Again

Chapter 33

"Yeah, mom, I know."  Taylor spoke into his cellphone.  Shortly after the three brothers had gone back into the studio, his cellphone had began to go off.  Isaac had 3 missed calls, and to everyone's surprise, Zac had one.  All calls were from their mother, no doubt noticing the car in the driveway next to her home, and wanting answers. 
"No, mom.... no.  We didn't see her.... I don't know.  Yeah he's here.  No, I don't think that's a good idea.  No... he's fine.  Yeah he's still here, he's not, mom.  I know, mom.... yes, I will, I promise.  Okay mom, let me find out.  Once we figure out what's going on, I'll let you know.  Yes, mom, I'll call him.  Okay... we'll see you soon.  Okay, bye!"

"See you soon?!" Zac exclaimed, as he stood from the couch he'd been laying on in the lobby of the studio.

"She wants me to call dad," Taylor replied, as he pulled the phone up to his ear.

"Call dad for what?!" Zac asked, beginning to lose his patients.

Taylor hung up the phone, not being able to keep up with Zac's questions and the instructions his mom had given him. "She wants me to call him to come over.  To her house.  She wants us to come too.  She wants to know why Kayla is here, Zac, are you surprised?"  He hadn't meant to sound so short, but he was starting to feel attacked, even though he was the only one making moves toward getting the information they all seemed to want so desperately. 

Zac sat back down quietly, as Taylor went back to trying to contact their father.  He felt bad for the way he'd snapped at his brother.  He knew that he was only trying to help, and Zac wasn't making any easier for him to do that.  He tried to will himself to relax, but he couldn't.

"Alright," Isaac said suddenly as he walked back into the lobby from his own office.  He sat down next to Zac, "I called Nikki and told her what's going on," he began.

Zac turned to him, immediately, worried.

"Don't worry, I told her not to say anything to Natalie or Kate.  She's leaving her aunt's house right now, so she'll be there before us.  She's gonna take the kids to our house for a little while, you know, just in case things get a little loud or something."

Zac nodded.

"Alright, yeah, I know." They heard Taylor say, as they became quiet again.  "Yeah, I thought the same thing when she asked me to call you, so I guess we'll see.  We just got off the phone with her, so we're just gonna get some things shut down here then we'll be on our way.  Alright, yeah we'll see you there.  Love you too, Dad.  Thanks." 

Taylor turned and looked at his brothers looking up at him.  "He's coming.  He was a little shook at the fact that mom asked him to be there."  He exchanged a glance with Isaac before focusing his gaze on Zac, "He said he thinks she doesn't wanna fuck this up again.  His words.  Not mine."

"Fuck what up, again?  She made sure Kayla wasn't around to 'fuck shit up' again in the first place, remember?!" Zac replied, anger rising in his chest.  Taylor and Isaac were quiet, knowing exactly what Zac meant.  "Whatever," he huffed, getting up from the couch, "let's go get this shit over with already."  He grabbed his cell phone from the coffee table and began making his way toward the back entrance.  Taylor let out a deep breath, while Isaac shrugged his shoulders and motioned to Taylor towards the back door.

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Zac sat on the couch in his parents' old living room.  The home he grew up in feeling strange to him.  Since his father had moved out, Zac had avoided the home as much as he could.  It no longer held the love he'd held onto that seemed to seep from it when he was growing up.  It now felt cold, and strange.  His mother had made some updates and redecorated a bit, mostly in the kitchen and bathroom, with slight, mostly cosmetic changes to the rest of the house.  The basement where he and his brothers had jammed out as kids, now serving as a playroom to his nieces and nephews.  He would never admit it, but the house now made him more sad than anything.  It was a reminder of the things he'd gone through in his past.  Things so ugly, that it had lead to a long, nasty separation for his parents, that eventually ended in divorce.