" Are you serious? She grounded you for that?," Isaac asked in disbelief.
" I'm not sure what she grounded me for. But the secand I stepped through the door, there she is, ready to put me through the third degree. When I told her about that punk being part of the holdup, she somehow got it in her head that I had gotten in a fight!," Terry said angrily. She had called Isaac the instant she got to her room, knowing he would listen.
He had become her best friend, but lately, she'd had secretly been wanting more. She found herself thinking about him all the time. They could be talking or just hanging out and she would suddenly want to kiss him. But she tried to ignore it. She didn't think he would be interested anyway. The last thing she wanted to do was completely scare him off.
" Well, at least well be able to talk," Isaac made a feeble atempt to cheer her up. He didn't realize it actually did.
" Yeah, I guess you're right," She agreed. Just being able to talk to him was enough for her.
" Hey Terry, sorry to do this, but I've gotta go. Mom's been calling me for dinner. After we dropped you off, she started going on about something important that she needed to tell us at dinner. But I'll call you when I can."
" Kay, talk to you later." Terry resisted the urge to say " I love you".
" Bye, dude! Heh heh!," He said, then hung up.
Terry sat listening to the dial tone for a minute.
" Bye," She said softly.
***************************************************
" So Mom, what's this major thing you need to talk to us about?," Taylor asked while the rest of the family sat down to dinner.
" Tay, at least let me put the food down!," Diana chuckled.
After everyone had gotten a share of food and said grace ( accompanied by Zac's smart-aleck remark of shouting " Grace!" ), Diana said, " Well, we do have some important peice of news."
" Mommy, are we gonna get another baby?," Mackenzie asked, eyes wide.
" Not this time sweetie. We're having another foster kid come live with us."
" Again? Who is it this time?," Zac asked.
" A seventeen year old girl named Erin Harris. She's mainly been neglected by her parents all her life," Diana replied
" Now her parents are fighting constantly and obviously, DSS wanted her out of there," Walker added.
" Have you met her yet?," Taylor asked.
" Not yet. The final decision was made just this afternoon while you guys were at the mall," Diana explained. She looked over at ther oldest son, who hadn't said a word. " Ike? You've been pretty quiet."
" Huh? Oh, sorry Mom. I'm just thinking."
" About?," Zac pressed.
" Terry. She and her mom have been fighting a lot lately.I think it's really starting to stress her out."
" Give them time. They haven't been living together long," Taylor told Isaac.
" Yeah, I'm sure they just need to work out their differences," Zac added. He then turned back to his parents. " So are we gonna fix up the den for this one too?"
" We're gonna have to. It's the only space available," Walker pointed out,
" So anyway, Erin's going to be here in about two weeks."
" DSS mentioned that she's going to be a lot more difficult then Terry was," Diana warned," Fran told me that she's one of those punk-like types."
" Great, just what we need. A Marilyn Manson wannabe," Zac rolled his eyes.
" Oh, cut it out," Isaac snorted.
" Well, sheesh! What's up your butt?," Zac retorted.
Isaac didn't answer. He picked up his empty plate and went to watch tv. Taylor and Zac looked at each other and shook their heads, then began to help clear the table.
" Oh, Mom, before I forget, can I go out with Maddy on Saturday?," Taylor asked. Maddy, short for Madeline, was Taylors new girlfriend.
" You've been hanging around her a lot lately," Diana commented.
" I enjoy her company."
" I don't know. Don't you have that science project to do?"
" It"s almost done. I can get it done tonight if you want. PLEASE? "
" All right, as long as you get it done AND are home by ten."
" Great! Thanks!"
" Gag me, loverboy!," Zac snorted," While your drooling over your girlfriends picture and your future date, I'm gonna call Felicia. She told me that I have to call her as soon as I found out what Moms news was or she'd kill me." Felicia was a girl he had recently met at church. They hadn't known each other long, but they had automatically clicked, though only as friends.
" Man, and he calls me loverboy?," Taylor said as Zac practically ran to the phone.
" No kidding," said Isaac, who had come in just in time to hear Zacs remark, " He's got a thing for her for sure."
***************************************************
" Where are you guys gonna put a foster kid?," Felicia asked.
" Same place Terry was. In the den," Zac answered.
" Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that." They were both silent for a moment.
" Felicia?"
" Yeah?"
" Wanna go rollarblading tomorrow?"
" Sure. I have some things to do in the morning, but I should be able to go sometime in the afternoon."
" Kay, great. Listen, I have to go, but give me a call when you're free, all right?"
" All right. Talk to ya later Zac."
" Bye Felicia." As he hung up the phone he couldn't help the huge smile that spread across his face. " Score one for Zac Hanson."
