New Beginnings {ACM}

Chapter 61

Song of the chapter: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

Austin's POV

"Lucy, get back here now," I said sternly. I was trying to fill out paperwork for Emily at the front desk, but Lucy was getting restless. Taylor and Alex had both gone home to get a change of clothes, so it was just me and my kid.

"Excuse me for a second," I told the receptionist before dropping my pen and running after Lucy, who was making her way down the hallway quite quickly. I grabbed her and swung her under my arm, causing her to shriek and fuss in annoyance. "Stay here," I said over her shrieking.

I finished filling out the paperwork and slid it back over the desk to the receptionist.

"There's a baby room around the corner if you want," she offered. "It might keep her occupied for a while."

"Sounds perfect," I said, ducking to avoid a swing from Lucy. "Thanks."

She nodded and I went to find the baby room. It was loaded with toys and there was no one else in there, so I set Lucy down on the ground. "There, you can play with all of the toys in here," I said, looking down at her. She crawled over to a dollhouse, so I sat on the ground with her.

There was a knock on the door a short while later and it opened to reveal a familiar blonde.

"Hey, Brownie."

"Cassidy?" I asked, shocked. I got up from the ground to give her a hug. "Hey! I haven't seen you since you left for L.A."

"Been a long time," she grinned.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just came back from seeing Emily. The lady at the desk said I would find you in here," she replied.

"Emily?"

"Yeah, we ran into each other a while ago and started hanging out a bit," she told me. "She didn't tell you?"

"No, it must have slipped her mind."

Cassidy looked over at Lucy and grinned. "I swear that hair of hers gets curlier every time I see her."

I smiled. "Yeah, she's a little curly sue."

"So how is it being a big old daddy now?" she teased.

"I would hardly say big. Or mature. I'm only twenty one."

"You have matured, Austin. You're raising a baby now. I've been talking to you for a minute and I can already see that," she said.

I shrugged. "Guess parenthood changes you."

She nodded. "Obviously." Lucy crawled over to her and smiled up at Cassidy, who reached down to pick her up. "How are you, missy?"

Lucy threw her hands up. "I'll take that as a good," Cassidy laughed before she got serious again. "Look, Austin, I'm really sorry about Emily."

I shrugged. "It's okay. She's going to be fine eventually."

"How long has she been out?"

"A few days. But she'll come around soon... I hope."

"Don't worry about it, it's a good thing she called the cops when she did. It could have been a lot worse if they hadn't gotten there in time," Cassidy said. I knew she was trying to help, and she was a little bit, but I wasn't going to be completely okay until I saw Emily's eyes open again.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I hate to do this, but I have to go. I've got a band meeting in an hour, so I better get down there." She set Lucy down on the ground. "I'll see you around, Austin. Later, Luce."