Yeah, I know. I update this story too often.
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or any characters I didn't make up.
Ally sighed for the millionth time since she went to bed. Sleep refused to come no matter how hard she tried. She was worried about Austin and his family. She knows she shouldn't get into the middle of this mess, but she couldn't help but feel responsible for how he acts.
As Cassidy once told her, she was the only person he was willing to talk to about his problems. If he didn't have her to be there for him, who would he have?
But being there for him also meant sparking problems between them. She would get mad at him for not listening to his parents and he would get mad at her for taking their side. This irritating cycle could only end if he listens to his father's explanation.
Except, knowing Austin, he won't give up his anger against his father for an explanation. He thinks he knows all. He thinks that what he thinks of his father is the right thing.
Another reason for why she keeps getting into his family problems is that she doesn't want him to regret not letting his dad in one day. She doesn't want to see him drowning in regret and guilt one day for not listening.
She got up and put a pair of trainers on. She skipped over the bodies sleeping on the floor for lack of beds in this house. She quietly went downstairs and saw him sleeping on the couch alone. He hasn't changed his clothes from the wedding and wasn't even covered in a blanket.
She couldn't help but take a throw blanket and put it on his sleeping figure. She noticed his ankle was propped up on the armrest. She felt relieved that he was resting it now. He could hurt it a lot more by not taking care of it.
She silently went to the garden that now without all the chairs and tables seemed so much bigger. She walked to the place she hasn't been to in years.
"Melody," she whispered as she approached the stable. She sighing happily to see her old horse awake. "I missed you so much," she ran her hand on her short fur and she was met with a soft neigh.
She grabbed her rope and led her to the garden. Ally felt happy and carefree for a moment when she finally sat down on the saddle. She was reminded of her younger years learning to ride her.
"Come on, let's go for a ride," she softly said and motioned Melody to walk slowly. "Sorry, I'm a bit rusty," Ally giggled when she accidentally made her stop sharply and make a loud noise that hopefully didn't wake anyone up.
"Do you always talk to your horse?" a voice startled her. Ally pulled the rope to make Melody turn to the direction of the voice to see Austin standing there.
"Yeah. Sometimes I feel like she's the only one that listens," she replied a little too accusingly. He sighed, "You're still mad?"
"Not mad," she repeated, "disappointed." She restarted her ride on a quicker pace and ignored his presence. "I'm sorry, okay?" he stated desperately.
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your family," she brushed him off.
"Fine," he said watching her and her horse going around him, "I'll apologize to Mom and Cass in the morning."
"What about your dad? Isn't he part of your family too?" she asked. He was getting frustrated, she knew that, but it was all for his sake.
"No. He should've known that when he walked out on us, he was no longer considered family," he scoffed. "Do you even know why he walked out on you?" she stopped in front of him.
He stepped to the side to avoid horse breath and said, "No. But nothing makes it okay."
"Ever thought that your father's explanation might actually make it okay?" she pressed not being able to contain her anger. "No. Because it's gonna be 'I wasn't good enough for you' and that's bullshit. If he wasn't good enough, why didn't he stay and try to get better? Why did he leave us to drown?" he snapped.
She sighed and got off her horse to stand in front of him, "I know his reason. And I can assure you it's not that." He rolled his eyes, "Cass has already told me that his explanation will make everything okay."
"And I'm telling you this again now. Why won't you believe us?" she argued, but she felt her anger dissolve when she saw him let out a breath and sadness take over his features.
"I guess…" he started, "I'm just not ready." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"I spent 10 years making him into the monster I see him now. I didn't expect to see him this nice and loving. It's just hard to let go of what I thought was true for so long, especially when he could suddenly turn into that monster," he looked down.
"You need to have more faith in him," she said gently. He looked at the house and swallowed, "I had faith in him that he would come back every day for a year and he didn't. I don't want that disappointment to come back. That's why I have to protect my mom and sister. Although I obviously failed."
"When will you be ready to hear him out?" she asked. He turned his head to look at her, "Someday."
"You told Cassidy that same thing a while ago. When is that someday gonna happen?" she ran her hand through her hair. He looked down at his shoes, "Someday."
They were interrupted by a neigh coming from beside them. Ally smiled and ran her hand through her horse's hair. "So this is Melody, huh?" he asked suddenly smiling as he went to her other side to stroke her fur.
Ally nodded proudly, "Yep, she's my childhood." He looked at her over Melody's chocolate brown fur astounded, "You've had her since you were a kid?"
Her smile suddenly turned sad, "Yeah. Sh-she's getting a bit old, but…"
His eyes softened at her tone, "It's okay, Alls. Just spend her last days with her making the best memories."
His attempt at making her feel better was not as successful as he thought, but she let it pass since he had no idea how to comfort a sad girl about her horse's inevitable destiny. His effort was appreciated though. She smiled at him and nodded before leading Melody back to the stables. They walked to the trees and sat under one watching the sunrise.
"Who caught the bouquet?" she asked out of nowhere. "Trish," he replied, "How fitting since she's the next one to get married." She giggled and leaned on the trunk.
"You know, I was kinda disappointed when I didn't see you there," he confessed. She said, "Kira called me, but I refused to come."
"Because you were still upset with me?" he guessed ashamedly.
"No, because I didn't want to be the one catching it," she corrected. He looked at her confusedly, "Why not?"
She picked at the grass next to her, "If I was the one to catch it, it would mean I'd be the next one to get married. It just didn't seem appropriate, even if it's just a myth."
She knew that he was hurt by her saying that, but she had to be honest with him.
"How would that be inappropriate?" he questioned. She sighed, "They've all been together for at least 2 years. We've only been together for 2 and half months. If anyone should be getting to the next stage, it should be them, not us."
"Wow, I never thought marrying me would have to do with others' relationships," he let out a humorless laugh and looked away from her. "It's not like that," he heard her say, "It's just that we're still at the very beginning, let's not jump ahead."
"So you have no problem marrying me in the future," he smiled hopefully as he watched her blush.
"I'm not gonna deny that I have thought about it, but we need to see where this takes us. The world doesn't even know about us yet. Let's take this step by step," Ally stated.
He leaned back on his hands, "I've always imagined our wedding being here." She smiled widely at the thought of him thinking of a future with her, "I could ride Melody down the aisle."
"She's not gonna poop on the carpet though, right?" he chuckled. "No promises," she replied with a smile.
They sat in silence after the sun was completely shining on them. "How's your ankle?" she quietly asked. "It was sore after the wedding, but Trish massaged it for me and it immediately felt better. But you know Trish. She scolded me for walking too much on it," he snickered.
"Good. She did it instead of me," she smiled.
Austin noticed her yawn, "Sleepy?" She nodded, "I haven't had much sleep in the past 2 days." It's true. She was in New York and flew in for the wedding with almost zero sleep only to spend the night twisting and turning in her bed then come out for a ride on her horse.
He lied down on the grass and pulled her to lie next to him with her head on his chest.
"Sleep now," he kissed her head. "I love you," she muttered before closing her eyes. "I love you too," he replied. Ally laughed when she heard a neigh from behind them in the stable, "I think Melody just mocked us." He smiled, "I think I know where she gets that sassiness from." In response, she swatted his chest before he grabbed it in his free hand and laid them both on his chest intertwined.
Here's a small chapter of cute Auslly. It's been a while since I've had a calm chapter like this. Next chapter is gonna be the album release party.
You can follow me on Wattpad if you want! That's where any of my future stories will be posted. Same username there, secret2me2.
I think I'm gonna be replying to some reviews from now on, starting now because your reviews were awesome last chapter:
Guest: This chapter was amazing! The part with the cake and the dance was so cute! Can't wait to read more! Just out of curiosity, about how many chapters do you plan for there to be?
I don't know exactly how much, maybe around 15-20 more chapters, maybe less. We're still only halfway done with this story. I have an image of where I want it to go and I know how everything will play out and I hope you like it.
Guest: this update was amazing! in fact this story in general is so original and interesting! I love it! I also love how you keep it fluent and captivating and dont make it drag on! You're an excellent writer with good eye for creativity and I love this about your work. Personally i love the lengths of your chapters and also very, very much appreciate the fact that you update so frequently and and consistently. I literally wait for your updates! I love it! Keep going! Xx
You have no idea how happy you just made me! I literally can't stop smiling! Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story! I really hope you continue to like it as it continues as well as any of my future work!
Guest: This is really good and I can't wait to see what comes next!
Thanks! I can't wait for you to see what happens next! This story is far from over;)
Sicklscaler: I am glad the wedding is over. I really want Mike to tell Austin why! Making up is so much fun. Let's hope it goes well for them.
Me too… me too... But who says Austin is willing to listen? He's too stubborn. He even bugs me sometimes.
Guest: I LOVED IT. UPDATE SOON
Thanks! I always start working on another chapter the day after I update the story because it takes a few days to write, but I hope you'll love it even more after you see what happens next!
Girlwriter23: Love the story... I really wanted to see Austin being right on this. I mean he should listen to his dad but I think he should at listen be somewhat right about it. I really love this chapter. I wish Ally will just stay out of the family problem and Cassidy try to listen to Austin perspective. Love he story though.
Thank you so much for reading! Your review is actually the reason I wrote Ally's thoughts at the beginning of this chapter! I hope it explains it all to you!