... And the countdown was on ...
2 days until the school year ended & 5 days until Jayden began her internship at the art gallery. Mrs. Livaro had called her again a few days ago, to inform her that orientation would begin at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, & that the she and the gallery were going to treat the group to lunch at a nearby restaurant, as a sort of 'Welcome'.
Just as Jayden was about to say good-bye, her father motioned, from across the living room, not to hang up. Jayden mouthed an annoyed,"WHAT?" in his direction. She was still on shaky terms with him.
"Excuse me, could you please hold on for a moment, Mrs. Livaro?" Jayden said quickly, then covered the phone with her palm,"What, Dad?"
Her father rose & sat on the chair positioned on the opposite side of the couch where Jayden was sprawled.
"Can I have the phone please?" He said briskly, a no-nonsense tone in his voice.
Jayden groaned,"What for? Dad, come on-"
But before she could finish, the phone was grabbed from her hands by her father.
"Hello, Mrs. Livaro?"
There was a short pause.
"Hi, yes. I'd just like to thank you for giving my daughter this opportunity. She's been having a difficult time lately-"
Jayden scowled and shot her father a nasty look, which prompted him to stop short.
"Uh, anyway, I was curious as to whether or not there are any short periods of vacation during the course of the program..."
Jayden sat silently, unsure of what her father was up to.
"... Oh yes. Those dates would work out fine. One week off should be the perfect amount of time... Thank you. Good-bye."
He hung up, got to his feet, & headed on his way upstairs.
He's not even going to explain his little conversation?! Jayden thought, anger bubbling. She swiftly trekked her way upstairs as well. Storming into her parents' room, Jayden found her dad rummaging through his sock drawer.
"What the hell was that?"
Surprised to find he wasn't alone, Jayden's father startled.
"Ja-Jayden, watch your language, young lady!"
Jayden snorted,"Young lady? I'm a 'young lady'? That's funny... Lately you've been treating me like a 5 year old."
"Jayden, what has gotten into you?" her father asked,"These past couple of weeks, it's like I don't even recognize my own daughter!"
"Well, Dad, I guess I grew up. Believe it or not, I, too, am capable of maturing," she said, her voice heated,"Now, I'll repeat myself: 'What the hell was that?'"
Jayden father brushed his hands through his thinning hair,"Nothing serious. I just had a question for Mrs. Livaro..."
"About vacation time?" Jayden asked somewhat bitterly,"Dad, you already said there were going to be no family trips this summer, because I would be so busy. Heeeeeey, are we going to Disneyworld? Because us five year olds just looooooooove that."
He continued, ignoring Jayden's resentfulness,"Last night, I called your Great Aunt Bertha-"
"Dad, no. Please don't send me there!"
"...and we agreed that you would arrive a week from Saturday and stay for a few days."
Jayden's heart fell. She was speechless... and even if she had the ability to speak, she knew that all of the pleading in the world would get her nowhere. Her father's mind was set & there was going to be no changing it.
But that didn't mean she had to peacefully accept the decision.
Throwing one final blistering look her dad's way, Jayden slunk up to her room, where she flopped on her bed. To turn on the TV, or to paint...
A collage she had started afterschool on Tuesday caught her attention. During a brief moment of inspiration, Jayden had collected all of the photographs of her & Taylor that she could find. Now they were spread out, taking up a large portion of the bedroom floor. Only a few had been placed experimentally on a thick black cardboard background, despite nearly 3 hours of work.
Each photo had a story, & Jayden often found herself intrigued by even the smallest detail. She had never really looked at them closely before; never noticed the tiny dimple that showed when the sunlight hit Taylor's face from a precise angle, or the almost pained expression on his face in the picture Jayden's mother had insisted on taking at the beginning of their first date.
Flicking on the television, Jayden shook her head & tried to rid her mind of the reason why she had never noticed such small details...
Because that was when she hadn't depended on photographs for memories.
... She had had the real thing.
A few minutes' walk away from Jayden's house, Isaac and Zac were sprawled out as best they could be, considering they were both on Isaac's bed. The TV was blaring the theme song to some '70s sitcom they had never took any interest in until this point, as the closing credits rolled across the screen.
"Hey Zac?"
"Hmph?" Zac replied, his vocabulary listless and limited these days.
"Wanna go do something?"
"Like what?"
"I dunno," Ike said slowly,"Maybe a movie or something? Call some friends?"
Zac, not really wanting to budge from his current location but realizing any excuse would sound lame, nodded.
"Yeah... Sure. After the news."
Isaac sat up & gave Zac a questioning look,"What's so special about the 6 O'Clock News tonight?"
"I've never really paid attention to the opening music... Quite a beat to it," Zac mumbled as a cheesy yet dramatic intro to the local news sounded.
"... Ok." Ike said, flopping back down on the bed & turning his attention to the television.
"Think they'll mention... you know..." Zac asked.
Isaac frowned,"Not in the first section... There's always a little blurb about it at some point, but our missing brother doesn't seem to be a real top-story these days..."
"Hold on a second & I'll get a spoon so you can eat your words..." Zac said, suddenly perky, as he motioned for Ike to return his attention to the television screen.
"As a result of extensive upgrades to video surveillance equipment in various Tulsa and area convenience stores, police have identified a possible suspect in what has been tagged the Fritos Fraud Spree. Over the past several weeks, numerous convenience stores & gas stations have been held up by a lone male, who would enter each store & approach the cashier appearing to purchase a bag of Fritos brand potato chips before brandishing a gun & requesting cash..." a newswoman spoke.
The story she was clearly reading off of a teleprompter was nothing exciting, nothing that really concerned the brothers Hanson... But the image shown in the top right corner of the television screen was.
Drawing a sharp breath, Zac's eyes widened,"Th-that's... Taylor?"
Isaac's eyes were glued to the picture; a black & white video capture. It was very fuzzy, the subject's hair covered, but the blurry profile of the young man was unmistakably that of his brother. Taylor.
"This has got to be some huge mistake..." Isaac said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"...who went missing shortly before the rash of robberies began, is now the target of local authorities. Despite massive search plans spanning over several states, the 16 year old music star has yet to be located. The case was put on hold when no leads were found, but due to today's findings, has been re-opened. Officer Mary Lowenstein has stated that the search for Mr. Hanson will be intensified, as they now suspect he remains in Tulsa..."
A split second after the story ended, Isaac and Zac, mouths still open in shock, tore their way down the stairs.
"Jessica, where's Dad?" Zac asked sternly, entering the living room where she was reading a novel on the couch.
"Uh... The garage, I think..." she said, then sensing the concern of her brothers, continued,"Why? What's going on? Did they find-"
Isaac stopped her mid-question,"No... No, they didn't find Taylor... But we really need to talk to Mom & Dad."
He and Zac quickly made their way to the foyer, with Jessica now at their heels. Opening the door which led to the garage, the trio found not only their father, but a police officer as well. The open garage door made his car was visible on the driveway.
Before any words or explanations were said, in an act of pure, irrational anger, extremely rare for this young man, Isaac positioned himself just inches in front of the male officer. The officer took a double-take, curious as to what this teenager intended to do.
"What the hell do you guys think you're up to?" he growled, fists clenched as if to try to contain some of his frustration,"First, you don't find my kid brother and now you're saying he's a fuckin' criminal?"
"ISAAC!" his father exclaimed, grabbing his eldest son by the shoulders and leading him away from the officer,"That is no way to speak-"
While Zac & Jessica watched in amazement, Isaac turned towards his father, teeth clenched,"Did you watch the 6 O'Clock News? Do you know what they're saying about your son? Huh?"
"Yes, Isaac, Officer Thomas has... informed me of their findings," Walker said, his voice low.
Isaac crossed his arms, and smirked,"You cannot tell me that you actually believe this."
"Isaac, I don't know what to believe anymore, although I can't imagine Taylor..." Mr. Hanson trailed off.
Jessica stepped forward, her eyes glancing back & forth at her oldest brother & father frantically, "What happened to Taylor & why is a cop here?!?"
Before anyone could reply, she spoke again,"Ike, you said they didn't find Taylor... He isn't- they didn't find his-"
Everyone knew what Jessica was implying & were quick to reassure her otherwise.
"Oh thank God... " she said, stepping closer to her father who protectively placed his arm around her.
"Zac?" Mr. Hanson said, glancing at his silent son who remained glued to his spot on the cement floor,"Why don't you take Jessie inside & tell her what's-what's going on?"
Zac nodded,"I'll find Mom, too."
"Oh, she was over at Sheila's house having coffee across town. I called her as soon as Officer Thomas arrived & she said she was heading straight home," Walker informed him,"But thank you for the offer, Zac."
Nodding once again, but saying nothing else, Zac went back in the house with his sister in tow.
Isaac remained in the garage, surprised that he, too, had been told to leave. His ferocious anger had subsided somewhat, and had been replaced with shock, more than anything. It was terrible enough not knowing where his brother was... but now, for him to be a robbery suspect. As his father and the police officer continued their quiet yet very serious conversation, Isaac excused himself & went out into the front yard just in time to see his mother's car pull up on the driveway.
She had narrowly missed hitting the police cruiser, but didn't seem phased as she hurridly got out of the car and stormed into the garage. Isaac, deciding not to interfere, took a seat on the front stairs of the house. He could by her voice that his mother was clearly upset & confused. The tone of her voice was very sharp, brisk, & loud.
Mr. Hanson had only given him wife the bare minimum of details when he had called her, so Mrs. Hanson was full of anxious questions. Outbursts of disbelief and scorn carried out to where Isaac sat, his mind reeling.
First, his brother, his bandmate, his best friend disappears. Taylor, who didn't appear to have a single bad bone in his body. And now, after weeks of heartache & almost unbearable tension, he is told that his brother is a suspect in a ring of robberies. And that prompted the authorities to begin searching for Taylor once again. They no longer seemed to care about his family and friends, but had found what they appeared to view as a more valid motive to find the 16 year old.
As far as Isaac was concerned, Officer Thomas was in on it. He believed that blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pop-musician Taylor Hanson was now a criminal, a target for the police force.
It was all he could do to keep from running back into the garage & strangling the police officer right then and there.
What held him back, however, was his parents. Not physically, for they remained in the garage, but emotionally.
If I'm feeling this horrible... Isaac thought, Then they must be torn to pieces...
But this realization did nothing to comfort him, and only made the 18 year old feel far worse.
"This is too much..." he said, his voice as bitter as a cobra's venom.
He jerked himself into a standing position turned his upwards towards the sky... Towards Heaven.
"I'm sorry, but I- I just can't take it anymore. This isn't the way things are supposed to be..."
~Chapter 39~
~Chapter 37~
~Chapter Index~
~Home~
