Time Goes On
by Chelle

~ CHAPTER 19 ~

The day before Thanksgiving, I drove to the Hanson's to help Diana with preparing the dinner and getting the house ready for the guests. I hadn't seen them since the day I'd helped the kids with their work. When I walked in and took my jacket off, Zoe ran up and gave me a hug. Then she looked at me and her eyes got wide as she asked "Mel, what happened to your forehead?" This caused Ike and Diana to trade glances as they walked into the room. I still had a bit of the cut and although the other bruises were barely noticeable, the one on my forehead was still a little purple around the cut. Ike crossed his arms and glared at me. "Yes Melissa," he said, "What happened to your forehead?" Diana placed a warning hand on his arm and smiled at me. "Melissa, would you come into the kitchen and wash up so you can help me with this cooking and I need you to help with some cleaning too." I followed her into the kitchen and Ike grabbed my arm at the entrance. "We're not done." he said in my ear through clenched teeth. I just jerked my arm away and walked into the kitchen.
For the next several hours, things were beyond chaotic. We chopped food and mixed batters, arranged furniture, dusted and scrubbed the downstairs bathroom. Diana put out strict orders for no one to mess it up. "You touch it you put it back," she'd said. We also made 2 trips to the store... which were tasks in themselves! At the house, the kids were running in and out and screaming, the guys were playing so music could be heard throughout in every room and the TV blared the weather channel. Still, there were a lot of laughs and the conversations were kept light.
Later that afternoon, Diana and I sit in the living room. Mac and Zoe were upstairs playing and Avery and Jessica had gone to a friend's house to borrow some platters that her mom had offered to loan to Diana. Karen had gone to bed saying she didn't feel well and Tori was on the phone in the den. Taylor, Zac and Ike were in the kitchen cleaning up. Diana suddenly sat up and looked around as if to see if someone was watching. Then she faintly smiled at me and run a finger over my forehead, then she glanced toward the kitchen and back at me with her eyebrows raised. I knew right away what she was doing and I couldn't bring myself to even begin to tell her anything about that night nearly two weeks before. Although, now, I'm sure she knew. I just smiled and shook my head. She looked at me as a worried mother and also a confused friend. Her face held different emotions at that moment.
Zac's stretching groan broke our silence and he stooped down behind the couch where his mother and I sit side by side. He frowned when we looked at him and he'd seen his mother take her hand away from my face. "Looks terrible doesn't it?" he asked. Diana glared at him and I just looked down. Then he continued and at that moment, I became a champion player in the game played by girls and women in my situation everyday. "That door got her pretty good huh mom?" We both smiled and Diana gave the best fake smile I'd ever gotten from anyone. "Yeah it sure did," she replied. "We were just talking about that. What'd you say it was, the bedroom door?" I caught her signal right away and just smiled saying "No, the front door." She nodded, giving me a I-know-what-you're-trying-to-do-and-it's-not-working expression.
Taylor came in and just looked at all of us and wrinkled his eyebrows, but following a glance from Diana, he gave a half smile. Tay doesn't talk a lot but his eyes can tell someone what he thinks in a glance. Oh God, he knows too I thought. Then he disappeared into the den. A short time later he and Tori came out and pulled on their jackets saying they would be back later. Then they were gone.
After a moment, Zac stood up and leaned down to kiss me and Ike suddenly came into the room and said "Melissa, come to the store with me. I need to pick up some more things." Zac quickly said "You want me to go?" Ike just shook his head and said "C'mon Mel." I wondered what his hurry was and when Diana nudged me I knew that this was not a spur of the moment trip. We'd been to the store twice already. I stood up and put on my jacket. Zac kissed me as his mother tugged on his arm. He looked confused and I knew that whatever this was, he had no idea about it.
Ike and I walked out and got into his Trailblazer. He drove for a few minutes before he suddenly pulled over on the side of the road and turned the car off. I glanced at him and then looked out of the window. His voice broke the silence "Melissa, don't lie to me." I looked at him. "That door you ran in to. Was it on the left or the right side of the Zachary Hanson Company?" I blinked fast as I realized that the night had not gone unexplained by Zac in whatever way he'd done it.
It hit me then as Ike looked over at me -- he and his parents were going to compare stories. They knew I had no idea what Zac had told them. They planned to get both sides then confront us. I knew I couldn't lie and I didn't know how to tell him the truth. I just couldn't seem to say the words.
"It wasn't a door." I said bluntly. He raised his eyebrows "It was the entertainment center in my bedroom." His mouth dropped open and his eyes narrowed. As I stared at him I realized that Zac had told him the same thing. I smiled inside. "How?" was his reply. I looked up at him and asked "What?" He shifted in his seat then asked "How did you get hurt like that on the entertainment center?" AHA, THE TRAP I thought to myself. I felt my heartbeat quicken then answered "Well, Zac and me were kinda wrestling around and I ran into it." He rolled his eyes and started the car. He weaved in and out of traffic until he pulled onto a quiet road as light snow began to fall. He didn't say a word as he pulled into a driveway of a white house with dark green trim. Flowers lined the walkway up to the steps of the wood porch. He climbed out of the car and came around to open the passenger door. He took my hand, pulled me out and we walked up to the door. He knocked twice before it was opened.
A young girl answered and a huge smile came across her face. "Good Lord, Isaac Hanson! I haven't seen you in a long time." They embraced as she asked "How are you?" He smiled, pulling away and replying, "I'm fine thanks and you?" She grinned and nodded "Pretty good and how's the family?" He smiled saying "Fine, just busy." Suddenly her face fell as she gasped "Oh Lord, I'm sorry! Please come in here." She opened the door and Ike and I stepped inside to be greeted with a warm living room decorated in dark blue and white and the smell of cake baking in the oven. She motioned for us to sit down and went into the kitchen, talking in a raised voice. "Ashley went to the store and won't be back for a while. I'm glad you decided to go ahead and come over. I really am glad to see you again..." her voice lowered as she stepped back into the living room and sit on the love seat next to the small couch.
I kept looking at Isaac as she kept talking. He was ignoring my glances. "...It's been too long. So, are you going to introduce me to, um, Melissa, right?"
I glared at Isaac who now looked over at me. I saw it in his eyes... this was obviously planned out. I looked over at her smiling. "Excuse me," I asked "But how do you know my name? I've never met you." She and Isaac began to exchange glances and I looked at her once more. She leaned back, crossing her legs and began playing with her fingers. She was waiting for Ike to answer. I looked over at him, he was sitting forward with his elbows on his knees and with one hand, he was running his thumb across his lips. As she said "Be right back, there's a cake in the oven," she quickly jumped up and walked back into the kitchen. "Ike, who is that? Her face, I've seen her."
He looked over at me. It was true, I'd seen her somewhere. I just didn't remember. She had long, auburn hair and her smile was bright. She was about my size and couldn't have been any older than me yet I had the sense that that her soul was older than her body... like she was wise and had lived beyond her years. There was just something about her, I knew I'd met her but couldn't remember for the life of me when or where or even her name. She walked back in the room and after she'd sit down, she looked over at Isaac. He sighed and just as he said the words, it finally hit me. "Mel, this is Courtney."

: Previous Chapter : Next Chapter :
: Chapter Index :

Go Back To: The Gifted Ones