"This is nuts!" Diana cried, as she paced by the phone,"I know Taylor can be forgetful sometimes, but there is no way he'd be out this long without calling."
Walker walked up to his wife and gentle grasped her shoulders,"Taylor is a very, very smart young man. The past few years have taught him a lot about taking care of himself."
"No call yet, huh?" Isaac asked solemnly, coming down the stairs. Walker and Diana shook their heads.
"Why don't I drive around the neighborhood? Maybe he's just hanging out or something," Ike suggested,"I'll take Zac and Jessica with me, that way there's a better chance we'll see him."
Diana gave Isaac a hug,"Thanks, sweetie. That would be wonderful."
He nodded and bounded up the steps, in search of Zac and Jessica. He found both of them, along with Avery, Mackie and Zoe in the rec room.
"Zac, Jess, let's go," Ike said, motioning for them to get up. They slowly made their way into the hall, following their big brother. They stopped in the entrance-way to get their coats.
"C'mon, you guys! Hurry up!" Ike said impatiently, holding the front door open.
Zac scowled,"Gee, sorry Drill-Sargeant, sir, but you haven't even told us where we're going!"
"Yeah, Ikey,what's up?"Jessica piped up as the trio got into the family's large white van.
Backing up off the driveway, Ike informed Zac and Jessica that they were supposed to drive around the neighborhood, looking for Taylor.
Jessica frowned,"You mean Taylor's missing?"
"Um, well, not exactly missing," Zac spoke up, not wanting to worry Jessica,"We just sorta, um, don't quite know where he is..."
"Uh, Zac?"
"Yeah, Jess?"
"Maybe not in your little world, but on earth, that's the definition of 'missing'," Jessica said dryly.
"We were just trying not to worry you, Jessie," Ike said, as they continued down the street.
Jessica sighed,"I'm not some little kid anymore. It's not like i'm gonna cry or anything... but no one knows where he is? What if he got hurt? What if something's really wrong? What if-"
She was cut off by Zac,"Jessie, he'll be fine, ok? I promise. Now let's just see if we can find him."
Jessica nodded and began looking through the window, hoping to find her brother. However, 25 minutes and 7 trips around the neighbourhood later, Taylor was nowhere to be found.
"What do we do now?" Zac asked, visibly discouraged.
Isaac turned into the driveway,"Well, hopefully Taylor has phoned mom and dad by now..."
"Yeah, hopefully..." Jessica echoed. They trooped back inside to find Diana talking on the phone. Waves of relief washed over the 3. Taylor had called. Finally! Seconds later, she hung up.
"Where's Taylor?" Isaac asked,"Lemme guess... he got lost on his way home from Jayden's... or no! He got attacked by teenies and was sent to the emergency room... Dang! Does that mean I hafta buy him a 'Get Well Soon' gift? Or maybe he couldn't stand spending a minute apart from Jayden's and broke into her house!!How long's he in the slammer for?"
He was cut off by his mom,"Sweetie, that wasn't Tay. It was a telemarketer."
"And you're sure he's not with Jayden?" Zac asked, confused,"Those two have been each others shadows, since,like, forever..."
Diana sighed,"No, he's not with her. She hasn't seen him since about 5:30...Not long before I called her, and she said she'd phone if she saw him."
"Woah..." Ike breathed, glancing at a clock,"That was 4 hours ago..."
Diana nodded, and sat on the couch.
"Hmmmm, did she sound strange at all when you talked, Mom?" Isaac asked, sitting down beside her.
"Strange?" she frowned,"Well, she was sort of sniffling... She said she was watching "Titanic"."
Zac stuck out his tongue,"Crying during the 'Titanic'? Ugh, how wimpy..."
"Zac..." Diana said warningly, then turned to Jessica,"Dad and the kids are upstairs watching a movie, why don't you go join them? You must be pretty bored..."
Jessica shrugged and stood up,"Whatever."
"I bet they had a fight and Tay wigged out," Ike said thoughtfully,"She was probably a little upset and crying and stuff..."
"And he probably decided to walk it off..." Diana finished.
Zac yawned and stood up,"Well, when you've got the mystery solved, Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew, let me know. I'll be playing N64, thankyouverymuch."
"Well, I guess all we can do now is wait for him to finally show up," Diana said with a sigh and a yawn of her own. She headed for the kitchen, with Ike following.
"Sweetie?" she said as Ike rummaged through the fridge.
"Yeah?"
"Meet Mr.Clean. Mr.Clean, meet Isaac," she said, dumping a pile of cleaning supplies into his hands,"Just so you know, it's 'later'."
And with that, she headed upstairs, leaving her eldest son to do serious battle with soy sauce, amongst the other food.
"Ugh," he groaned 20 minutes later, holding a bottle of cleaner,"Mr.Clean, since you and I have been properly introduced, I feel it's my duty to tell you that you suck!"
"Talking to the cleaners again, Ikey-poos? How many times have you been told not to inhale the fumes?" Zac said playfully, wagging his finger in Isaac's face as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Just for that, you can clean the rest and do the dishes," Ike said pleasantly, handing his brother a mop. He quickly exited the kitchen before Zac could protest.
"Great," Zac groaned, scrubbing a sweet and sour sauce stain,"Taylor could be out somewhere doing who knows what with his girlfriend, and I'm getting up close and personal with Mr.Clean.... Oh yeah, life's so fair..."
~Chapter 12~
~Chapter 10~
~Home~
