Watch What Burns

by Kirsty-Anne Still

  “It was Sienna’s idea too,” Michael stated, knowing it wasn’t a good excuse, but he needed Austin to know how double-sided this situation was. Their decision was entirely mutual. “We both decided on this.” He looked to Austin who stood waiting on the reason. She wasn’t, for once, butting in or running her mouth so he acted first and spoke up. “It started as a long distance thing. Why should we tell everyone when we didn’t know if it was long lasting or not. We needed to tread carefully, but then we just got lost in the semblance of the relationship we had created.”

  “But I thought we told each other everything,” Austin commented, her voice becoming quieter with the sensitivity she was beginning to feel about this all.

  “I know, and we do, but this was different,” Michael started to say, trying to master the adequate words that would make this better.

  “If Sienna hadn’t been shot, would you have ever told us?” Austin asked, knowing the response before she had even verbally asked the question.

  “Eventually,” Michael stated bluntly. “The moment Tom called me, I felt like my heart was thrown into my stomach. I’ve never felt that sick in my life.” Michael looked up to Austin, his eyes watering, “Someone had shot the woman I loved and I wasn’t there. The moment I got here and saw her, I knew I couldn’t hide away anymore. I want my life with her and I want it here. I want an easier life.”

  “What about New York?” Austin questioned his motives, unable to see him giving up a lifestyle he once thrived on before her eyes.

  “What about it?” Michael asked her, snorting a little. “I feel like that job runs my life. I don’t want a career and no life. I want Sienna and then my life is complete.”

  Austin felt her heart stutter its beating for a second. “You really love her don’t you?”

  “I really do,” he agreed, smiling meekly at her, his body language becoming impish and shy as he laid his heart on the line.

  “Then why couldn’t you just tell me?” Austin pressed the matter. “I wouldn’t have been this annoyed. God, I think it’s amazing, Mike. I love the fact that you have found yourself someone to love. I just wish I hadn’t found out this way, when everything is the way it is. It feels like you were forced to tell us, and that’s not how I wanted to find out you had finally found someone you want a life like Tyler and I have.”

  “I know,” he solemnly replied, but he looked to her with intent. “Can I just say one last thing?” Michael asked, he was needy and ready to tell her all.

  “Sure,” Austin remarked back, giving him grounds to speak.

  “After loving your sister, I know now how toxic you and I were for one another. We hid what we really wanted and we used one another when all we needed was someone we could trust. I won’t regret that though, Aus. I can’t. You saved me and made me a better man. Even if I did royally fuck up, you rejecting me was the best thing you did.”

  “I’m so glad you fucked up,” Austin teased, laughing at little at the idea of not having this life. “I might be a greedy bitch, but I love having you in my life and having Tyler. I am at my happiest with this life.”

  “I know you are,” Michael smirked at her, nodding at how well he knew. “I want that with Sienna. I want to love her and have you - exactly how you are with Tyler and me. I get it. You just need to understand that when I heard she was shot, I had to come here,” Michael replied, his tone soft as he spoke. “I couldn’t wait. I had to be here. I felt like a part of me was frozen. I knew she was okay, but that wasn’t enough. How did I know she was okay when I hadn’t seen her or spoken to her?”

  The look in Michael’s eyes shocked Austin to the core. Her entire body recognized the look of a panicked man. Tyler had lived with it for a while after the fire as he tried to straighten his life out, and it was one look she prayed she would never see again.

  “It was after I got off the phone to Tom, I knew I loved her with everything in me, Aus. I need her more than anything in my life, and the distance kills me over and over. I want her, I want my life with her, and I will love her with everything I have for as long as I can,” Michael admitted, his eyes watering with his admittance. “But I can’t do that without you beside me, ready to tell me when I’m fucking it up.”

  “You’re fucking it up by thinking you depend on me,” Austin pointed out, giving him a smirk as he looked to her with shock. “You need to love Sienna, and the rest just happens. It might seem crazy, and I reacted badly by leaving, but trust me, life has a crazy way of just falling together.”

  “You’re living proof of that,” Michael commented with an all knowing tone to his voice.

  “Exactly,” she said and looked around to see if Tyler had arrived yet. She wanted nothing more than to go to Sienna, but she had to process the secret that had been sitting just below the surface of all their lives.

  “Are you going to go back and see her?” Michael asked nervously, unsure if he wanted to tell Sienna her sister wasn’t coming back to see her.

  “Later,” Austin replied, offering a small smile as she found herself at a dangerous crossroad - did she stay or did she leave? Her fight or flight response was kicking in, and she could feel herself needing Tyler, or her mother, to knock some sense into her. “Tell Sienna I’m going to go home and come back later,” Austin gave up, unable to understand this right now. “I’m going to bring Gracie by, but I need to make sense of this. Tyler’s on his way.”

  “Tyler’s here,” Michael pointed and watched Austin turn around to come face to face with her husband.

  “Sorry, Aus, I am not taking you home until you’ve been in there and seen your sister,” Tyler spoke as he walked towards her casually. “Gracie’s fine with our parents and right now, I’m not letting you waste any opportunities,” Tyler told her sternly, taking control of her that moment. “You’ve heard Michael out; you have to hear Sienna out too. It’s only fair.”

  “Good to see who still wears the trousers here,” Michael commented, amused at Tyler’s stubborn way with his wife.

  Austin literally spluttered on that comment, “This is just a facade.”

  “In there now,” Tyler pointed to the main entrance of the hospital. “I will carry you if need be. And I won’t make it pretty. You’ll be over my shoulder before you can even attempt to disagree with me.”

  Allowing her eyes to widen, she smiled, but opted for walking herself into the building and back to her sister’s room.

  ***

  “Thank you for forcing me back there,” Austin said as she fell beside her husband. “I needed that little kick.”

  “Little?” he quipped, raising an eyebrow to her comment. “Baby, you needed to be practically dragged back into that hospital.”

  “Okay, okay,” she laughed and shook her head. “I needed my husband to shake me and make me see what the hell I was doing wrong.” She looked up at him, a devilish grin on her lips, “I’m actually quite excited about everyone finding this out.”

  “You’re plotting something,” Tyler commented, watching her face as if the ideas were lighting up her face repeatedly. “You need to let everyone just find out on their own terms.”

  “I know, but now I’ve seen them together, I see so much of what we used to have when we were fresh and new, and I want everyone to enjoy it,” Austin told him, sighing heavenly at how she remembered their relationship growing and getting stronger every day. Yawning heavily, she looked up to him, “You look tired.”

  Tyler laughed, but he could see the exhaustion of the past few days beginning to catch up on her. “You sound tired,” Tyler joked back with her, teasing her.

  “I am,” she mumbled at him, the lack of sleep catching up on her.

  “Want to go upstairs?”

  “No,” she murmured as she snuggled down against her husband. “Here is good right now.” The way her husband’s arm curled around her told her he agreed with her and she settled quickly, feeling sleep finally coming easily to her.

  “Mommy,” Grace’s voice snapped into h
er subconscious, rousing her from her slumber.

  Getting up, Austin quickly scooped Grace up into her arms and moved into the hallway so not to wake Tyler up. “Baby, you should be sleeping.”

  “I don’t hab Clara,” Grace said sleepily, laying her head to Austin’s shoulder.

  “What’s going on?” Nicolas asked as he came into the room.

  “I think we need to pop to the house,” Austin remarked, knowing that the only way they would fix this was to get the doll.

  “Tyler okay to take you?” Nicolas asked, unaware that Tyler was knocked out cold on the couch and Grace’s need for her favorite doll.

  “He’s fallen asleep,” Austin smiled, looking back over her shoulder at her husband as he lay completely unaware. Looking to her father, she knew she needed to hurry up and get Grace settled. “She doesn’t have Clara. She’s still at the house. Would you come with me?” Austin asked her father, pleading with him. “Pretty please?”

  “Course I will,” Nicolas replied without hesitation. “You don’t have to beg me. I understand that my little lady works exactly like her mommy used to.” He then reached out, taking his granddaughter and holding her to his body. “Get your shoes on, we’ll go and get back before your mother notices or Tyler wakes up and finds we’re gone.”

  “I only want to grab Clara and maybe a few bits and pieces then come back,” Austin commented, knowing exactly what of Grace’s stuff she would be making a beeline for.

  Without another word, Nicolas left the house, Austin trailing behind him as they walked down the road together. It wasn’t late in the evening and there was still a bit of light in the sky, but storm clouds were gathering and Austin could feel the chill in the air building, wrapping around her. As she neared hers and Tyler’s house, she took a moment to remind herself to pick up a cardigan and coat just in case they were in for a massive rainfall.

  “I’ve forgotten my key,” Nicolas suddenly stated. “And my phone,” he groaned, realizing he had left the house with just his granddaughter in his arms. “I’ll do a run through of the house then run back to mine for the keys.”

  “Okay,” Austin giggled at her father. “I think old age is getting to you, daddy.”

  “Watch it,” Nicolas admonished her quickly, and just as playfully as she did. He then went up to the front door, opened it and made Austin stand just inside the door with Grace as he ran into the house, hastily checking everywhere to make sure the house was safe. By the time he made it back to the door, he was breathless, but immediately picked Grace up to give her his own orders. “Right, Sweetie,” Nicolas started as he watched Grace intently. “I need to run back to the house before Gramma falls asleep and locks us out,” he laughed as Grace’s eyes widened considerably then.

  “But it’s cold, Pop-pop,” she replied looking up at him with several amounts of disbelief as her grandfather put her back down. “We can’t sleep out here!”

  “You’re right we can’t,” Nicolas knelt down to talk to Grace. “So you’re going to run in there and grab as many teddies and toys as you can and I’ll meet you back here so we can head back for a sleepover.”

  “Oka,” she nodded her head and moved back to be by her mother’s side.

  “Will you be okay?” Nicolas asked Austin as he ungraciously got up from his kneeling position.

  “Yeah go,” Austin pushed her father, feeling no need for him to supervising her getting clothes for her and Tyler while Grace gathered her things together. “You’ll be straight back and by then Gracie and I will be ready.”

  “No leaving the house, you hear?” Was all Nicolas asked of her, he watched her intently as she nodded.

  “I know,” Austin groaned and rolled her eyes. “Go, the sooner you do I can get little miss here back and tucked in.” She bent down and picked her daughter up, eager to go into the house.

  “I’ll be ten minutes tops,” Nicolas told her, then quickly ran back down the drive, ready to run home.

  “Right, let’s go get Clara shall we?” Austin asked as she went back into the house and closed the door, locking it behind her. Leaving the key behind, Austin hated how suddenly the shadows cast throughout her house were overwhelming, encroaching on her. Giving in, she turned on the landing light, and vowed that would be all she would use.

  Allowing Grace to run up the stairs, Austin followed, by the time she made it, she looked out to see it pouring hard. Wondering if her father was caught in the sudden downpour, she followed Grace until a flash of lightning struck and the lights went off. Austin literally groaned at the timing of it all, and knew she had to hurry this along. Her plans were cut short as Grace suddenly pinned herself next to her mother, panicking over the sudden darkness they were plunged into.

  “Mommy, I’m scared,” Grace whispered and gripped Austin’s leg.

  “Hey now,” Austin replied, not letting her daughter get terrified by the dark. “It’s okay, baby,” Austin commented taking her daughter in her arms. “It’s just a storm. I know you’re a big girl, you can go into your room and grab your things for me, can’t you?” She felt Grace nod against her. “That’s it, show me how big you can be so I can go home and tell daddy how brave you are.”

  She put her daughter down and watched as Grace released her, and used the incentive to her advantage. She loved how much of a daddy’s girl she was, and she loved even more that the mere sound of the word ‘daddy’ triggered a response in Grace to do anything. Once she was safely into her room, Austin decided to leave her daughter be while she grabbed things for her and Tyler. Even though her parents had done a great job picking up clothes and such for them, there were silly things they forgot.

  Stepping out onto the landing from Grace’s bedroom doorway, Austin’s heart stopped and her blood ran cold and she as stood confronted with her nightmare. At first she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, toying with her, torturing her until the sanctity of her father came back to her. That wasn’t the case.

  “Hello Austin,” Natasha spoke sweetly as she stepped out of the master bedroom.

  Austin stood stock still, she could feel each and every syllable of her name splice through her, sending a freezing chill down her spine. The moment her voice hit her, Austin felt the fear quake in her, ready to erupt full throttle and claim her victim.

  “Missed me?” Natasha asked, a sickly sweet smile smearing itself across her entire face.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “CAT got your tongue?” Natasha asked and she took a calculated step forward. “I thought you’d be happier to see me, Austin. Then you’d know exactly where I am. Instead of thinking you see me all around.”

  “Just because you escaped doesn’t mean my life has stopped,” Austin admitted, her voice souring at the sight of Natasha before her. She looked her over, noticing her hair was now butchered into a short bob and dyed a dark hazelnut color. She looked washed out, and the scariest part of it all was that underneath the menacing expression Natasha hid behind, she was completely dead.

  Natasha’s lips twisted into a thick smirk. “Is that what you tell yourself before you go to bed so you can sleep easier?”

  “No,” Austin whispered, not willing to continue the sarcastic goading. She knew what she needed to do, and she needed to do it properly. “How did you get in here?” Austin asked, trying to remain calm. She needed to buy some time.

  Natasha laughed; the octave of it evil, possessed, murderous. “Daddy dearest looked for the monsters under the bed, but didn’t look for ones in the closet.” She flashed her gaze to Austin, settling it heavily upon her. “I’ve been in here waiting for you. When I watched you all flee after dear Sienna took a bullet for you, I took the opportunity to make myself at home.”

  “You’re crazy you know that?” Austin quizzed Natasha, trying her hardest to swallow her rabid fear. “You’ll get away with none of this.”

  “Maybe, but it’s really working in my favor right about now,” Natasha chided, enjoying the moment. “Oh, Aussie, I wish you could ha
ve seen your sister. I almost got my chance to kill her. Execution style as well.” The smile that appeared on Natasha’s lips was sardonic and full of evil. “The absolute fear that she was going to die because of you was brilliant. I just hope she remembers so she can hate you for what I almost did to her. How she did, in fact, nearly died for you.”

  “She doesn’t hate me,” Austin remarked, her eyes watering at the thought.

  Again, Natasha laughed at Austin’s innocence. “Keep telling yourself that. I’m only here because of you, Austin! It’s all your fault that I am stuck here as I am and not living a perfect life. It’s all on you. All of this is on you.” She then chuckled a little before talking, “The funniest part is that I was willing to go through every family member of yours to get to this point.”

  “If that were true how come you let my dad walk out?” Austin asked, trying to call Natasha on her bluff.

  “Oh, I was tempted. I was very tempted to use this on him,” Natasha began to say, bringing out a gun to show Austin. She watched the fear ignite in Austin’s eyes, her mind screaming at her to get out. Clearing her throat, Natasha spoke up. “But then that would ruin why I was here in the first place. Why spoil the surprise? Your face when I stepped out was priceless. Sparing him for that was worth it.”

  Austin closed her eyes, realizing there was no bargaining when the devil stood before you, ready for the kill. If she got out of this alive, she knew she would count her lucky stars. Right now, she was praying for her father to come back, but then a part of her knew that if he did, he would more than likely wind up in the hospital like her sister and Cassie or worse. She didn’t want anyone else in her family hurt.

  “Now, where’s Gracie?” Natasha asked, smiling gleefully with anticipation.

  “Don’t you dare say her name,” Austin’s voice darkened, lacing with venom as the woman before her even dare speak about her daughter. “You have no right.”

  “I think I do, and with this, I have the upper hand.” Natasha raised the gun and shook it at Austin. “I will get what I want.”