August cried for about 10 minutes. Zac and Isaac sat there, frozen. They could only watch. They both felt sympathy for her. They both knew that she shouldn't have to deal with this. It wasn't fair. They just sat.
After she had calmed down, August received hugs from Isaac and Zac as they left. She had asked them to talk to Taylor. Zac and Isaac walked out of her house, silent. They didn't know what to say to her, or to Taylor. Walking across the street, Zac began to talk.
"Ike, what should we say to him?"
Isaac took a breath.
"I don't know Zac. Just talk to him, I guess. What more can we say to him?"
Zac shrugged. They continued walking, silently.
When they reached their door, they shared a look before walking inside. When they got inside, all they could hear were the pounding of drums. Zac shook his head, and brought his hands to his head. He prayed that Taylor wasn't ruining his set. Zac followed Isaac through the house and into the garage. Taylor had headphones on, his eyes closed, and was playing along with what he was listening to. Zac watched him for awhile, then spoke.
"I know what he's playing." he stated as he sat next to the keyboard.
"What?"
Zac looked to Isaac.
"He's playing Thinking of You."
Isaac looked puzzled.
"Ike, I'm the drummer. I know the drum part to every song. Plus, I can hear the music. He has it on loud."
Isaac nodded and grabbed his guitar. He grinned at Zac. Zac gave a weird look.
"What?! You want me to play this? I can't play keyboards!"
Isaac shook his head.
"Zac, you know you can play it. We've played the song a million times, and Taylor showed us both how to play it. You can either play the piano or the guitar. I would rather you play the piano. He grinned. Zac shook his head, but placed his fingers on the keys, trying to remember how the song went. He suddenly remembered and listened. When he found a good place to start playing, he started. Isaac joined in quickly. They began to sing. Zac would make some mistakes every so often, but he kept playing. Taylor opened his eyes. He looked around. He started laughing when he saw Zac playing keyboards. With one hand, he quickly turned off his CD. He kept playing. When the song was done, they all began laughing. Taylor got off the drumset and stood up.
"Where did you guys go?"
Isaac and Zac shared a questioning look. Zac nodded, Isaac shrugged. Zac spoke.
"Tay, we were at August's."
Taylor sucked in a breath.
"She wanted to talk to us, but she told us to come talk to you."
Taylor sighed and walked out of the garage. Zac and Isaac followed. The three boys entered their room and shut the door. Each found a place to sit, and they began to talk. The phone rang, and Taylor answered. He talked to the caller for awhile and sighed.
"Yea, I can probably make it. Do you want them to come?"
The caller said something.
"Ok, I'll tell them....what? All of it? How bout just the acoustic stuff? Just the drums and guitar? It'll take awhile. Ok, can we use that set? Ok. Yea, probably. Yea, you owe us big time for this. We'll see you then."
Zac and Isaac gave Taylor questioning looks.
"That was Amy and Lindsay. Lindsay is having a sleep over, and they want us to come hang out. She said it was a birthday-type thing."
"Ok.." said Isaac. "So how does that involve me and Zac?"
"She wants us to play a few songs. So get your guitar."
"What about Zac's drums and your keyboard?" he asked.
"They've got a set and a keyboard."
"Thats so not fair!" Isaac exclaimed.
Meanwhile, August was staring into space. Zac and Isaac had left not too long ago, and she was thinking about what they had said. She had a right to cry, that was for sure. After awhile, she drifted off to sleep. She woke up about 2 hours later, to her mother shaking her shoulder.
"August, honey, wake up." she called softly.
August opened her eyes and stretched. She glanced at the clock. It was about 5:30 pm. Her mother smiled. August returned the smile and sat up and yawned.
"Dinner should be ready in about half an hour. Ok?"
August nodded. Her mother left, closing the door behind her. She fell back on her bed. She thought of something and ran after her mom.
"Mom?" she called.
"Yea?"
"School starts next week, right?"
"Yea."
"Ok, when can we go shopping?"
"Well, I don't know. I would need to find someone to watch the girls."
"What about Alex?"
"I could ask. I'll call later tonight."
"Ok. Cool. Where would we go?"
"Well, I don't know. We could check out the stores here before going anywhere else, ok?"
"Ok."
August turned on her heal and walked back to her room. She walked to her computer. She clicked on the AOL Icon and logged on. She quickly checked her mail. A few minutes passed, and an Instant Message appeared on the screen. It was Leigh.
Sportz501: Hey
Spacey1011: hey, whats up?
Sportz501: nothing much, u?
Spacey1011: same. Not a good day though
Sportz501: why?
Spacey1011: oh, everything. I got in a fight with my boyfriend and we aren't getting along.
Sportz501: I'm sorry
Spacey1011: thanks, its not your fault. Its this girls fault....
Sportz501: whats her name? Maybe I know her
Spacey1011: maybe. Kel. Michaelson I think
Sportz501: ah........
Spacey1011: you know her?
Sportz501: very well. She's my cousin.
Spacey1011: oh. Sorry about that. I didn't know.
Sportz501: oh, its alright, we don't get along at all.
Spacey1011: why not?
Sportz501: she totally flirts with my boyfriend, and hits on him, even when I'm standing there. We broke up, and they went out for awhile.
Spacey1011: oh. Thats basically what she's doing to me.
Sportz501: really?
Spacey1011: yea.
Sportz501: don't worry about her. If the guy is smart, he'll see right through her.
Spacey1011: I hope he's smart enough.
Sportz501: whats his name? Maybe I've heard of him. She lists the guys she likes to me.
Spacey1011: you know what? I have to go. I'll see you Monday, ok?
Sportz501: whats Monday?
Spacey1011: first day of school. Maybe I'll have some classes with you.
Sportz501: yea, maybe. Ok, bye
Spacey1011: bye.
With that, August signed off. She didn't feel like talking about Taylor. She checked the clock. It was about 6. She could hear her parents upstairs. She and her mother were going shopping the next day. She couldn't wait.
Her mother came to her room about 15 minutes later. August was sitting on her floor, pictures scattered around. She looked up when she heard a knock on her door.
"Hi honey. I meant to ask, why didn't you come back to the Hansons?"
August nodded.
"I know. I'm sorry. I just felt like coming home."
"Its ok. Did something happen between you and Taylor?"
"Why?"
"Well, he was in a grumpy mood when he came home."
"Oh. We kinda had a fight."
"Oh. I'm sure everything will work out." she smiled
"I hope so." replied August quietly.
Her mom left the room, and the phone rang. August got up and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Aug, its Linz."
"Hey Linz."
"Whats up?"
"Nothing much, u?"
"Well...."
"Spit it out Linz." August yawned.
"Well, I was calling to ask if you could spend the night tonight. I'm have a few people stay over."
"Yea, I'm pretty sure I can. What time?"
"How bout 7?"
"Ok, sounds good. You want me to bring anything?"
"Anything you want to bring. I'm going to introduce you to some people."
"Ok, thats cool. I'll see you then."
"Ok, bye Aug!"
"Bye Linz."
August was now in a better mood. She hadn't been to a full-fledged slumber party since..........since Julie was alive. She frowned, and her hand went to her charm necklace. She kissed it and sighed. She walked down the hall and up the stairs to find her parents.
"Dad?"
Her dad looked up from the paper.
"Yes?"
"Can I spend the night at Lindsay's?" she asked.
"Is it ok with her parents?"
"Yea."
"Then I don't see a problem. What time do you need to be over there?"
"7."
"Ok, be ready by about quarter to, ok?"
"Ok, thanks Dad!!"
She hugged him and ran back to her room. She gathered all the clothes she wanted to bring, her camera, a notebook, and some random movies and CDs. She stuffed everything into a bag and looked at the clock. It was now 6:30. She couldn't wait anymore. Grabbing her sleeping bag and backpack, she ran up the stairs.
"Dad! Can we go now?"
He glanced at the clock and shrugged.
"I guess so."
"Cool!!!"
Five minutes later, August was standing on the doorstep. She rang the bell. The music coming from inside stopped immediately.
Chapter Fourty-Three
Chapter Index
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