Again

Chapter 11

Later that afternoon, after Kayla had left to go hang out with her friends, Zac apologized to Taylor for the insinuations he'd made about him.  Taylor forgave him, of course, and once Isaac woke up from his own nap, the three of them spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at their parents house.  They had dinner and talked with their Dad for a while about the current state of their attitude toward the label, and how they had spoken several times about the possibility of them trying to get out of their contracts and continue on, independently.  Their dad was the voice of reason, oftentimes reminding them that love and passion sometimes wasn't enough, as ugly as that may sound.  Still he understood their sons were going to find a way to continue making music, even with the odds stacked against them.  He told them to give him a few days to reach out to some contacts he had and that they would discuss how realistic it would be for them in a few days.  
Around 9 PM the brothers went back home.  Taylor had suggested a movie, which Isaac was game for, but Zac said he was going to take a shower and try to go to bed.
"You slept all day," Taylor said, laughing.
"That's probably why I'm so tired," Zac replied.
"Alright, well if you find yourself tossing and turning we'll be up.  We could always go down and work in the studio," Isaac suggested.
The notion sounded tempting to Zac, but he knew his head wasn't in it at the moment.  While he'd enjoyed the afternoon he'd spent with his family, the truth was he couldn't stop thinking about Kayla being gone.  It was almost 10:00 PM and she still wasn't back.  He'd tried texting her a couple of hours before, asking if she was having fun.  He didn't want to, but he couldn't help himself.  She'd replied with a simple 'yes' and he didn't bother with anymore questions.
"Oh, also, Mike's gonna stop by in about an hour.  In case you're up," Taylor casually interjected.
Mike was Taylor's "weed guy".  He didn't smoke often, but whenever he wanted to, Mike was always willing to deliver, since Taylor always bought "top shelf" merchandise from him.

Zac nodded towards his brothers and started towards his room.  He pulled out some pajama pants and a pair of boxers and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.  Once he was done and dressed, he brushed his teeth and combed out his hair before heading back to his room.  He paused when he stepped into the hallway and looked towards Kayla's door.  She still wasn't home.  He knew it was after 11 PM at this point and he wondered if he should send her a text, just to check in on her.  He walked back into his room and threw his dirty laundry toward the hamper next to his closet.  He missed, but didn't take the time to go over and pick it up.  Instead he sat on his bed and picked up his cell phone.  He flipped it open and dialed the last number he'd called.  It rang three times before voicemail picked up.

"Hey it's Kate.  Leave me a message and I'll call you back!"

Zac rolled his eyes.  It was the second time today she'd not answered the phone, "Hey Katie, it's me again.  I know it's late but I called you earlier and didn't hear back from you.  Call me back or text me, let me know you're okay.  Bye."

He flipped his phone shut and let out a deep sigh.  He opened it back up and contemplated calling or texting Kayla.  He stared at the picture of him and Kate on the screen.  The last few days had been weird between them.  He knew she was busy, and most of the time he tried to respect that because she was always so understanding of his own schedule. His phone rang, suddenly, startling him and pulling him from his thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hey Zac."  It was Kate.
"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked.  She sounded 
"Nothing.  What's up?"
"If you're not doing anything, how come you didn't answer the phone?"
"Really, Zac? Obviously I'm not doing nothing, or I'd be sleeping.  Do you know what time it is?"
"Do you?"
He heard her sigh and it made him angry.
"I'm sitting with Natalie, Zac.  Talking about the wedding.  I told you this was what I was going to be doing most of the time whenever I wasn't doing things at school."
"I know what you told me, but I find it hard to believe that from the time you get out of school to the moment you go to sleep, all you're doing is help plan a wedding."
"So you don't believe me then, is what you are saying?"
"Would you believe me?"
"Don't I always?  When you tell me you woke up and went straight to the studio for 12 hours and I don't hear from you till the next day sometimes?  Don't I always believe you?"
Zac started to feel angry, "That's my job Kate!"
There was silence on the other end of the line.  He wasn't sure why but he knew something wasn't right.  It wasn't like Kate to avoid him, or to pick a fight. 
"Look, it's late.  And you've obviously had a bad day.  I'm about to drive Nat home and then go to bed.  Can we talk tomorrow sometime?"
"Whatever, let me know when you make it back home," Zac said as he flipped his phone shut.  The time appeared on the screen, 11:42 PM.  He got up and opened up his bedroom door.  He walked over to Kayla's room and saw that she still wasn't there.  He walked in and sat on the edge of her bed for a moment before allowing himself to lay down.  He'd always liked her bed better than his own.  She'd offered to switch with him but he'd declined.  It wouldn't be the same if it weren't hers anymore.
In that moment, Zac felt horrible.  He couldn't understand why he kept thinking about her in ways he knew he shouldn't.  He'd gone from being mad she wasn't home, to fighting with Kate, to laying in Kayla's bed in a matter of minutes.  He knew he had to stop.  It wasn't fair to Kate, and the way he still felt a claim over Kayla wasn't fair to her either.  Or to the chance he was trying to give their friendship.  He slowly drifted off to sleep, a slight wrinkle in his forehead showing all the thoughts floating around in his brain.