Scream and be Free (Zac Hanson)

Chapter Eight

I quite like Jenna.

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Sitting at his desk in his office, Taylor watched through the glass wall as Zac walked into the shared studio space. His younger brother looked tired; worn out. Nobody should be that worn out at his age. Zac rummaged through a few papers sitting on the main table, his hair was hanging in his face, flipping his head back slightly to better his vision he continued to check out what must have been the writing his brothers had been working on. From his office chair, Taylor watched as Zac lifted the can of mountain dew to his lips, before setting it back on the table.

Zac was aware that Taylor's blue eyes were fixed directly on him, but he didn't much care. From the window, Taylor saw Zac grab a pair of over sized head phones and walk toward the piano that sat in the corner of the room. Placing his laptop on an end table next to the piano, Zac plugged the head phones in as he softly began to play. The only sound filling the room was the sharp, pristine notes of the piano. It was a melody that Taylor had never heard, but he liked it.

It didn't take long for Taylor to give into the urge that nagged him, slipping out of his office and into the room where his brother was presumably working. He wanted to talk to Zac, to find out how he had been doing. Taylor had talked to Brielle enough in the last few days to know she was falling apart, despite her strong face. Talking with her also told Taylor that his niece and nephew were in the dark about their mother's plans. It bothered him that nobody had explained to them what could take place, if he were in his brother's shoes he wouldn't tell his children either.

Sauntering up to Zac, who had his back to Taylor, the older brother stood looming over the younger's shoulder. Getting annoyed with Taylor after only a minute or two, Zac made a low growl of upset, leave it to Taylor to bother him just as he was making progress with something.

"What ya doing?" Taylor asked, as Zac stopped playing.

"Can you stay out of my business for five minutes?" Zac asked, pulling his head phones off and glaring at Taylor.

"I could, but what fun would that be?" Taylor smugly smiled, taking a drink from his coffee cup and tossing it in the trash.

Adjusting his position at the piano, Zac leaned forward resting his hands on the edge of the stool. "What do you want, Tay?"

Taylor shrugged. "To see how you are? I wanted to know how things have been going. You hardly talk to me anymore."

"You know how things are going. I'm sure you've talked to Brielle." Zac answered with a cold tone.

"Yes, but I mean how are you. I don't want to know how the situation is, or how your wife and kids are. I want to know how you, Zachary Walker Hanson, are doing." Taylor answered with a small smile. Pushing his beanie back on his head, he sat down on a stool opposite of the piano, next to the drums. "Talk to me Zac."

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Zac curtly replied with a scoff.

"I suppose so, yes." Taylor agreed with a nod. Gently tapping the drum symbol with his finger, he sighed. "Seriously, Zac, how are you? I know the deal with everything else, but I care and I want to know. Do you feel sick today? Maybe you're anxious? Or maybe it's the best fucking day you've had all week."

Zac shook his head. He was not having this feelings conversation with Taylor, not right now. Although it was nice to have somebody ask about him. It was always people asking about his wife, his children, never actually asking how Zac was. Promptly telling his brother he did not want to talk about his feelings, Zac put his head phones back on, gently hitting a few keys on the piano. All the while Taylor sat watching his younger brother. Zac may not want to talk about feelings, Taylor couldn't blame him, but he could have at least humoured his big brother and gave him something. Taylor was starting to worry about Zac, their entire family was starting to worry about Zac.