Chapter 25

Lee and Isaac were awakened the next morning first by the sound of Taylor getting sick in the bathroom, then by the low mumblings of Zac checking on his brother and finally by the panic stricken voice of him yelling for Isaac to help.  "Ike!  Hurry!  Oh God!"

Isaac jumped out of the bed grabbing his pants but not bothering to put them on.  Lee, moving as fast as she could still was unable to match the speed of Isaac in "concerned brother" mode.  By the time she got there all she was able to see was Taylor kneeling before the porcelain god in his shorts flanked by his two frightened brothers.

"Should we call 911?!"  Zac was on the verge of a full blown freak-out.

"What is it?"  Lee asked, still half asleep.

Isaac turned to her.   "He's throwing up blood again...  Mom said he did that...  OUCH!"  Taylor had punched him in the foot.

"Why don't you two back up a little, he's trying to tell you something."  She said.

Zac came and stood by her and she put her arm around him, he was trembling.  Isaac had knelt down to eye level with Taylor now.  Neither Zac nor Lee could see what he was saying.  Isaac ran his hand through his hair then leaned back against the sink cabinet.  Taylor laid his head on his arms over the toilet bowl.

"Well!?"  Zac couldn't take it any longer.

"It's jellybeans Zac."  Isaac said.

"Huh?"

"Jellybeans.  Some girl last night gave him a pound of black cherry jellybeans and they ate all of them.  It's not blood.  It's jellybeans."

For a moment Zac just stood there, then something snapped.  He stalked over to his brother whose face was perilously close to the partially digested remains of at least a half a pound of red candy and he slapped him on his bare back hard enough to leave a handprint there.  "Asshole!"  He said and he stomped back to his room and slammed the door.

Isaac stood up and looked at Lee.  "Can I come and live at your house for a few weeks?"

She smiled and walked towards him.  "Don't tempt me."

He put his arm around her and they just stood there for a minute.  Taylor's heavy breathing was the only sound in the quiet house.  Isaac sighed and let her go, then reached in the cabinet for a washcloth.  He turned on the cold water and wet it, wrung it out then laid it on Taylor's shoulder.  "Here, this might help."  He said to him.  Taylor brought his head up then wiped his face.

"You know,"  Lee said, "you'll never like jellybeans again."  He looked up at her and she couldn't help it, she'd never seen anyone more in need of a hug, so she reached down and pulled him in close.   "Can we help?"  She asked.  He had buried his face in her shoulder and he shook his head.  "How's your arm?"  He shrugged.  She stood back up next to Isaac.

"Tay," he said, "are you gonna be alright?"  He nodded, put the washcloth on the back of his neck and closed his eyes.  "Well, if you're sure we can't get you anything, we're going back to bed."  He waved them on and they left him to fend for himself.

~~~~

At 8:30, Isaac awoke to the weird non-sound of snowfall and the odd glow it gave to the room.  He could hear someone rummaging around in the hallway.  When he looked over to his side, there lay Lee sleeping next to him.  In a way, he felt guilty.  His happiness had been brought about by his brother's misfortune.  Of course, Taylor's misfortune was his as well.  Whether they planned or admitted it, Hanson the music group centered around Taylor's distinctive vocals and that was now a thing of the past.  His thoughts were invaded by more sounds from outside the room and he decided, like Scarlett O'Hara, he'd just have to think about that tomorrow.  He sat up and pulled on his jeans, then grabbed a clean shirt from the stack his mother had placed on his dresser and headed out to see who was up.  His eyes went to a pile of bed clothes in the middle of the hallway where Sparky sat intently watching whatever was going on in Taylor's room.  He stepped around the little dog, remembering last night and how unappreciative he had been of his harsh treatment of the person his world was centered around.  Taylor had stripped his bed of it's sheets and was attempting to scrub the carpet one handed while the bandaged arm he kept perched on his knee unused.  "Hey, what's up?"  Isaac asked.

Startled, Taylor dropped the scrub brush he was using and glared at his brother.  "Give me a heart attack, why don'tcha?"  He said.

Isaac smiled.  "What are you doing up so early?"

Taylor stood up and signed, "Could not sleep."

"Really?  I thought you'd be out 'til noon after last night and this morning."

Taylor shook his head, picked up the brush and looked at the carpet.  "Mom's gonna be mad."

"Taylor, sorry, but if you don't look at me, I can't tell what you're saying."  Isaac saw a little trace of anger cross his face but it passed.

Taylor looked at him now and said slowly, "Mom will be pissed."  And pointed at the rug where the trail of brown spots leading from the window to the bed still lingered in the plush gray carpet.

"Yeah, probably."  Taylor sighed and sat the brush on the nightstand.  "Lemme see your arm."

Taylor shook his head and signed, "It's S-T-U-C-K."

"What?"  Isaac asked.

Taylor held his arm up and attempted to pull the bandage back, now Isaac could see what he meant.  Over night, both the scrape and the cut had gotten attached to the gauze. "I'm going to take a shower, then laundry."  He pointed to the pile of sheets.  When Isaac looked back at him he said, "then, you fix this, OK?" and he pointed to his elbow.

"I'll do my best."  He said, looking doubtful.  Taylor knew it wouldn't be easy, but he really didn't want his parents to know about what had happened and he certainly didn't want his mother dragging him off to the doctor.  "I still can't believe you put your hand through the window."

"I still can't believe what a prick you were to lock me out of the house when it was freezing and raining and snowing..."

"Alright, alright, you lost me back there and I think I'm glad, so let's drop it, ok?"

"That sounds like a good idea."  Lee said.  She stood in the doorway now.  "Fix me some breakfast,"  she said, "then you have to take me home.  I have to be at work at 1:30."

"Hmmmm, breakfast, eh?"

Taylor stepped between the two and looked at Lee.  "Hope you like Pop Tarts."  He said and grinned.

"What'd he say?"  Isaac asked.  Taylor went in the bathroom and shut the door.

~~~~

When he got out, he put on blue jeans and carried the sheets and his clothes from the day before down to the laundry room.  According to the label on the detergent, cold water was for blood stains.  He smashed all the things in the washer then doubled up on the soap.  If it didn't work, he thought, he'd just throw them away.  He walked into the kitchen.  There, Zac, Isaac and Lee were finishing off the last of pancakes and sausage.  "Hey Tay, you want me to fix you..."

Taylor was already shaking his head and holding his hands up as if he could shield himself from the mere thought of food.  Zac and Isaac looked at each other.

"Man, Tay..."  Zac said, "if the skinny, wasted look ever comes back in style, you are in there!  What, are you up to about 110 now?"

Taylor shot him a look and Isaac intervened,  "Zac, lay off."  He looked at Taylor now and said, "Mom called.  They'll probably be home around eleven or twelve."

Taylor nodded as he walked over to the garbage can and began to unwind the soggy bandages from his arm.  Morbid curiosity got the best of them and soon he had an audience.  When he got it all uncovered they made the appropriate yukky faces and "ewww" sounds.  Zac was sent for the box again.  Isaac pulled him over to the sink and they poured peroxide generously over the whole area and it bubbled furiously and, though not nearly as much as alcohol would have, it stung enough to make him hiss.  This time, they coated it with the ointment to keep the bandages from sticking and in no time, he had been repaired once again.  He went upstairs and into Isaac's room where he found a big, loose sweater and put it on being careful to bend his arm only as much as necessary.  He looked out the window and saw it was still snowing, then walked back to his room where Sparky was curled up on his bed.  At the sight of him, the little dog stretched and jumped to the floor.  As Taylor laced up his boots, he watched him then the two of them went back downstairs.  The dishwasher was running and the kitchen was now empty.  The sound of the television in the family room pulled him in to see Zac sitting with the remote control in one hand and a banana in the other.  "Where's Ike?"  He signed.

Zac looked up.  "Huh?"

Again, "Where's Ike?"

"Oh.  He took Lee home."  Taylor thumped his foot on the floor.  "What's the problem?"  Zac asked.

"I wanted to go to the store."

"What store?"

"7-Eleven."

"Well, go."

Taylor wasn't going to tell Zac, but he wasn't too eager to drive in the snow.  Sparky had jumped up on the chair and was looking out the window wagging his tail. Taylor stepped in front of Zac and said, "I'm going to walk there, do you want to go?"

Zac looked out the window at the falling snow, then turned back to his brother.  "Sure.  Let me get some shoes on."  And he got up and left the room.  When he came back he had a red leash in his hand.  "Here, Mom was gonna give this to him from Santa, but let's take the little fart out.  He looks like he wants to go."

At that word "go" Sparky jumped down and turned in a circle.  Taylor smiled and made the sign for "sit" and the little dog obeyed.  He attached the leash to his collar and handed it to Zac.  He went to the closet to get his coat but then he remembered he'd taken it off by the basement window when he was trying to get in.  So, he grabbed his father's old worn denim jacket, it was big enough to fit over the sweater but it didn't swallow him like it used to.  Zac met him in the living room, handed him the leash, put his own coat on and they were on their way.

The three or four inches of snow were enough to come up to Sparky's belly and he had to do a little hoppy jump to get through it, but he enjoyed every second of it.  When they got to the road, it had been plowed and walking was much easier.  As the snow tapered off, the sun began to make it's way through the clouds.  Zac realized as he looked over at Taylor's face it was the first time since Thanksgiving he'd seen him out in daylight.  The cold had made his cheeks red and in the sun, his eyes were almost the colour of the sky.  Taylor looked back at him and raised his eyebrows.  "What?"

"Nothing.  I just realized we haven't gone out and done anything in a while."   Taylor nodded and they walked on.  When they got to the store, Taylor picked up Sparky and they went inside.

It was only 9:30 but neither boy could resist the smell of the hot dogs that were roasting there, two for a dollar.  Taylor hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and that had been lost in the swirl of the toilet bowl.  So, he bought four and a ginger ale.  Zac was satisfied with two as he'd already eaten six pancakes, two sausage patties and a banana less than an hour before.  A Dr. Pepper completed his after breakfast snack and would give him that extra boost needed to keep up with Taylor and Sparky.  As they went out the door, two girls were coming in.

"Taylor!"  said a tall brunette with very large gold hoop earrings.  Zac noticed her green eyes lit up at the sight of his brother.  There was nothing new about that, but she seemed to be more than just a fan.  He looked over at Taylor who suddenly looked a little nervous.  When she kissed him on the lips, Zac knew she wasn't your common everyday fan.  The girls followed them out into the parking lot.  "Hey Sparky."  She said and she scratched the dog on the head.  "Will we see you tonight?"  she asked.

Zac was watching both like a hawk, if she was one of the people Taylor'd gotten mixed up with, he wanted to know everything he could about her.  Taylor shook his head and she looked so disappointed Zac almost felt sorry for her.  He looked to Zac and signed, "Tell her for me."

"Ok, what?"

"This is K-I-M" and he looked from Zac to the girl.

Zac reached his hand out, "Hi Kim, I'm Zac."

She smiled a brilliant smile.  "Of course you are, sorry I didn't say hi before.  Hey, did he just say my name?  Show me how."  As much as he tried not to, he found himself liking this girl.  "Oh, and this is my sister Carrie."  The other girl smiled and shook his hand.  "Teach us our names."

"Well," he said, "this is Kim…" and he signed K-I-M.  "How do you spell your name?"  He asked the other girl.  She told him and he carefully recited each letter as he formed it with his hand.

"That is so cool.  Taylor,"  she said, "maybe you could teach me some more some time?"

He didn't give a crap about the others, but Taylor knew he would miss Kim, though a little on the wild side, she was a genuinely sweet person.  "Zac," he said, and slapped him lightly on the arm

"Oh, sorry." Zac said.

"Tell her my brother found out and I'm in trouble and I can't hang out with them anymore."  Zac told them what Taylor had said.

Kim looked at Zac and said,  "Tell him we don't have to..."  Taylor touched her arm and she looked at him.

"He's not deaf."  Zac said softly.

She slapped her hand on her forehead, "I'm sorry, I knew that, it's just..."  Taylor nodded and smiled at her.  She looked at him with that look that Zac had seen so many times before.  Even without the flirty sweet talk Taylor had been so good at, he'd cast his spell over another poor unsuspecting female.  She sighed, reached over and hugged Taylor, "Ok, but listen, if you ever need anything..."  She paused and Zac saw the glint in her eye, "and I do mean anything," she smiled, "you let me know, ok?"  She touched his cheek then turned to Zac, "Nice to meet you Zac, hope I see you around guys."  And she and her sister went back inside the store.

Taylor reached in the bag and broke off a big piece of one of the hotdogs and gave it to Sparky.  "So, is that who you've been seeing at night when you leave the house?"

Taylor shrugged.  "Not just her."  He said.  Sparky finished the morsel and awaited more.

"You ready?"  Zac asked.

"Yep."  He replied and they walked across the slushy parking lot the same way they had come.  By the time they got to the gates of their neighborhood, they had eaten everything and even Sparky was satisfied.  Zac stopped and asked the man in the little guard shack if he'd throw their trash in the garbage and he obliged.

As they got closer to their house, Zac looked up and saw that Greg and Tim Gutman and a couple of other guys were in their front yard laughing and throwing snowballs occasionally and just generally doing the things that teenaged boys do.  The nearer they got the less Zac was looking forward to walking past the house.  Sure enough, when they got within earshot of the other boys Greg, the shorter, stockier of the two called out,  "Hey, if it isn't Jay and Silent Bob!"

As the other boys laughed, Zac and Taylor looked at each other.  Already Zac was mad enough to tell him off but Taylor signed to him to "ignore."

Now, Tim added his two cents worth.  "Of course, Bob ain't the fat one anymore, but he's still silent."

Taylor looked over at the boys but decided they weren't worth worrying about.  Sparky looked on with interest sensing Taylor's unease.  Just as they thought they'd made it without a confrontation, a slushy snowball hit Zac in the back.  Sparky began to bark furiously and Zac stopped in his tracks.  Taylor knew they were outnumbered and he remembered the last time, his humiliation at the hands of their sister Marcy who'd slapped the crap out of him was legendary in the neighborhood.  He shushed Sparky then he stepped in front of Zac and said, "please Zac,"  then he signed, "we're almost home, let's just go.  They're dicks and we know it, they just want you to get into it with them.  Ignore."

Zac signed back, not wanting the boys to hear him.  "One punch.  That's all it would take."

Taylor shook his head.  "No!  That's just what they want!"

"Whatever."  Zac said, and the boys began to walk again.

Not knowing what their prey was saying about them was unexpected and much worse than if Zac and Taylor had retaliated in some way.  Greg decided to go in for the kill.  "Hey Taylor, you going to the party tonight?  There'll be plenty of good shit there and some of the girls at school haven't had sex with you yet!"

Taylor, unable to take his own advice, stopped walking and turned to look at him.  The boys were snickering and giving each other high fives.  He handed the leash to Zac and told him to stay there.

"Tay," he started but when Taylor turned back to him, he knew he better do what he said.

Taylor walked up to Greg and glared down at him.  Though they were the same age, He was now at least 6 inches taller than the other boy and the look on his face left no doubt the line had been crossed.  He wrote and handed it to the boy.  Don't EVER talk to me like that in front of my little brother again or I will kill you—and your sister won't be able to save you this time.  He read it then wadded it up and stuck it in his pocket.  Zac now decided to join them.  Sparky was growling at the boys.

"C'mon Tay, let's go."  Just inches apart, the two boys were in a staring match.  Zac had never known Taylor to lose at that game and sure enough, Greg looked away first.

"Get that thing out of my yard, it looks like it's got rabies!"

Taylor picked up the dog and it licked his ear.

"Don't start something you can't finish Greg."  The boys all turned around to see Marcy standing on the porch.  She walked across the slick concrete and down the stairs until she stood before her brother and Taylor.

"What's going on?"  she asked.

Taylor pointed at Greg and Zac said, "Your brother's got a big mouth."

"Yeah?  And?"  she retorted.

"Screw you Hanson."  Greg said looking at Zac now.  "What's it like to be normal now?"

Now, Tim joined in.  "Yeah, I can't wait to see Taylor flipping burgers!"

A third boy added, "Hey Taylor, how do you say 'Want fries with that?' in sign language?"

Taylor smiled and raised his middle finger.  "At least they were using their imaginations now," he thought.  He signed something to Greg then which in turn made Zac crack up.

"Let's go."  He said to Zac.

He waved to Marcy and she smiled and waved back.  "Bye Taylor.  See ya 'round.   Bye Wacko!"

Zac turned and said, "Bye turd breath!"  She giggled and started up the walk towards their house.

Just then a car pulled up to Zac and Taylor.  It was Isaac on his way home from Lee's.  He'd been a little concerned as he drove up the street and saw his brothers surrounded by a bunch  of guys.  He stopped and got out.  "What's going on, Zac?"

"Nothin'. Just some smartass remarks from the Buttman Brothers.  It's over."

"Who won?"

Zac gave him a "you have to ask" look.

"Oh yeah, for a minute there I forgot who the biggest smartass in Tulsa was."  He looked at Marcy sitting on the porch steps.  "Hey Marcy."  Isaac called.

"Hi Ike."

"Me and my girlfriend Lee are going out with some of the guys for glow in the dark bowling tonight.  You wanna come?"

She shook her head.  "I'm a crappy bowler."

"That's alright, so's Taylor and he's going."

Taylor jerked his head around and raised his eyebrows.  "No, I'm not."  He said.

Isaac narrowed his eyes at him, "Yeah you are, or I tell Mom about last night."

Tim laughed and yelled to him, "You don't want your mom to know about last night Taylor!  I was there, I know!"  The boys all laughed.

"Well your mom sure liked it."  He said as he got in the car making Zac laugh again. "C'mon, let's go home."  He said to his brothers.

Isaac looked back at the girl on the porch.  "Well?"  He said.

She looked embarrassed.  All eyes were on her.  "Umm.  Ok.  I guess."

"Cool," he said, "we'll pick you up at seven."

"Ok.  See ya'."

Isaac waved and got back in his car and drove down the street toward the Hanson's house.  "What the hell was that?  Do you have a date with Taylor Hanson tonight?"  Greg asked Marcy accusingly.

"I don't think bowling with his brother and a bunch of guys constitutes a date.  Besides, in case you didn't notice, he didn't say a word to me."

"Duh,"  Greg said, "he can't say anything to anybody."

"Oh, I think he told you off pretty well.  It's none of your business anyway."  She said as she got up and brushed the snow off her pants.

"It is my business if my sister starts going out with the town slut who's also a burnout."

"Oh please, he's hardly a burnout.  I have a feeling that little phase is over."

"Marcy,"  Tim said, "I've been to some of Kimmy's parties and he was so stoned he didn't know what he was doing or who he was doing it with."

She couldn't argue there, she'd heard it all before from other people.  "Well, then it will be good for him to hang around with a straight edge like me then, won't it?"  And she went in the house and slammed the door leaving her brothers and their friends watching after her.
 
 

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