"What's Zoë doing?"
Zac looked up from his book at Taylor and then at his sister playing near the back sliding glass door in the sunshine. Her little voice talking quietly as she placed block on block and then put a doll on top as if she were sitting on a royal throne.
Shrugging his shoulders, he looked back at Taylor, then returned to his book. "Apparently she has an imaginary friend now. Mom's only slightly worried about it. Mackie teases her about it, and the girls try not to talk about it when she's around."
He snickered before looking up again; "Hey, didn't you used to have one too?"
Frowning a little, Taylor nodded. "Yeah… Is it bad? Has mom had to take her in yet or anything?"
"Um hm. Same doctor she took you to, I think." Zac answered before tossing the latest mystery novel down beside him. "I don't know how she got you there. I remember she had to pick you up and drag you."
At that memory, Taylor smiled. "Oh yeah. She bribed me too. With ice cream and cherry sours."
Zac rolled his eyes, "I should have known."
Settling himself down on the couch next to him, Taylor watched his sister for a moment again. "Has she… um… does she talk about her imaginary friend?"
Giving him an odd look, Zac replied; "Well, apparently her friend is a kid like her. A girl I guess, but she hasn't really mentioned it. She just says, 'my friend'."
Taylor nodded, "Hm, ok then."
Zac tapped his fingers once or twice on top of his book. "Tay, what was the name of your imaginary friend?"
He felt his hands tighten with the revolt. She hadn't been imaginary! "Sara. Her name was Sara Lee." He answered a bit tensely. And I called her Sugar because of the sugar topped brownies mom always made.
The thought popped lightning fast in his mind making his stomach churn a little.
"Isn't she the one that, you said, saved you?" He asked curiously, his forehead crinkling up as he tried to remember that far back. "You know, from falling off the shed?"
Taylor felt a soft jab of fear, and nodded mutely before murmuring, "Yeah. Sara's the one that saved me from that."
Zac laughed absently. "I remember how frantic mom was. Oh man, was she ready to kill us for getting you to climb up there in the first place."
This time Taylor rolled his eyes. "Oh man, we were grounded forever. Couldn't have friends over or anything."
Except, I had Sugar with me the whole time. Trying to make me feel better while she kept saying, 'I told ya not to'.
"That’s when she took you to Doc Sommers. Because you kept insisting that Sara had saved you. Pulled you back from the ledge and all."
Taylor nodded, "Yeah. That was it."
They were silent for a moment before Zac spoke up again. "You know, Tay," he started slowly, "I never told you this, or anyone else for that matter, but uh I think I saw the back of your shirt get stretched out a little… as if someone had grabbed it and was pulling you backwards."
The shock rippled through him and Taylor tried not to latch onto anything too quickly. This was still shaky ground for him. "I swear to you, Zac… that's how it happened. I swore it then, and I swear it now."
Raising an eyebrow at him, Zac nodded before he stood up. "Well, I'm gonna go see if mom's willing to give up Ezzie yet." He laughed nervously, "I never seem to get to hold him when she's around, ya know."
Smiling slightly, Taylor nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes being drawn back to his baby sister. Her blonde hair was still so bright and shiny, and he knew it'd be so soft too if he touched it.
Feeling his chest tighten a little, and his breathing hitch, Taylor stood from the couch and moved to crouch down near Zoë. He looked at the spot where Zoë talked at and gestured to, and felt fear spike inside him just a bit more.
"Zoë?" He asked softly. "Who are you talking to?"
She gave him that bright sunny smile of hers, which puffed up her still chubby cheeks and nearly swallowed her face. She was so incredibly beautiful and adorable.
"To my friend." Her smile widened some as she looked away from Taylor and towards her friend. "Her name is Sugar."
His stomach dropped down to his feet. "Does she like music?"
Zoë nodded, "Yeah, she does. But she doesn't like one song."
Taylor winced as he tried to stretch his lips into a smile. "I bet I know which one she doesn't like."
Her eyes swung back up to him as she clutched a doll to herself. "Really?"
He nodded. "She doesn't like 'rock-a-by baby', does she?"
He saw her eyes go wide and she leaned towards him to whisper. "She's really scared of that song, Tay."
Taylor tilted his head to the side. "Do you know why she doesn't like it? Why she's so scared of it?"
Zoë nodded again, very soberly. "Yes. Someone was singin' it to her, and then they dropped-ed her. And she 'members bein' hurt and cryin' but no one helped her, Tay. And she said that she saw her mommy above her, but her mommy wouldn't help her either. And she just kept lookin' down at her and not doin' nothin' 'bout it."
She shivered at the chilling thought and looked at her older brother with worried eyes. "Mommy wouldn't do that would she?"
Grabbing her, and hauling her into his lap, Taylor shook his head and kissed her temple. He breathed in the scent of baby shampoo and sunshine. Her hair was a soft as he knew it would be. "Mom would never do that. Neither would daddy, or anyone else, sweetie."
Eased by this, Zoë relaxed in his arms and snuggled into him. Her eyes drifted shut and she smiled once more. "Sugar says 'hi'." She whispered.
Feeling the tears clog his throat, Taylor laughed weakly. "Tell her 'hi' for me too."
His mind started chanting, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy...