Isaac stared at the gun in disbelief.
"Oh shit," Zac said in an extremely calm voice. "Shit. You just tried to shoot me. My own brother tried to shoot me. Shit."
"He said it was just to scare you," Isaac whispered. "He said, 'They're just blanks. It'll scare him. No one will get hurt.' He promised me!"
Trisha shook her head and took the gun from Isaac's hand. "You know that you'll have to pay for that window. Oh God, the neighbors will be calling in a minute and then the police will be here and...Isaac, that was stupid." She began slapping his arms and shoulders. "You stupid-ass motherf-"
Dusty became the voice of reason. "Everyone, stay calm. Please don't panic. We will stay as calm as possible. Get rid of that thing, Trisha."
Zac suddenly quieted.
"Please Dad, don't hurt her. Just leave her alone," Zac begged, falling to his knees by his little sister's side.
"Get away from her, Zac. I have to get rid of that dirty thing now." Walker advanced mercilessly upon Zac and Jessica.
"Take me instead," Zac pleaded again. "Get rid of me." A blow to the head silenced him. He watched as his little sister was dragged down the basement steps. He didn't see her for three days.
He shook himself out of the flashback. He grabbed Isaac's arm and let the tears fall. "He hurt us so bad, Isaac. Why couldn't we have a real family? Oh God." Sobs racked his body as he sank to the floor, with Isaac at his side.
"Hey, I'm Trisha. Zac, right? Your brother asked me to dance with you." The cute girl in front of him smiled widely.
"Yeah, I"m Zac." He searched for some compassion or understanding in her eyes, something beyond the normal articificial friendliness, and found a spark that matched his own.
"So let's dance." She grabbed his hand bravely and led him to the dance floor.
Dusty got down on Zac's level, difficult in her condition. "Are you okay? What's your name?"
"Zac," he said in a "duh" voice.
"Zac. Zac? Zachary Hanson," a female voice called from the ground. He peeked out of the treehouse enough to see his mother. "It's time to leave."
He stuck out his lower lip. "I don't wanna go to Los Angeles," he pouted. "Why can't we make the album here, like we did the other two?"
Diana sighed and began climbing the ladder. "Because this isn't like the other two. This is a real album. You're going to be famous, kiddo."
"I just want to be normal," he breathed as he stepped out of the treehouse, forever changing his life and history.
Dusty grabbed Zac's ear rudely. "Listen, hot stuff, you may be Mr. Sexy Rock Star with an attitude, and you may be in shock, but I will not take that smart ass attitude from you."
Isaac apologized all through the day and night. "I'm so sorry. I thought it was blanks. I was supposed to scare him. Dad-"
"Shut up," they all screamed at once. "Brad's trying to sleep," Trisha added after them.
Isaac got the guest room. Trisha, Dusty and Zac all slept in Brad's room. It wasn't that they didn't believe Isaac, but how do you trust someone who almost shot you?
