Okay, I feel like I haven't posted in FOREVER. But I'm back with the next chapter and I hope you guys are still interested, cause things are starting to get better in the next couple of chapters. I've had Lloyd of things keeping me busy including some tragic family issues. Thanks for all your reviews favs and follows! Thanks so much and keep reading!
AUSTIN'S POV
Even though I was tired, I had to get up early again. I was going to get this fort rebuilt as soon as possible. I got dressed in suitable construction clothes, grabbed the keys to the pickup truck, and returned to the woods. When I got down there, everything was left undisturbed. Although, that shouldn't surprise me.
First, I would have to create the base. My dad had left multiple components needed for building, in the truck. Before using wood, I would have to lay down this wire mesh stuff. This stops the mud from seeping through, and weeds from growing. Then I laid down a layer of wood as the base. I nailed each board together securely. I then had to put up and nail together the walls. Once that was done, I had the roof put on top of the building.
Currently, it was just a giant box. But I was planning on adding a couple separate rooms, along with an upstairs. But quite a few hours had already passed, so I went up to go eat. Mom didn't have anything prepared for me today, so I just ate leftover pizza that we had in the fridge.
I was about halfway through my second piece of pizza when I heard the doorbell. I got up to see who it was. When I opened the door, Ally was standing there, greeting me with a smile.
"Hey Ally!" I said, hugging her. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to let you know that Trish invited me to go to the beach with her. I'm gonna be gone for the next four days. I just thought you should know, so you wouldn't freak out, or think I was missing, or something." She explained.
"Oh, well that's cool. I've been kinda busy anyway." I said.
"With what?" She asked.
"Nothing." I stated quickly. She gave me a knowing look. "It's a surprise. You'll find out what it is as soon as you get back from the beach."
"Okay, I gotta go meet Trish. I'll see you later." She said with a smile.
"I'm gonna miss you." I said, holding my arms open for another hug, and she accepted it.
"I'm gonna miss you too." She whispered into my shirt. We finally let go, and she walked off down the street.
"Have fun at the beach!" I yelled out to her. She turned around to face my house, and laughed as she kept walking.
In the meantime, fort duties had to be taken care of. I promised her I would show her the surprise when she got back from the beach, which meant I had to get all of this done in four days. I've got serious work to do.
The amount of work I got done today, was pretty impressive. I got the entire first level built, with rooms and everything. The frame of the second level was complete, and ready to be added onto. I looked at my phone to find that it was ten thirty at night. I gathered my belongings and drove back up. My dad was sitting on our front porch.
"Hey Dad, what are you doing out here this late?" I asked curiously.
"I could ask you the same question." He stated.
"But you know what I was doing. I just thought it was weird that you were out here." I said.
"Well, your mom went to sleep early, and I wasn't that tired, so I just came out here. It's a nice night, I was just relaxing, and watching the stars." He explained.
"Oh, that's cool. And here's your keys." I said, handing him the keys to his pickup.
"Is your project coming along well?" He asked.
"Yeah, I guess so. I really made some progress today." I told him.
"You wanna tell me why you really decided to rebuild it?" He questioned.
"Uh, what? What do you mean?" I asked a little nervously.
"Austin, your interest in building things has never been that evident before. You don't just instantly decided you like building things." He explained.
"Why not? And who said I never enjoyed building things? We used to always have little construction projects. The barn, the treehouses? Rebuilding the fort will keep me busy. Mom doesn't like it when I run off anyway." I lied, hoping he'd buy it. It wasn't necessarily all lies though.
"Whatever Austin. I know there is something you aren't telling me, but that's okay. I wouldn't have told my dad about a lot of stuff that I did when I was younger either. But I just want you to know, that you can tell me anything that might be going on." He told me.
"Thanks dad." I smiled. But I felt bad about keeping secrets from my own dad. Maybe I could just tell him a few things. He wouldn't mind, would he? "Can I tell you about a girl?" I asked quickly, before having second thoughts.
"Sure, son. Who is the girl?" He asked.
"Well, lets just say I really like this girl. I know she likes me too, but sometimes it's hard to tell. She has a lot of stuff going on in her life, and I just wanna be there for her." I explained, hoping for some fatherly advice.
"Does this girl happen to be somebody I know?" He questioned knowingly.
"Yeah, but you might not remember her." I said.
"Ally Dawson?" He guessed simply.
"You knew?" I asked, surprised.
"Of course I did. I know my son. Plus, I figured it would happen one day. You guys were best friends. I knew that you guys had some friendship issues throughout middle school and high school, but I had hope that you would do something about it. It was obvious how much she meant to you, and I knew you wouldn't let her get away. Now, I haven't heard from her in a while, so I couldn't tell you her point of view. But you two have history. It will last, trust me. Me and your mom grew up as best friends, look how we ended up." He laughed.
"Wow, I never thought of it from someone else's point of view. I also never knew you paid so much attention to my life." I chuckled.
"Well, I'm glad I could give you some advice. I'm gonna go to bed now though, I'm tired. Goodnight." He said, patting me on the back as he walked inside.
"Night dad." I said. I sat out on the porch for a little bit longer, admiring the stars in the sky. Eventually though, exhaustion got the better of me, and I had to go to bed as well.
ALLY'S POV
I was getting packed for the beach with Trish. I had plenty of clothes to choose from, thanks to her. The only thing I didn't have were bathing suits. She told me that we could buy some once we got there though. Her parents and her brother rode in their minivan, and Trish and I followed behind them in her car.
We played a ton of road trip games to pass time. I knew that Trish should probably be focused on the road, but she was a very good driver. She was still focused, but we played games as well. We only had one tiny slip up, where she started driving off the side of the road by accident. Luckily, the rumble strips grabbed her attention.
It took five hours, but we finally arrived. We checked in at our hotel, and unpacked. Me and Trish shared a room, and her family took a separate room. Her parents didn't seem to mind too much that Trish wanted to be more independent.
The hotel we were in was extremely classy. It was a five-star vacation resort. And we had penthouse reservations. I was slowly beginning to be very thankful for having a rich friend, in a totally non-selfish way. Trish really was a good person, and I'd never take advantage of her money. The front desk attendant gave us the keys to our room, and we headed to the elevator to go to the penthouse level.
When we walked in the room, my jaw dropped. I knew this hotel was nice, and I expected the room to be impressive, but I was underestimating it. It was gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen anything that looks more...expensive. From the huge balcony, you got an amazing view of the ocean, and all of the beach-life. We unpacked everything, and settled in.
"So what do you think of the hotel?" Trish asked proudly.
"It's amazing!" I gushed.
"I know. I was gonna tell you that we booked an amazing penthouse resort, but I figured it would be better to let you be surprised." She explained. I just smiled, still speechless at the beauty.
"Well what are we waiting for? Lets get down to the beach!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah! But wait...I still don't have a swimsuit." I pointed out.
"Oh yeah, well then let's get to the store!" She rephrased.
We stopped at the store, and we each got four new bathing suits. We made our way down to the beach afterwards, and spread out our towels to lay on. For today, we just relaxed on the beach, because we got there too late to actually do anything. My old memories of the beach came back, and I remembered why I loved the beach so much. I was really beginning to look forward to the next few days.
What did you think? Yeah yeah, it's not that great if you ask me, but the twist is coming! I already mentioned it before, so there's no hiding it now. Don't forget to READ AND REVIEW!
