Austin Mahone's California Love Story

Chapter 16: The Challenge

Austin

I can't believe Camila was right. Derek wasn't going to go to jail for running over Jorge. She has to be scared out of her mind knowing that he'll never do time for anything that he does. He could murder someone and still find a way to not be committed for it. Derek was close to killing Jorge, how much farther will he take it? I sit in the police station alone for about ten minutes until dad and Sarah both come jogging through the door followed by Brenda.

"Austin," dad shouted once his eyes found me, "are you okay, son?"

"Yeah, dad I'm fine."

"What in the world were you thinking?" Sarah immediately comes out with the lectures, "You are lucky that girl's mother wasn't going to press charges for kidnapping."

I ignore her nagging, "Dad, can we just go home now?"

After being released from the police station the cops hand over my car keys to dad but Sarah demanded that Brenda drive it home while she continues her rant on how I'm so irresponsible and how I could've ended up in jail. I blocked her out of my mind the whole ride home. My thoughts were only on Camila and what's going to happen now after we've come back. Is she still going to Mexico for who knows how long? Are we going to see each other again? So many questions puzzled me until we finally made it home and Sarah had quieted down about the whole thing.

We enter the house and the steer silence that was there before was gone just as Sarah's high heels hit the tile floor. I make my way towards the stairs but I'm stopped by dad's hand pulling me to the living room and sitting me down on the couch.

"This isn't like you, Austin." Dad started the question as he paced back and forth, "What was going through your head?"

Sarah scoffs, "I want to hear this." She crosses her arms over her chest and leans against the couch.

I don't speak because even if I explained everything to them they would believe that it was all stupid and that I should grow up.

Sarah clears her throat, "Well we're waiting?"

I sigh, "Camila's family was going to make her go back to Mexico and I didn't know when or if I would ever see her again."

"Then let them. You don't go and kidnap her to take her to who knows where you two where planning on going to do who knows what." Sarah voice rose to the point where I could see veins coming out of her neck.

"Sarah, please," Dad tries to calm her.

"Honey, you are too easy on the boy. He needs discipline or else he won't stop doing these things that are going to eventually land him in jail or worse."

Suddenly a burst of frustration rushes through me. I jump up off the couch, "What do you know? You are not my mother and you never will be." I turn to face dad, "You want to know why I ran away with Camila, dad...because I didn't want to lose her and I didn't want her to fall in love with someone else. I wasn't going to let her go like you let mom go to find someone else to share the rest of her life with." I decide to end it there and go upstairs to my room to be alone.

I sit at my incliner office chair and play around with my skateboard until I hear my door open. I slide the chair side-to-side but I don't bother to turn to face the door. I figure its Brenda trying to get me to go back down stairs and talk to dad but I don't feel like fighting right now.

"Austin," I'm shocked to hear its dad coming to talk to me instead of forgetting about it. I hear him take a seat on the bed, "You know you were young when your mother left so you wouldn't understand what happened between us."  I scoff keeping my silence hoping that he would drop the subject. "Do you really think I didn't try to keep your mother from leaving?"