Ally slid down the locked door into a heap on the ground. A tear slid down her cheek, and she wiped it away with a halfhearted brush and a sniffle.
It was all so messed up now.
Her mind was racing, crowded with thoughts and emotions. Was it her fault for being so tight with Austin? Asking for his company, but driving him…and Dez to complete and utter boredom?
A military school?
It felt like Austin had punched her.
Because maybe he was right.
Maybe she was that horrible.
And then, almost like a little Ally Dawson with red horns was sitting on the opposite shoulder of her first reasoning, she wondered if it was completely Austin’s fault. He did blatantly disrespect her rule. Maybe it was all his issue.
Should she go apologize to him? Be the one to give in first? Or was Ally even the one at fault, should she wait for Austin to apologize to her?
Ally was beginning to think they were both partly true, leaving her stuck.
Part of her wanted to scream.
The other part wanted to cry.
She needed someone who could see it in black and white and tell her what needed to be done, as blunt as they needed to be. Ally needed some direction.
Her heart lightened and she gasped, grabbing her phone and dialing a number she could punch in in her sleep.
“Trish?”
“So you’re telling me they actually went through with it?!” Trish’s voice coming through the phone.
“Yes.” Ally said quietly.
“I was just joking around with them when I was talking with them about it. And that was WAY out of line of Austin to say something like that. I mean, you have told him a million times not to eat in the store…and I…most the time respect that. But you need to go out there, be strong, and tell Austin that if he wants a Boot Camp you’ll give him a boot camp.”
Ally groaned. “Trish, I can’t be like that. He is still my friend…I think.”
“Ally do you want me to come over and hang with you? We can just hang out, and I won’t be tempted to go near Austin and rip him a new one.”
Ally smiled a little at what Trish said. “Don’t you have work?” Suddenly there was a knock on the door before Ally had finished the question.
The door opened and in walked Trish. “Naw, I went on break 45 minutes ago. I’m sure I’m fired. Anyway, you know they are down there messing with the instruments right? They didn’t see me run past them…”
“Messing around with the instruments?” Ally repeated, pulling back from hugging Trish.
“Yeah, I think it was the guitars or something. You didn’t know?”
“No…” Ally muttered. Her eyes flashed with anger. “Are they breaking stuff?” She pushed past Trish and headed for the door.
“No, I don’t think so. They were actually trying to be quiet. I mean, knowing them, of course it didn’t work, but they were trying—“
Ally stopped at the door. “Oh, Trish, I…we can’t just hide in here forever, can we? I can’t wait for Austin and Dez to make it right. It’s my fault too. They’ll probably never figure it out. And what if they do break something?”
“But you just said…” Trish stared at Ally.
“Oh, I don’t know…” Ally frowned and turned to her best friend. “Trish…you need to tell me what to do. I can’t just sit here…but I can’t figure it out myself either.” Ally looked longingly past the door. Only…what, ten minutes? She already missed the goofy mess of blonde hair and tan skin and dark eyes…and not a bad smile either.
