Chapter 38

"Oreo's!"  Mackie snapped at his sister.

"Oatmeal.  Mom says."  Avery retorted matter of factly.

"He hates oatmeal and I do too.  So, I'm giving him Oreo's!"

"Mack," Avery said.  "Oreo's are fattening.."

"SO!?  He needs fattening!  Grandma says!"  And with that said, he grabbed the unopened bag of chocolate cookies and ran as fast as his small legs could carry him into his parents' bedroom where Taylor and Jessica both lay sleeping soundly.  Very quietly, he climbed up on the bed.  He gazed at his older siblings wondering why they both had yesterday's clothes on.  Avery got Zoe down out of her highchair.  She had to be careful because her baby sister was getting heavy and more than once she'd toppled over carrying her.  She sat her down on the floor and handed her a cup of milk and the two made their way in to join the others in the bedroom.  Zoe climbed up on the bed holding the cup in her teeth.  Avery gave Mackie a look, letting him know she was still mad at him.  "Look," he said.  "They didn't take a bath last night.  Specially Tay, he looks like on the bus when he falls asleep after a show.  Did he do a show last night?"

Avery rolled her eyes.  "Yeah, right.  What's he gonna do, wave at everybody?"  She spied the bag of cookies sitting on the bed next to him.

"He could play piano."  He reasoned.

Avery snorted.  "Mack, nobody pays to see somebody play piano."

"Well, Ike and Zac could sing, Tay could play piano, and I could sing his parts."

She looked at her little brother now, and then over at Taylor.  She smiled.  He did look like he'd just fallen asleep after a long sweaty show.  Then, her smile faded.  "You can't sing as good as Taylor.  Nobody can sing like Taylor."  Her bad mood had returned now and she grabbed the cookies and would have made a run for it, but Mackie was just as fast and he got the other end of the bag.

"Get off!  Those are Taylor's!"  He shouted.

"Not for breakfast!"  She yelled back.  Jessica sprung up in the bed just in time to see the bag break and oodles of delicious black circles cascade back onto the bed.  Of course, it was the extra large economy sized bag, that was the only size of anything they ever bought.

"What the hell are you all doing?!"  She asked.  Zoe had already filled both hands but froze as Jessica used her Mom voice.

"Awwwww," Avery said.  "I'm telling Mom.  You used the H word."

Beside them, Taylor began to stir.  He stretched his long arms up over his head, then let them flop back down again.  "Look what you did!"  Mackenzie said to his sisters.  "You woke him up!  And you..."  He spat at Avery, "spilt his special breakfast everywhere!"

Taylor's eyes opened slowly as the sounds of his brother and sisters broke through the fog of sleep.  He sighed, then turned over on his side to face them, shocked to see, not only Jessica, but Mack, Avery, and Zoe as well.  And lots of cookies.  He perched his head up on his hand, put a cookie in his mouth and raised his eyebrows, looking at them.  Seeing her brother eat one, Zoe decided to go for it as well.

"Well?"  Jessica said.

Avery pointed to Mackenzie, "He thinks Taylor is going to eat Oreo's for breakfast.  But, Mom'll be mad." Taylor smiled and held his hand up for a high five from his little brother.  After the night before, he felt like eating cookies for breakfast was the least of his worries and perhaps it was the perfect way to thumb his nose at the world.

~~~~

Christmas Eve had arrived bright and early in spite of the gloom that permeated the Hanson household.  It was 10:35 when Diana looked at the clock.  She hadn't gone to sleep til after 5, her mind going over and over everything she'd learned the day before.  Her husband was asleep beside her and she thought she'd let him sleep in longer as it was so seldom that he did so.  A noise from downstairs alerted her to the fact that she wasn't the only one awake.  She sighed and sat up feeling as if she were hung over.  "Not a bad idea." She thought to herself as she made her way down the stairs.  She walked into the kitchen wondering where everybody was at.  She knew she'd heard them.  Zoe's highchair was empty with an untouched bowl of oatmeal sitting on the tray.  "Mine!"  Zoe's voice floated in from her and Walker's bedroom.

She stepped over to the door and peeked around it.  There on her bed was Taylor, Mackie, Jessica and Zoe surrounded by Oreo cookies.  At the foot of the bed, Avery stood with her hands on her hips,  "Mom's gonna be mad when she finds out."  She watched as Taylor signed, not bothering to use his mouth as it was full of cookies.  Avery answered, "yes she will, 'cause I'm going to tell her."

He shrugged and stuck another cookie in his mouth.  Diana was relieved, she'd prayed he'd be able to handle everything they'd discussed the night before and, though he looked tired, he was not looking horribly upset or depressed, as she had feared.  She quietly backed up into the kitchen and decided if she was going to make it through the day, she'd better make some coffee, and lots of it.

~~~~

Zac lay in his bed somewhere between asleep and awake.  He was in the dumpster again, but he wasn't trying to get out.  Instead, he was looking for something.  He clawed his way through coffee grounds, half-eaten hamburgers, and other nasty unknowns.  It had to be here.  He could hear it.  He had to find it.  He reached farther and farther down into the garbage until his face was so close to it that he could barely breathe from the smell.  Then, he felt it, he had his hand on it but just as he was about to pull it from the garbage, he awoke with a start.  His heart was pounding.  Downstairs, Zoe was crying.  He could hear her. He let out a sigh and looked at the clock.  It was after 11, he knew he'd better get up.  It was Christmas Eve and there would be things that had to be done.  Santa would come tonight, whether his brother's kidnapper was caught or sleep had eluded everyone in the house til the wee hours of the morning or not, Santa waited for no one.  Slowly, he pulled himself up.  His eyes went to his desk where the folder lurked waiting to be perused by him again.  He went straight to the shower, he knew if he opened it again, he'd be there for who knows how long and today was not the day to get lost within those pages again.

As he took off his shorts, he saw in his mind all those articles, cut from papers, tabloids and magazines. Their parents either hadn't known, or perhaps just hadn't wanted them to know just how interested the media was in the story.  As he let the hot water from the shower run down his tired body, he thought that now, there would be a renewed interest and that possibly Tom Harris would tell everything.  He shampooed his hair, rinsed it out and got out of the bath, drying as quickly as he could as it was way too chilly in the room for him.  When he got back to his room, he sat on the bed just as Taylor walked in.  "You done?"  He signed to his little brother.

Zac looked at him, his clothes had been slept in, his hair was a mess and his eyes looked tired.  "Yeah, I'm done."  He said back.  Taylor nodded and walked towards the bathroom.  "Tay, you know, if you ever need to talk, I'm here, ok?"

Taylor just looked at him for a moment.  "I'm scared, Zac."  He signed.  "I don't want to go back there."

"I know you don't."  Zac said back and he reached over and hugged him.  "I don't either."

Taylor pulled back, shook his head, then headed for the shower.  Zac stood a moment watching the door, thinking.  Then, he made his way downstairs.  His brother and sisters were all crowded on the couch watching some Christmas cartoon on television.  When the doorbell rang, they all just sat there mesmerized by the glowing box.  Zac shook his head and walked over to the door.  When he looked out the window, he saw Taylor's friend Kim standing there, her long hair blowing in the cold wind.  He opened the door and she turned towards him.  He was struck again by how beautiful she was.  "Hi."  She said.

"Hi Kim, Taylor's in the shower."  He said back.

"Oh. Well, really, I just wanted to see if he was ok."

"He's alright, I guess.  He was pretty messed up last night."

"Yeah, that's what I heard."

"Do you want to come in and wait for him?"  Zac asked.

"Oh no.  I couldn't do that.  I just...  y'know...  wanted him to be ok and stuff.  I think he's not really supposed to be around me, remember?"  And she smiled.

Zac snorted, "Ike is such a parent.  Don't worry about him."

She laughed, "Taylor's lucky to have so many parents."  She turned away from him, "Well, I better go. Uh..."  She stopped and looked back at him, "don't tell Taylor I was here, ok?"

"Kim,"  he said, "are you walking?"  He noticed there wasn't a car around he didn't recognize.

"Yeah."

"Can I walk with you?  I want to ask you something."

She looked unsure.  "Um, yeah, I guess so."

He ran back in the house and grabbed his jacket off the chair where he'd discarded it the night before. "Mom!  I'll be back in a little bit!"  He called, not waiting for a reply.  He went out the door, carefully making his way down the slick steps.  Though the snow hadn't stuck, it had created a few slick spots here and there. They walked down the driveway to the street and began the trek back the way she'd come.

"What'd you want to ask me about, Zac?"  The sun was out and her green eyes were fascinating to him.  Her dark brown hair continually blew in her face and when she tossed her head, her gold earrings glinted in the sunlight.

"Well,"  he said, "I was just wondering if you knew anything about Tay and a girl named Sarah."

"Sarah?  What's her last name?"  she asked.

"Well, I'm not sure, it could be McAllister, but it might be somebody completely different.  Did he ever talk to you about a 'Sarah'?"

A sad smile crossed her face and she turned and looked at the boy walking beside her.  She still couldn't believe he was only fourteen.  "Zac," she said, "Taylor doesn't talk to me."

"I know he can't talk," he said.  "But, I mean, did he let you know about anything?  What all happened, or about this girl or anything like that?"

"No," she answered, "he didn't come to me to talk."  She stopped and looked into his eyes.  "I wanted to help him.  But, at least for a while, talking wasn't what he needed."  She searched his face for understanding and she thought she found it.  "I know what everyone thinks of me, including your brother and Marcy, but I didn't make Taylor bad or force him to do anything..."  She paused.  "But I did hold him when he cried and I helped him when he was hurting and I don't regret that."  Once again, her hair blew over her face and she pushed it behind her ears.

"You know they caught the guy, right?"  Zac asked.

"Yeah.  I hope he fries."

Zac smiled, "I don't think we can ask for the death penalty here..."

She cut him off.  "Why not?  He killed Taylor, it's what he deserves."

He saw anger in her face, she was perfectly serious.  He sighed, "yeah, well, you might be right."

"Sorry," she said, "it just makes me so sick to think somebody could do something like that to him.  I guess I kinda got off the subject, didn't I?"

He looked at her.  "That's alright.  I was just hoping maybe you could help me figure out some stuff."

"I haven't known Taylor that long.  Sorry I can't help you."  She looked up into the sun for a moment, allowing it to warm her face.  "Zac, I gotta cut through here...  I'm not on the list."  She smiled at him.

"Well, next time, come up to the gate.  You'll be on it."  She put her hand on his cheek, "You're a peach Zac, call me when you get a little older, ok?"  And she winked at him.  "And listen," she put her hand on his arm, "you take care of Taylor, alright?"

"I will."

"I know you will."  She said back and then walked between two houses and headed for the fence she'd climbed in order to get into the forbidden neighborhood.

Zac turned and headed back down the street towards his own house.  His mind was so busy, he didn't notice Greg walking out to the street to check the mail.  "Hey dickhead," he called.  "How's baby spice?"

Zac looked up, "huh?"

Greg chuckled.  "Wake up man.  I said, how's your bro this morning?"

Zac shook his head.  "He's ok, I guess.  Not looking forward to next week.  We gotta go back to New York next week, they say."

Greg raised his eyebrows.  "Hm, well, if I was you, I'd get a prescription for him first.  He was seriously trippin' last night."

Zac wasn't sure he liked Greg giving him advice about his brother, but he also thought he might be right. "Hopefully, that's in the past.  He talked to the folks last night, got a lot of stuff out, y'know?"

He shrugged his shoulders.  "Good luck, what do you think's gonna happen when he gets in the same room with that guy?"

"Shit Greg, I coulda went all day without thinking about that.  Thanks man."  And he started walking towards his house again.

"Anytime dude!  Anytime!"  Greg called back.
 
 
 

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