| "Zac.." she choked out and then grabbed her head, trying to make the pounding stop. "Shit.." he muttered and tugged her back to the car. He unlocked it, sat her in the passenger seat and threw the wet balnket and her sandy clothes on the back seat. Emma quickly dug trough her glove box and grabbed the bottle of asprin, poured four in her hand and swallowed them all without water. "Coffee...please..." she whispered and clutched at her head again. Zac went to the other side of the car, got in and started it, then pulled out of the parking lot. He stopped at the first place he came to, made her wait in the car and brought her a cup of coffee. He stood beside her as she drank it, him sipping on his own cup. He watched her finish it, pitched their cups and drove some more, but not home. He stopped at another of her favorite beaches and parked the car so they could watch the water as they talked. Emma reached in her glove box again and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, sighing in relief as they dimmed the painfully bright sunlight. "Still feel like shit?" he asked her. "Getting better.." she said quietly, "aspirin's kicking in." "Kay..." he opened her door and pulled her out of the car. He slid up on the hood and motioned her to sit with him. She did so, and relaxed slightly when he slipped his arm around her waist. "I still wanna know what the hell is up, Em.." he said, staring out over the ocean. "Zac.." she said softly, the pain in her head making it difficult for her to speak above a whisper, "That's all it was...I started drinkin' at the bar...assholes get bent if you don't accept the drink they wanna buy you and start tearing the place up, then I gotta listen to the slime king cry about me refusing his good whiskey.." she sighed heavily, it was all true, except she left out the dancing part. "So he can look all big and bad for his slimy customers. Then I got home and I was completely floored Zac...I can't believe she'd let him in the house after all I had to do to keep her ass from living in a cardboard box.." she continued angrily. "When I stuffed everything in my trunk, I realized that I was already a fucking basket case, and I wanted to calm down before I got to your place.." she stopped herself before she let it slip that she'd already had a conversation with Taylor that she wasn't expecting that left her head messed up. She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her half-dry curls. "So I took a couple shots out of the bottle on my way over, thinking I'd be mellowed out by the time I saw you. It didn't hit me until I was bawling like a baby on the hood of my car, and I just kept drinking 'cause I wanted to stop crying. I didn't want to ruin the little bit of time we had for the night. I guess it just had the opposite effect.." she looked at her hands, that were flat on the hood of her car, between her outstretched legs. "I never dreamed he'd show up, Zac..much less that she'd take him back.." she ended, drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, then rested her chin on them. "I'm sorry you're mad at me, Zac. I hate this feeling more than anything in the world. The hangover isn't near as bad." "Em.." Zac began slowly, "I still think there's more." he told her. "But I won't push it if you promise that tonight is IT. You can't keep drinking like you do. You WILL wind up dead." "Zac...god..." Emma groaned, thinking dead would probably be a relief compared to the ache in her head and her heart. "I said after tonight I'd be done. I just need the cash to move. Jen doesn't have enough room and I WILL NOT impose on your family. I promise, Zac. Tonight's my last night. I hate that hole.." she said, "and I hate that slimy bastard even more." she slid off the hood of the car and stared out over the water, the breeze blowing her hair around her face |
"Okay, Em..." he said softly and pulled her into his arms. They stood facing the water, Zac's arms crossed in front of her protectively, Emma's hands clutching at his forearms as the breeze blew a little harder, making both heads of hair blow gently behind them and tangle together. Emma took a deep breath and blew it out. "Gonna storm tonight.." she said softly, "smells like rain.." "Then we're not going out after work tonight, Em." he told her. "You'll stay with me, then we'll find you a place in the morning." Emma nodded and leaned back against him, feeling like more than just that rainstrom was going to hit, and hard. Emma wound up spending the rest of the day at the Hanson's, Zac being unwilling to let her out of his sight until she had to go to work. She slept for a while, leaned up against him as they sat in the backyard watching the kids play. Taylor pretty much paced the house, unable to stay in the same vicinity as the two of them for long. He wanted to take Emma by her sexy little neck and wring it, knowing she hadn't said a word to Zac about the bar, or the fact that Jack could get her the kind of dancing gigs she'd be so fucking good at. He could see her kicking ass in some rock video, getting the guys all wound up and making every teenaged girl in the world want to BE her. He entertained that thought for a moment and decided that anyone who wished for that better be careful, they might actually get what they wished for. As gorgeous and sexy as Emma naturally was, she looked like hell. He knew she was hung over and exhausted, and he wished Zac would leave her side for two seconds so he could get on her ass about calling Jack, and beg her (if he had to) NOT to go back to the bar tonight. What she'd said about having a bad feeling and having to disappear affected him, he'd barely slept after they left, the nagging ominous feeling tugging at the back of his mind, too. She woke slowly and Zac dragged her into the kitchen, making her eat. His parents watched, knowingly, as Zac took care of Emma, fixing her something to eat, finding her some more aspirin and bringing her something to eat. Zac almost asked her NOT to go back to the bar tonight, but remembered that he'd told her he wouldn't push it if this was her last night. Zac had taken care of Emma's sandy things, and the wet beach blanket, washing and drying them, then putting them back in her car so shed' have them when they found her a new apartment and moved her in. After dinner, Emma kissed Zac goodbye, promised she'd come straight back to the house after work and then hugged him tightly to her. "I love you, baby.." she said softly in his ear. "I'll see you soon.. she promised. "Okay, Em. I love you, too. Please be careful.." he told her. "I will. I love you." she said again, kissed him thoroughly and got in her car. She gave him a small smile as she pulled out of the driveway and headed for the bar. Zac was suddenly exhausted himself and went in to lie down on his bed. He was asleep before he knew it, and Taylor used that opportunity to slip out of the house without having to tell Zac where he was going. That nagging bad feeling was sounding bells in his head and he felt like he needed to keep a close eye on Emma from minute one tonight. He checked the mailbox before he left, and his heart almost stopped beating in his chest when he saw the yellow envelope addressed to Zac. "Oh shit..." he groaned and quickly tore the thing open. He pulled the contents from it and gasped. There were pictures of Emma on stage, in varying degrees of undress and some of HIMSELF watching her dance. "FUCK" he muttered, and sped off. he stopped at Jenny's showed her the envelope and watched in shock as she let out a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush. 'Danny's too stupid to have another set, Tay. I'll get rid of these...go make sure he doesn't HURT her. He did this 'cause he's pissed, he'll lose alot of money when she's gone and he's been trying to get her...as in GET her.." she looked at Tay knowingly, "since we were in high school. He drugged her drink once, and told her she WANTED him, but he forced himself on her. More to the story but she won't tell me. I wouldn't put it past him to do it again, especially if he thinks she's gonna get out. GO TAY.." she shoved him toward the door. |