We drove to the baseball fields again. Ike and Tay came along just in case. They were going to stay a long distance away from us though. Probably sit in the van and listen to the radio. When we got there Zac and I jumped out as Tay and Ike wished us good luck. We walked to the same place where the ball game was last time and sat down in the same place.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t Zac Hanson.” We heard Kenny say from behind.

“Yes it is.” Zac replied.

“You just had to get us in trouble didn’t you?” Shawn asked.

“What are u talking about?” Zac asked.

I stared at the bat in Kenny’s hand unsure.

“Our baseball coach told our parents.” Shawn replied.

“That’s your problem.” Zac replied.

“Zac, don’t start n e thing.” I told him.

“Why? They’re just a bunch of losers n e ways.” Zac said.

I watched as Kenny took the baseball bat in his hands and hit Zac really hard in the back with it. He fell and screamed.

“You idiots!” He screamed.

That made them even more mad and sent a blow to his head. I screamed at them trying to pry the baseball bat from their hands. But they kept hitting him with it. I watched as Ike and Tay ran up to Zac and pulled him away from the bat’s harm. Ike took the bat and through it over a fence. Zac had blacked out. I began to cry. Tay and Ike grabbed their little brother and we rushed to the van. Zac still hadn’t recovered we decided that we would have to take them to the hospital. I told Ike where to drive as I sat there stroking Zac’s hair. When we got their we got Zac in and they took him into a room to check him out.

Ike, Tay, and I walked into Zac’s room behind the doctor. We sat there staring at him. Tears flowed down my cheeks, as I saw Zac laying there still out of it. The doctor looked at us and began to talk.

“What happened to him?” He asked.

Ike and Tay explained the story.

“Well, he seems to have been hit really hard on the head. And his back has been bruised really bad.” The doctor said.

“I need to…umm. Call our parents.” Tay said quietly. He turned around pulling out his cell phone.

I stared at Zac. This was all my fault and I knew it. I silently cried and Ike came over to me and hugged me for comfort.

“It’s ok.” he said.

“No, this is all my fault.” I replied.

“No it’s not. It’s just those stupid guys.” Ike said.

I sat silent.

“N e ways he’s going to be ok.” Ike replied.

“Gawd, I hope so.” I told him.

He sat beside Tay and I as we waited for our family to get here. We didn’t know what to tell them. So we just sat there nervously. Isaac was popping his fingers, which made loud cracks. Tay was tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair. I was biting my fingernails. The doctor rambled about the side effects that he would have. I don’t think we were paying n e attention. We looked at the door in fear as it opened and the grown-ups walked in.

“Oh my gosh. What happened to him?” Diana said crying.

“Shawn and Kenny beat him with a bat.” Ike said.

I watched as Diana held her sons hand and put her hand on his face. Everyone else crowded around him and stared at him. He was still out of it. I couldn’t believe what had happened.

“Is he going to be ok?” Walker asked the doctor.

“Yes, but he’ll have trouble remembering things from these past days.” The doctor said.

“The past few days don’t matter.” Tay muttered.

I turned and walked out of the room. I stood outside and fell to the ground. I didn’t know if they would hate me forever, or tell me it wasn’t my fault. I was to worried to think about it right now though. Zac had been out of it for almost an hour. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I watched as Walker, Diana, Mel, and Jim walked out of the room.

“It’s going to be ok.” Diana assured me.

“I know.” I replied.

They left the hospital and I walked back into the room. Ike, Tay, Jules, and Chris were sitting in chairs. I looked at Zac and sat down in the chair beside Taylor. He smiled at me and we waited for Zac to wake up. I was so tired. Ike, Tay, Jules, and Chris walked out of the room to go to the van and listen to the radio. I waited in anticipation for Zac to wake up.

I sat in a chair beside Zac’s bed. Tears rolled down my cheeks, in fear that he might not wake up. I sat there waiting. Almost as soon as I began to be afraid Zac’s eyes opened slowly. He looked around the room and then at me. His eyes looked so gentle. He held his arms out as a sign to come over and hug him. I walked over and hugged him as I cried into his chest.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I told him.

“Ash, what r u sorry for?” He asked.

“Nothing, it doesn’t matter right now.” I said wiping my eyes.

“Where am I?” Zac asked.

“In the hospital.” I replied.

“Why?” He asked.

I explained the story to him, and a couple minutes later everyone came back. (Ike, Tay, Chris, and Jules.) They were happy to see that Zac was up. The doctor said it would probably be best if Zac was at home by his normal surroundings. So we helped him down to the van and drove home. When we got home Ike carried Zac up the stairs to his bedroom. Tay and I followed and went into the room. Zac had fallen asleep but quickly woke up when he noticed that all of us were staring at him.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“Zac, go to sleep.” Ike said pushing us out the room and we walked back downstairs.

Nobody was home. We expected that they probably went to get the little kids from somewhere. So we just sat in the living room waiting for them. I knew I shouldn’t have taken Zac to the game. We heard the doorbell ring and we all got up to see who it was…..

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Chapter 32