Chapter 85

"Zac." Taylor poked Zac lightly on his ribcage and tried to wake him up. It was 6:00 a.m. and Tayor was wide awake. "Zac." He leaned over and whispered into his ear. "ZacZacZacZacZacZacZac!" He spoke louder this time, with more force. "ZAAAAAAC!!!!" He screamed. Still nothing. "Ok fine then." He grumbled and pulled the pillow out from underneathe Zac's head and brought it back down on his face, hard.

Zac jumped up instantly and looked around, surprised. "WHAT?!" He yelled, glaring back at Taylor.

"I can't find my toothbrush."

"So why are you asking me?" Zac whined and covered his face with his pillow, snuggling back up into his bed.

"Because last time my toothbrush was missing, you had used it to scrub some kind of... snake stain off of the carpet."

"Geez, I'm never gonna live that one down am I? I was just a kid."

"That was last week, dumbass."

"Well, I don't know where it is. Besides, isn't it unhealthy to brush your teeth before noon in July? Let alone be... walking around upright?"

"Normal people wake up before noon."

"Normal? And normal makes them sane? I think not!"

"Ok whatever, go back to sleep."

"That's what I planned on doing."

Taylor rolled his eyes and went back to his bedroom where he found Melissa, laying on his bed, fast asleep. She was wearing a very tight black skirt, slit up the sides all the way to the tops of her thighs, with a bright purple tanktop that appeared to be backless. He couldn't really tell though. He had notices lately that she was changing, she wasn't around much lately, and she wasn't as conservative as she used to be. But this was a total surprise. It wasn't every day you'd find a girl passed out in your bed. Although... he thought... that would be cool. He shook the thought out of his head and tapped Melissa, hoping he wouldn't have to hit her with a pillow too.

But, he didn't have to hit her, she jumped slightly, but didn't sit up. She looked up at him, her mascara smudged and her lips void of any color. "Don't tell anybody, please?"

Taylor sat down next to her. "You mean, you're just now getting home?"

She nodded and sat up. Before she had a chance to say anything else, she grabbed the sides of her head and fell forward against Taylor's chest.

"Whoa." He grabbed her shoulders and steadied her. "Are you ok?"

Meli nodded. "I'm fine. I just can't go home right now, like this. Dad will think I was out all night."

"But... you were."

"I know that. Tay, please. Can I borrow a pair of your sweatpants and a t-shirt like Carter does and just pretend I spent the night? I won't get in trouble for that."

Taylor bit his bottom lip. He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't stand to see Meli get into so much trouble. "Ok. You can go get a shower if you want too. Clean yourself up. Then go home and pretend you just woke up. If you're dad is waiting up for you, which I don't think he is because he would have called here first, I'll cover for you."

Melissa nodded and smiled weakly. "Thanks, Tay. This means the world to me." Melissa stood up slowly and walked out of his bedroom. She turned right, holding onto the wall, and went into the bathroom.

Taylor went to his dresser drawers and found an old pair shorts and a t-shirt that Melissa could wear. They looked pajama-like enough. He heard the water turn on in the shower. He walked to the bathroom door with the clothes and was about to reach into the door and close his eyes to set them on the side of the bathtub when he heard a crash and then he heard something hard hit the floor. That something, he knew, was Meli.

He pounded his hand on the door and called her name, but he heard no response, just the steady stream of the water hitting the shower wall. Not having much of a choice, he pushed the door open. "Mel..." He called as he peaked inside. There was still no answer. Without thinking any further, he grabbed one of the huge blue towels from the shelf, threw open the curtain, turned off the water, and covered Melissa with it. Then, he picked her up and carried her back to his room. He checked for a pulse and for breathing, and she appeared to be fine.

Then, her eyes opened and she stared up at him, completely confused. "What happened?" She whispered. She looked down at herself, completely soaked, covered only in a towel. Her eyes widened as she tried to cover herself from Taylor's eyes.

Taylor pulled his blanket up over her and put his finger on her lips. "Don't worry, I didn't see anything. I thought you were hurt. I didn't know what else to do."

Melissa looked worried. "You didn't get your parents did you?"

"No. Don't worry... But... what happened. Are you ok? What's going on?"

Meli put her hand on her head and made a face. "I said I'm fine. I just... fell asleep or blanked out or something there."

"Or something is right. Why won't you tell me what's going on? You know you can tell me. I've known you forever. Are you on drugs?"

Melissa shook her head. "No, Tay. I'm just tired. I'd tell you if something was going on. Probably even before I'd tell Carter." She smiled. "Definitely before I'd tell Carter."

"How many times have you come in this late?"

Melissa sighed, she didn't want him to know it all, not yet. But he would definitely be the first to know. "This is the first time I've come in this late. But... once Carter caught me. I was really drunk. You... heard about that time."

Taylor blushed and nodded.

"Which is why I'd tell you first. Because you're going to know anyway right? I mean, Carter tells you all. Specially since you're her beloved boyfriend."

"What?"

"What?" Melissa looked up.

"We broke up. Like.. weeks ago."

"What?!"

"You... didn't know?"

"NO! But then again, why does it matter, right? Why should Meli know anything? Who cares if Mel knows. SHE DOESN'T MATTER! NOBODY NOTICES ANYTHING ABOUT HER ANYWAY!" Melissa grabbed Taylor's blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her tightly. She didn't care anymore if she got caught being out so late, or in this case, stark naked coming from Taylor's room. "And you all wonder why I'm never around!"

Taylor watched as Melissa stormed out of his room and onto the balcony. Then, he listened as the door to her own house slammed shut. He sighed and leaned back on his bed. "That was my blanket." He knew it was going to be a very very long day.

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