Chapter 47
It had been a long night for Justin. Normally, he managed to read five or so chapters in the latest book he was reading, but tonight, he sat in the tiny building surveying the line of cars all containing people wanting entry into the neighborhood where the Hanson's were throwing their annual New Years Eve bash. And, though only those on the list made it past him, he knew that elsewhere, fences were being climbed and landscaping trampled as party crashers found their way into the hallowed ground.
Diana and Walker were entertaining some of their close friends and family as well as the party the boys were having. Diana found herself peering out the back door checking out the revelry taking place there, but she found it hard to make out what was going on and she didn't want to be so bold as to actually go out and check. Though she told Taylor she'd be watching closely, she really wanted to just trust them to behave without her having to make a nuisance of herself.
~~~~
Behind the garage, the fire that Zac had skillfully started was blazing as the clock neared 10 p.m. Young people had been coming and going since the sun had set. Some they knew, some they didn't. Zac sat on a log watching it all. To his left, Isaac and Lee were laughing with a guy who had black hair with blue tips. Quite a few of Lee's friends had shown up and, though they looked wild, they seemed to be less inclined to drinking and trouble making than their younger, less intriguing looking fellow partiers. Across the circle from him, Taylor sat next to Marcy, a cup in his hand containing some concoction that made him wince whenever he took a drink from it. Zac watched as he stood up, pulling Marcy with him, leaving the cup sitting on the ground. He then looked at Isaac who was still engrossed in Lee, the way he was dreamily watching her lips made Zac think his overly responsible older brother had probably been drinking the same intoxicating beverage as Taylor. A steady stream of girls had attempted to get his attention to no avail. He just wasn't in the mood for it. He slipped around the circle and picked up Taylor's cup, sniffing the contents. Taylor obviously hadn't cared much for it as it was almost full. "What the hell..." He mumbled and downed half of it right there. Now, he was approached again by a girl who looked vaguely familiar.
"Hey Zac." She said, sitting down next to him.
"Do I know you?" He said, taking another gulp from the cup.
"I'm a friend of your brother's."
He shot a glance her way then turned his attention back to the red cup in his hand. "Oh yeah? Which one?"
"Taylor." She said and she scooted over closer to him, "Whatcha drinkin'?" She asked, peering into his cup.
"I have no idea, all I know is, it tastes very bad."
She held out her own drink saying, "you might like this better."
"Hmmm, what is it?"
"I have no idea," she giggled, "all I know is, it tastes very good. I'm Sherry by the way."
~~~~
Taylor and Marcy were standing in a circle that included Greg and Sonya and Rick and Rob. "Dude, Zac is getting some serious attention over there." Rick nudged Taylor.
He turned and, indeed, a girl was practically in his little brother's lap pouring something from her cup into his mouth as he did his impression of a baby bird. Though no one could hear it, anyone watching Taylor knew he'd just said the 'F' word. The others watched as Taylor left them and headed towards the fire. "Uh-oh." Greg said, "this could get interesting." Though he was dying to follow Taylor, he didn't, but he did situate himself to get the best view possible.
When Sherry felt someone tug on her arm, she looked up into icy blue eyes. "Hey Taylor, you up for a threesome?" She laughed, then leaned over and kissed Zac on the lips.
Now, the tug became a jerk as Taylor pulled her up to her feet. "Stay away from my little brother." He said.
She laughed again and put her hand to her ear, "What? I didn't hear what you said, can you repeat it, only louder this time?"
All eyes were turned to the face-off going on by the fire. "He said for you to stay away from me." Zac stated loudly.
Taylor looked at him and signed, "I don't know what you are drinking, but I think you have had enough. We promised M-O-M."
"Well, Taylor, I don't know what it is either, it's YOURS." Zac said smugly.
"So," Sherry interrupted, "I'm good enough for you, but not your precious little brother?! Is that what you're saying?!"
Taylor just looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"Fuck you!" she said, and she threw her drink at him.
He was so surprised, it took a moment for him to react, all those watching gasped as they watched him with the dark, sticky liquid dripping off his hair and down his shirt. When he finally did react, he charged her so quickly, Greg was certain he was going to strangle her, but just before he actually made contact, he reached down to the ground and threw a handful of sandy dirt at her in the same manner. Greg snickered and clapped his hands as she spit and sputtered, "I didn't know he had it in him! God, where is big brother?" He said and he looked all around but saw no sign of Isaac. "Marcy," he said to his sister, "maybe you better go save your boy."
"No can do, you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas. If he didn't want to have anything to do with her, then he shouldn't have screwed her."
"Alright, whatever. But, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and that is one scorned woman there, I think he's about to get his ass kicked."
Tim walked up behind the two just then. "Wouldn't be the first time. What's goin' on?"
Sherry got the same stunned look as Taylor, but it didn't take her as long to react. By now, the only people not watching seemed to be Lee and Isaac. Everyone watched the two as Sherry began to slap and hit Taylor as he tried to grab her. Finally, after she landed a few slaps, he managed to get hold of her wrists with one hand and grab her around the waist with the other, but before he could do anything else, she jammed her foot behind her solidly kicking him in the shin so that he had to let her go. "You are such an asshole! You deserved everything that guy did to you! Fuckin' has-been!" She spat.
Now, Zac was on his feet and he stepped in between the two. "Take it back!" He yelled at her, he was near hysterics, but instead of getting violent like it appeared he was going to, he burst into tears. "Take it back." He sobbed.
Sherry looked at him like he was insane. "Both of you oughta be in the looney bin. You're all crazy as shit!" She stated, then stomped off into the darkness.
Taylor stood up straight and put his arms around his little brother. The crowd had quieted and backed away a bit now. He stepped around to stand in front of Zac, dumbfounded at how upset he'd become. "Z-A-C," he signed, "it's OK. It's over."
Zac grabbed him and clung to him and Taylor could feel him shaking. Marcy was by his side now, "Taylor, are you guys alright? Those platform shoes probably didn't feel too good, huh?"
Zac pulled away and sat down on the log putting his head in his hands. Marcy watched as Taylor pulled up the leg of his jeans to reveal his bloody shin. "Damn." He said and then he looked up at her. "Where's Isaac?" He mouthed.
"I haven't seen him for awhile." She answered.
He looked back down at his leg. "I hate those damn wooden shoes, it's like she hit me with a 2x4." He looked over at Zac. "I gotta find him." He said, then he put his fingers to his lips and let loose with THE whistle. Then he sat down next to his distraught little brother.
"Taylor," Marcy said, "I'll go and try to find him, ok?"
He smiled at her. "Thanks." He signed. He looked at Zac wishing he could comfort him. He couldn't say anything, so he just put his arm on his shoulder to let him know he was still there.
~~~~
Lee and Isaac and a few of their friends had walked to the back of the Hanson's property away from the party. Most of them, being in their twenties, weren't comfortable with the younger, rowdy crashers who had gathered around the fire. They'd heard some yelling and cheers and such a few minutes earlier, and had assumed a girl had raised her shirt or something. But when Isaac heard a shrill whistle, his head went up. "That's either Taylor or my Dad, I don't know which is worse." He said and he started back towards the party with the others following.
As he got closer, he saw Marcy coming towards him, "Isaac, there you are! You better get over there, Zac's drunk or something and some chick just attacked Taylor. I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean 'attacked'?"
"He's alright," she said, seeing panic in his eyes as he picked up the pace. "She just said some really cold shit, but it got Zac all freaked and he won't listen to Taylor.... I mean, well, you know what I mean." She said, feeling foolish.
"Zac doesn't listen to anybody." Isaac said.
~~~~
"She shouldn'ta said that Tay."
"Z-A-C, it's OK." He signed again. He clapped his hands in front of his brother's face to get him to look at him.
"It's my fault, Tay."
"NO, she is just a B-I-T-C-H..."
"No, everything Tay, it's my fault. Sarah wrote you and I deleted it and that guy wouldn'ta got you..."
Taylor shook his head and smiled. "What are you talking about? That was S-H-E-R-R-Y, not S-A-R-A-H."
"I'm not talking about her!!!" Zac said. "God! You are so slow sometimes! Sarah, your Sarah... She wrote you and I deleted it." Isaac and Marcy both got there just as the words came out. Zac began to cry again as he looked into the eyes of his brother. "Back in the summer, she wrote to you, but I didn't know it was her... I got rid of them." Isaac froze as he watched Taylor's smile turn to a look of confusion. "I'm sorry Tay, God, I'm so sorry."
As he began to comprehend what Zac was telling him, an unreadable expression took over Taylor's face. He stood and signed to Isaac, "I hurt my leg, I have to go inside." Then he took Marcy's hand and the two of them headed for the house.
~~~~
Isaac closed his eyes. Lee and the others had caught up and had seen it all. Though the onlookers didn't really understand, they knew something serious had just gone down. He looked down at Zac. "Do you want to tell me what just happened?" He asked quietly.
Zac looked up at him with dark, tearful eyes, "She said he deserved it, Ike. He had to know, he had to."
"I hope you're right, Zac." Isaac said, and he sat next to him and put his arm around him.
~~~~
Taylor and Marcy had gone in the back door and went straight down to the basement. Marcy tried to read his face for any sign of what was going on in his mind, but it remained blank. He kicked his boots off, then took off his jeans carefully, avoiding the painful reminder of Sherry's anger. Marcy would have laughed seeing him stand there in his shorts if she hadn't been so worried about him. He sat down on the sofa and looked at her. "Who's Sarah?" She asked. "And what does she have to do with the kidnapping?"
He reached for a tissue from the table and wiped the blood from his leg. Then he looked back at her. "Long story." He mouthed.
"I've got all night." She said, "and, I think I deserve to know."
He looked at her, her tawny eyes looked up at him and her hand was on his knee. He took a deep breath, and he began to sign. "Last S-U-M-M-E-R, I met S-A-R-A-H..." He started.
~~~~
Lee was torn between wanting to be there for Isaac and feeling like he and his brothers had to work out their problems alone. And soon, before their relationship was damaged beyond repair. She walked over and stooped down in front of him. "Isaac, we're leaving... Now, give me my New Year's kiss, I'm sure it's midnight somewhere." And she reached up and kissed him.
He nodded, "I'll call you." He said and he handed her his cell phone.
She put her hand on his cheek, then turned to Zac and hugged him. "You did the right thing." She whispered.
He looked up at her and nodded, then sniffed. As Isaac watched his friends leave, he turned to Greg, Sonya and his lifelong friends, Rick and Rob, "You're in charge, make sure nobody gets killed and the cops don't end up arresting anybody, alright?"
"Sure man, no problem." Rick said, and the rest of them nodded.
Now, he turned to Zac, "Well, we better get inside, no use putting it off."
Without a word, Zac got up and he and Isaac made their way to the house.
~~~~
"God bless America, Taylor... You sure let your dick get you in a lot of trouble."
"M-A-R-C-Y," he said, "I S-W-E-A-R to you, I'm not like that. It was only the second time I had ever done that."
She looked into his eyes now and understood the pain she always saw there. And it scared her because she knew there was no way she could ever make it go away. Not only had his passion been taken from him, but also, enormous feelings of guilt and loss had been placed on his shoulders as well. She looked away from him as the soft click of the door and the sounds of footsteps on the stairs let them know someone was coming. Isaac stepped down into the room followed by Zac. They stopped when they saw her and she looked back to Taylor. "I'm going home Taylor..." he started to get up "...oh stop it! It's just a few doors down and you don't even have any pants on." She reached down and kissed him. "You don't leave 'til day after tomorrow, right?" He nodded. "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then, alright?" She asked.
He nodded again and held her hand up to his face for a moment. He looked back up at her and smiled a little, then waved. She turned, looked at his brothers, then walked past them and up the stairs. Now, the three brothers were alone not knowing, for the first time in their lives, what to say to one another. Finally, Isaac spoke up. "Uh, Tay.... How come you're sitting down here in your Cookie Monster underwear?" Taylor pulled his leg up onto the coffee table and Isaac gasped when he saw the now badly bruised gash on his shin. "What the hell happened?" He asked and he went over and sat next to him on the sofa to get a better look.
"I P-I-S-S-E-D off some girl." He signed.
"No way!" Isaac said sarcastically.
Taylor rolled his eyes then looked at Zac. He was still standing by the stairs. When their eyes met, Taylor signed, "what did they say?"
"I didn't read them." He replied quietly.
"Why not?"
"I didn't know who they were from, I just deleted some stuff and they were in there."
"How many?"
"I don't know, a bunch."
"Like 5, or like 25?"
"Maybe 12 or 15, I don't really remember."
"When?"
"The day you punched me in the face and you cut your lip."
Taylor looked at him thinking he remembered the day a little differently than that. Suddenly, he laughed, yet, he had tears in his eyes. "Could my life get any more F-U-C-K-E-D? Everyday, it's something new." He sat back on the couch and lay his head back looking at both his brothers.
"I'm sorry, man." Zac said, and then he wiped his nose on the sleeve of his shirt and walked over to stand on the other side of the table from them.
Taylor shook his head. "Don't be. I never should have gone to see her. It's my own F-A-U-L-T and no one else's."
Isaac stood up now and started to pace. Everything he'd wanted to say for the past two months just came pouring out of him. "That's bullshit, Taylor. It's not your fault some maniac held you responsible for the death of his fiancée. It's not Zac's fault even if he was a total shithead for deleting her messages. It's not my fault even though I let you guys... No, sent you guys out at night in New York City all alone so I could call a girl I didn't even know..." Zac and Taylor looked at each other then back to Isaac. When he was on a roll, there was no stopping him. "It's not Mom and Dad's fault even though if they hadn't been such hardasses and grounded you for a fricken' MONTH, you and Zac wouldn't have fought and you woulda gotten your email." He stopped and looked at his brothers, they'd all been through so much together and no matter what stupid shit they did, he knew he loved them more than anything, more than music, or Lee, or himself. "If anyone's to blame, it's her. Not only did she seduce a boy eight years younger than her, she got pregnant. Maybe even on purpose. Then when things didn't go her way, she took the coward's way out." He stopped and turned away from them both. Taylor stood up and limped over to him, Isaac turned back around, looked at him, and smiled, "God, you are such a mess. I don't know what I would've done if we hadn't gotten you back."
Zac watched the two embrace.
Though Taylor and Isaac both had more or less pardoned him for his part
in the events leading up to Taylor's abduction, he would never really forgive
himself, and he knew it. And, he would never forget that cold November
night or the last time he heard his brother's voice.
| Back |
|
|