As Isaac and Taylor stood behind Zac on the, once again, familiar porch, they both felt worry for their younger brother. Zac had been silent the rest of the drive to Kayla's house, and Isaac thought it would be best to text Kayla when they arrived instead of ringing the doorbell so they wouldn't startle Kate. Now, however, the anxiety Zac thought he'd been hiding was very apparent; he couldn't keep still. There was no doubt that the seconds were passing like hours for him at the moment.
Zac's head was down when the door opened. He felt the warmth of the home first. He closed his eyes, shutting them slightly tighter than normal or necessary, for a quick moment before he let out a deep breath and turned his eyes up. He immediately caught hers. In an instant, the 10 years they'd shared, flashed through his mind. He shook the thoughts out of his body before opening his mouth to speak.
"Hi Zac. I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do but call Ike. I didn't know if you knew she was here or not," Kayla blurted out, as she stepped back to let the guys in. It helped Zac, and his body immediately relaxed.
"Thanks," Zac said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Can I?" he asked as he pointed towards where he knew the couch sat. As she nodded, yes, Zac moved passed her and made his way over to where his wife was still sleeping on Kayla's 25 year old couch.
"Katie, baby?" Zac spoke, softly, as he placed his hand on his wife's face. She shuffled a bit, but remained sleeping. "Katie, come on, we gotta go, babe," Zac kept on, this time a little bit louder. He tried to shake her slightly, but nothing was helping.
"I think she walked here Zac," Kayla said softly, as she finally closed the door and moved passed Taylor and Isaac toward her staircase. She picked something off the bottom step, a habit she'd been practicing since she'd moved in with her grandmother, and turned back to face Zac. "She had one of these in her hand when she got here," she said as she handed a pair of ballerina flats to Zac. He took them from her and then turned back towards Isaac and Taylor, "I went outside after she passed out, when I was calling Isaac, and I saw the other one on the sidewalk, that's why I figured that's how she got here. I'm not sure where she was coming from," Kayla finished.
Zac let out another deep breath before he rose from Kate's side, "Thank you," he said to Kayla, "Thank you for letting her in and for calling Isaac. I didn't know she was here. She was out with some work friends. I have no idea why she would have come here. But thank you anyway. And I'm sorry. I'm sure if she could, she'd say the same."
"It's no problem," Kayla answered, trying her hardest to keep her focus. It was hard keeping her eyes on his. "She's not the first Hanson to show up on my doorstep today," she continued.
"What?" Taylor asked, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived. "Who else was here?"
Before she could answer, Kayla's phone went off, alerting her there was someone at her front door. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and focused on the screen.
"Okay," she began as she made her way towards Taylor and Isaac, "the last time I opened my front door to someone I didn't know, it was for his wife," she pointed at Zac. "Does she belong to either of you?" she asked as she held up the screen to the two men. They focused their eyes, before realization hit Isaac's face. As he turned his body to open the door they heard a voice from behind the door.
"Hello?!" the voice called out. A mixture of concern and anger behind it.
Isaac flung the door open, "Nikki?! What are you doing here?!" Isaac called out, much louder than he'd intended to.
"I think I should be asking you the same thing, Isaac Hanson! I came to drop the boys off with your mom so I could come home and surprise you, and as I'm walking back to the car, I see Zac's truck all but begging for someone to come and steal it, so I came to see what the hell he's doing over here. Now you tell me, what the hell are you doing here?!" Isaac was dumbfounded at his wife's tone, and at the same time turned on. Nikki and Isaac rarely argued. Seeing her be, what he took to be as jealous, after hearing her say that they were given the opportunity to have the night to themselves, made him momentarily forget about the situation he'd just been so worried about seconds before. He couldn't contain himself anymore, and began laughing hysterically.
"Wait, wait," Isaac said, as he held his hand up to his wife. She was visibly upset at him, "First, you came over here to catch Zac doing something wrong and then I open the door and you think I'm over here doing something wrong?!" he could barely get the words out.
"Are you laughing at me?!" Nikki yelled. Seeing the direction the misunderstanding was taking, and seeing that neither Taylor, Zac, or Isaac were doing anything to rectify it, Kayla decided to intervene.
"Hi, I'm sorry. I'm Kayla. I live here," she began as she opened the door wider, allowing Nikki to get a better view of the scene taking place inside the house. She noticed Taylor and Zac for the first time.
"I know who you are," Nikki replied as she focused her attention back to Kayla.
"Right," Kayla said, reading Nikki's tone, "Of course you do. Um, I called Isaac because Kate showed up here a little while ago, and came in and passed out on the couch. I don't have Zac or Taylor's number so I called Ike because I didn't know what else to do. So they came to get her."
Nikki was silent as she processed the information Kayla had just given her.
"Wait," Nikki finally said before placing her hand on her hip, "Wait... Kate showed up here?" she asked. The four friends nodded their head simultaneously. "And fell asleep on your couch, and now she won't wake up?" They nodded again. "Why the fuck did she come here? For what?!" Nikki asked, not believing the words even as they were coming out of her own mouth.
"Your guess is as good as ours," Isaac said as he took his wife into his arms. She finally stepped all the way into the home, and Kayla closed the door. They made their way back into the living room to allow Nikki to take a look at Kate for herself. She shook her head before looking at the other four parties in the room, a look of sheer surprise on her face, "What the hell?" she whispered as she looked at Zac.
He shook his head, "I know," he said.
"Is she?" Nikki asked, before diverting her eyes towards Kayla, then back towards Zac.
"Yeah, I think so," Zac answered as he lowered his body down next to his wife.
"Um, do you guys wanna come talk in the kitchen?" Kayla asked. Taylor, Zac, Isaac and Nikki all turned to face her. "I mean, I don't think she's going to be woken up anytime soon, but still..." she paused as she lowered her eyes for a moment. She looked up and moved her eyes from person to person, "I just don't think anyone likes being talked about like they're not there, you know? Even if she is sleeping."
Nikki watched as Taylor, Isaac, and Zac all exchanged glances. Taking a mental note of the way Kayla's words affected her husband and her brothers-in-law. "She's right, you guys. Let's go in the kitchen," she said as she motioned for Taylor and Isaac to follow her and Kayla.
"I'll be right there," Zac said, as he turned back to face Kate. He finally sat his body all the way down on the carpet, next to the side of the couch where Kate's head was laying. Taylor, Isaac and Nikki continued into the kitchen, as Kayla watched Zac. He reached for Kate's hand and gave it a gently kiss.
"I'm so sorry, Katie. Whatever it is that I did to make you do this, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he lowered his head. He held onto her hand with both of his, and rested his forehead on them, closing his eyes and beginning saying a silent prayer in his head. Kayla felt the lump forming in her throat. She straightened out her body and took a deep breath before she turned and made her way into the kitchen.
"I think he just needs a moment," Kayla whispered as she made her way over to her kitchen sink. She turned the water on as she rinsed her hands and proceeded to pump soap into them. She lathered longer than she needed to before she rinsed and dried them off. She took another breath and swatted away at the tiny tear that had escaped before she turned to face the rest of her guests. "Do you guys want anything? I just went grocery shopping. I was gonna make dinner if you guys are hungry?" The words came out before she could stop them, and Taylor and Isaac recognized the familiar look she gave off when she knew she'd stuck her foot in her mouth. Again, Nikki watched the interaction taking place. It was incredible to see a side to them she hadn't seen before. She allowed a few more moments of silence to pass before she stepped in.
"Um, okay. Can we start over?" Nikki asked, breaking everyone out of their silent trance. Everyone moved their eyes over to her, silently waiting for her to continue, "So I think this might be a little bit awkward for all parties involved. Kayla, hi," she said as she made her way over to the petite woman; she towered at least a good 5" over her. "I'm sorry about the way I came in here. I just, obviously, had no idea what was going on. I'm not even supposed to be in town right now--"
"Dude, why are your guys' wives such liars?" Taylor blurted out. He immediately began to laugh at himself. It didn't take long before Isaac joined in. When they began to cackle like hyenas, Kayla and Nikki couldn't help but join in.
Once they'd settled their giggles, Nikki continued with their previous conversation, "Anyway, I think we need to help Zac figure out what he wants to do about Kate first. Um, about dinner..."
"I'm starving," Isaac said, "Are you really okay with us staying?" he asked Kayla.
"Isaac!" Nikki exclaimed, as she slapped Isaac's arm, "That's rude! Don't impose like that!"
"Oh, no, it's totally fine!" Kayla interrupted. "I was just gonna grill some steaks and vegetables. I'm not really doing much. I was just about to get started when Kate showed up."
"Are you sure?" Nikki asked, hesitantly, "It's late," she added looking at her watch.
"I've been cleaning and packing day and night. Plus, I'm a surgeon, I don't keep a normal schedule with sleep, much less food." Kayla answered.
"Um, well, if you're sure. But um... do you think you should ask Zac if he's okay with it first?" she asked, directing the question towards Isaac.
"He's fine," Isaac answered, "We've kind of already had that conversation with him. He said he was fine with it."
Nikki and Kayla turned back to look at each other.
"Great!" Kayla exclaimed loudly, "Taylor? You In?"
"In on what?" Zac asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Dude, you have the worst timing sometimes," Isaac chuckled.
"Kayla invited us to stay for dinner," Taylor answer, trying to meet his brother's eyes, but unable to.
"You're welcomed, too, Zac," Kayla spoke up. He turned to look at her. She smiled warmly, "I mean, like I said earlier, it doesn't look like she's going to wake up anytime soon. It's up to you. Just.... I just wanted to tell you, you're more than welcome to stay. If your hungry. Or if you're not. I mean, you can stay. Either way. Or not. It's up to you."
Zac chuckled slightly. His entire heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest at any moment. Every ounce of him wanted to say yes. He wanted to kick his shoes off, and back his favorite stool into his favorite corner near the stove, where he could relax and talk to Kayla while she cooked popcorn on the stove, because she refused to eat microwaved popcorn. He wanted to slide through the short patch of narrow kitchen that led to the pantry in his socks to grab the small wicker box of popcorn shakers that she insisted had to be kept on the top shelf, even though she couldn't reach it, because it didn't fit anywhere else; even though everyone knew it was just so she could have an excuse to ask Zac to grab it for her. But he knew he couldn't. He knew he had to tend to his wife. He knew that he couldn't afford to create a new problem just to avoid dealing with an old one. Having dinner at Kayla Martin's home, while his wife was passed out, drunk on her couch, was a new problem, that he definitely did not need.
"Thank you. Truly. But I'm gonna get Kate home. Even if she doesn't wake up. She should be home. Nikki, I'm sure you don't mind, but I don't wanna assume... you're cool with taking these two wackadoos home with you?" Zac finally spoke. There was sadness in his voice. Kayla couldn't help but pick up on it.
"Only if you tell me what the hell is wrong with them!" Nikki teased.
Zac chuckled, "Oh," he said before letting out a few more giggles, "They're high. We were smoking when Kayla texted us. Guess it finally hit them."
Nikki turned back to look at her husband, "Isaac Hanson, what in the world?!"
It was Isaac's turn to chuckle. He turned to look at Taylor who had his face buried in his phone. He suddenly felt everyone's eyes on him. He looked up, "What?" he asked as his phone chimed. He looked back down at it, and smiled before he said, in a childlike voice, "Sweet."
"What?" Nikki asked, suspiciously.
Taylor raised his phone screen to she and Isaac, before he announced, "Nat's coming. And she's picking up the weed from your house." He smiled, a big goofy grin.
"That's what!" Nikki exclaimed, before they all erupted into a fit of laughter.
"What?" Taylor asked, confused, as he watched everyone laughing.
"Nothing," Zac said, as he contained himself. "You guys enjoy yourselves with," he waved his arms around, "all of this. I'm gonna head out."
"You need some help?" Nikki asked.
"Nah, I got it. If someone could just bring me out her shoes and bag?" he replied.
"I got it," Kayla said as she moved forward and made her way around Zac. He waved goodbye to everyone as he joined Kayla in the living room. She held the front door open for him as he eased his way past her, Kate in tow.
"That's what Nikki meant," he said as he noticed that his truck was still running, and all three doors were opened. He was grateful, though, that he was able to slide Kate into it with little struggle. He situated her in the back seat as best as he could, making sure she'd move as little as possible during the drive home. He shut the two back doors and came back around to the driver's door. Kayla watched as he took Kate's bag and shoes and tossed them onto the seat next to him. He turned back around to face her once more, "Thank you again," he said. "For everything. And again, no idea why she was here, but I'm really sorry she did this."
"It's really okay, Zac. I mean, no harm, no foul right? She didn't do anything. She literally just asked me if I was Kayla. I told her yes. She asked if I knew who she was, I told her no, I mean, I didn't recognize her. She told me she was your wife. I said okay. She told me her name," she paused and turned her eyes back to Zac, "I didn't know that either. I said okay again. She asked me if she could come in and I let her. I told her to take a seat. She looked pretty winded so I asked her if she wanted some water. She said yes and when I came back... well, you saw her. I didn't try to wake her up. I just came out here and called Ike."
Zac was quiet, not believing this was his life right now. He felt like shit. He could only imagine what Kate might have been feeling. Or Kayla when Kate revealed who she was. He cleared his throat to shake his thoughts.
"Still," he said, gaining his composure, "it shouldn't have happened. I don't think it really had much to do with you. We've been... anyway, it just shouldn't have. But I do want you to know, I really don't think it was about you."
"I mean, I get it. I... I mean. I guess I just put it off for so long, because I knew the type of reaction I expected was probably what I was going to get. I'm honestly only here because I couldn't put it off any longer. I had no idea. I mean, I think it goes without saying, I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Kayla responded. A mixture of emotions dripping from her voice.
"I get it," Zac said, trying to stop himself from talking, but unable to, "You have to do what you have to do. You don't owe us anything." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He watched as Kayla physically reacted to the verbal blow. She remained composed, however, which only made Zac feel worse. He sighed deeply, "I'm sorry," he whispered.
Kayla held her hand up and shook her head, swallowing the lump forming in her throat before she spoke, "You don't owe me an apology. Ever."
They fell silent, neither knowing how to say goodbye. Both sure they didn't want to.
"I, um..." Kayla began, "I saw you inside. With Kate. When everyone else went into the kitchen? I wasn't eavesdropping. I honestly couldn't help myself...." she trailed off as she lowered her eyes, feeling a little bit embarrassed. "Anyway, I saw you. How you are with her. How you apologized and prayed for her, even though she was sleeping. Even though she couldn't hear you, and she'd never know... I saw it, and even if I'm not the reason... if there is a reason... I hope it works out for you guys. I can see how much you really love her. And, um, if she was here, it's probably cuz she was really upset, which I figure means she really loves you too. So um... you know... I just, I really hope it works out for you guys." She cleared her throat and took a step back.
"Thank you. Um, again. Really." Zac stuttered, quietly as he stepped to close the space between them. He moved his body forward and hesitated as Kayla did the same. They chuckled quietly before awkwardly embracing each other. She took a deep breath as his familiar warmth enveloped her small frame. He was taller and broader than she'd remembered. She had so many memories of the boy who used to hold her when she was younger. She didn't know the man who was holding her now. She shut her eyes tightly as she relished in him for another few seconds, before she loosened her grip. He followed her lead and turned his body quickly, climbing into the cabin of his truck and closing the door quickly. He offered her a small smile as he let the window down, taking care not to let the light radiating from her porch, show the gloss that was taking over his eyes.
"I'm sure they'd ask you to let someone know when you make it home," she said, as she moved her body back a couple of steps.
"I will," he said as he shifted his truck in to reverse. "'Night, Kail," he said, the nickname coming out accidentally. His eyes widened immediately as he caught himself. He blushed, his ears getting hot in the process.
Kayla smiled as her cheeks grew warm. She lowered her head to hide her growing grin. She took a silent breath and looked back at Zac, "Goodnight," she said quietly, as he began to back out of the driveway. She watched as he straightened out the truck and saw the reverse lights flicker, before she heard the growl of the engine as he increased the pressure on the pedal, and drove away.