A Fire That Burns (5 page)

Chapter Seven

AUSTIN
went
back to the room, not knowing that her brother was close behind her. She had
blanked out almost everything as she walked back. Her veins were pulsating with
heated rage and jealousy, and her misery was slowly building up in her throat
like bile. She wanted to scream, cry, run, but she knew there was more than
just Tyler Armstrong riding on her existence being back.

Getting to her room she fought angrily to get her key card to fit into
the slot, and she growled and hit the door as it failed.
More haste, less
speed
, she chided herself.

“Everything okay?”
Dean asked as he
casually leaned against the wall by Austin’s hotel room. “You left pretty
quickly.”

“Tired I guess,” she feigned and looked at him and knew immediately
that he had caught her in a lie. “Why are you here?”

He smirked, “Let’s go and raid the mini bar,” he told her and took the
key before pushing her key card in and entering her hotel room.
 

“I thought you were my least
favorite
fan?”
Austin scoffed, she knew her brother well and the hate she received back at the
house was all too real. She didn’t know why it was now gone and he was caring.

“Time’s just change,” Dean said as he went for the mini bar in the
corner. “However much she fights it, and fights you, mom really is glad to
finally have you home.”

“Got me duped,” Austin mocked as she went over to him as he got out
every bottle of liquid. She looked at her brother and felt herself lose control
again, but shook it away. She didn’t want to cry right now.

Dean sighed and stood up, placing his hands flat against the bar he
watched her. “I saw what was going on,” he started and saw the fear ignite in
Austin’s eyes immediately. “It was like watching you two six years ago and I
gotta
admit, it was the best thing I’ve seen in that length
of time too.”

 
“Shame it was just me being
foolish,” Austin batted away his observation and reached for a small bottle of
wine.

“Natasha is still his rebound girl,” Dean told her truthfully.

Austin opened the bottle and took a quick swig, “Engaged rebound girl,
Dean.
Engaged
rebound.”
It was as she said that
she felt her eyes fill with unshed tears.
 
“I
shoulda
known. I
shoulda
known it would always be her.”

“You weren’t to know and believe me; we all disapproved of it when he
finally started to date her.
Tom, and Tyler’s dad especially.
The boy is pretty much in love with the wrong girl.”

Feeling the tears escaping Austin felt like a complete failure. “I am
such a fool,” Austin wallowed as she sunk her head into her arms and made a low
whimpering noise.

Dean decided to finally be a big brother to his sister. “You know a
heart is a muscle,” he started and paused watching her sit up to just stare at
him, “and what do muscles do

when they tear or break?” he quizzed her and she
just shrugged. He raised his glass at her and leaned in towards her, “They fix
themselves and become stronge
r.”

“This one’s got a long time to take,” Austin muttered to her brother
with her voice still a miserable whisper. “It’s kind of hard to deal with that
when being back home at long last feels like you’re finally home, but slowly
kills you all at once.”

“
C’mere
,” he told her and pulled her into his
arms as she broke even more. “I missed you, Kiddo,” he told her as he let her
go and pulled his phone out as it vibrated, “But I can’t do this alone.” He
finished as he finally looked up from his phone. He didn’t give her a chance to
argue or say a word; he just let her remain clueless.

As her brother went to the door and opened
it. She watched intently as he welcomed her other brothers and sister into the
room. Immediately she was doused with hugs and attention. Austin realised that
although she was dealing with a broken heart, her family were slowly letting
her back in and she knew once she had that back, her heart would slowly piece
back together.

***

Getting back that following Sunday, Austin knew she
had to let Tyler go once and for all and realize Natasha won like she had
always promised she would. As she jumped down out of Daniel’s truck she saw
Tyler in his parent’s house and quickly grabbed her bags and said goodbye
before either her mother or Tyler knew she was there.

She then quickly left the group and began the short walk to Tom’s. She
had spent the whole day Saturday with her brothers and finally felt like her
life was here. All she had to do was break through her mother’s tough exterior
and find her own place and she would be happier. That, of course, was ignorant
of her constantly breaking heart.

“Tyler, leave her!” she heard Dean cry out and she hastened her pace.

She could hear him getting closer, her name leaving his lips, but her
heart was thrashing so hard it pained her chest and rang in her ears. All she
wanted was to just be inside and out of the way once and for all.

“Sunny,” he called out one last time as he was hot on her heels, he then
grabbed her stopping her in her tracks so he could get in front of her.
“Where’ve you been?”

“San Francisco,” she said in a toneless voice. “You forget you were
there too?”

“What is with you?” Tyler asked as he eyed her up and down. He wanted to
ignore the blatant throb he had and he wanted to ignore how messed up his reality
was becoming.

“You led me on!” she shouted at him in dismay, her voice quaking all of
a sudden.

“No I didn’t,” Tyler
fought back at her as he continued to walk backwards.

Austin huffed, “Oh no? So forgetting to just drop into conversation that
you’re dating, oh no wait –
engaged
to Natasha Truman wasn’t something
that you thought was important to tell me when you’re kissing me and flirting
with me!”

“Oh-” he started to try and form an argument, but was failing.

“I might have done the running, and that might make me a coward and
whatever other name this town has labelled me, but I am nobody’s mug and I am
certainly not yours, Tyler!” she told him, “Now move and let me go home.”

“I just wanted to apologise. It was wrong of me, but I have my reasons.
I gave my life to you and then you were gone. I miss the feelings you make me
feel and how complete I feel around you, Aus, but I had to move on,” he looked
at her as she slowed almost to a complete stop. “I want you to be my friend,”
Tyler admitted to Austin, “More than anything, Austin, but I need you to
understand that I just can’t put myself back six years for you to run away
again. I moved on with Tasha and Friday I was drunk and-”

“I’m not going anywhere, Tyler. I have nowhere to go anymore. I am here
to stay,” Austin argued back, but she could see it was a futile feat. This last
bit was all a lie. She had nowhere to go when she was nineteen and still made a
living, but she was scared to do it all over again.

“You’ve got to forgive me if I have a hard time believing you,” Tyler
told her and just put his hand out, “Friends, Sunny?”

Austin looked at his hand and knew this was as good as she got,
“Friends,” she replied to him and took his hand and shook to their truce.

Feeling relieved, Tyler took Austin in a tight hug. He had never felt
worse in his life for calling such a truce, but he knew he shouldn’t have felt
guilty for moving on. It was a natural progression for him to do after her
leaving so long ago. It was the least he owed to himself.

He felt guilty for still loving Austin and wanting that safety net with
Natasha at the same time.

Chapter Eight

YOU
know,
Babe, the best way to keep your claws in that man of yours is to give him something
that he can’t just give up,” Natasha’s friend, Adele told her while she took
the olive out of her martini.
“Something that will trump
every
thing.”

    
“Yeah I’m with
Addy
,” Natasha’s other friend, Leanne mentioned. “It seems
that this Austin needs to know what she lost once and for all and she needs it
quick.” She then put her hands to Natasha’s to make it show that she wasn’t
being horrible with what she was going to say, but her friend needed the truth.
“The way I see it, Tasha, is that Tyler is still more than a little hung up on
Austin and he’s falling in love with her an-”

    
“If he ever fell out of love
with her,” Adele chucked in.

    
Leanne agreed, “There’s
that, but, T, the man obviously feels more than a little something for Austin
and her being back isn’t some short fling. She’s back in Point Arena for good
and while you’re here doing working lunches and running a business, he’s back
there in walking distance of her. Hell, they just brought a house to renovate.
She is getting back under his skin already.”

    
“Let’s face it,” Adele
started, “She’s back for one thing and one thing only – Tyler.”

    
“I can tell you now if she
thinks she’s getting Tyler back she can think again,” Natasha replied almost
venomously. “I know all about her little secret from six years ago and I saw
her leaving as my opportunity to trump what should have always been mine and
you best believe me, girls, I will do
any
thing to make sure she never
gets Tyler back.”

    
“Sounds ominous,” Adele
prompted as she swallowed the rest of the martini and looked around for the
waiter to bring her another.

    
“Oh believe me, she won’t
forget who Tyler belongs to after I’m done with her,” Natasha spoke with
absolute glee.

    
“You need to think fast
before this turns deadly,” Leanne commented, not wanting to acknowledge just
what vindictive acts Natasha could be capable of when in the midst of a jealous
fit.

    
“Oh, don’t worry, I have an idea already,” Natasha finalised and almost
wanted to rub her hands in glee. She knew she had her friends intrigued as they
both moved inwards a little more, their eyes hungry like vultures for this
piece of gossip.

Chapter Nine

IT
seemed like things
were destined to happen fast now she was back, and Austin had to blow out a
deep breath and look to Tyler as he gazed on proudly. She then looked at their
newest challenge and after a lot of debates and heated chats with Natasha they
had not only gotten her acceptance but, had finally bought their old house with
plans to ready it for whatever family wanted to buy it.

“It is still pretty much the same as I remember it,” Austin pointed out
stating the obvious as she looked up at the near worn down, derelict house.

“Still remind you of the house from ‘
It’s A Wonderful Life’
, Sunny?”
Tyler asked her as he reminisced on the day they watched that film and she had
told him she always wanted to take an old house and make it into a perfect
home.

“Really does,” Austin responded and looked at him, “So how much have you
and the boys done so far?”

Taking her hand he began to drag her towards the house, but she quickly
slipped her hand away. Tyler tried to get used to the barrier Austin was now
putting up between them and in the last two weeks he was finding it more than a
little difficult to do. Yet he persevered with this and stuck by her as he was
prepared to not lose her just yet. He had called the truce; he had to deal with
the fall out.

“Well the living room’s ready to be painted so you can start that today
if you want?” he asked and she nodded as they pushed the freshly placed front
door and entered. “The floorboards are replaced and are now safe, the piping’s
fine, water and heating now both work and I’m going to work on the rest of the
electrics today while Daniel and Dean finish putting the windows in.”

“Wow,” Austin sighed happily, “It’s finally happening.” As soon as she
had said it, she knew she had said wrong, “I meant really happening. It’s
really happening now.”

“It was always bound to. No one else wanted this place in all these
years so now’s our time to spend together and get this house looking
respectable.” Tyler said and went over to the window to look down the road at
the ridiculously short distance between their parents’ houses and this one.

Austin watched him, knowing he was expecting Natasha back mid-afternoon.
She smiled sadly remembering the mornings they had laid in bed and dreamt up
the possibilities of this house. How they had visualised each room down to the
finest of details – things like the style of outlets and the thread count in
the bedding. They had it all planned and that dream – like so many others – had
shattered.

Looking back, Tyler could see Austin’s saddened expression and it was a
look he was getting used to seeing on her nowadays. She had come back the
darker version of herself and she might be able to provide good cover up and
smile through, but in moments like this when she was at her rawest he saw it
all – her regret, her desolation, her loss. It was like something extinguished
her fiery nature and brought out a docile replacement.

Deciding he needed to distract her, he clapped his hands before he
rubbed them together. “Right you okay to get started?” he asked piercing the
silence quickly. “I mean I know you’re more than capable, but do you want me to
help out?”

“No, Ty, I’m good,” Austin said with an easy smile. “Those electrics
won’t do themselves.” She said and Tyler gave her a wink before leaving, “Oh,
and Tyler?” she called out and he looked back at her questioningly. “Be
careful. I don’t want you having any nasty shocks that aren’t coming from me.”

Tyler chuckled as she winked at him this time and turned to grab the
paint and get ready to tackle the main room of the house. She didn’t know he
had chosen the same
color
she had told him she wanted
for the room and he wanted to see if she still remembered.

Going up stairs, Tyler couldn’t deny his thoughts from running rapid on
him, and he smiled about the future of the house. The children that would grow
up in it, the husband and wife that would cherish it and make the house a
proper home – he was thinking of the potentials this house truly held and
everything was looking bright and perfect.

As the hours passed Tyler grew tired, he realized he needed to go and
find a drink before dehydration caught him short. His mouth tasted like he had
inhaled dust and grime from sanding the windows down and he had no saliva left
to give him any other taste apart from sawdust. He knew that the entire
upstairs now had perfectly fitted windows bar the bathroom and once he was done
with getting a drink he could move onto his second job of the day. It would
mean they would have perfectly working lighting and nearly half done electrical
outlets.

He heard the music as descended step by step, but the only other sound
was his boots on the bare untreated wood and a loud hum over the tune, and knew
exactly what he was going to find. It was even better than he remembered. He
remained motionless; he just watched Austin paint and dance in
her own
little world.

Coughing to break into the moment he called out, “How’s it going in
here?” Tyler stood in the doorway watching Austin as she danced and painted and
he had almost been mesmerised by the sight for minutes but he realized it was
now inappropriate of him to do such a thing when he was engaged. He watched her
turn and he chuckled, “I thought you were meant to be painting the wall more
than yourself?”

Immediately Austin felt
herself
blush and
giggled as her hand came up to wipe her face free of dried paint, “Well,” she
began and took a slow, seductive step forward. Before she could let Tyler react
or even step away she caught him across the cheek with a brush of the paint
brush, “Seems we’re even now.”

“Oh it’s on!” Tyler said and grabbed another brush and got her back. He
watched her dodge him and he followed her until he caught her and the pair
messed around for a minute or two before stopping to look at how stupid they
were being. “We’re not going to get this room painted this way are we?”

“Okay, we’re nearly done,” Austin became serious. “Once we’re done then
the real fun and games can begin, Stud.”

“Let’s do this then,” Tyler prompted and headed to one end of the wall
and worked to complete what Austin had started.

Taking one last look at Tyler, she smiled brightly and went back to
work.