On The Road

Chapter 17

A few of months went by, and things had sort of settled down. Of course, when she did finally see Troy again, it was hard to tell him about Taylor. He had known something or someone would come in between them, but it hurt to hear her say it. He hadn't even said a word to her upon her breaking it off with him. All he had the strength to do was walk away before saying something he might regret, so he did and never looked back.

Kaitlyn and Taylor had continued their relationship long distance, but she had managed to surprise him with a visit one weekend when Miranda had managed to get some time away from the studio to care for her son. It had been nice to do so, and he had been happy to see her.

Over that weekend, he had taken her to dinner and a movie of her choice the first night. Then she begged him to let her take him out, and that pout she had given him was enough for him to give in. They ended up going to Shady Keys, a piano bar. It was something that Kaitlyn had never done before, and she wanted to see what it was like with him. It had been a blast.

Zac was struggling though. He had only seen his kids a couple of times since Kate left him. But both times were very short visits with his mom in the room, who had only done so under Kate's moms instructions. She didn't agree with him having only supervised visits with his kids, as he would never hurt them much less take off with them. But it made Kate feel more comfortable, so she did it.

He was back home with his parents for the time being anyway. After he lost his house that he once shared with Kate, he just didn't have it in him at the time to get his own place. He felt lost, and depressed. Knowing he did it to himself only made it that much harder. If only he hadn't lost his cool on Taylor, much less even tried to get close to Kaitlyn again, he might still have Kate and his kids. Now he had no one but his family.

Kaitlyn saw him when she was in town for that one weekend, but she was still mad at his actions. Maybe she shouldn't have been, but to see a side of him that she didn't think existed, had changed how she ever felt about him. The anger in his eyes when he went after Taylor had scared her. So in the few seconds she made eye contact with him, all she could do was glare at him.

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Britney had disappeared again for awhile, until recently however. She had found herself at a crossroads in her life in which she didn't know how to come back from. Being her newly changed self had gotten her nowhere good. After everything with Zac, she had wound up in Florida for a time. But the new guy she had gotten together with was no good. He wasn't abusive or anything, but all he could seem to do was get into trouble. The first time he did show her any aggression, she had taken off. No man was going to treat her that way. But that made her homeless, and it took a lot of hitching rides to make it to Tulsa.

She wasn't sure how or where to find Zac, but she hoped that she could. She didn't know what else to do, as she didn't want anything to do with her sisters.

This very night, she was laying on a park bench in Centennial park listening to her headset. She was happy she at least had that and a few other things besides a couple changes of clothes. Now she just needed somewhere to go. She was actually almost asleep when she felt someone nudge her. Upon sitting up, she was surprised to see Isaac and who she assumed to be Nikki.

" What... I mean, I... I don't..." She was speechless. not really sure what to say. She knew nothing she said could change the way they must feel about her.

" What are you doing here, Britney? And why are you sleeping on a park bench?" Isaac asked, crossing his arms as he spoke.

" Well, I... I'm not able to afford a hotel or anything. My last... well, let's just say he was criminal. Literally. So I left his ass, and now... I'm alone." She said quietly, ashamed to even say it.

Nikki actually felt bad for her upon hearing that. But she was still mad for the way she had broken up Zac's marriage. So it made it hard to feel too sorry for her. " I guess that's what you get when you keep going for the wrong guys."

" I know. And I shouldn't have done what I did, going to Kate like I did. I should have just... walked away gracefully. But I don't know how to do that."

" Your telling me." Isaac said, sitting down beside her. " You hurt a lot of people. Not just my family, but your own. I'm not even just talking about you sleeping with Zac knowing how Kaitlyn once felt for him. But the fact that you disappeared the way you did the first time... that destroyed them." He looked her straight in the eyes. " Despite the way you treated them, they still love you."

" I can't go back to them. I mean, I know you say that they love me, but I highly doubt it. They probably most likely hate my guts. And to be honest, I don't want them in my life. I can't handle the drama anymore."

" When I first met them, I will admit that Miranda was a huge mess. She did screw up and eventually she did realize that. In fact, I bet you don't even know that she is a singer now, Britney. And a very good one at that. Then there is Kaitlyn. She screwed up too, but now she is with Taylor, and is working her way to becoming a great artist." He told her. " If you paid any attention, you would know this already. There is no more drama, except for what you make for yourself."

Tears came to her eyes, and rolled down her cheeks. "Maybe your right. But I don't think anyone could ever understand the mess I made of my life before what happened with Zac."

" Listen, I don't like you very much, but I am not about to let you sleep out here. Grab your things and let's go." Nikki said, motioning her to follow them.

With a nod, Britney started to fold up the blanket so she could put it into her book bag, only to hear them both gasp upon seeing her belly.

" You... you're... pregnant?" Isaac asked, more in shock than anything.

Britney nodded. " But I don't know who the father is."