Chapter 18: How I Went To My Wedding.

Ally was pushed into the dull room. She stumbled a bit, struggling to keep her balance as her hands were tied behind her back. Her face was tear stained, and her eyes were red raw. Her throat had been scratched from all of her screaming, and it throbbed under her skin.

She turned around, and stared at Henry's beaming face. The man who had grabbed her back at the mansion was glaring at her, and there was still another man, masked. Henry walked over, and brushed his hand against her cheek.

"In a few minutes my people will come in and get you ready," He patted her face, then turned on his heel and left. The unmasked man followed him, leaving her alone with the last masked man. The door shut behind him, and the man moved quickly and pulled his mask off.

"Dallas," She croaked, and more tears formed in her eyes. "W-What-"

"I'm here to help you," He explained.

"I don't understand what's going on," She whimpered, and Dallas pulled a knife from his pocket, and cut the rope from her wrists. "A-Austin..."

"He's on his way to the hospital."

"He's alive," She cried, and he nodded his head. "Dallas, what's going on?"

"You're getting married to Henry's son," Dallas guided her over to the couch, and she latched onto his arm, wanting him to explain more. "Henry doesn't know that I'm Austin's friend. Austin told Dez and I what was going on with your stalker, and we found out that Henry is apart of the mafia."

"What?" She choked on her sob, and he carried on.

"Your dad...he was in serious debt, right?" She nodded her head. "It wasn't just loan sharks he borrowed money from...he borrowed money from Henry, and he didn't give it back...Ally, your dad...he said that because he couldn't return the money that he'd let Henry's son marry you."

"O-Oh my god," She stammered, and the tears fell from her face.

"But, he was never going to give you to his son, he had a plan...but, it didn't work out, and that's how he died. Your dad was going to disappear with you and your mom, and on the night he died, he had come to pick you up, then you were heading to pick up your mom, but the car hit you...it wasn't accident, it was Henry's men, because he found out what he was going to do."

Ally's head fell into her hands, and she sobbed into her palms. Dallas reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Dez is at the church right now. You just need to go along with it for now, but I promise you we will get you out of here," He said, and she nodded her head, biting down on her bottom lip. "Then, we'll take you to see Austin."

"I-Is he going to b-be okay?" Dallas didn't reply to her question, and it made Ally cry more. "I don't want to do this!"

"Ally, listen to me," He placed a hand on her arm. "We will get you out of this, you just need to play the part for a bit, please."

"Who am I meant to be marrying?" She asked, and he stared at her blankly.

The door opened, and three women walked in. Ally got to her feet, and fisted the front of her dress, and Dallas nodded his head at her, then left. The women began to push her around, trying to get her ready, one of them left, and soon returned with a white dress.

Ally felt bile rise at the back of her throat, but she pushed the sensation away. She was pushed into a chair, and they began to take her hair down and straighten it. Ally stared at her pained expression in the mirror. She looked a mess, and no amount of makeup was going to cover her sadness.

Within ten minutes, they were done, and she was being ushered into a wedding dress. It was disgusting, nothing like she'd imagined her wedding dress to look like. When she was a child, she always wanted a short wedding dress that came to her knees. She never wanted a long puffy one. She felt drowned in the fabric.

One of the women grabbed her arm, and she was pulled out of the room. Ally had to fight the urge to run away from them. Dallas said that Dez was going to be at the wedding. It was all going to be okay, she just needed to see Austin. Tears threatened to break from her eyes again, but she shook her head to get the thought of Austin out of her head.

Ally realized that Henry had brought her in through the back entrance of the church, because she could immediately hear voices, and she could see the alter through the double doors. She wanted to stop, and she wanted to disappear, but she knew she didn't have a choice. Of course she didn't.

She could see a man standing at the alter. His back was facing her, and as the double doors opened. She saw everyone sat down. They turned to look at her, and she felt her heart drop to her stomach. The women left her side, and she was left to walk down the aisle on her own.

Her eyes landed on someone siting down. Mom. Her face was pale, and there was a scar on her forehead. Heavy bags rested under her eyes, and her hair was a bundled mess. Ally wanted to cry again, but she just exhaled heavily.

She got closer and closer to the man, and she could feel Henry grinning at her. He slowly began to turn around, and Ally's feet slammed to a halt. She couldn't move.

"Elliot," She gasped, and a smile grew on his face. Ally looked over her shoulder, and at the crowd of people. At the very back she could see a discreet Dez with a black hood covering his hair, and half of his face.

She looked back at Elliot, and he extended his hand for her to take. She placed her trembling hand in his, and she stepped up the step, and turned to face him. He grabbed her other hand, and Ally felt paralyzed. She didn't know what to do.

The vicar stood next to them, and began to read passages from his book. She stared blankly at Elliot's chest, not wanting to look at Elliot's face. She felt sick again, terribly sick. She could feel everyone's eyes burning into her face, and her bottom lip began to tremble. She wanted Austin.

She was happy her mom was actually alive, but after thinking that her mom had abandoned her, Austin had become the person she depended on. The person she wanted to run to when she was scared. The person she wanted to hold her whilst she was sad. Now, he's lying in hospital, and she doesn't know whether he's dead or alive.

Elliot's grip tightened on her hands, and she winced slightly. She still wouldn't look at him, because she knew she'd burst into tears. Everyone in this room already viewed her as weak, and she didn't want to prove them right.

BANG!

Ally jumped, and the room erupted into screams. Ally turned, and saw Henry's body on the floor. People ran over to him, and she watched Dallas stand up from his seat, and grab her mom by the arm.

Elliot let go of her hands, and ran over to his dad. Dez ran towards her, and grabbed her hand. He pulled her through the gathering crowd, and out of the double doors. They ran through another, and they came outside. Dallas appeared behind them with her mom by his side.

"FIND HER!" A voice boomed from inside, and Dez pulled her towards a car, and pushed her inside. They all got in, and Dez sped off away from the church, and Ally looked out of the back window, and saw a group of men run out of the church, but the car disappeared around the corner before they could be spotted.

Ally's eyes landed on her mom, and she leaned over the backseat to hug her. She kissed the side of her head, then Ally pulled away.

"I'm sorry sweetie," She said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"I-I thought you were dead," She whimpered. "They told me you were dead."

"I'm here now," She grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Ally flashed her a weak smile, then sat properly in her seat.

Dez's cellphone began to ring, and he pulled it out of his pocket, and held it to his ear. Ally watched his face fall, and his eyes hovered over to hers. He slammed his foot on the brakes, and turned the car around, then sped off again. He hung up, and pushed his cellphone into his pocket.

"What's going on?" Ally's voice trembled.

"After Austin got out of surgery...he took off."

"What do you mean, he took off?"

"He's gone looking for you," Dez explained. "I know where he is, but he needs to get back to the hospital."

The drove for around twenty minutes, until Ally saw someone stumbling along the roadside. "Stop!" Dez slammed his foot on the brakes once more, and Ally flew out of the door. "Austin!" She yelled, and he turned to look at her. "Austin..." She ran towards him, and she caught him as he began to fall to the ground. "We need to get you back to the hospital."

"You're a-alive," His voice was strained and he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"I should be saying that to you," Ally laughed through her tears, and she placed her hand on the side of his face. "You're warm...Dez!" She called out, and Dez and Dallas appeared and helped Austin to his feet.

They brought him to the car, and Ally climbed into the back with him. She grabbed his hand as he began to drift in and out of consciousness, and she glanced at her mom who was smiling at her.

Ally squeezed Austin's hand, and brought the back of his hand to her mouth, and placed a gentle kiss there.

...

The monitor beeped as Austin slept, and Ally was holding onto his hand, staring at his face. Dallas, Dez, and her mom were asleep in the chairs, but Ally couldn't sleep. She didn't want to go to sleep. She was still in her wedding dress, and she knew Austin was going to want to know what had happened.

Elliot. He must have known all along. He had to have known. Ally wanted answers from him, but not yet. She wanted to be with Austin for awhile. What a crappy way to spend your birthday, shot, and in the hospital.

Someone's cellphone began to ring, and Ally looked around. Her eyes landed on Austin's suit jacket, and she walked over and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. She saw it was his mom, so she answered.

"Hi Mimi," She whispered, not wanting to disturb everyone.

"Oh my god, have you found him!" She exclaimed.

"Yes. He's sleeping now," Ally said, and Mimi sighed in relief.

"Thank god...are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine thank you," Ally tucked her hair behind her ears.

"You sound tired," She said, and Ally smiled.

"I am," She replied.

"I'll be at the hospital in the morning. I've got to sort some things out with the police," She explained.

"Okay, I'll tell him when he wakes up."

"Thank you, bye," Mimi hung up and Ally put his cellphone back in his pocket, but her knuckles brushed against a box. She pulled it out, and opened it. Her breath hitched in the back of her throat, and she stared in awe at the huge diamond ring.

"Oh," She gasped, and she realized her chest was rising rapidly. She looked over her shoulder at Austin, who was still fast asleep. A small smile appeared on her face, and she closed the box, then slipped it back into his pocket.

She returned to his bedside, and grabbed his hand. He began to shift, then his eyes slowly opened, then landed on her.

"Hi," She whispered, and he smiled, squeezing her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot," His voice was rough, and Ally smiled at him. "Why are you in a wedding dress?"

"I'll explain later. I just need you to rest, and get better," She kissed his hand, and Austin moved over on the bed.

"C'mon," He nodded to the empty side of the hospital bed, and Ally climbed onto it. She rested her head on his shoulder, and placed her hand on his stomach.

"Will you go back to sleep now?" She asked, and he kissed her head.

"As long as you stay right there."

"I promise."

AN: Hi! Thanks for waiting patiently for this chapter. I hope it has cleaned up any confusion, and don't worry, there's still a lot more drama to come, but I think I might ease off the crazy drama for a few chapters, and have more Austin and Ally time :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you review this one.

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