Chapter 11

"What are you doing here?" Ashley asked rubbing her eyes as she stood at the front door.

"I need to talk to you," Zac replied as he brushed past her and into the living room.

"Yeah, come on in," Ashley said sarcastically. "I wasn't trying to get some sleep or anything."

"Ash, it's seven thirty," Zac said rolling his eyes as he walked into the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch.

"And I got up at five a.m. this morning and worked until three," Ashley snapped as she sat down on the recliner and covered herself with a blanket. "So, what's so important?"

Zac looked around anxiously for any sign of Ashley's family.

"Everyone else is at Caleb's baseball game," Ashley sighed noticing the uneasy look on his face. "So, what's up?"

Zac opened his mouth to speak, but he didn't know where to begin. How much should he tell Ash?

When Zac had decided that he needed to talk to someone, he figured that Ashley would be the easiest to talk to, but Zac quickly realized that no matter who he talked to about what he knew, it wasn't going to be easy. He was in a situation that he couldn't take too lightly.

"What would you do if you found out that someone was going to do something ... something that could change their whole life?" Zac blurted out.

Ashley gave him a confused look and sat up slightly. "What kind of thing are we talking about here?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

Zac closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want to tell Ashley what he knew - especially since Julie had no clue that he even knew.

"Okay," Zac said exhaling slowly. "I overheard a conversation today. And I found out something about someone. And they're going to do something ..."

"Something bad?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I mean, it's not bad to some people, but the way I was raised, it's considered bad."

"How bad?" she asked.

Zac bit his lip. "Pretty bad."

"Can't you give me some sort of hint?" Ashley asked.

"Okay, in my family ..." Zac said softly. "Well, in my family, it's considered murder."

Ashley stared at Zac blankly for a minute to let his words sink in before her eyes lit up and she gasped. "Abortion?" she whispered.

Zac simply nodded.

"Oh my god. Who?" she asked.

"I can't say," he replied.

"It's not your mom, is it?"

"Hell no!" Zac exclaimed. "My mom would never do that. I think it's more the merrier with my parents."

"Jess?" Ashley asked.

"No way! And if I find out that she's had sex, then the guy is a dead man walking!" Zac said seriously.

"Okay, down boy," Ashley said making a face. "So I'm assuming that if you're that protective of Jess, then it can't be Avery either. And Zoe ... well, she's completely out of the question ... So who does that leave?" Ashley asked talking more to herself than to Zac.

"Is it Abbie?" Ashley asked.

"Ash, I'm not going to tell you who it is," Zac interrupted.

"But, Zac! You can't lay this on me and not tell me who it is!" she whined.

"Ya know what? It was probably a bad idea for me to even come over here and mention it," Zac sighed as he started to stand.

"Zac, sit down," Ashley said sternly. "So, you're not gonna tell me who it is. Fine. Let's move on. What do you need to talk to me about?"

"I don't know what to do," Zac said shaking his head. "She doesn't know that I know. I just overheard her end of the conversation, and from the sound of things, she's already made one trip to the clinic."

"But she didn't go through with it?" Ashley asked.

"Apparently not," he shrugged. "I just ... I don't know what to say to her. I mean, I'm not even supposed to know, so how am I supposed to bring it up?"

"Well, what are you even going to say to her? I mean, what do you think talking to her about it is gonna do? Change her mind?"

"I dunno. Maybe," Zac shrugged. "I mean, I don't think she's thinking this through clearly. I mean, from the way she was talking, it seemed like she didn't really want to go through with it but she didn't have a choice. But her parents don't even know ... so how can she be so sure that abortion is the right decision?"

"Well, how far along is she? Maybe she's really close 12 weeks and has to make a decision quick," Ashley pointed out.

"I suppose that's true, but even so, shouldn't she look at her other options first. How can she be so sure that abortion is the right decision when she hasn't even considered keeping the baby or giving it up for adoption?" Zac commented as he stood and paced around the living room.

"Maybe she's too afraid to tell her parents," Ashley replied. "Maybe they'd ... like disown her or something if they found out."

Zac shook his head. "No, not her parents," he said. "They think the world of her. I don't think they could ever disown even if she committed murder." At that Zac stopped dead in his tracks. If she committed murder? Wasn't that what she was planning to do anyway? As far as he could see, it was.

"Zac," Ashley said softly as she stood up and walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. I just need to figure out something ...and fast because I have a feeling that she's going to go back to the clinic this week."

"I wish I knew what to tell you," Ashley frowned.

"Thanks for listening," Zac said forcing a smile. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

"I'm sure you will," Ashley nodded.

"Well, I better get back home," he sighed. "I kind of walked out on the family get together and didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"Uh-oh, you're going to be in trouble," Ashley grinned.

"Eh, I doubt they even noticed I was gone," he shrugged as he headed for the front door.

--

Julie sat up slowly and pushed her hair away from her face as she turned and let her feet touch the ground. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and yawned as she stood up.

She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and brushed her hair before she headed downstairs. As she descended the stairs, she noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet. If there was anything she had adapted to since she had arrived, it had to be the noisiness of the Hanson family. She walked over to the front door and looked out the window beside it. Isaac, Walker, and Zac's vehicles were both gone, so she guessed that she had missed saying goodbye to Isaac and Maggie. She shrugged to herself as she walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

Diana was at the sink washing dishes and looked up just as Julie entered the room. "Hello, sweetie," she smiled warmly. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. "Taylor said mentioned that you seemed to be feeling a little under the weather."

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just tired. That's all it was," Julie said quickly as she looked around. "So where is everyone?"

"Isaac and Abbie left. Walker went to drop Avery off at a friend's house, and Jessica and Mack tagged along. Taylor is down in the basement with Zoe. I think they're watching a movie. And I'm not quite sure where Zac wondered off to," Diana replied as the front door slammed shut. "Oh, wait, I think Zac has just arrived," she said as she yelled over her shoulder. "Zachary Hanson, is that you?"

"Yeah," Zac yelled back as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his keys down on the table by the door and headed for the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and found his mom washing dishes and Julie leaning against the counter beside her.

"And where have you been, mister?" Diana asked sternly.

"I went to Ashley's," Zac replied with a shrug.

"It would have been nice of you to tell someone," Diana commented.

"Sorry, ma," Zac sighed.

"I suppose you can be forgiven this once," Diana said giving him a wink.

"Thanks, mom," he smiled. "So, where is everyone?"

Diana repeated the rundown of everyone's whereabouts as Julie walked over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.

Zac watched her as she unscrewed the cap and took a sip. His eyes drifted from her face down to her stomach. He could swear from the way she was standing that it looked like her belly was swollen slightly. He looked back up and his eyes met Julie's. She gave him a questioning look, and he looked away quickly when he realized that he had been caught staring.

"I think I'm going to go see what movie Tay and Zoe are watching," Julie commented before she walked over to the door to the basement and headed down the stairs.

When Julie reached the bottom of the stairs, she couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Taylor was sprawled out on the couch fast asleep with Zoe stretched out beside him. They looked so precious together.

Everyone had always said that Zoe was like Taylor's little sidekick, and whenever Taylor came home for the weekend, she seemed to be glued to his side. Julie smiled as she walked over to the couch and took the afghan off the back of the couch and covered Taylor and Zoe's sleeping forms. Then she went over and turned off the VCR, but left the television on low before she headed back upstairs.

She stepped into the kitchen and found that it was now empty. Julie wondered down the hallway and into the living room and found Zac watching TV. He looked up as she sat down on the recliner.

"Back so soon?" he asked.

"They were both asleep and I didn't want to wake them," Julie replied.

"Ah, I see," Zac nodded as he picked up the remote and flipped through the stations.

"So, who is Ashley?" Julie asked curiously.

"She's one of my best friends," Zac replied glancing at her. "Why do you ask?"

Julie shrugged. "Just curious," she replied.

"I'll have to invite her over sometime so you two can meet," Zac commented. "I'm sure you'd like each other."

"Cool," Julie smiled. "That would be nice."

Zac nodded as he watched her play with the hem of her t-shirt. He wanted so badly to say something to her about her being pregnant - tell her that he knew, tell her that he was there for her, tell her that he would help her any way he could - but when he opened his mouth, none of the words would come.

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