After I took a quick power nap and Austin had rehydrated me I had to ask, "What did you mean when you said he was dangerous? I mean I sort of figured it out, but how did you know?" I remembered him telling me one story about how Alex was dangerous, but I was curious. How many more were there? How many like me?

"What was that?" I think he was pretending not to hear me.

"I mean, when he showed up I just expected us to get out of there, so why did you stay and try to face him. I knew he was creepy, but if he is some sort of psycho killer I think I should know about it." and I did have a very good point. It wasn't fair that I was being dragged around places without knowing who or what to expect to be waiting for me.

"What you need now is rest. I'll tell you later." I knew he was dodging the subject, but I was feeling pushy. I guess the adrenaline rush was still there.

"What I need now is closure. Did I just get chased and attacked by a serial killer?" I sat up and ignored the spinning of the rest of the room. I was pretty sure that he wasn't an actual murderer, but I was determined for some answers.

He tried to force me to lay down again."Let's just try and sit back, but no, nothing like that, it's just, he can't control his emotions." He tried to shrug it off, literally.

"And how is that?" I recalled his previous story but...

"It's just like I told you before, one time he stabbed a girl in the leg because she refused to be his girlfriend." He said this awfully quickly as if to hide what he was saying. He said it so casually that it was frightening.

"Are there any other stories like that?" I waited patiently, needing to, but not wanting to hear what might come next. Austin let go of my shoulders and took a seat on the floor beside me.

"There are a few, but the great thing about money is that it makes things go away. Such as problematic siblings, but you must know how siblings are, right?" He just shrugged his shoulders.

"No, Soph is the closest thing I have to a sister. I've always wanted siblings though." That was true. I have always wanted a little sibling, but something else that he had said was bothering me, "So, you haven't actually faced one of these problems yet? You just use money to make things 'go away'?" That I could not deal with. Everyone should face their problems every once in awhile. As my father once said, 'it builds character'.

"Yeah, I guess. It's complicated, you wouldn't understand. He's my brother and although I've always wanted to be alone, I guess having this big place to myself would be kind of lonely. I wouldn't know what to do with it." Austin said this with a sigh. I guess he didn't want to admit to me that he actually had a weakness. What he didn't know was that most people would find his story more sweet and touching than disturbing or abnormal. At least that is what I was hoping.

"You mean your parents don't live here with you?" I knew I had asked the wrong thing when his face immediately dropped and his hands fell to his sides. He grabbed my hand lightly.

"Let me show you something." He slowly led me down a long narrow hallway. He stopped multiple times to make sure that I was okay to be up and moving. We made a left, another left, one right and finally, a left. Then we were in an art gallery. He walked me to the end of the hall, "This is a portrait of my mother, and that is of my father." He explained while he pointed to two large paintings hanging on the far wall.

"Wow, you look so much like your mother." I noticed. He smiled and I thought I saw a tear forming in his eye. He wiped it away immediately.

"She died in a plane crash when I was fifteen." He started to explain. He was looking so lovingly at his parents images. I couldn't imagine what that must've felt like.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I didn't know..." I touched his arm and he grabbed my hand again. He seemed to relax ever so slightly.

"It got worse too. My father was on the plane as well and although he didn't die immediately he suffered from life threatening injuries for two years. He went insane from the loss of my mother and I think that was what messed up Alex in the first place. I remember that Alex used to be a normal kid. He was always a bit rude and rebellious, but never harsh or vicious. It wasn't until my mother died that he got violent and became much like my dad. My father was once a nice man, don't get me wrong, but near the end he had to be held by restraints so he didn't harm anyone. He then passed away a little more than a year ago. That was why I got defensive of you back there. I couldn't lose anyone else that was special to me." He squeezed my hand for a moment and then loosened his grip. He sighed, "But I don't want to bore you with that, so we better head out." He started to leave.

"Austin, wait." Am I really going to tell him?

"What is it?" He didn't turn to face me, but I knew he would listen.

I couldn't say it, not yet. "I'm sorry about your parents and your brother too, but you don't ever have to worry about losing me." I decided to save my secret for another day. He had already been through enough, we both have.

The smile slowly grew back, "I know I have only known you for a few days, but it feels like long enough to say that I like you, Em. I really, really like you." When I looked at him, all I saw was a lost puppy. I felt that I had to do something about it.

Has it really only been days? It felt like much longer to me, "I really, really like you too." I reassured him.

Then he kissed me and I knew that in that moment we were able to leave both of our problems behind. He rested his forehead on mine, "Would you like some company tonight? Then you won't have to be alone." He suggested.

"I love the way you think, but I think I'll be okay for one night. Do you think Sophie will ever want to see me after today? It must've really freaked her out." I was truly worried about her, plus she hadn't even tried to contact me after that whole situation went down. I didn't know what to think.

"She's more than likely ok, but you can call her on the ride home. We better get going before it gets dark. We wouldn't want to keep your mother waiting or worrying." Austin added.

"Yeah, let's go." He took my hand in his as we headed back to the garage.