Harder Than You Know (Austin Mahone and Alex Constancio)

Chapter Twelve

Austin's P.O.V

Natalie and I fell asleep during the movie, she before me. I knew that she'd had a lot on her mind lately and that all of her energy had been drained out of her. I woke up the next morning and Natalie was still sleeping...What a shock. I looked at my phone I had 4 new text messages.

To Austin 

From Robert

Hey man, can me and my new babe come over today?

 --

To Austin 

From Zach

Nikkita, said she would love to meet Natalie and Alycin

We should set something up

 --

To Austin

From Alex

I know I'm right down the hall...But

I'm worried about Allie

 --

To Austin

From Nats

I just woke up to you snoring :P

I love you baby(:

Robert's was the most recent then Zach's then Alex's and then Natalie's at 3AM. I thought, Ehh, I might as well reply to them.

To Nats

From Austin

I do NOT snore!

Love you too(:

 --

To Alex

From Austin

About what man?

She seems just fine

 --

To Zach

From Austin

Yeah, that would be great.

I'll talk to Natalie when she wakes up and let you know(:

 --

To Robert

From Austin

Sure, I'll give you a call when we are ready, okay?

Just then Alex walked into Ariel's room not even knocking. "Way to just barge in," I said.

"I knew she was still sleeping." Alex said, quietly. "I really want to talk to you about something. Now." 

Natalie's P.O.V

I woke up as Alex and Austin started to talk. "I'm worried about Alycin." Alex was saying.

"Why?" Austin whispered, obviously trying to keep me asleep.

"Because she's always talking about how she doesn't deserve to be loved."

Its true. I've always been worried about her. I just figured I was the only one who noticed anything odd about that. But, then, I knew the stuff that went down with her mom.

"Its probably just because she's been hurt by boyfriends before." Austin replied to Alex.

"You don't know her past." I snapped, breaking my still-asleep cover.

"Morning baby," Austin said, smiling and kissing me. 

"Actually, neither of you know it." I said quietly.

"What do you mean? She told me about her mom and everything." Alex said slowly.

"Alex..There's so much more to that. So much more, scary, horrible things. Its personal she doesn't tell anyone unless that person is EXTREMELY close to her or she knows that person will be in her life forever. Well, me I'm both of those things" I said, a bit narcissisticly. 

 "Wha-what do you mean?" Alex looked at me almost blankly, like he couldn't comprehend what I was saying.

I wanted so bad to yell at him, tell him he'd never get it. He'd be just like everyone else in her life and leave her in the dust. Instead I said, "She'll tell you when you are both ready. When you've been her life for a couple years. Oh and if you break her heart Alex...I'll break your face," I smiled. "But you are still my best friend."

I walked out of the door. Alex was my best GUY friend well besides Austin. We had grown close since the day I met him. I walked into Alycin's room. She wasn't sleeping, I knew she wouldn't be. Instead she was sitting in front of her vanity brushing her hair looking in the mirror.

"I hate the way I look Natale." She said as I walked up close to her. 

"Alycin Rose, you're gorgeous." I said touching her shoulder. "You know.... Alex is really worried about you. He thinks what you told him is everything, even with that little to nothing story we came up with he's worried."

Yes, that whole thing about her getting kicked out.... All something she and I made up in a desperate need to escape the crp we were going through.

You see, Alycin's mom never really liked her. At all. I remember once, when we were little, I was at their house and Alycin was trying to tell me something. I don't remember what, it was something about her mom. And her mom was sitting there, got up, in the middle of Alycin's setence, kicked her in the head. "You stop telling your lies, Kasey. Really. I don't want to hear that you are making stuff up." 

She called her Kasey often, but her name had been Alice. She changed it to Alycin when she moved in with me. Her 'lies' had stopped after that, at least when we were at her house. When we were at my house, we'd talk. about how her mom wanted her to be Kasey, not Alice, that her dad hated her mom and that's why he was gone. Yet, I never knew why her mom hated her. 

There was a period that they got along. Like, they were awesome and Alycin loved her and herself, and they were so nice to each other. And then, it all blew up again, over a pair of jeans. But, she didn't get kicked out. She left. It was all on her own accord. And then, we moved. Switched towns but still drove to school and back. 

"I don't care if he's worried, Nats." She sighed, brushing out her hair still. "I'm tired of lying."