"Zac, are you gonna get up?" Carter shook Zac lightly and laughed. "Yo, lazy ass! Get up!"
Zac mumbled and rolled over onto his side. "Go away mom."
Carter laughed. "Come on. It's like... almost time to go to bed again. Get up."
"What time is it?" He asked, his eyes still closed.
"3:00 p.m."
"Whoa." Zac blinked hard and made a face. "It... kinda hurts to move."
"Huh?"
"I can't move, Carter. My whole body feels asleep. Like all tingly."
"What's wrong?"
"I dunno?" Zac moved his arm back and forth for a while and then looked up. "What?"
"Huh?"
Zac shook his head. "Nothing."
"Are you ok?"
"I think so. I'm just really tired."
"You've been asleep for like... 13 hours."
Zac nodded. "Oh." Zac swung his legs over the bed and stood up. His legs felt like he had been sitting on them for 3 days. The bones in his arms felt like they were filled with jello, and his brain didn't seem to be functioning quick enough.
"Are you ok?"
Zac nodded again before losing his balance and falling into Carter.
"Whoa! What's wrong with you??"
"I dunno. I don't feel so good, Carter. I'm really dizzy."
"Then lay back down."
Zac shook his head. "It hurts to lay down. I dunno why. I'm just gonna go home."
"Ok. Go the back way, through the balcony. That way you won't fall down our steps."
"Ok. I'll see you later."
"I'll be over."
Zac pushed off of Carter very slowly and started to walk. "And then the little boy fell off the balcony and splattered on the ground below."
"I think I'll walk you over."
Zac laughed. "Ok."
Carter pushed Zac through Taylor's room and down the hall to Zac's bedroom. She sat him down on his bed and patted his head before leaving. On her way back to Taylor's bedroom, she noticed he was laying there on his bed.
"Hey." She smiled.
"Why does Zac look like he was beaten in the eyes with a hammer?"
"You noticed it too?"
Taylor nodded and sat up. "His eyes looked all tired and dark."
"I know. I think he'll be ok though. Probably just a flu or something."
"Yeah." Taylor shrugged and then looked down at his shoes. "Listen, about yesterday."
"Uhm." Carter took a deep breath. "I'm sooo sorry I jumped down your throat about that letter. It was so sweet and I just took it the wrong way."
"Hey. It's ok. I know." He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Do you think, you could.. like.. do what the letter says?"
"What was that?"
"Give me a chance?"
Carter bit her bottom lip. "I dunno Tay..."
"You were about to kiss me last night! And now you say I dunno?"
"I just don't know! Yesterday morning I was plotting your death and last night I was planning our wedding. I have no idea what to say!"
Taylor laughed. "I guess I kinda did throw it at you out of the blue."
"Gee... ya think?"
"Sorry."
"No problem. I better go home though."
"Why?"
"Cause. I have some stuff to do."
"You can't stay?"
Carter shrugged. "Sorry. I do wanna check on Zac real quick though."
Taylor's heart hit the floor and he sat back down on his bed. "Ok. I'll see you when you come through again."
But she didn't come through his room to go out the balcony door. He heard her knock down the steps and say "Hi" to Isaac before she went out the front door. Taylor wasn't sure if he'd scared her off or if she really hated him, but whatever it was, he was determined to get her attention.
Taylor walked onto the balcony and decided to go to Carter's bedroom. If he hadn't run into Melissa first, he probably would have.
"Hi." She looked up from the black leather loveseat and smiled shyly at him.
Taylor sighed. "Hi. Carter'll kill you if she sees you on her chair."
"I don't care. Carter hates me, you hate me, Zac has always hated me cause Carter hates me." She shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? Stay in the attic for the rest of my life?"
Taylor sighed and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. I've just been talking to Carter lately..."
"Oh goody."
"Are you going to listen to me or not? I wanna tell you something."
Melissa shrugged.
"I like your sister. And there's nothing you can do to change my mind. Flirting won't help. I've just lost all my feelings for you because of some stuff I know about and I won't ever get those feelings back and I want you to know that." Taylor took a deep breath and smiled.
"You expect me to nod my head and smile like a shy little goody goody? You expect me to say, 'I'll help you get my sister'. Well I'm not going to. So you can just go to hell and fuck off." Melissa jumped up from the couch and ran inside, leaving Taylor sitting there with his mouth open.
It wasn't until later when Taylor heard from Carter again. He answered the phone with a sigh.
"Hello?"
"Tay, have you seen Mel?"
"Uhm. Like. Right after you left my house. But I think I pissed her off."
"Oh. Well if you do see her, make sure she comes home ok? My dad's blowing a fuse."
"Alright."
"Hey how's Zac?"
"Uhm. Sleeping. He comes downstairs every now and then for a drink, but he looks terrible. He looks like he feels like crap."
"Think I should come over?"
Taylor smiled. "Yeah. I think you better keep him company."
"Ok. I'll bring some stuff and spend the night."
"Alright. You'll pay me a visit in my room, won't you?"
"Sure." Carter grinned. "I'll see you in about 5 minutes."
"Okay. Bye, Carter."
"See ya."
Carter put the phone down and grinned. A new feeling was filling her heart, something that she would never forget. But her heart was also filled with fear. She had no idea where Melissa was and something told her she wasn't just out for a walk. And she had no idea why Zac was so sick. She had no idea what to do.