~"ouch!"~

Kayla sat in the living room. Although she was in a house full of buzzing teenagers, at the moment she could hear nothing. So she just sat there, staring into the empty television set. The emotions that filled her body were confused. It was like a washing machine inside her. She did not know whether to laugh, cry, to smile or even speak. Nothing was clear anymore. She had nothing. Over the past few days everything has just disappeared, right before her eyes. Kayla looked up towards the ceiling. She could now feel the tears begin to form in her eyes, and at this time nothing was going to stop them. Every single feeling that had built up over the past month was going to hit her hard right now.

"Kayla?" she didn't look into the direction of the voice. "Kayla, are you okay?"

Kayla looked towards the voice. Through a blurred vision she saw Taylor looking down at her. "mmm" she heard herself mumble in a small voice.

Taylor came towards Kayla. "What is wrong?"

"Life is wrong Tay." she knew that Taylor was going to be the one that witness her losing it in a few seconds. "You know what?

"What?" Taylor said with a supporting voice.

Kayla could feel tears violently spilling out of her eyes. "I can't take it anymore. I don't have a family, I don't have a place to stay, I don't have enough money to last me through anything more than a month, I don't have a job". She paused for a moment. "I had one thing left in the entire world. Dan. And you know what Tay? You know what?"

Taylor looked and Kayla. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her fragile body towards him. "Let it all out" he whispered gently.

"He decided he doesn't want me anymore. After two years. He doesn't want me." Kayla weeped as Taylor held her tightly.

"Sshh..its okay. We are here for you"

"Taylor. He left me for another man! Am I that bad?"

"He doesn't know what he is thinking. You are a great person Kayla."

"But, Tay!" she looked up at him. Her emotions were causing her to shout her feelings.

"He left me for a man. He led me on for so long and he didn't even care. Not one bit."

"Kayles, don’t think about him." Taylor whispered. "He is a jerk".

"Tay, you don't understand. He is the last person in the world that I felt comfortable with. He is the person that I spent all of my time with. The first person that I loved. He was the first person. Period."

"Oh, Kayla"

"No, Taylor. How can I feel close to anyone again. Everyone one in the world that I have trusted have now gone. They have left me. My family. My love. Everyone." Kayla was now running out of strength. All felt all she could do was sit there and let her heart blurt out what it had to say. She felt no control over herself anymore it had all been betrayed in some way or the other. "Tay, I can’t take it anymore."

Taylor brought Kayla's tear stained face up to where he could see it. He took a tissue from the box on the table and began to wipe the tears off her face, She closed her eyes, realising she had not slept over the past week her body started to feel uncontrollable Everything ached. "Taylor?"

"Hmm?"

"I am sorry, I don't usually do this to people"

"Don't be sorry. I am always here."

She looked up at Taylor and a smile started to form through the tears. "You are great, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know" he grinned.

Kayla could feel the sting in her eyes. Her body felt limp. She let herself drift off to sleep in Taylor's arms. She had to face the future. She had no idea what would be around the corner. Whether it be happiness, sadness, anything. It was her future and she had to face it. She felt so alone.


Taylor had no idea what Kayla had been going through. How could she have kept that locked up inside of her? He looked down. She had now fallen asleep. She looked so calm and peaceful. He was happy to see that.

"Tay? TAY!" Taylor was startled, he swung his head up to see Isaac standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Shut up would you?" Taylor hushed.

"What on earth are you doing?" Isaac said in a less startling tone.

"What does it look like I am doing?" Taylor replied.

Isaac stood there, with a confused look on his face. Taylor assessed the situation. He was sitting there with girl on his lap, wrapped up in his arms, looking quite comfortable at the moment and when Isaac walked in he was examining her face. "Oh."

"Ike, it's not what you think, definitely not."

A look of anger swiped across Isaac's face. "Tay, what the hell did I tell you last night? When I give you personal information about myself liking a certain girl. You go and act upon it?"

"No. Ike. It is seriously not what you think, I..." Before Taylor could finish, Isaac was halfway up the stairs. 'Oh great' Taylor thought ‘Now Ike is pissed at me'. Taylor found himself in quite an uncomfortable situation. Although he totally didn't mind supporting and listening to Kayla, right now he was in a bit of a strange position to onlookers. He heard footsteps. 'Oh no. Who this time' he thought.

"Ahh. Tay I thought I heard you in there" Keryn said from the living room door.

"What the.." Keryn's face shot out a look of pain.

"Oh, not you too" Taylor said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"What is going on Taylor?"

"We had a bit of a crisis. Could you please help me?"

"What happened?" Keryn was now genuinely confused.

"Not now. Could you please help me"

Keryn was avoiding eye contact with Taylor. "You don't look like you need much help there Tay"

"What are you going on about?" Taylor said in a hushed tone, still trapped under Kayla.

"Please, just help me get her into Jess and Avie's room"

Keryn walked over to the pair. "How are we going to get her up the stairs? We can't exactly grab her by the feet and head and just throw her up there" Keryn was obviously annoyed.

"I know. Can you please hold her and I will get out and then carry her up there myself".

"Okay" Keryn held Kayla by the shoulders and Taylor pulled himself up off the floor. "Be careful with her".

"I am not going to drop her" Taylor said as he lifted her off the ground. He stood up and started to make his way up to the bedroom. 'Why is everyone angry at me?' a confused Taylor said to himself as he climbed the stairs. He laid Kayla down on the bed and covered her up.

"Sleep. I think you really need it" he whispered as he closed the door behind him.


Zac poked his head over the fence. "I am such an idiot" he whispered to himself. The day before when he had been in next door teaching Kayla how to ride a skateboard he left it there. A new, lonesome skateboard in the hands of complete strangers. He had to get it back. Zac walked around the front of his house. It can't be that hard he thought to himself, all he had to do was go to the front door and say, 'hey! I am Zac Hanson, I have been playing on your property the past few weeks and umm...errr...I kind of left my stuff in your yard, can I go and get it?'. Nope it wouldn't work. It was like trespassing. Without another negative thought, Zac slipped down the side of the neighbours yard and began the search for his skateboard. Zac went straight to the place where he thought that he would have left it. "heeeerre skateboard, skateboard..heeeereeeee skateboooarrrdd" he whispered to himself. No. It was nowhere to be seen.

"Umm. Excuse me" Oh great, Zac had been spotted. Perhaps he was just hearing things. He kept looking. "Hey!!!" No, there was definitely someone there. Zac turned around. There was a girl standing in front of him. He looked her up and down. She looked about his age, she had shoulder length blonde hair and she was about his height too. The flashing smile on her face began to brighten.
"Oh my God. Dad! There’s a Hanson in our yard." she said in rather shocked and breathless tone. "I can't believe this. Hi, I am Gillian."

Zac put out his hand. "Hi, I'm Zac."

"Hi Zac". she could not get the smile off her face. "What are you doing in my yard?"

"Oh, hey. Sorry about that" Zac said flashing his 'I can get away with anything' smile. "I am looking for my skateboard. I think my brother must've thrown it over here or something".

"Over from where?" Zac pointed across the other side of the fence.

"There?" she got a bit startled again. "you mean I have Hanson living right next door to me?"

"Well, technically. Yes" Zac paused for a moment. "Have you seen my board?" Gillian got a rather strange look on her face. "Was it about this big and blue with like a sticker kind of on this part" she said making hand descriptions.

"Yep, that's the one!"

"Oh. That's the one hey?"

"Uh huh. That's the one. Can I please have it?"

"Well, there could be a bit of a problem there" "Oh.......why?" Zac started to become a little concerned.

"Well, you see" Gillian had guilt all over her face. "My father told me to come out here and see if there was any junk that we could take to sell in the garage sale that my Aunt was kind of having this morning."

"Kind of hey?" Zac hoped and prayed that she was not saying what he thought she was saying.

"Yes, well. I kind of got the skateboard and kind of gave it to my Dad and then I kind of sold it at the sale."

"Kind of hey?" Zac furiously repeated.

"I am so so sorry Zac. I am swear I will buy you as new one" Gillian pleaded

"No. That is not going to work now" Zac was now unable to hide his anger. "How could you be so damn stupid?" Zac was shouting in her face at this point. "How could you go and sell a perfectly good, in-shape skateboard as junk?"

"Don't you dare call me stupid Zac Hanson. Now you tell me who was the one that left it in MY yard. That is MY property. Not YOURS"

"Don't even say that" Zac's temper was now completely out of control. He could not even look at her. He could not believe what he was hearing. He just stood there and listened to an array of worthless excuses being poured over his head. He was not dumb. He looked her in the eyes and gave her the most filthy look he could conjure up. "Do you think that the people that used to live here would leave something in the yard? Did it look like it had been sitting there for a month or so?"

"Well." Gillian thought for a moment. "Jeez Zac. Don’t shout at me!"

"You are shouting at me!"

"Cause you are shouting at me!"

"Oh just grow up, would you?"

"You’re telling me to grow up?" she said furiously. "You are standing there, completely upset cause you left your precious, replaceable skateboard in the yard. Gosh. You look like you are about to burst into tears!"

"Well you look like a bloody idiot!" Zac didn’t really know where that comment came from.

Gillian was truly starting to get upset. "Get out of my sight Zac. I don’t want to see you again"

"Haha! The feeling is mutual!" he said walking away.

"I hate your music!"

"GOOD!" Zac shouted as he got further away. "I wouldn’t want to think that you listened to it!"



"Oh jeez. This is some day." Keryn sighed to herself as she finished the washing up.

"You’re telling me" Keryn turned around to see Taylor about a metre behind her.

"What are you doing there?"

"I live here, you know?" Keryn stood there for a while. She didn’t really know what to say. As a matter of fact, she didn’t really know what was going on. What had gotten into her before? That was what was really getting to her. She had seemed to be angry at Taylor when, as she now knew, he had been comforting Kayla. Taylor broke Keryn out of her little trance.

"Are you angry with me".

She looked up at Taylor. "No. Why would I be mad?"

"You seemed a little...well...furious before."

"Oh did I?"

"Mmmm hmm"

"Well I don’t know. I don’t think I was mad."

"You were mad Keryn" Taylor looked at her before he formed a grin on his face. "And I want to know why you were mad" he said playfully shoving her in the elbow.

"No."

"No what?"

"No...you know."

"Tell me!"

"Oh nothing. It was because" Keryn thought for a moment, as if trying to remember. "Oh, that’s right!"

"What?" Taylor had that ‘Everyone thinks I’m hot and I know it’ look on his face.

"Laundry."

"You were mad at me because of laundry?"

"Mmmm hmmm." she said nodding at Taylor. "You said that you were going to do yours and Zac’s this morning and you didn’t even attempt to start it."

"Keryn, you are not my Mom"

"I know." Keryn thought for another moment. "I just don’t want the house to be a mess when your parents get home."

"They won’t be home for three weeks."

"I know. But, you know what I mean." Keryn turned around again to clean the sink. Taylor just stood behind Keryn with a confused look on his face. Keryn turned back around. "Tay, why are you still standing there?"

"Don’t know" he looked at Keryn. Oh no. He was staring at her. A surge of butterflies rushed through her stomach. What the hell is happening to me? She felt herself start to blush. Keryn stepped around and stood at the table.

"Why are you being quiet?"

"I am thinking."

"About?"

"Ike and Zac oughta be quite mad at me"

"Why?"

He laughed. "All in one day I have woken up with and cuddled up to two different, and, of course, beautiful women."

"Oh yeah, they’re mad." Keryn and Taylor laughed with each other. The moment forgotten. For now.

Chapter Four HOME Chapter Six
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