed, going over to the kitchen area. He started the coffee maker.
Looking over at Allyson, he saw her eyes were closed, a soft hum of a snore coming from her lips. He smiled softly, a bit happy she was able to fall asleep after the whole night.
He came over to her, laying another blanket over her. The hotel room was cold, and Allyson was very small. He made sure she was covered, then returned to his coffee maker.
Allyson wasn't sleeping, she was only pretending. She saw him get out of bed, and she thought it'd be best if she seemed to be asleep so they wouldn't have to have an awkward conversation or confrontation.
When he covered her with a blanket, she couldn't help but tremble even more. She felt worried and scared, even though he only put a blanket on her. But honestly, who wouldn't feel scared in this situation?
She slowly sat up, pretending to wake up. Austin looked at her softly, then poured a cup of coffee.
"You want one?" He asked her quietly.
She nodded lightly, looking down at her lap.
He grabbed the other mug, pouring another cup, "Sugar? Or milk?"
"Half and half." She mumbled in reply.
He nodded, pouring two of the little cups of half and half into her mug. He stirred it with a spoon, then handed the mug to her.
She took it, mumbling a quiet thank you.
He nodded in reply, taking a sip of his own.
Austin walked to her bed, sitting down on the edge of it, "Do you wanna go get breakfast?"
She sat up, sipping her drink, "I have a couple questions first..."
"Ask away."
"One, when are you taking me home...? Two, can't you not go out in public, since the cops are kinda looking for you..."
He scratched the back of his neck, looking down, "It doesn't really matter if I'm not where the cops think I am... I just have to keep covered up..."
"When can I go home?" She asked softly.
He stood up, giving her a sad look, "I'm working on it... I'm not sure yet... Tonight probably... I have to make sure it's safe for both of us..."
She nodded lightly, not wanting to upset him.
She didn't want to leave tonight, she wanted to leave now.
Suddenly, the door came flying open.
A tall man with long brown hair entered in, holding two suitcases and a book bag. It was the same man who switched cars out with Austin the day before.
"Dude!" The brunette called, sending a half smile cooly towards Austin.
Allyson jumped lightly, the situation making her naturally jumpy in general. Why was the brunette here again? What did they want with her...?
Austin's eyes widened as he slowly pushed the brunette into the bathroom. He sent Allyson a nervous smile, then went in with him. She heard the door closed.
Although it was muffled, Allyson had very good ears and could easily hear some of the things being said between the two men in the bathroom.
"Dude, I didn't tell you to do this yet."
"You didn't specify when exactly you wanted me to, Austin!"
"She has a roommate! She'll notice the clothes and everything are gone!"
Alexa! Allyson thought, remembering her friend and roommate. Everything had been so terrible because of all this, she had forgotten about one amazing escape: telling Alexa. Allyson never went anywhere without her phone, including being kidnapped. She had thought about calling the police the night before, but he was right there. And she couldn't do anything about it.
Now, she could have the opportunity to text Alexa. And then she'd be free.
Allyson carefully pulled her phone out from under the pillow, where she had kept it hidden all night. She pulled her knees to her chest and unlocked it, then went into the text messages.
Alexa. Please help me. This guy kidnapped me and I don't think I'll be able to get out alive. Please, we're in Maine. Call the cops. She typed into her phone, her fingers shaking as she did it.
If he were to find out about this, she would be dead. No doubt about it. But she didn't want to die not trying.
Just as her thumb was about to press send, the bathroom door came back open and out came the two men. Allyson quickly closed her phone and hid it under the covers.
Austin stood against the walls, crossing his arms and looking directly at Allyson.
The other man came over to Allyson, staring down at her, "What do we have here?"
"Nothing," Allyson stammered, quickly looking up at him innocently.
"What's your name?"
"I don't really want to say..."
"What's your name?"
"A-Ally..."
"Well, Ally, why do I happen to see your little phone down there hidden in the sheets?"
Allyson gulped, sighing softly and looking down.
The man pulled the blankets off her legs, grabbing the phone from the sheets. He walked back over to Austin, handing him the iPhone.
Austin sighed softly, giving Allyson a sympathetic look before shoving it in his pocket.
Allyson just rolled her eyes.
"Ally, this is Dylan. He's my brother." Austin looked down.
Dylan grinned down at her, sitting at the edge of the bed, "And I brought you something; something Austin and I believe you'll enjoy."
Allyson looked down, not wanting to look at his cocky smile.
Dylan stood from the bed and brought over the suitcases, along with the book bag. Allyson's vision was still a bit blurry, since she didn't have her glasses. She couldn't see them very clearly.
"I was in New York and I saw your little blond friend leave that apartment. I recognized her from all the times she came into the coffee shop you work at." Dylan explained slowly.
Allyson thought about it, then remembered that she had seen Dylan at the coffee shop multiple times before as well. He was one of their main customers.
"I saw her leave that little apartment of yours this morning, so I bribed the landlord to figure out which apartment it was. Turns out it isn't so little. I got in from the key under your doormat. Bad hiding place, sweetie," he cocked an eyebrow, seemingly waiting for Allyson to somehow respond.
When she didn't, he kept on talking, "I found your room since you had your pictures in it, so I packed up your clothes and necessities, so you could have them with you here. How nice am I?" He smirked teasingly down at her, making her shiver.
Austin grabbed at his shoulder, pulling him back, "Dude, shut up. We're not trying to scare her."
Dylan sighed and rolled his eyes, standing up from the bed and coming back over to Austin.
Allyson stared down at the sheets, taking in a deep breath and crossing her arms.
Austin sighed softly, feeling bad. He thought maybe Allyson would've started liking him there, or at least tolerating him. But Dylan ruined it all.
"What's the plan then?" Dylan asked aloud, looking between Austin and Allyson.
"I wanna go home." Allyson muttered, glaring at the both of them.
"And I'm gonna take you home, tonight." Austin replied to her, then turned to Dylan, "We'll leave about one in the morning and be in New York by two or three hopefully and I'll make a quick drop off with her, then I'll meet you in Philly."
Dylan nodded, "Sounds good, you wanna meet in our normal place?"
"That'd be awesome." Austin replied.
"So, I get to go home?" Allyson clarified.
"Yes." Austin said, earning a small smile from Allyson.
"Alright, I guess I'll be going now if we're done here. I'll see you later tonight," Dylan shook hands with Ross, then gave a head nod to Allyson.
She only rolled her eyes in return.
Chuckling lightly (and partially bitterly), Dylan exited the hotel room, leaving Austin and Allyson alone.
The pair were silent awhile, both feeling too awkward and slightly scared to speak to one another. Allyson kept waiting for him to say something, but he never did. He was too scared of the consequences of bringing her home. He was too scared of how she was feeling; how scared she was. He didn't want that. He didn't want any of it.
After a while, once the silence was too much for him, Austin let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair, then walked out onto the balcony.
Allyson could soon see the smoke from a cigarette he lit, making her shiver and turn away. She slowly stood from the bed.
The morning was sunny and bright, and the view from their hotel was quite gorgeous. If he already wasn't out there, she would've came out to get a breath of fresh air. It would surely calm her nerves.
Allyson grabbed the suitcase nervously from the edge of her bed, unzipping it and looking inside. Her normal wardrobe was stuffed inside, her laptop on top. It didn't make sense to her Dylan would pack her entire closet if they knew she was only going to be with Austin a day more.
Nevertheless, Allyson liked the clothes he'd picked; they'd been some of her favorites. She grabbed at one outfit in particular, then went into the bathroom to change. She made sure the door was locked behind her.
After a few minutes, Austin came back from the balcony. He smelled like smoke; and not the good cigar kind Allyson loved. It was plain, straight smoke.
He took a look around the room, noticing Allyson wasn't anywhere to be seen. A bit of nervousness grew in him, so he tried opening the bathroom door. It didn't budge.
"Ally, are you in there?" He asked her.
"Yeah, just a minute." She replied quietly, her voice a bit fragile.
Austin nodded lightly and sat back down on his bed, grabbing his coffee from the counter. He sipped at it slowly. He tried everything he could to stop thinking about the situation at hand.
Moments later, Allyson stepped out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a dark blue and white floral printed skirt, going to the middle of her thighs. She had an oversized white sweater on tucked into it, and her feet were still bare.
He fawned a soft smile at her, but she only looked down.
"You look beautiful..." He mumbled slightly, taking in a breath.
She blushed a light red, slowly looking up from the ground, "Thank you..."
She truly didn't feel that way about herself though; and she only took it from him as a placement compliment to keep her calm. She had no makeup on, her hair was still a mess, and her clothes were slightly wrinkled from the way Rocky had stuffed them into the suitcase.
He, on the other hand, did feel that way about her; it wasn't a simple placement compliment to keep her happy. He meant it.
But of course, she would never know that.
"Are you still up for breakfast maybe?" He asked her quietly, standing up in front of her, "I'll have to get ready, but we can still make it to a diner or something."
She was scared and tired, but she couldn't bare the aching need for food that resided in her stomach.
"Alright..." She mumbled softly.
He gave a slight nod, then grabbed his clothes out of his suitcase and headed into the bathroom.
While he was gone, she walked out onto the balcony. The sky was a bright baby blue and there were no clouds as far as the eye can see. She could see the main street and all the people. A family walked into the toy store; the five little kids hopping around as the parents tried to hush them as best they could. A young couple held kids and went into the main restaurant. And two friends hurried into the center shopping mall.
Allyson smiled a bit, a bit of happiness rushing to her. She had never been to Maine. And even though this whole situation scared her more than she could imagine, she felt peace in that moment. She felt a bit happy, even.
It was now 12:30 in the middle of the night, and Allyson was currently laying in bed and sipping on a beer Austin had brought her. She suspected he believed she was twenty-one, but she was only seventeen. Romeo & Juliet blared on the TV, while Austin sat out on the balcony, smoking a cigar.
They had gone to breakfast that morning, and then had stopped at a small store to buy more cigarettes and cigars for him and alcohol for the both of them. He picked up a couple movies too, so she wouldn't be bored for the rest of the day. They then returned to the hotel room and he started up a couple of movies for them. They barely spoke a word though; the only conversation they had had been, "What movie do you want to watch?" "I don't care, pop one in."
Allyson was now on her second drink, since she knew how easy it was for herself to get buzzed. Austin refused his drink though, for a reason he wouldn't explain.
Her eyes bugged at the TV, and he chuckled when he came in to find her completely out of it, "We should probably get going, Ally."
She turned her head towards him and waited a second, then slowly nodded at the statement.
He helped her stand from the bed as she asked, "Did you already get our stuff outside?"
"Yeah, all we need to do is check out," he nodded, turning off the TV.
Austin got the DVD out of the player and slipped it back into the case, then looked back at Allyson.
She grabbed the gun he gave her and put it into her book bag, then turned to him.
He gave her a small smile, reaching for her hand.
Sighing softly, she took it and interlaced their fingers.
He frowned a bit, but began walking out of the room with her. She closed the door and they headed to the elevator.
Once they stepped into the elevator, Austin's phone began ringing. He took it out, answering it and putting it to his ear. Allyson pressed the button for the first floor.
On the other end of the line, Allyson could hear a frantic voice yelling into the phone. Austin seemed to grow nervous.
"How did he find out where we are?" Austin asked, trying to stay relaxed for Allyson's sake.
The voice seemed to reply louder.
"Dammit," Austin cursed into the phone, "I can't take her back to New York now, there's just no fucking way. We'll both meet you in Philly in two days."
The voice tried to say something, but Austin hung up too quickly.
Allyson glared up at him, "You're taking me to New York tonight."
"Nope, no I'm not." He responded, pressing the button for the first floor again.
The doors opened and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her out and into the parking lot.
But sadly, they were too late. There, in front of both of them, stood three men, all holding guns.
author's notes: you guys probably hate me, but here's a long chapter for not being active. i love you all 💖 let me know what you think of this below.