Aurora's POV:

It'd been hours since everyone got here, including Trent and Sab, and I still hadn't been left alone for a single moment to get a chance to talk to Sab. So when I finally saw an opening for the opportunity I took it. Uncle Alan wondered off with Mum somewhere while they laughed about some old 'inside joke' and Uncle Oli passed out from too much beer. I snatched Sab's arm and pulled her away from her conversation with Tony and Joel, which I knew she'd scold me for. Which she totally needed to fill me in on.

When we rounded the corner into my room she was already shooting me death glares and her hands were placed on her hips disapprovingly as she waited for an explanation. I can almost hear her screaming cuss words at me in my head but I know she doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of Joel for some reason or another.

"What is so important that you had to steal me away from Tony fucking Perry?" she whisper-yelled.

"Look, Mum and Mike aren't getting back together. I was completely wrong about why he's here," she just stared at me blankly, obviously confused. "Mike's here on tour but he wont let me go to the show with him and when Uncle Oli offered to take me Mum and Mike almost blew up. They're hiding something, I know it," I continued and Sab seemed to make light of what I was saying.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I knew I was.

"That Mike's touring with Of Mice and Men and they're pretending to ground me so they can get out of telling me why I'm not allowed to go to the show with Pierce The Veil," the words spilled from my lips in a hurry.

"This is so crazy, good thing we've got it all planned already," I had to get out of this grounding so I could 'stay at Sabrina's' for the night.

"Yeah, I'll work it out somehow," she squealed as she grabbed my hands forcing me to jump with her in circles of excitement. Although as excited as I was I had to shut her up when I heard what I thought was Uncle Alan's and Mike's cautious voices down the hallway. I gave Sab a knowing look and I knew she was thinking the same thing.

We were careful not to make ourselves visible as we stuck our heads out of the doorway to listen into what seemed like a hushed conversation. Lets just say, although I had a rough idea of the secrets going around between the adults in my life I wasn't prepared for what I was just about to hear.

Mike's POV:

"What do you mean he was here?" I saw the spit fly out of my mouth as the words hissed off my tongue. My mind was racing so much I think it was about to start fuming. My head feels hot as the words "Austin was here earlier tonight," replayed in my mind. Alan looked back at me waiting for a response but I had no idea how to deal with this information.

"Look he saw Leilani but-" he tried to make the situation sound better but I cut him off by raising my hand I didn't need to hear anymore. The main question that was really swirling around in my head was, why wasn't Leilani off somewhere burying Austin's remains right now if she saw him?

"Leilani didn't tell me that she met up with him," I interrogated for more information. I wasn't jealous, of course not I have Alysha, but I was concerned. Not only for Leilani, I knew she still loved him and if she had the chance she'd go running back into his arms, but my concern was all for Aurora, she didn't need this. It'd put so much strain on her tiny heart, she couldn't take the stress.

"No, no. You've got it all wrong," how the fuck do I have this all wrong? But before I could actually say the words it was like Alan read my mind and answered for me. "They didn't meet up! Austin came here to see her but he just sat outside in the car and Lani and I walked passed the window and he saw her. She doesn't even know that he's here in Brisbane," this was all so confusing.

"Of course she knows we're all fucking touring together for fuck sake. She may be naive when it comes to Austin but she's not fucking stupid," I snapped, he's just blatantly pissing me off.

"No but you all think Aurora is!" he retorted obviously referring to Leilani's and I's decision to hide the fact that I was touring with Austin.

"How dare you? We're protecting her, you wouldn't know what it's like to try and put a shield of armor around your daughter to protect her from getting hurt. You're not a father!" I tried my hardest not to yell so Aurora wouldn't hear any of this nonsense.

"Neither are you Mike, you're just some fill in!" that fucking ginger asshole!

"I wouldn't have to be a fill in if it wasn't for your cunt of a friend running off on Leilani! He's never wanted anything to do with Aurora, he can't just come into her life now," he didn't deserve Aurora, she is way too good for him. She's done so well without him, the scumbag doesn't deserve her love, or her forgiveness.

"He's not here for Aurora, he never was, he just wants to see Leilani. He loves her," that conniving prick, of course he hasn't even thought about his daughter.

"Well guess what?" Alan just stares at me blankly waiting for my witty remark, "If he wants Leilani then it's a package fucking deal, he has to have Aurora too, he can't just ignore his daughter," I snarl.

"He's had no issues with doing it for the passed sixteen years, what makes you think he will now?" by now I'm doing everything in my power not to rip him to fucking shreds.

"If you keep talking about Aurora like that I will have no problem ripping that ginger mop off of your very scalp," I threaten and I know that it scares him when he takes a few unsteady steps backwards.

"Look man, I love Aurora, I really do but don't you think Austin deserves a chance?" he can't be serious right now.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I don't. If I did I would let Aurora come to the show, I wouldn't pretend to ground her so I didn't have to take her but Austin deserves fuck all in this world. He deserve to be nothing but miserable," it feels so good to get the anger off my chest, this is how I've felt for years. Years without being able to yell at Austin while we worked close to each other, this was such a relief. I just hoped Aurora or Lani never found out. If they knew Austin was here I don't know what would happen.

"Whatever, you and Lani can keep trying to keep Rory in the shadows but she's going to get curious one day and neither of you will be able to stop her," his words shocked me, scared me even. I never thought of it like that but when you put it into perspective, it's inevitable really. She knows who her father is so why wouldn't she want to meet him. She's a teenage girl of course she's curious but that's exactly what I need to save her from, curiosity.

"That's why we're trying to protect her you idiot! Of course she'll get curious but I can not and will not have her heart broken by that pathetic excuse for a man by letting her get her hopes up imagining that one day he would want to be in her life when he wants the exact opposite! That girl, she's so strong, she's endured so many life threatening surgeries, she's nearly died so many times but I'm afraid she would not survive that sort of heartache, not in a million years and I will not willingly subject her to that sort of pain. So butt out of this Ashby!" when I finish my rant I realize I'd raised my voice, this is exactly what I was trying to avoid.

Leilani had by now came over to the scuffle to scold the both of us and we'd managed to wake Oli up. I knew if I'd caught their attention I'd certainly of caught Rory's. And as I feared, I heard restrained sobs come from down the hallway when I spotted Rory's red hair flash behind the door as she tried to hide behind it. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. Trent rushed from the lounge room and down the hallway to meet his crying girlfriend, my baby girl.

As I made my way down the hallway my heart broke into a million pieces when I heard her tears. She sobbed about her deepest fears and I knew everything Alan and I had said had brought her to her final breaking point. She heard it all and by trying to protect her from getting her heart broken that's exactly what I've done and I'm afraid nothing can fix it.

"He doesn't love me, he never will. God not even my own father loves me, how pathetic am I?" her sobs are strained, cracking whenever she gasps for air.

"Shh baby, that's not true," Trent tries to comfort her both him and her best friend are rubbing circles on her back but she pushes them away, she pushes us all away.

"Just leave me alone please," everyone now is standing at her doorway pleading for her to let us in but she just looks away broken before pleading once more, "please would you all just leave me alone, I need some time to think," I don't know how much time she needed but we were all willing to give her as much as she needed.

But none of us were expecting that she needed a whole week locked away to get over this.

Notes

Awwww poor Aurora!! Little does she know Austin really does want to know her! Stupid Alan, stupid Mike!!! Keep reading for more drama to come!!!! Love you all!