Floating in the Abyss ✔️

Chapter 29

Austin

"You're really here huh?" I said to her, still in shock. I didn't know what to feel. I was angry. At the police. At mum. But I was happy she was here, and sad, and every other emotion too. Overwhelmed with feelings, I took off. It was what we did around here. You needed to cool off; you walked away. That's what we'd been taught to do. Mum looked as if she was going to break down any second now, which made me feel bad, but that feeling disappeared when I noticed Ryan following me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ryan fumed, shutting the door behind us.

"Nothing Ryan. Get out."

"That's your sister out there! What are you doing?" He yelled, clearly furious. I didn't even have an answer to this question. I didn't know what I was doing at all.

"I need to think! Can't you just leave me alone?"

"There's nothing to think about! Don't you realise how selfish you're being right now!"

"I don't need your help right now Ryan!"

"Well you need someone's. Don't you realise that you have a scared and confused sister downstairs? Imagine how nervous she is right now. She doesn't know anyone here. She's never lived here before. For hecks sake she didn't even know we existed. She didn't remember anything and now she's expected to just jump right into a family, and this is how you treat her? You just walk off because you 'need time to think'. Austin, she didn't get any time to 'think' when the police came and saved her from being hurt. She didn't get to 'think' when she spent a month in the hospital, not even knowing where she was going next, or if she could. She will probably live the rest of her life in fear that she'll never be safe. Stop thinking about yourself!" Ryan yelled. I don't think I had ever heard him yell this much, at least not in anger. His words left me speechless. I wanted time to think, but his reasoning made me feel so stupid and selfish that I didn't know what to do.

"I just wish I had known. I wish I could have done something." I sighed, after a really long pause.

"Well you did just do something. You walked off."

"Not helping. I get it." I glared at him. At least there wasn't anymore yelling.

"We have to be careful. I don't know what Nicks problem is, but something isn't right, and she's scared of everything. I've barely spent any time with her, and she flinches at everything." Ryan sighed, slowly cooling off.

"What am I meant to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan scoffed.

"I walked off! She's probably so confused!"

"Just pretend it didn't happen for a while and then once she's comfortable, apologise."

"Are you sure? Isn't that only going to be more confusing?"

"If you think otherwise, go with your gut. That's just my idea."

"Dinner's ready!" Mum called from downstairs. Ryan and I both left my room, coming out at the same time as River and Ashlyn. I couldn't help but feel jealous that he had already spent time and spoken with her, but I hadn't. I really did feel selfish.

Ash looked over to us, catching my eye. I smiled at her, not looking away, but she was shy, I could tell. She gave a tiny smile back and waited for Ryan to get closer to her before walking downstairs.

Ashlyn

I caught Austin's eye as I came out of River's room and he smiled at me. I was confused but also felt slightly happy. He didn't seem angry this time, therefore, wasn't as frightening. I waited for Ryan to catch up before walking downstairs with everyone. The kitchen smelt amazing; unlike anything I had ever smelt before. I had never been so desperate to eat ever before.

I sat down in a big white seat next to Ryan and along with everyone else. I had never had a family dinner before, nor sat at a dining table. My old school didn't have a cafeteria and there wasn't a dining table at the house.

Laura brought out a big orange dish, filled to the brim with this yellow, brown and red food. I didn't know what it was, but it still looked amazing.

"What is it?" I whispered to Ryan, trying to be more confident and ask questions.

"What's what?" He questioned, confused.

"The food." I pointed. Everyone was talking around the table, so I didn't feel like I was being watched, even if I did notice Austin's occasional glance.

"Oh, it's lasagne. It's really good."

"What's it made of?"

"It has beef, tomato sauce, cheese and pasta." I had eaten all those things before, majority from the hospital, but never together.

"Go ahead." Smiled Laura, sitting down. Everyone immediately started reaching, passing and serving all over the table. I had no idea what to do so I just sat and patiently waited. Ryan was quick to realise I didn't know what to do.

"This one?" He asked, holding a plate of small pieces of bread.

"Just one please." I nodded. It was kind of yellow in the middle. Ryan continued to pass around different bowls and plates of food, making sure to serve me as well. It looked like the biggest meal I had ever eaten.

Intrigued I tried the Lasagne first. The second it reached my mouth it was like heaven, almost as good as chocolate.

"How is it?" Ryan asked, watching me.

"Really good." I said, my mouth full. He laughed before continuing to eat his own.

My plate was only half as full as the boy's plates around me, yet I felt as if I was going to explode.

"Just be careful honey," Laura told me. "All these boys are pigs and eat a lot. You're probably not used to eating this much and I don't want you to feel sick."

"I'm not a pig!" Jonah exclaimed, making everyone laugh, including myself. It felt good. 

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As requested, I did a POV of Austin! Please let me know what you want to see in future chapters and what you thought of this one!