Again

Chapter 35

Taylor stood in his back yard silently holding back the tears that were threatening to come down.  He wasn't sure what he expected when he saw Kayla, but his reaction had caught him off guard.  He knew that Kayla was trying her hardest to deal with the awkward situation she'd put them all in, but her attempt at being cavalier had certainly rubbed him the wrong way.  He turned and made his way toward the tree house that still sat in their backyard.  

"We should really fix this thing up for the kids," a voice came from behind him.  Taylor jumped slightly, before turning to see his older brother standing next to him.

"You scared me," Taylor said, sniffling a little bit.

"I had to get you back for this morning," Isaac remarked.  "You alright?  That was quite a performance."

Taylor walked over to the patio set that his mother had recently purchased, and sat down, "You ever wonder why mom tried so hard to make the house look different once Dad moved out?" he asked.  

Isaac was silent.  Their parents divorce was something Taylor never wanted to talk about.  He was the one, out of his 6 brothers and sisters, who tried to go on living as normally as possible once they'd announced that they were separating almost 7 years ago, "I asked her once," Isaac began, "when she first started, and was like obsessed with all the redecorating, and she said it gave her something to do.  But I think it was just a distraction. Not just for her, but for anyone who came over after he was already gone.  Something to talk about other than the giant elephant in the room, or I guess I should say, the giant elephant missing from the room."

"I guess," Taylor said, shifting his weight and pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"I thought you were gonna quit smoking?" Isaac teased, as he reached and accepted the pack cigarette that Taylor was handing him.

"I did," Taylor said before taking a drag, "When Ezra was born."  It was a long standing joke between he and his brothers, as well as Natalie.  Isaac chuckled a bit before they fell into a comfortable silence, and Taylor appreciated it.  It had been an extremely tense day and he felt his anxiety level on high.

"Have you talked to Natalie?" Isaac asked.

"I text her earlier that we had to have a couple of unexpected meetings today, so that I wasn't sure what time I'd be home.  I told her Nikki was gonna take the kids for a little while, and that I'd bring them home once we were done.  If she were to come over here and see Kayla, she'd tell Kate for sure, and I don't think Zac is ready for that.  I doubt he's told her what's going on yet." Taylor replied.  The two men were once again silent, as they finished smoking.

"We really should fix the tree house for them," Taylor added after a few moments.  

"We really should get inside and talk to Zac and Mom & Dad," Isaac countered as he rose from the patio chair he'd been in, "Come on."

"Was I wrong?" Taylor asked, not moving his body.  Isaac raised his eyebrows at his brother.  "Earlier.  At Kayla's house.  You were fine.  Did I overreact?"

Isaac sat back down.  Taylor grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the patio table, offering it to Isaac who shook his head, before lighting another cigarette.

"I think you're overreacting with the chain smoking, and you're possibly going to fuck up your voice a throat a little more, but no; you did not overreact.  In my opinion.  I get it.  You have plenty of reasons to be mad at her.  What she did was bullshit.  And I'm sure your reaction was a reason why it's taken her so long to come back, I'm sure she figured everyone would react that way, but it wasn't unwarranted." Isaac finished.