On The Road

Chapter 19

Sitting in his bedroom, Zac was playing around with his keyboard and trying to come up with something to write. There was a pile of crumpled up pieces of paper on the floor, as nothing he wrote seemed to work.

He couldn't believe the mess in life that he had made for himself. Not only did he screw any friendship he could have had with Kaitlyn, but Kate wanted nothing to do with him either. And if she had it her way, he probably would not even be able to see his kids. But thanks to his parents, she hadn't proceeded to try for full custody.

To top it off, he felt like he had nothing to offer in the way of music anymore. Nothing that came to his mind felt right, and he hadn't even been able to add anything to the songs his brothers had written recently. They came by often to try cheering him up, and to keep him company. Though he didn't feel that he even deserved that, especially after the way he had treated Taylor. Sure they had made up, but he felt terrible about it everyday. That had been the worst fight either of them had gotten into with each other.

Finally giving up on trying to write anything, he set the keyboard down on the other side of the bed before laying back as tears rolled down his cheeks. He couldn't remember a time when he had been more depressed.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, which he ignored. He didn't feel like talking to anybody right now. He just wanted to be alone. But the person knocking couldn't take the hint by his silence, and popped their head in anyway. " Zac, you have got to leave this room. You can't just lock yourself up the way you are. It's not right, honey." His mom told him, making her way up to him and sitting on the edge of the bed. She took his hand in hers. " I get that you are upset at yourself, but this is not helping."

" Nothing will ever help, mom. I screwed up everything." He used his other hand to wipe away his tears that just kept on coming. " Now there is just... too many changes that I can't even begin to deal with. I lost a great friendship, and..."

" A friendship that you knew that you weren't supposed to have. You had made that promise to Kate, remember?" She interrupted him. " I know you didn't seek her out or anything, sweetie. I get that it was pure coincidence that she came back into your life. But you let it get to you when she hooked up with Taylor, and that was wrong. You were married, and supposedly very happy."

" I was happy, mom. I really was. I just... I don't know. Seeing Kaitlyn again... it brought back those feelings and I didn't know how to control them." He sat up so that he was facing her. " I wish I could have."

" I know. But you can't win Kate back by just laying here." She wiped away his tears. " You need to fight for her by showing her how much you do care. And that starts with taking care of yourself. So get out of bed and clean this mess up. Dinner will be ready soon, and we have company coming."

With a nod, Zac got up and started picking up the crumpled up pieces of paper. " Who is that?"

" Isaac and his family. They are also apparently bringing someone else with them. I don't know who though." Walking out of his bedroom before he could say anything else, she went to check on dinner.

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Kate had ended up moving into a four bedroom four bathroom house in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. It was only a seven minute drive to Tulsa, so she was close enough for Zac to see his kids. Not that she let them visit with him as often as they would like. She did her best to keep them busy so that they wouldn't focus too much on how much they missed him. A part of her did know that was wrong, but she was still too mad at him to let him get his way. He had broken her trust in him, and she was hurt that he would even care if Kaitlyn was with Taylor or not. It shouldn't have mattered to him.

Right now, she was cleaning up from dinner. She had made garlic butter steak bites with baked potatoes and peas, which had actually been a big hit. It had been her first time making it, and the kids actually loved it. When they left the kitchen to work on their school work, she had turned on some music to clean up to. Playing right now was When Can I See You by Babyface. She sang along, trying not to let the sadness get to her. She would never admit it to anyone, but a part of her really did miss Zac.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the back door. She jumped in surprise. No one usually knocked on that door. But when she looked up from doing the dishes, she saw Natalie through the window. Excitedly, she turned off the water, and opened the door to let her in. But not before giving her a big hug. " I can't believe you are here!"

Natalie smiled, trying to gain her balance from Kate nearly knocking her over. " It is good to see you too." She hugged her back. " Are you okay?"

" Of course. I was just listening to some music and doing some clean up from dinner. There is plenty left over if you are hungry, by the way." Kate told her, as she pulled out of the hug.

" That would be great." Natalie said, coming into the kitchen. " Especially since I am eating for two."

Kate's mouth dropped open in shock. She hadn't expected to get that kind of news from Natalie, figuring that she had to be done having anymore kids. " Damn! I just assumed you were done."

" I thought so too. And I would love to be done, trust me. David went running when he found out." Natalie told her, going into the fridge and pulling out a root beer to go with the left over food. " So I get to raise this one all by myself."

" I am going to find him and kick his ass." Kate said, as she scooped up some steak bites into a bowl for Natalie. " And you can believe I will."

With a small smile, Natalie took a sip of pop. " Thanks, but he is so not worth it. Besides, I know you will help me. At least, I hope so."

" Of course. I think we can make something work." Kate told her. " Where are your kids now?"

" I dropped them off with Taylor. They haven't seen him for a few months, so they are pretty happy to see him." Sitting down with a bowl of food, she began eating. " I did not tell him that I am pregnant though. I don't think that it is the right time to spring it on him."

Going back to the dishes, Kate listened to Natalie tell her about what had happened with David, and what her plans were now. Apparently, she was moving back to Tulsa or even as close as next door if it was possible. But she didn't know what to do beyond that. There was a lot for her to figure out just yet.