You are a drug and it is quick

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Zac stood on the small private beach near the summer cottage on the outskirts of Tulsa that belonged to Liam's parents. He watched as Mr.Fowler, Liam's Dad, locked up the modest home and made his way down the stairs. He walked across the beach, finally stopping in front of Zac.

"So what do you think?" He asked, following Zac's gaze out on to the water.

"It's perfect." Zac nodded. "This has already kind of become our spot, ya know? She's never actually been inside the cottage, but we come to this beach a lot. I hope you don't mind...." Zac trailed off and locked eyes with Mr. Fowler.

"Not at all." He nodded. "You know you've always been welcome here, and now that Janine and I are getting older, we'd prefer to travel, rather than spend our summers in Tulsa. Don't have to worry about traveling with all those little kids these days, so it's nice." He smiled.

Zac smiled back at him. "Thank you, for this."

Mr. Fowler passed Zac the key that he held in his hand, and Zac clutched it tightly. "It's yours now. So long as that check clears." He smirked.

"It will, Sir."

"I know you're good for it." He joked. "Our things are mostly cleared out already. Whatever is left over there, the bed and couch and kitchen ware, feel free to keep, or get rid of. Either way, consider them yours."

"Thank you so much. I know this place has a lot of memories for you and your family..."

"Well, it's up to you to fill them with you own memories now. That girl of yours, your future children...I imagine you'll have many wonderful summers here, as Janine and I did."

Zac nodded, sighing deeply. "We will."

***

Let alone to rust alone
Yeah, you're making me
I had to run, the damage is done
Give it up, yeah, give it up, yeah
There's nothing left, so take the rest
Yeah, you're draining me
I set it light, it burns so bright
Stab it out, yeah
Stab it out, yeah

Abby left the stage, heading straight for the small backstage area of the large, quirky bar in Knoxville. It was the second to last show of tour, with a day off the following day and then one final show in Nashville on Saturday night. She couldn't believe it was almost over, or the amount of fun she was having with Taylor, Jared, Mike, Dan and Kai. It had been an amazing few weeks, playing wall to wall packed venues. All of her merchandise had sold out in under a week, and the downloads of her digital EP had nearly doubled.

Shortly after sitting down on the couch in the backstage lounge area and opening a cold bottle of water, Jared, Mike, Kai and Dan burst through the door and piled on top of her, causing her to squeal and spill her water all over her lap. Luckily she was wearing a skirt and had bare legs, which were easier to dry off than pants would have been.

"You guys!" She laughed, attempting to push them off of her. Someone, she couldn't tell who, was digging their fingers into her ribs and tickling her, while another hand was messing up her hair.

Finally they eased off and scattered themselves across the room, only Jared remained on the couch, sitting himself next to her. Abby grabbed his arm, using the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe the water off her legs.

"You did great, Abs!" Mike smiled as he cracked open a beer.

"Thanks guys." Abby smiled, looking up briefly before glancing back down at her lap and making sure Jared's sleeve had soaked up all the water they had spilled on her.

Taylor walked in then, his eyes immediately going to Jared's hand on Abby's thigh. When she noticed him, she realized how strange it must have looked, and she dropped Jared's now very wet arm, shoving it away. As innocent and playful as it had been, she didn't want Taylor getting the wrong idea. The guys in Grit were all cute, but she didn't see any of them as anything other than close friends.