"But you don't know that for sure," Zac said uncertaintly," Erin's too young to have had a kid, particuarly one that age."
" It's happened. I've heard of some kids becoming parents as young as twelve," Taylor said.
" Guys, I really don't know if this is her kid or her brother or cousin or what. I just think he is. I don't know, it's just the way she was talking to him and the tone of voice she used. It was basically a side of Erin that none of us would have guessed exsisted," Isaac told them.
" But then who is he living with? Not Erin's folks, if she herself can't live with them," Zac pointed out.
" I'm not sure. Before she talked to the kid - she called him Caleb, by the way - she talked to some guy who she called Derek. Later, when talking to Caleb, they said something about his daddy," Isaac explained.
" So you're assuming that this Derek is Caleb's father and Caleb is living with him," Zac concluded.
" Well what would you assume if you had heard what I heard?," Isaac asked him, exasperated with his argueing.
Zac thought for a moment. " In all honesty? I guess I would assume the same thing that you are," he admitted," I just find it hard to believe. Have you even considered any other possibility about who this kid could be?"
" Yeah, but I don't know what other possibility there could be. He's not her brother; Mom said Erin's an only child. At first I thought he might be her cousin. But that wouldn't explain why he called her mama or the way she was acting," Isaac explained his reasoning.
" But then why wasn't he living with Erin and her parents?," Taylor wondered," You mentioned earlier that she called this Derek ' honey', so they're obviously on good terms, but it sounds like the kid is living with him. It just doesn't fit."
" Yeah and why didn't Mom and Dad mention it?," Zac added.
" Well, maybe we should ask Erin and see what she says," Isaac suggested.
" I can tell you exactly what she'll say," Zac said, then speaking in a high pitched voice, " ' How dare you butt in on my life and listen in on my phone conversations! Well my life is none of you fucking buisiness so go away!' Forget it! If they didn't tell us then they must have had a good reason."
" Okay Zac, if it really bothers you that much, then we won't ask her about it," Taylor told him.
" Sorry, but I just don't like the idea of a confrontation. Besides, this is Erin we're talking about," Zac smiled.
" I guess so," Isaac smiled back, " But I still wanna know what this is all about."
***************************************************
Erin sat on the couch, often glancing at Mackenzie, who was watching an episode of Animaniacs. She felt so depressed. Although Mackenzie didn't look a whole lot like Caleb, he sure reminded her of him. It wasn't so much looks as it was character. Caleb was always so happy and bright, much like this little boy. Erin smiled fondly, thinking of how everyone always seemed to fall in love with Caleb. He just had a personality that you couldn't resist.
She listened to Mackenzie giggling at a Mindy and Buttons cartoon and felt her heart wrentch. It sounded so much like Caleb's laughter. The sound rang in her ears. She felt herself becoming choked with tears. She missed him so much! It was too much, she had to get out of there. Covering her mouth with her hand to swallow a sob, Erin jumped off the couch, ran out of the living room, and down to her basement bedroom.
Mackenzie watched her leave with a frown on his face. He didn't know what to think of her. She looked kinda scary and he knew she had been mean to his brothers. But she hadn't done anything to him, she didn't even talk to him. But he could tell that she unnerved his brothers as well, and if someone made them uncomfortable, it made him uncomfortable.
I wonder why she's so sad, he thought.
***************************************************
" Hello?"
" Hey Terry!"
" Maddy? Hi!"
" You sound a little surprised."
" Well, it's just that you've never called me before, that's all. That and it's ten o'clock in the morning and I'm hardly a morning person." She yawned. " Hey, how did you get my number, anyway?"
" Isaac gave it to me."
" Oh."
" Anyway, the reason I called is that I'm having Felicia sleep over at my house tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come too."
Terry imedietly woke up. This was a surprise. She got along with Felicia and Maddy well enough, but they never really hung out together, at least not without the guys. " That sounds great! I'll have to check with my mom, but I think it will be fine."
" Let her know that my mom is willing to pick you up today and take you home tomorrow."
" Will do. Anything in particular I need to bring?"
" A sleeping bag and whatever munchies and horror movies you can find. Or anything else that might be fun."
" Any objections to something with sexual content?"
" If it's R-rated, there are absolutely no objections."
Terry grinned. " Junk food, gossip, R-rated movies; Sounds like a regular girls-night-in."
" That's the plan. How often do we get to giggle and gossip without the guys around to complain?" " I have to agree with that. Hey, speaking of the guys, can I ask you a little something?"
" Sure."
" Not to change the subject or anything, but I was wondering how you and Taylor started dating?" Maybe hearing how Maddy got with Taylor could help her figure out if she really wanted something more serious with Isaac.
" I asked him."
" No, I mean, how did you guys realize you wanted to date and where to go from there?"
" We've been friends for about two years, but I've had other boyfriends untill a while ago. I started hanging out with Taylor more since I had more free time and I realized how sweet he is. We started flirting a lot and we really acted like we really were dating"
" So you just decided that you were?"
" Not exactly. We were hanging out with some friends and one of them asked if we were dating yet. I asked him if we were and he shrugged and said ' I don't know '. I asked him if he wanted to and he told me yes."
" Wow. Amazing how a person can get hooked with someone. I've always just pictured a guy noticing a pretty girl, going up and introducing himself, and asking if she'll go out with him. Either that or you get set up with someone"
" Speaking of getting hooked up with someone, you and Isaac seem to be getting pretty friendly lately."
Terry blushed, grateful that Maddy couldn't see her. " Friendly in what way?"
" Why don't you tell me?"
" Maybe there's something, but we can talk about that kind of thing later. Judging from the way she and Zac have been lately, Felicia may have a bit to add to the conversation herself."
" Good point. Anyway, give me a call as soon as your mom gives a definite answer."
" Kay. Your number's on the caller ID, so you don't need to give it to me."
" Okay. Oh, by the way, these sleepovers tend to last most of the night, so don't expect to get a whole lot of sleep."
" That's okay by me. Usually insomnia is a drag, but it sounds like it's gonna be fun this time."
