Dorin's heart had sunk as he watched Mercy come over the ridge, by herself.
She opened the car door and pushed Jeremy out of the way, climbing in, she scooted over, and placed her headphones back on her head.
Jeremy looked at Dorin.
"Not good."
"Not good at all."
"Mercy?"
She did not answer. She had heard Dorin well enough, but would not respond. She was afraid she would yell.
"Mercy?!"
Jeremy reached back and touched her leg.
She pulled her headphones off.
"What."
Jeremy pulled back. She was pissed.
"Where's Zac?"
"Who gives."
"Mercy, what happened."
"Who gives."
"Mercy tell me what happened."
Silence.
"Mercy, damnit what the hell happened."
"Don't worry, your cute little addoring youngest sibling is still in one piece."
Jeremy did not like the sound of that, and he surely didn't like how she reffered to him as 'your little addoring sibling'. There had been no sign of 'my', or 'zac'.
"Mey, what did you do?"
"Jeremy, what do you take me for?"
"Mey, what did you do."
"Damnit. I didn't do anything."
There was a knock on the window. It was now sufficiently dark enough to mask anyone outside.
Dorin turned on the cab light.
A cold, shivering Zac stood at the window, meeting no one's eyes, but making it obvious he wanted in.
Jeremy opened the door. He stepped out, pulled the seat forward, and stood there, no emotion on his face, nothing.
Mercy scooted as close to the window as she could, not looking at Zac but staring out the window, gritting her teeth.
Zac climbed in. The warmth rushed over his body and he felt relieved. Even though he knew he shouldn't be.
Jeremy sat back down. Looking straight ahead.
Dorin pushed the key into place. As the car came to a start, and the soft tumbling of the motor began, Dorin sighed.
"I did it cause I thought you needed it. So that you could see I wasn't screwing around, and to let you know that I wasn't going to keep going. I won't ever hit you more than is needed,
and I promise you, you needed that."
Zac sat in silence. He knew his brother had said something that had taken him the whole while they were parked to think about, and something he did not want Zac to answer to. So he shut up.
The warmth of the car was enough.
He did not know how long he waited, but he knew it had been long enough. He was quite hungry, and thirsty too. He also had to go to the bathroom. There was a gas station across the two lane street. He grabbed his backpack from the floor, and un zipped the front pocket. He had 20 dollars.
That was it. He had saved it for nothing particular. He climbed over the seat and opened the front door. The air was fresh and clean, and there was no wind. It was warm out. He wondered where he was.
His shoes made scraping noises as he made his way across the street. He pushed open the glass door to the Total station and stepped into the air conditioned store. He shivered. It was cold in here. First and foremost, he thought, the bathroom.
When he was done there, he walked to the racks of potatoe chips and pulled some lays down. From there, he got some Coke, and a candy bar, and piled it on the counter in front.
"This all?"
Zac looked up into the woman's face. It was old and friendly.
"yup. Sure is."
She started ringing up the items.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Well hun, sounds like you just did."
Zac smiled.
"Could you tell me what time it is, and where the heck this is?"
She looked at her wrist watch.
"Well kid, it's about 10:10, and you are in the only Total station in Fort Morgen Colorado."
"Oh thanks ma'am. Hey, how close is Denver?"
"About an hour. You lost hun?"
Zac smiled at her concern.
"Nope, just slept the whole way here and so mentally I am."
"Okay, well, I hope you have a good trip kid."
Zac waved to her. Walking out the door thinking, 'not probable'.
Zac reached the car and pulled the door open. Still empty. So Dorin had pushed it to Colorado huh. Or had he? What was going on?
Zac sat back in the back, twisting his coke open and taking a swig. Tearing the bag of chips open, he just sat there. Not thinking, content.
"Still asleep. What am I supposed to do with his breakfast?"
Jeremy held up a to-go container, shrugging his shoulders.
"Looks like the twerp already ate."
Mercy had began reffering to Zac as 'the twerp', and she still had not said anything to her brothers about what had gone on the night before.
"Mey, he's not a twerp."
"Bullshit Dorin."
She crumbled up the empty chip bag and candy wrapper and threw them in the front seat. She picked up the half empty coke container, and threw it on the floor.
"Mercy. Tell me what happened before I get really pissed off."
"No reason too. Personal."
"Well then you better stop with this 'twerp' thing."
"Nope."
Dorin pulled out.
"Why does it always have to be tough?"
And all through that, Zac had slept. Or seemed to anyway.
Dorin had pushed the drive, only because, Jeremy, had re-read the packet of paper work, and had found that, there was a pre-interview and, theirs was scheduled for 3:25. They had to push it. Otherwise they would have been disqualified.
Dorin parked underneath the awning to the Denver hotel. The shade felt good. He stepped out, and walked into the automatic doorways, so as to check in.
"Jeremy we fought bad."
"huh?"
"You asked what happened last night, and I said we fought."
Jeremy was now fixed on Mercy.
"I was real mean to him. Maybe just cause I was mad, but I was mean."
"What do you mean?"
"Just that. I was mean to him, said stuff that hurt."
Zac stirred. Mercy looked down at him.
She lowered her voice.
"Told him he was always bringing up kyle, always sayin' stuff to hurt door."
"What did he do?"
Zac stirred again. Almost as if this talk upset him in his sleep thought Jeremy.
"He didn't do anything, but get real mad, looked like he was gonna cry though."
"Mey, why?"
"Jem, I was so pissed last night, I wanted to kill the little jerk."
"I know, I know, that's how I felt."
Zac turned over. Mercy had put his head on her lap, sort of out of habbit.
"I don't know, I just want this weekend to go good."
Jeremy nodded in agreement. Dorin came out of the hotel, a key in one hand, and some papers in the other.
"We have to park indoors, and then they're going to take our stuff to the coleseum for us."
"Cool."
Dorin moved the car up the slanted driveway, giving the ticket taker his slip, and waiting for the wooden barrier to be lifted.
From the time that Dorin had yelled at the guy that cut him off on the outskirts of the city, Zac had been awake. He had heard Mercy's conversation with jeremy, and
he was confused. Yet he still stayed asleep.
Dorin parked.
He climbed out of the car, reached back for his pack and pulled it out, shutting the door behind him. Mercy patiently waited for someone to get Zac. Jeremy pushed the seat out of the way, and leaned over Zac.
Lifting him off of Mercy, and resting him on his shoulder, he picked up his back pack and slung it over his shoulder. Mercy climbed out, handed Dorin Zac's back pack, and grabbed her own. pushing the door shut behind her,
she followed Dorin, all the way to their room, Zac breathing steadily, and keeping up his sleeping apperance.
"Well, whose first for the shower?"
"What time is it first off?"
Dorin stared at the alarm clock.
"It's 1:30, and we should all be nice and clean when we go."
"All of us?"
"It says that this interview is manditory, and every acountable member of your band must be present."
"We have to have a drummer, or do we?"
"That was rude."
Mercy, Jeremy and Dorin had looked to find the voice.
Zac sat up on the bed, staring at all three.
"You know, it would have been easier if you had just left me in that feild along the side of the road near tulsa. Then at least I wouldn't be around to hear whether or not you need a drummer."
Mercy felt bad. She had not meant it to sound so bad.
"I mean, if you guys want to just cut me out, great. I won't mind, one less thing that would involve me with you. Fine with me. Go ahead, I'll just wait for your happy return, Just tell them you don't have a drummer."
Zac stood up and walked to the door.
"Incase you change your mind before the interview, and figure that maybe, a drummer is a neccesity, not to mention how your brother may feel in the entire matter, then I'll be down by the pool."
He walked to the door in silence, opened it, and let the heaviness of the slam sound through the halls.
"Oh shit."
Jeremy had wide eyes and was staring right at Dorin.
"Oh shit! You better believe it! We are in biiiigggg trouble."
"Sorry guys."
Mercy spoke eh.
They could not really blame it on her, Jeremy had felt the same way, he could have said it too.
"What are we going to do?"
"Take showers, real fast ones, let him think for a while, and then, we'll go talk to him."
Mercy and Jeremy shrugged. Dorin's call.
Zac had felt his eye lids get heavy, and had, unwillingly fallen asleep. He dreamt, several dreams actually, one of his mother. That was odd, because he had not dreamt of her in ages. The next was of a group of children.
Younger than he was now, playing in someone's front yard. Fighting over various toys, until the larger or older child got what they wanted, some kids tricking others out of toys, some giving them away. Very weird dream.
When Zac woke, sunlight was filtering through the windsheild. He had slept all night, matter of fact, he wasn't sure if he had slept all day too. He sat up, realizing he was alone. He had been left in the car, abandoned he felt. He was somewhat disoriented, and rubbed his scratchy eyes,
He saw a hotel to one side of him, and wondered if that was where his siblings were, and on another side, a restraunt. A Denny's. He could not decide which was the one that they had most likely gone into, so he sat back, waiting. Letting the sun fill him with warmth.
Zac had fallen back to sleep. He was so tired, and the food and sun had made it worse. He was sleeping so well he had not heard his siblings get into the car and start the engine.
Dorin had honked his share of honks, slamed his share of breaks, and yelled profanities as much as the other Denver people. Not nearly as many times as it sounds though.
Dorin shoved the door open with his foot, and stepped inside. It was light and airy, and neat. Jeremy walked to one of the beds and set Zac down lightly.
