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Editor Note: The images used for this story were purchased and used under royalty-free license* from iStockphoto.com . ~Sephrena
Author Note: Please email me at AngelJediGirl (at) gmail (dot) com before posting this story to any other site. Posting to a pay site is prohibited.

Comments and suggestions are also welcome at the above email address.

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Sarah Carerra Book 2: Summer Medley

Chapter 2.27 - We Love You Too, Austin!

"Megan, wake up," my mom said as she shook me gently Saturday morning.

"Why?" I groaned. I wanted to sleep longer, especially after the emotionally draining night I'd endured with Josh.

"Well for one, you have an appointment with Mary, but I want you to come to Austin's soccer game afterward," she said. "He's starting to feel left out with all that you are doing this summer. It would mean a lot to him if you were there."

I groaned again. I had talked to her about what had happened the night before, and she had been there for me once more. But now she wanted me to be there for someone else. I loved Austin. I knew that I had been taking a lot of my parents’ attention this summer. I didn't mean to make him feel left out at all.

"Okay," I finally managed and threw back the covers to get ready.

I spent the morning with Mary talking about Josh and the feelings that I had about him. I thought that I had come to terms with what had happened the night before, but she made me feel even more comfortable about it.

By the time I pulled up to the park where Austin's soccer game was being played, I already knew it was going to be a great day.

I parked my car and walked to the field where I saw everyone standing and watching. It didn't look like they had started yet, but there were a few people on the field warming up. Eventually, I found my parents and headed their way.

"Oh good, you made it," Mom said when she saw me approaching. She was smiling at me, and a number of people around them turned to look.

"Hi," I said shyly when I realized I was now on display to the other parents who were standing nearby.

"This is Megan?" one woman asked. My mom nodded, and motioned for me to come closer. I walked over to her and she gave me a quick hug.

"Where's Austin?" I asked, partially because I was curious and partially because I wanted to deflect any further discussion about me.

"He's over there," Dad pointed to where one team was standing in a circle.

I smiled when I saw him. "Go Austin!" I yelled and watched as he looked up. Even from across the field, I could see the smile grow across his face.

It wasn't long before the game started. Austin wasn't in at the beginning of the game, but he was substituted in shortly thereafter. Dad said he played forward, but all that seemed to mean was that he was always on the far side of the field from where we were watching.

I cheered my heart out every time the ball was near him, and Austin managed to score three goals during the game, a feat Mom said was very unusual for him. When the game was over and he started walking over to us, he had one of the most excited expressions on his face that I had ever seen.

"Did you see, Megan?" he asked excitedly. "I scored three goals for you!"

"I saw, Austin," I told him and wrapped him in a hug. He was kind of sweaty, but I didn't care. "You were amazing!"

He continued to smile as he got a similar hug from Mom and a manly one from Dad. I hadn't seen him this happy in a while, and I didn't want it to end.

"Come on," Dad finally interrupted our celebration. "We need to get home so that Megan can get ready for tonight."

It was the wrong thing to say. I saw Austin's excitement level drop when the attention focused away from him and back to me. He smiled though. "Can I ride with Megan?" he asked.

It was my turn to smile then. "Of course," I replied.

"Awesome!" he said. "I've always wanted to ride in your car!"

I laughed at his excitement. I'd told him that I'd give him rides when I could, but I had been so busy with Sarah's life that we really hadn't done anything together in a while. We needed to do something else. Something like lunch.

"Alright," Dad agreed to what I had already agreed to. "But Megan, please hurry home. Julia and Stephanie will be over soon, and we need to be at a sound check not long after lunch."

"Okay," I said. "Come on, Austin."

He smiled again with excitement, and we walked toward the parking lot.

"I didn't know you were that good," I told him. "I'm sorry I don't get to come to more of your games."

"It's okay," he said in that tone that usually indicated that it was just the opposite. "You usually have an appointment with Mary anyway."

My lips instinctively tightened at his words. Austin and I had never really gotten along very well before my life changed so drastically early this summer. But looking at him now, I knew that he had looked up to me. Seeing me become his sister had to have been hard. We'd talked about it some after my first concert, but I knew that he had to be struggling still. He truly had tried to impress me during the game, and I realized that he wanted me to look up to him just as much as he was looking up to me.

After we got in the car, we quickly made our way out of the parking lot. I saw Austin look at me quizzically when I turned in the opposite direction from home, but he didn't say anything. It wasn't until I turned down a specific street that his eyes widened.

"Where are we going?" he finally asked. The excitement that had been in his eyes after the game was back when he realized where we were.

"I thought we could get something to eat before we head home. Just you and me," I told him. My smile grew as I watched his eyes open wide. He was practically salivating by the time I pulled into Alfredo's Italian Restaurant. Alfredo's made excellent food, and my whole family loved to come here. But their prices were quite steep, and Mom and Dad rarely were willing to spend what was required to eat there. This time, however, I had plenty of money at my disposal to choose where to eat. I knew how much Austin loved this place.

Stepping out of the car, I realized that Austin wasn't dressed for the place in his soccer uniform, and I hoped that they wouldn't turn us away. It was lunchtime though, so it should be less formal.

Austin was on cloud nine as he opened the door for me and walked into the restaurant behind me. I was happy that I had the ability to give something back to him. He was the best brother that I could have asked for, and he deserved the chance to have opportunities like this.

I walked toward the hostess' booth, and saw the hostess frown as we approached. I might have been dressed well, but it appeared she didn't really approve of Austin's appearance. She turned to me. "Waiting for your parents?"

I choked out the laugh that had formed in my throat at her words. Even without the wig I knew I looked older than my true age of sixteen. But that didn't mean I looked old enough to be able to pay for a meal here.

"No," I told her, causing her frown to deepen. "Austin here had an amazing soccer game, and I thought that he deserved to be taken out to lunch for his efforts."

Austin's eyes widened at my words, and the hostess grimaced. Then I got the feeling that even though she didn't like how he was dressed, that wasn't the real reason that she was concerned.

I sighed and reached for my purse. I knew what this was about. This was another example of when I missed the treatment that Sarah received, but I also knew that this was a part of the life that we were trying to protect with the secret.

"Look," I told her while pulling out my wallet. "I plan to use my debit card to pay for the meal, but if it makes you feel any better, I do have a one hundred dollar bill in my wallet. So I can pay for our meal either way."

I pulled the aforementioned bill out and showed it to her. This place was expensive, but it wasn't that expensive. Immediately, I watched her grimace deepen. This time I knew it was because she felt she might have offended a paying customer.

She looked down at her board, pressed a button, and then turned to the young lady standing next to her. "Certainly. Please follow Jessica. She will show you to your table. Have a good meal."

I smiled kindly back to her, and watched with a small amount of pleasure as her shoulders slumped forward. She had prejudged us, and that was something that I hated when people did it.

Once Austin and I were seated, he dived into the menu immediately. I picked mine up, but before I got a chance to look at what was offered, my phone rang. Knowing who it would be, I did not reach for my purse. Instead, I started looking at the salads. I didn't want to eat anything too heavy if I was going to be on stage tonight.

"Aren’t you going to answer that?" Austin asked after my phone started ringing for a third time.

"No," I replied. "If I did, then Dad would just yell at me to come home. I want to eat lunch with you first. They can wait for me."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? What if Dad grounds you and doesn't let you perform tonight?" Austin asked.

I looked up from my menu and met his eyes. I said quietly, but firmly, "Austin, I spend so much time as Sarah that I rarely get to spend time with the family. When was the last time you and I did something together?" I watched as he started to think about my question. Since he couldn't answer immediately, I knew it had been too long. "See what I mean? You can't even remember."

He seemed to realize then what I was talking about, so I continued. "Dad is my manager, and he's very good at it. But sometimes, he doesn't leave me with enough time to do the things I want to do. Yes, I have a show tonight. That doesn't mean I can't take the time to have lunch with you. I happen to know the sound check isn't until four, and it's only noon. It takes about an hour and a half for Stephanie and Julia to get me ready, and then it will take about 30 to 45 minutes to get downtown. That leaves me with plenty of time to have lunch with my brother."

He smiled and then nodded, and looked back down at his menu. "Besides," I said. "You deserve this after the whooping you gave the other team today. I didn't know that you were that good."

He looked sideways for a moment, clearly uncomfortable at the praises that I was giving him. "I'm not that good," he replied. "I usually don't even score. I'm better at hockey. I wish it was winter so that I could play that instead."

"Well, you could have fooled me," I told him. "You played great today."

"Thanks," he said, blushing. "But I got lucky. Two of those goals I don't even know how they went in."

"Well, I thought you looked better than anyone else out there," I said.

He rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, but you aren't exactly an expert on sports."

"I know sports!" I argued.

"Yeah, sure," he replied. He was laughing though, and I knew he was right. Even as Brett I hadn't been very interested in sports. I'd watch them with Dad and Austin occasionally, but I never really cared much about who won or anything.

"I guess you're right," I finally conceded. "But I still thought you looked great."

"You're just saying that because you're my sister," he replied. "You have to say that."

I laughed. I'd missed Austin.

"Look, Austin," I told him a moment later. "I'm sorry for taking so much of Mom’s and Dad's attention this summer. I never in my wildest dreams thought that something like this would happen to me. But when I get up on stage, it's the most wonderful feeling I've ever experienced. I'm sorry how much it has disrupted what you wanted to do this summer. I know you had hoped to go camping with Dad."

"It's okay, Megan," he replied with a sigh. "I'm jealous sometimes, but when I hear you sing, all of that goes away. You are amazing! I would feel bad if anything I did kept you from singing and sharing that with all of your fans. I mean, I wish I could go tonight. But I guess there will always be the tour. It will be fun to see some of the country, even if it means missing some of the soccer season."

I smiled at him. That sounded so mature coming from a fourteen-year-old. He really was growing up.

"Well, we have a week in New York," I told him. "I want you to find something there that you really want to do, and we'll go and do it, okay? No matter what, I promise that we will do it."

"You mean it?" he asked excitedly. "Anything?"

"Anything," I replied.

"Megan, you're the best!" he exclaimed, causing me to chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"No, Austin," I said in return. "You are." Then I reached across the table and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed immediately, but I knew he felt the same way when our eyes connected again.

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"Where have you been?!" Mom screamed.

"We stopped to get some lunch," I replied defensively. I had expected my dad to be mad, especially after seeing Julia's car in the driveway when we pulled in. But the reaction from my mom was unexpected. I expected her to be upset too, but I just wasn't expecting such a strong reaction.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?!" she continued to scream at me. "Do you know how worried I was? You could have been in an accident or something!"

"Mom! Don't yell!" Austin yelled back at her. "She wanted to take me to lunch and spend some time with me! She has plenty of time to get ready!"

Mom turned back toward me without responding to him. "Answer the question!"

"Mom," I said calmly, hoping it would help her relax a bit. "If I answered it, all Dad would have done is scream at me to come home. I haven't gotten to spend any time with Austin in months! I wanted to take him to lunch. And I still have enough time to get ready."

"I don't care! You always answer your phone! Do you understand me?" Mom didn't usually get mad, but when she did it was usually for a good reason. I had worried her, and I was sorry for that. But answering the phone would have meant coming home early.

"Honey, calm down, she's safe," Dad said while wrapping Mom in his arms. That was totally unexpected on his part. I thought he would be right there with her ready to ground me for what I'd done. But instead, he seemed to realize that I needed the time with Austin. He was also upset that I hadn't answered my phone, but at least he wasn't mad at me for making Julia and Stephanie wait. At least I didn't think he was.

"Megan, go get ready," he said to me. "We're running tight on time now, so hurry."

I nodded and headed down to Sarah's room. I knew that Julia and Stephanie would be waiting for me there. When I opened the door, I found the two of them sitting on the couch watching some celebrity gossip show on the TV. They looked over at me and smiled.

"There she is," Julia said. Her tone was a welcome relief from the screaming and disappointment that had come from my parents. My biggest worry about taking Austin to lunch had been that I would upset these two. I needed them, and making them mad would be a bad thing for my career.

"I'm sorry," I replied. "I took my brother to lunch after his soccer game."

"It's okay," Julia told me. "We still have plenty of time."

Something seemed off with these two. There wasn't even a hint that they were mad at me. I expected that they would at least be slightly agitated that I had made them wait, but it seemed like they weren't even bored.

"Don't give me that look," Julia said. "You pay me way too much for me to get mad at waiting for you. I can't say I didn't enjoy a bit of downtime, either."

I laughed. Stephanie was nodding her head too, and I knew for sure that what I had done was okay with these two. I didn't know exactly how much they were paid, but that imaginary number in my head just added a couple of zeros.

"I'm still sorry," I told them. "I haven't been able to spend much time with him since this whole ordeal started, and he was feeling left out."

"I understand," Julia spoke once again. "I have a sister who feels the same way when I start talking about all the people whom I work with. It's important to spend time with your family. Now quickly, put these on."

She handed me a bundle of clothes, and I smiled back. I knew it was going to be a great day. Now, if only I can keep myself from getting grounded.

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"You really aren't coming?" I asked my mother despondently.

She glared back at me. "I'm too mad at you, and someone needs to watch Austin."

I heard Austin groan. I knew he felt he was old enough to watch himself. I had stayed home alone at his age without any problems.

"It's just one concert, Princess," my dad said. "They'll get to see you perform at a lot of them before the end of summer. And it's only three songs. I'll be there with you backstage, and they'll get a chance to see you perform them again with Josh in Salt Lake City, okay?"

"Okay," I said, but it didn't feel okay. They had been to both of my performances up until this point. Granted, there had only been two, but that was still a track record I didn't want to break so soon.

"I love you," I told them both.

"I love you too, Megan," Austin responded back and even came over and gave me a hug. "Go out there and score three goals for me, okay?"

I laughed and smiled back at him. "I will, I promise."

Then I turned to my mom. Except for her remark that she was still mad at me, she hadn't said anything to me since I had gone to get ready. I had connected with my mom this week in a way I never had before, and now I was worried that I had really ruined that.

Finally, her face softened, and she opened her arms. I immediately ran into them.

"I love you too, honey," she whispered in my ear. "But you scared me to death today. I didn't know where you were and you didn't answer your phone. You have no idea how badly that made me feel. Please consider that in the future, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," I told her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to take him to lunch alone."

"I know, honey," she replied as she let go of me. I stepped back and looked at her loving face. "And Megan, thank you."

She smiled at me, and I felt my whole face light up. I knew why she was thanking me. She was thanking me for the attempt I had made to reach out to Austin again. I hadn't realized how my new life in the spotlight had affected him, but now I knew that I had to make sure he was included. I loved him so much, and he deserved just as much attention as I was getting.

As I walked out of the house toward the waiting limo, I knew one thing for sure.

I had the best family in the world.

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