Austin gave a small smile, a tear falling down her face.
“Regardless of all the bad, I’ve definitely got the memories of meeting you, of our first kiss, hell our first date, even our first time. I remember getting engaged to you - twice - and I sure as hell remember marrying you. I remember the first time I saw Gracie on that screen and falling in love with her, and if my memory serves me right, the first time I held her I cried. Like a baby.” He laughed as Austin did, tears pouring from her eyes, her head bopping slightly with agreement. “I remember every piece of her life, and our life since. They made me the man I am today - Happy, loved, proud.”
“Are you trying to prove me wrong here?” Austin pouted at him.
“No,” he whispered and paused for a second. “I’m trying to show you that happily ever afters aren’t conventional. We have our own story to tell, and you forgot the most important thing about all fairytale endings.”
“What’s that?” Austin asked her, her voice remaining small as she searched his eyes for the right answers.
“Even the best fairytales have bad guys,” he gave her wink, annihilating her entire body of doubt in one swift action.
Slowly Austin’s face began to break into a smile as she finally let Tyler beat down her final ounce of negative emotion pulsating through her veins. She fell against him, her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I don’t know either,” Tyler mocked his wife and watched her try to issue a death glare before melting into a small giggle. “Come here, Mrs. Armstrong,” he said and put his arm around her and pulled her tight against his body. “When we’ve seen our sisters I think we should go home to Gracie. Lack of sleep isn’t going to help with this matter.”
“Oh sleep, now that sounds amazing,” Austin admitted and sighed contently against Tyler. She hadn’t looked at the time, but all she knew was Grace was sleeping under the supervision of Danny and that was enough for her.
“Your brother’s coming back,” Tyler suddenly shook her.
Even though she hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep, Austin was on her feet suddenly, taking Tyler by surprise. Trying to shake the sleepy feeling from her, she approached her brother as all of her family gathered waiting for news.
“How is she?” Nicolas asked, after clocking Tom advancing towards them first.
“She’s okay,” Tom calmed them all and smiled. “I’ve just left her in recovery and even though she’s groggy, she’s doing exceptionally well.” He gave a smile and watched his parents and Austin more than anyone else. “She’ll be out of here a couple of days, but her doctor wants to keep her monitored.” Finally able to tell his family their sister was okay, Tom felt the weight of being a doctor lift from his shoulders immediately. He loved his job, until his family were involved. “She’s only allowed one visitor at a time, and right now she really wants Aussie.”
“Me?” Austin gasped, her hand coming to point at herself. “What about mom or dad?”
“She knows that you know Natasha was behind this. She wants to see you then the rest of us can take over her hospital room later when she’s more awake,” Tom spoke coolly, able to keep his doctor appearance on. He sighed, knowing how everyone would be feeling. “Look, she’s okay. As long as she remains this way for the next twenty-four hours then we’re looking at a smooth recovery. She woke up and insulted me almost immediately, doesn’t that tell you something?”
Dean stepped to his sister, putting his arm around her, he pulled her in towards his body. “Look, you either go there freely or Tom will drag you. Choice is yours, sis, but you need Sienna to tell you what’s what and to just get you out of this funk.”
“I’m not in a funk,” Austin said, her voice more of a mumble than anything.
“Course not,” Dean and Tyler snorted at once.
Rolling her eyes, she shook her brother off and stepped forward. “Fine,” she muttered, giving in to the brotherly attack. Following Tom, she went through another part of the hospital and just carried on walking as he did.
“You know, Aus, if you carry on like this you will start receiving slaps,” Tom tried to jokingly quip with her, but it seemed to fail him.
“Like what?” Austin asked, trying to get away with issuing a smirk. “Look, my husband’s already put me in my place several times, and I know that after I see Sienna I’ll be fine. All of this seems to be taking a lot out of me.”
“I get that,” Tom remarked, his tone now caring yet still meddling with a concerned undertone. “I know we both are living married life, you with Gracie and everything, but I still want to be the guy that got you to come back here and reclaim your life. You know you can always come to me.”
“I know,” Austin smiled up at him. “We need to make a pact and get back that part of our life.” She watched him smile and she knew that if anything, Natasha’s reappearance had solidified her trust and belief in the power her family had to look after and protect one another.
“Come on, she’s in here,” he said and lead her into a new room, the entire area was glass walls and patients, each with their own health issues, each reliant on the hospital to help them, but right now, she wanted to know her sister was okay. No one else mattered in that moment.
Walking in, Austin was shocked at how lifeless her sister looked. Lying in the bed with heavy eyes and wires and tubes streaming from her, Austin felt her own heart rate accelerate. The rhythmic beat of the heart monitor thrust her back into the past, remembering that heavy lull the drugs created, she remembered how she felt with people when they first came in, how easy it was to just close her eyes and forget for a moment. The blast of memories forgotten did nothing to calm her. She just hated to know that her big sister was now in the same predicament she had been in years before. Yet the moment her eyes met Sienna’s, she was intrinsically drawn straight to her bedside.
“Oh Senna,” Austin whispered, using her old nickname she had used as a child. It was a comforting bid to tell her heart not to break anymore.
“I’m okay,” Sienna immediately said the moment she saw Austin’s solemnly drawn expression. “Aus, I would rather she did this to me than you.”
“I don’t,” Austin said taking her sister’s hand in hers. “Look at you, Sienna.”
“I’m alive,” Sienna replied tiresomely, her hand giving Austin an extremely weak grip. “I was scared I wasn’t going to make it, but waking up to see Tom’s ugly mug was one of the best sights ever.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Tom defended, playing hurt. He noticed how Austin’s laugh was quite half-hearted, and he stepped towards her. “She’s going to be fine. She’ll be kicking your butt when she can if you don’t quit with the blame game, Aussie.”
“That sounds like a painful action,” Sienna winced at the idea, and tried not to think about moving her leg too much. “I think I’ll leave off the assaults until I’m either not high or not going to cause myself more pain. Then you better watch your back.”
“I’ll use my time wisely until then,” Austin joked, trying to make them think the dark cloud clasped around her was gone when it was only tightening.
“I can still use my hand to slap some sense into you,” Sienna teased her baby sister, praying she would just cheer up. “Aussie, please see this isn’t our fault. It’s Natasha’s again. She has a grudge and that’s on her. You are allowed to live your life, and Tyler is his own person. He chose the right girl.”
“I’m sorry,” Austin mumbled, still in a miserable tone. “I guess I’m feeling a little under pressure right now, and having Alice arrive on my doorstep like she did panicked me.”
“What else happened?” Sienna asked, even though she could feel the drugs swirling in her bloodstream, and her eyes becoming harder to keep open, she was determined to see a smile on her sister’s lips before she caved and slept some.
Austin looked to her brother in worry.
“It’s okay, she can handle it,” Tom coerced
her, knowing that soon the drugs in Sienna’s veins would knock her out again, but until then she was up to chatting and knowing what was happening in life.
Feeling her brow furrow as she remembered the events, she cleared her throat and spoke. “Natasha attacked the house while we were waiting for Tyler to get back from you. Terrified Gracie and then left after saying that she was coming for me, or Grace. I don’t know. I wasn’t really listening.”
“Yeah, I can see her getting you and you going easily,” Sienna joked, her voice getting heavier. “Don’t you lose your fight, Austin, or I won’t ever talk to you again.”
Austin did laugh at that, and she knew that Sienna spoke the truth. “I’ll try and remember that if the time arrives. How about you sleep and I’ll let mom and dad get a glimpse of you so they know you’re fine?”
“Sounds good,” Sienna breathed out, agreeing with seeing her parents right now.
Leaning down and giving her sister a kiss on the cheek, Austin began to leave the room, hearing Tom say he would be back soon with their parents. Austin hated leaving Sienna, and selfishly wanted to remain by her side, but she knew the rest of their family needed this moment of solace.
“Tom,” Sienna called out, her voice slowly silencing on her. “I need a favor.”
Tom looked at Austin hesitantly.
“It’s fine, Tom, I’ll tell the others how she is,” Austin pushed him, then looked to Sienna, smiled and mouthed how much she loved her.
***
“I’ll call you when I need to be picked up,” Austin spoke down the phone. “Love you, handsome. Enjoy daddy daughter time.” She giggled as she listened to her husband and daughter literally sing goodbye to her and she put her phone down.
“Gracie’s got Ty singing I see,” Tom joked as he watched his sister linger on the spot, a blissful look on her face. He watched her look up to him and he was glad to see the exhausted, broken look lost from her gaze. “You got a good night’s sleep I see.”
“I did indeed,” she quickly told him. “Tyler’s taking today off to look after Gracie and try and work past what happened.”
“Well she will definitely get passed it with that husband of yours singing,” Tom teased, laughing a little at the thought of Tyler playing pop stars with his three year old daughter. “While they’re doing that, let’s go see that sister of ours. She’s got a visitor by the way.”
“Oh?” Austin mused for a moment. “She does?”
“You know them,” Tom told her cryptically, and literally pushed her into the room.
Austin stood shell shocked at the sight before her. “Michael?” Austin asked confused as she stepped into the room. Her heart was thudding in a totally different manner than it had the last time she had stepped foot into this room. “What are you doing here?”
Michael took a moment to look at Sienna, who nodded and gave a smile, allowing him to look at Austin again to speak. “We’ve got something to tell you.”
Not wasting a minute, Sienna seized the moment. “Michael and I have been dating, long distance of course, for nearly two years now,” Sienna admitted, and immediately she felt a blush of shame graze upon her pale complexion. “After last night I needed him to be here,” she continued to admit and her eyes watered on her.
Austin watched Michael’s face whiten, his eyes widening as they focused on her. There was only one Pearson he was after seeking approval from and that was her. He sat forward, waiting for her to move, speak, hell even show signs of breathing would be a good move.
“Erm,” Austin started to answer, at a loss for words. “I need to go.”
Leaving with her heart in her throat, Austin needed her husband. She wasn’t heart broken in the sense that Michael and Sienna had found one another, she was heartbroken that they felt the need to keep this a secret and not trust in her to accept this.
She thought Natasha was her biggest problem, but knowing her sister had kept a secret for so long was bigger torture. Her family of no secrets, no lies, and all trust was quickly shattering.
Chapter Twenty-One
AUSTIN wanted so much to go back to her sister, but a part of her was being childish, reminding her over and over again that her best friend and big sister had been lying to them for God knew how long.
Grabbing her phone, she rang the one person that would not only help her, but would quite literally save her from herself. Ringing Tyler felt like the right thing to do and she needed him for the moment.
“Hey you,” Tyler answered the phone breathlessly. “We just hung up a few minutes ago, what’s up?”
“Nothing,” she lied and giggled at the sound of her husband’s struggling breathing. “What’s she done to you?”
“Had me doing laps,” he joked back at her. “Now,” he said, catching some composure and rhythmic breathing. “What’s going on?”
Taking a moment, Austin caved, “Did you know Michael and Sienna have been dating?”
“No,” Tyler responded, his voice full of shock. “Well they kept that quiet. I didn’t know Sienna was able to keep a secret.”
“Or Michael,” Austin replied bluntly. “I just walked into the room to find him beside her bed, holding her hand. They were so casual about it, and I just couldn’t stay there, Ty. How horrible am I?”
“Aus, you’re not horrible,” Tyler argued back at her, dually noting her actions. “It’s a shock, hell I’m shocked and I’m not there. You’re allowed to be hurt by this.”
“I just don’t understand how they thought this was the best thing,” Austin pondered down the phone at her husband, a hand coming up to rub her brow and loosen the frown from it. “I’m now looking like the bitch, and I don’t know how to face them. I feel angry that Sienna and Michael kept this from us, after everything.” She paused for a moment before weakly asking her husband for help. “What do I do?”
“Honestly?” Tyler asked her, making sure she wanted his opinion.
“Honestly,” Austin practically begged.
“I think you need to hear them out, Austin, and I know right now you’re about to give me some hard-headed retort about why your stubborn ass can’t just forgive. I know it’s hard to comprehend, and maybe yeah okay you need to sleep on it to get your head around it, but it’s happened, and to be quite honest, Sienna and Michael are each other’s match.”
Austin sighed heavily and closed her eyes, “You’re right, I do need to get my head around it. It’s happened, and I can’t change that.” She stood trying to wrap her mind around the new situation, but she couldn’t imagine Sienna and Michael together, her brain couldn’t compute the new shift in everyone’s relationships. “I just don’t know how to face them, especially Michael.”
“Face him when you can, and hash it out with him,” Tyler advised her, giving her gentle understanding while, also, giving her the best advice he could contemplate. He was giving her guidance that she could work with. “You have a right to be angry,” Tyler told her honestly. “I’m angry too. The amount of times we’ve teased them both, the amount of time we spend together, and they both felt we wouldn’t understand or accept it, but you just need to remember one important thing.”
“What’s that?” Austin asked, her voice tender as she allowed Tyler to counsel her through this minor crisis she felt swamped in.
“They will have their reasons for this,” Tyler announced, acting like the wise one. “Whether they are good or not is irrelevant, but they will have their reasons and we need to respect that.”
“You’re right,” Austin agreed, finally seeing some sense as her state of shock began to fizzle away. She looked up and realized she had to face this now. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you soon, Handsome,” Austin told Tyler as she watched Michael nervously approaching her. “I really don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Hear me out,” Michael stepped in, fighting for his side in this. “Hear Sienna out, please.”
“What is there to hear?” Austin asked with an incredulous tone. “I can’t b
elieve I trusted you with every little thing, but all this time you’ve been holding out on me.”
“It’s not like that,” Michael fought back, unmoved from making her hear him out.
“How could you not tell me, Michael?” Austin asked, not withholding how hurt she was from her voice. “I should have known,” she started to laugh at the sudden rush of irony that bolted through her system. “Every time I asked you about your love life, teased you about getting older, you always brushed me off. When in actual fact you were lying!”
“We have history,” Michael started to say; he was becoming sheepish all of a sudden.
“Yes, exactly, history,” Austin stated to him bluntly. “You and I are best friends. We had an almost chance. We didn’t go there, Michael. We hashed this out years ago! It shouldn’t matter.” She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “You and I, Michael, are nothing. I’m not tied to you and you aren’t tied to me either. Not in the way that prevents you from telling me you’re in love with my sister!”
“Austin, we were on the cusp of something amazing,” Michael stated, stepping forward with his plea.
“Until you ruined it,” Austin muttered at him, willing to spark a reaction. “Then there was nothing. I loved you, yes, I will admit it, but you knew I was always set to be with Tyler. The you and I we created died that day you decided to change the game with those girls, and we re-established ourselves as best friends, confidantes even. We have been that for nearly four years now. You’re my husband’s best friend too, one of my daughter’s favorite people. We share everything, Michael, and I am hurt that you couldn’t tell me this one thing.”
Watch What Burns Page 17