Scream and be Free (Zac Hanson)

Chapter Two

so, now we see two sides...

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It was pushing eight thirty when Zac and Taylor brought Junia and Abe back home. Most of Brielle's day was spent wallowing, not that she would ever admit to doing so, nor was she proud of herself for it. After a phone marathon with Jenna, who would hand the phone off to Luke periodically Brielle hung around the house with little ambition. Natalie had phoned around dinner time, to see if her sister-in-law wanted to join her and the kids for dinner, Brielle excused herself saying that she was making dinner for when her own husband came back.

This was an entirely new low for Brielle, she was becoming more and more depressed each time Zac took Junia and Abe to visit Shepherd. She hated the idea of her family being together, minus her, it made her feel worthless. Brielle could never discuss any of that with Zac, he'd only brush her off and tell her to stop being so silly. This was the type of thing she could however discuss with Taylor, the next time they got together for coffee or the kids had a play date. Brielle saw more of Taylor Hanson than she did of Zac these days. Taylor provided a shoulder to cry on, a support system, one that Zac had yet to figure out his wife needed.

The front door opened and a tired looking Junia trudged into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around her step-mother's legs and yawning. Greeting the little girl, Brielle smiled down at her, scooping her up into her arms and kissing her cheek. Zac wasn't far behind, carrying a grumpy looking Abe, while Taylor brought up the rear.

"Did you have a good day?" Brielle asked the little girl. Junia only nodded and rubbed her eyes, a sure sign she was tired. "That's good, why don't we get some dinner into you guys and then we can get you ready for bed?"

"I'm not hungry and the kids ate." Zac informed her, not bothering to look in her direction. He continued to hold Abe, focusing on putting his car keys away.

"Oh." Brielle softly replied, letting Junia down and turning to the stove where dinner was sitting. "I'll just put it away, we can have it tomorrow."

"Do what you want." Zac answered, "I'm going to get the kids ready for bed." Zac announced, shifting Abe's weight in his arms and following Junia out of the room.

Brielle was about the pull out a few containers, when Taylor stepped forward. He hated the way Zac would just seemingly brush his wife off. It wasn't fair and he'd remind Isaac to mention it later, if Taylor tried it, Zac would probably just punch him and tell him where to go. Isaac, being older, would have some pull and if not, then it wouldn't be Taylor getting the punch in the face.

"I'll eat, it smells great!" Taylor enthusiastically replied, taking a plate from the counter and fishing around to see what Brielle had made.

"Tay, you don't have to. Natalie probably has dinner for you." Brielle spoke up.

She knew Taylor was only eating to make her feel like her effort had been worth something.

Taylor shook his head, dropping a large forkful of spaghetti noodles onto his plate before pulling the cover off of the sauce. "Natalie told me I was on my own tonight, she and the kids had pizza."

Grabbing a piece of the homemade garlic toast, Taylor grinned at Brielle as he took a seat at the table. Sitting there for a minute, he glanced over at his sister-in-law.

"You know, I feel kind of awkward eating alone. Why don't you join me?" he offered, standing to get another plate of food and handing it to Brielle. "Zac will be back down shortly."

Whenever he got back from these visits, Zac did everything he could to avoid his wife. Brielle was used to it now, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Since Zac would leave her, avoiding the subject of how the day went, it would leave Isaac or Taylor to discuss things with their sister-in-law. Taylor took a bite of his dinner, raising his brow at Brielle before swallowing and speaking.