Time Goes On
by Chelle

~ CHAPTER 37 ~

"Alright, you ready?" Tori said as I walked to the front of the bus. "Yeah, I guess so." I replied, slinging the duffel bag onto my shoulder and putting my pass around my neck. We walked off of the bus, through the small crowd of fans waiting outside and into the arena. We were in Georgia that night. Only one more week before two weeks at home in Tulsa. I sighed at the idea of a break. All night long I had been thinking about the conversation I'd had with Isaac. We'd agreed that morning not to say anything to anyone about it until we figured out what to do and how to do it. "Gosh, why is it that things always have to be so chaotic around these places?" Tori asked, pulling me away from my thoughts. She and I made our way through the noisy halls. As we turned the corner, we saw Ike leaning against the wall. As soon as he saw us he came up and grabbed my arm. "I gotta talk to you now. Here," he said opening a door and ushering us both inside. "Leave that stuff in here and come out in the hall." Then he quickly walked out. I looked over at Taylor, who was on the phone and had barely noticed us. He slightly smiled and I put the bag down and whispered to Tori, "I'll be back as soon as I can." She gave me a weak smile and nod. I had a sick feeling when I walked out and saw the look on Ike's face. His expression held shock, confusion and worry... like a lost child. "What is it?" I asked as I walked up to him. He looked around as if to see if someone was watching him then he took my hand and said "Come with me." He and I walked down the long hallway, around the corner and down some stairs. As we approached a door he turned to me and held up his finger up to his lips. I nodded and he pushed me past him and pointed to the small window on the door. He leaned against the wall and whispered "Look out there." I slowly turned and looked out the window. There was Zac standing by a car. His arm was up on top and his other hand was on the top of the open driver door. His back was toward me and he then moved to stand in front of the driver. He crossed his arms and they seemed to having an argument. I turned back to Ike who then came up to the window. We both looked back as Ike raised his eyebrows. Then the driver got out of the car, Karen! It was Karen! They seemed to argue for a minute until Zac put one arm around her and then the other hand over her mouth. He leaned in and said something in her ear. After he let go, I expected them to kiss. I glanced at Ike and could tell he was using all his strength to stay where he was. His jaw was clenched tight and his eyes were narrow and clouded. I looked back outside, waiting to see a passionate kiss between the two. What I saw though confused me more than I already was. Zac pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to Karen. I couldn't believe it. Isaac and I exchanged confused glances. Money? Zac was giving her money? A lot of it too. She began to count it, and after she was done, she glanced at him. Then she reached in the seat for a moment and backed out with her purse. She unzipped it and pulled out what looked like a few pictures. She handed them to him, then put the money into her purse and tossed it back into the front seat.He looked through the pictures then smiled a huge smile before giving her a hug. They talked for a few more minutes as Ike and I watched trying to figure out what was going on. They were laughing and pointing at the pictures. Then they hugged again and she got back into the car. Zac watched as she drove away. When we saw him walking toward the door Ike and I hurried away and down the hall into the Hanson room. Taylor and Tori both looked up at us shocked. "What's wrong?" Taylor asked walking toward us. "We're fine. Just... we're fine." Ike said glancing at me. We were a little out of breath but quickly composed ourselves and never said anything more to anyone. Although Taylor did give us strange looks the rest of the night.

I watched as Isaac paced the floor of his hotel room. We were staying in a hotel so maintenance could be done on the bus. (Oil change, tire check, engine tune, etc.) Zac had left while I was in the shower and Taylor and Tori had gone to eat with some crew members. Isaac had called and asked me to come to his room. I sat on the small couch and watched as he continued to pace and furiously run his hands through his hair. Neither of us said anything. We'd both been trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Both of us had suspected a relationship between Karen and Zac but we'd started thinking we were wrong. We had both wracked our brains trying to figure out why Zac had given her money and what the pictures were about. I had tried to find them while he'd been in the shower but I couldn't. "I don't get, I just don't understand. What the fuck is going on here?" Ike said as he sat down in the chair to the side of the couch. "I don't know." I replied quietly. "If only I could find something, anything. If we knew what the money was for then maybe everything else would start falling into place." I continued. "Are you sure you looked through his things good? Maybe he put the pictures in a pocket of his jeans or something. Did you try his laptop? Maybe he has something on there that would give us a clue." Ike said as he began to pace again. "Well, I didn't think about his laptop but I looked through his suitcase. Not through his pockets though. Do you think he'd have put them somewhere like that?" I asked, almost shocked at the idea. Ike then grabbed the key to his room and said "Come on." I stood up and walked to the door with him. "I'm not sure what to think at this point. All I know is that we need to figure out what's going on and fast." Isaac said quietly as we walked down the hall. As we came to the room Zac and I shared Ike continued "I'm just not going to put anything past him anymore. He's been so unpredictable lately." I unlocked our door and looked around inside, Zac was still gone, I glanced at Ike and he and I walked into the room and closed the door. "Ok, remember that the most ridiculous and incomprehensible acts seems to be his best ideas lately." I sighed as we began to look through Zac's stuff. "Dammit! Shit, I shoulda guessed!" Ike said. "What?" I asked. "His laptop, he's got it sealed. I can't do anything without the password. I can't even see the fucking homepage." I sighed as I wiped the hair out of my face. "Mel, take a guess. Do you two have a secret code or anything?" Isaac asked as I felt through Zac's jeans pockets. "Uh," I thought for a moment. "I don't know. Try maybe a birthday." I began digging through the compartments of Zac's suitcase as Ike typed. "It's none of ours or your's. Not mom or dad's either." Ike said shaking his head. "Hey what about that nickname he calls you sometimes, ya know from the day he put ice on the back of your neck. What was that he called you?" I tried to remember what Isaac was talking about. Then it came to me. "Crash." I answered. "He called me crash. And it was a cold Dr.Pepper." Ike grinned, "Yeah, that's it." He typed it in and then sighed as he shook his head. I tried to think as I zipped up the suitcase. "Nothing in here." I said. "Try Oklahoma. Maybe something having to do with your home." I said as I started flipping through Zac's planner. Ike typed in several words before he said "I just can't get it." The sound of my cell phone ringing made us both jump. I answered it quickly and heard Taylor's voice on the other end of the line. "If you are alone with Isaac, you might wanna get around some people quick. Zac's back and he's signing autographs in the lobby. He said he was coming to your room in a minute." I felt my heart begin to race as I thanked Tay and hung up. Isaac and I both had already heard more than once that we were 'spending too much time alone together.' I put the planner back on the table and said "Ike, we gotta get things back in order. Zac's back."
We hurriedly put everything back like it was and then walked out, locking the door. We saw Shelly in the hall. "Shelly!" Ike called as we began to jog to catch her before she went into her room. She smiled at us but her smile quickly faded as we reached her. "Don't ask any questions and don't ever say anything about this just go with it." Ike instructed her. She nodded and Isaac said, "Yeah, I'll be glad to get a break too." as Taylor, Tori and Zac stepped off of the elevator and began walking toward us. Although she was very confused, Shelly played along. Taylor and Tori went into their room and Zac gave me a small peck on the forehead as he continued on to our room. "What's going on?" Shelley whispered. "Nothing, really it's ok. Thanks." Ike slowly walked to his door. Just as he unlocked the door to his room, he turned back to me and mouthed the words "You and me later." I nodded, smiled at Shelley and the walked into the room I shared with Zac.
A little while later, as I lay in bed, listening to Zac's steady breathing,the events of the day were running fast through my mind. Suddenly a thought hit me. I eased out of bed and tip toed over to the chair. I carefully reached into the pockets of the jeans he'd been wearing... empty. "Shit." I said under my breath to myself. I looked over to find him still unmoved and breathing the same as he was moments ago. I glanced at the nightstand table and saw something sticking out of his wallet. "Bingo." I barely whispered. I gently pulled out a small white envelope. I glanced at Zac again and then slowly made my way into the bathroom. After locking the door, I sat on the side of the tub and opened the envelope. I pulled out two small photos of a baby I'd never seen before. I tried to remember the baby but what really got to me was the next picture... I nearly fell over when I saw it. I quickly put them back in the envelope and opened the bathroom door. I slid the photos back into his wallet and climbed back into bed. Well, this added a whole other part to this story. I didn't sleep at all that night. I kept thinking that what was apparently going on was worse than what Ike or I had even started to imagine. I dreaded the thought of telling him but I'd have to. He had as much right to know as I did. I still couldn't seem to piece together exactly how it had taken place or how it had been gotten past everyone. My mind was spinning with so many different thoughts... more than I could really handle. I lay in bed and watched as the light begin to get brighter through the curtains. I felt sick thinking about it, but I couldn't think of anything else.

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