Chapter Fifty-Five

Isaac Hanson

My parents were taking a long time. They had been in the room nearly twenty minutes and the limit they had set for all of us had been ten minutes, so as to give everyone a chance to visit with Taylor before visiting hours were over. Needless to say, I was getting a little bit worried. Something must be wrong if they were taking that long.

Immediately I knew my suspicions were correct as I made my way back to Taylor's room, having taken the chance of leaving my younger siblings alone in the waiting room with a nurse named Rochelle looking after them. A shiver ran up and down my spine.

I heard the commotion coming from the room way before I even turned the corner to the hallway where Taylor's room was. All I could make out at first was my father's voice, yelling. My father hardly ever yelled that loud. No, scratch that, my father never yelled that loud unless he had to (like at one of our concerts). I wasn't even aware that his voice could reach such volumes in such a quiet place.

I began to jog to the room, wondering if there was something wrong with Tay, if he was yelling at a doctor to do something. My heart began to beat faster, more from worry than from the jogging and finally I took a sharp turn, coming into the room, faced with a scene that, if I hadn't actually been there at the time, I never would've thought possible.

My father had a woman shoved up against the walls. His hands were clenched on her shoulders and even though she was flinching anyway, I could see the pain that his hands were causing her. My father looked up as I sped into the room and for a split second, I saw a fire in his eyes hotter than those that the Devil himself could've brought on, but they quickly died away with the realization of who I was. He quickly let go of the woman, who relaxed slightly, opening her eyes.

I scanned the room slowly, taking the time to take in my mother's fear-filled, tear-stained face and Taylor's expression of something near helpless panic before I dared to speak.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice slightly unsteady.

My father cleared his throat, the woman straightened herself up, my mother turned away to wipe the remaining tears from her cheeks and Taylor looked away also.

Dissatisfied with this answer, I asked again with more force in my voice.

"What's going on?"

"Isaac...," my father started softly, barely audible. Quite the change from the angry screams I had heard just a minute ago.

The strange woman inerrupted, clearing her throat.

"I'll leave," she said, maneuvering around my father. I stepped aside so that she could exit the room. My father looked like he was about to say something nasty but was struggling to bite it back for everyone else's sake.

"What's going on?" I repeated for the third time. I felt like a broken record.

"Isaac, you'd um, you'd better leave, too," my father said. "Why don't you go take your mother to the cafeteria to get something to drink?"

"Because I want to know what happened first," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Isaac," he said in a firm but yet to be angerd warning. "Leave. I have to talk to your brother."

He looked at Taylor expectantly as if he was expecting him to say something, but Taylor didn't even appear to be listening. His expression was distant. I shuddered as I was reminded of my dream when I saw him staring into his own grave.

"Go," my father said, pointing toward the door.

"Come on, Ike," my mother said, puttng her hand gently on my arm. I hadn't even noticed her come up to me. She led me out of the room. I followed her, my gaze not leaving where Taylor was sitting until I no longer could see him.

"What was that all about?" I asked her quietly as we walked down the halls, apparently headed for the cafeteria as my father had suggested although I knew neither of us were hungry or thirsty.

She looked at me sadly.

"I don't know if I should tell you," she said.

"Why not?"

"Look," she said, sighing tiredly. "This is between Taylor, your father, that woman, and me."

"Who was she?" I asked.

"It's not important," she told me.

"It must be if she's included in this little thing and she's not even family," I commented.

"Yes, but it doesn't involve you, so don't worry about it," she said.

We entered the cafeteria in silence. I don't know which of us spotted Gina sitting with the strange man first or even whether or not she saw them at all, but, figuring she was in one of those moods where silence is the best choice no matter what you've got to say, I didn't bother to say anything about it.

"Who's with your little brother and sisters?" she asked me.

"A nurse," I answered.

She looked at me skeptically.

"You're sure it was a nurse?"

"I'm sure no one who has to come to a hospital for one reason or another bothers to put on a pink sweater, a really ugly patterned shirt and old lady pants not to mention a nametag that says 'Rochelle' on it before they come."

"Or bothers to take it off after work when they leave," she said.

I shrugged.

"She was behind a desk. I figured it was safe," I said. "I wonder what Zac and Parker are finding to talk about?" I added, wanting to change the subject before she got into the right state of mind to chew me out.

She half-smiled.

"Parker's pretty talkative, I'm sure he'll find something," she replied.

"No, Parker's only talkative when he can find something. He's not like Taylor in that respect where Taylor will go on for hours talking about absolutely nothing," I said, rolling my eyes.

"He gets that from you," she said, smiling.

"How?"

"You don't have to be related to get things from other people," she said. "You just have to be around them a lot. And you're almost always around Taylor."

I sighed. "Are we related in any way?" I asked. I still coudln't grasp the fact that Taylor and I were in no way, shape, or form related.

"Sure. Dating way back to Noah's ark though," she said, smiling.

"Nothing else though?"

"I don't think so. I know that his mother's brother and your father's sister dated for a while, but he died in Vietnam. That was probably before Andrea would even remember."

It was weird hearing my mother speak of "his mother" and then calling her by name.

"She had a brother that died in Vietnam?"

"I think so. I'm pretty sure Parker's named after him," she said. "Andrea was a good person. She just had a few problems like she couldn't keep her rebellious side under control."

"Was getting pregnant an act of rebellion for her?"

She shrugged.

"Maybe," she said. "I doubt it though. I think it was more of an accident than an act of rebellion. I think the sex she had to have in order to get pregnant was the act of rebellion in that case."

I nodded.

The woman I had seen in the room suddenly walked into the cafeteria.

"You're not going to tell me who that woman is, are you?" I said, watching as she sat down with Gina and the man that Gina was sitting with.

"Not now," she said. "It's not important right this second."

"Why were you crying before?" I asked suddenly.

She shrugged again. "Betrayal," she answered uncertainly. "And a little bit of happiness, I guess."

Wonder what Mrs. Hanson meant by that?
Index
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Six