tired yet? ||cashby||

Chapter 21

"Why is there a car in the driveway?"

Ice cold blood rushed through my veins, and sweat sprouted from every pore on my body. My heart pounded in fear as I stood shakily, trying to conceal my nerves. Why are they home? WHY ARE THEY HOME? This wasn't right. They weren't supposed to be home until Saturday.

"H-hey," I said, plastering a terrified smile to my face. "W-wow, y'all are home early."

"Seriously, who's here? Mom," Michael turned to her, "you said he couldn't have anyone over." My mom shrugged.

"I trust Alan. I told him he could have a friend over if he wanted." I bit down on my lip. He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes at me as I shook.

"You know what? It looks like Austin's car," he said slowly, eyeing me.

"U-um, yeah, I wasn't having a friend over. Austin came by looking for you, Michael," I lied, feeling heat rush to my cheeks. Everything felt out of my grasp, and I tried desperately to keep calm. The only thing that could make this worse would be me cracking and confessing out of fear. Michael looked confused.

"What? Where is he?" he asked.

"He's using the bathroom," I said quickly, gulping. "I'll go get him." Without another word, I dashed away, up the stairs. My whole body felt light, dizzy. Arriving at the bathroom, I knocked on the door quietly, and Austin called, "Gimme a second, baby."

"Austin!" I hissed, rapidly tapping the door as quiet as I could. He groaned and opened up, looking at me with a less than amused expression.

"Sweetie-"

"My family is downstairs!" I whispered furiously, sweating and stepping from foot to foot in a nervous way. His smile dropped, and he looked at me confusedly. "They got home early and I told them you came by looking for Michael but I think they can tell that I'm lying and oh my god Austin they're gonna-"

"Hey," he interrupted, placing his hands on my shoulders. "It's okay," he whispered. My breathing had slipped into hyperventilation mode, though, and I began to think I was having a panic attack.

"A-Austin, I'm so scared, what if-"

"Shh," he murmured, running his hands up and down my arms soothingly. Pulling me into the bathroom, he shut the door and locked it. "Everything's gonna be okay, Alan," he whispered, trying to slow my heartbeat.

"Look at me," he ordered. Swallowing loudly, my nervous, quick, light brown eyes darted to his strong, deep, dark ones. They were calmingly placid, and his warm, big hands held me so steady, massaging my shoulders; I tried to breathe normally.

"Alan," he laid his forehead against mine, "it's gonna be fine, I promise you. All we need to do is lie. No one's gonna find out." His hands slid down and gripped my damp, sweaty ones. "I swear, I'll take care of everything. Don't you worry, baby, it'll be fine. Just calm down." His lips nudged against mine soothingly, and I exhaled, feeling my body go all calm and relieved.

"I won't let anyone take you away from me," he whispered into my mouth, wrapping his arms around me tighter and meeting my lips with love.

"O-okay," I whispered.

"Alan!" I heard my mother call from downstairs, and gulped, unlocking the door and dragging him out. Wiping the moisture from my lips, I took deep breaths and followed him downstairs. My family was pulling their luggage into the kitchen, Sophie and Michael looking elated at the fact that they were home early. My mom watched me suspiciously, and my dad looked passive, as usual.

"Austin," Michael smiled, walking over to him and doing that weird jock thing where they grab each others hand and pull one another into a rough hug. "What're you doing here, dude? I told you we'd be gone 5 days."