New "Breaking Free" Chapter!!!

[writefiction]

Title/Chapter: Breaking Free (43/44+Epilogue)
Author: amanda: jaclyn's twin sister
Pairing: Zaylor Hanson, Zac/OFC: Andy
Rating: NC-17 over-all
Word Count: 1,838
Previous Chapters
P.O.V.: switches back and forth but is clearly marked.
Notes: AU-ish. No Natalie, Ezra, Ellie etc. And they still live in Tulsa. And the story starts in May 2003.
Other Notes: This story is coming to an end I'm sad to say. After the next chapter there will be an epilogue and you know what that means. But don't give up hope for a sequel! Although I've got some challenges I need to work on before I can start on it... or not ;)
Summary: Breaking Free is a tale of two brothers who fall in love and the struggles to make it work. Can they make it last a lifetime? Or will the relationship crash and burn? 

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

ZAC’S POV
September 2006

As soon as we’re settled in our new home in Tulsa, I hook a baby swing up to the huge maple tree in the backyard. This is Jenna’s first time in a swing other than her infant swing that has always been in the house. Her trepidation about the swing is obvious as she clings to me when I try to put her in it. “It’s okay, Jenn-Jenn,” I coo. “It’s just a swing, like the one you have inside. It’s okay, Daddy’s right here.” I get her seated in the swing, but her little fists are still full of my t-shirt. I buckle the belt around her belly and pry her hands gently from the cotton material, sliding down the safety bar. I show her how to hold on and take a step back. She whines a little, but after a few soothing words she begins to look around and not be so fearful.

When I think she’s calm enough, I give the tiny blue swing a little push with my finger so it barely moves. Jenna’s eyes go wide and she grips the bar tightly. “See, it’s okay,” I tell her. “Do you want more?”

She nods. “Mo’e.” I push the swing a little harder so this time it rocks a little more. This time my baby daughter smiles. “Mo’e, Dada!” she says. I give her a bigger push so she’s now actually swinging in her swing. She giggles and squeals, kicking her chubby little legs.

“Look at you, baby! You’re swinging!” I tell her excitedly as I continue to push her back when she swings up to me.

“Swin’in’!” she exclaims.

“Don’t push her too high,” Taylor warns from beside me, hidden behind the video camera.

I roll my eyes. “I know how to push a baby in a swing.”

“Says the one who used to give our three year old brother under dogs,” Taylor quips.

“Geez, Tay, Jenna’s only thirteen months old. I’m not going to swing her that high,” I tell him. I turn to our baby then. “Your Pop-pop is such a worry wart. Yes, he is.” She giggles like she’s in on the joke, which in turn makes me chuckle.

After a moment of quiet, just listening to Jenna giggle and the birds sing, I look over at my husband who’s still taping our child’s first time on a real swing. “Hey, can you put that camera down for a minute or two?”

“Why?” Taylor asks.

I make a face at him. “Please, Tay.”

“Okay, okay,” he says turning off the camera and resting it on the ground near the trunk of the tree. Then he comes to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. “Something you needed to talk about?” he asks.
 

I nod. “Yeah, I was just thinking that, ya know, we’ve got our dream house with the large yard and white picket fence and maybe we should, I don’t know, get started on that second kid of ours.” I hold my breath waiting for his response.

“Really?!” He squeaks.

I laugh. “Yes, really. I mean, we have four bedrooms other than the master so we’ve got plenty of space and I think Jenna’s old enough for a little brother or sister. Even if we got a surrogate today and they got pregnant tomorrow, Jenna would be almost two by the time the baby got here.”

Taylor nods. “I like that idea, ya know, of keeping them close in age. I think that’s the reason we all get along so well, you know?” I nod. “We always had someone very close to our own age to play with growing up. We still fought sometimes, but mostly it was just fun. I want that for our daughter and her siblings.”

“Me too,” I murmur. I look over my shoulder at my husband and he smiles softly. I twist my neck a little further to connect our lips. “I love you,” I tell him.

“I love you too,” he replies. There’s a beat of silence. “Look at Jenna.” I turn back to our daughter and find she’s asleep in her swing.

I chuckle lightly and shake my head. “She’s going to be excellent on tour. As long as she’s moving, she can sleep anywhere.”

Taylor laughs. “Takes after her daddy.”

“Yeah? Which one?” I retort. Taylor laughs again and moves away to pick up his camcorder. I slow down the swing and bring it to a stop. Then I gently unbuckle my daughter and lift her from the seat, placing her against my shoulder. She snuggles in to me and sticks her thumb in her mouth.

“We’ve really got to break her of that,” Taylor comments as we head for our patio doors.

Once upstairs we place Jenna in her crib, putting her teddy bear in her arm which she immediately tightens around the stuffed toy. Taylor and I step back and just look over her for a moment. “You know, she’s going to need a bed soon. She can’t stay in this crib forever,” I say.

Taylor pouts. “She’s still too little for a bed, Zac. When she’s two, it’ll be one of her birthday presents.”

“Promise?” I ask.

Taylor nods. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it and I decided two was a good age. She’ll be more of a child by that age instead of a baby. You know?” I nod, gently pushing him towards the door. I turn on the baby monitor and take the other half with me as I quietly close the door behind us.

Back downstairs Taylor and I flop down on our couch in our new living room. Taylor squeezes himself between my legs and the back of the couch, laying his head on my stomach. I reach down, running my fingers through his hair, looking around the room. I still can’t believe we have our own house in Tulsa. It’s like we’re really settling down this time. Like this is the house Jenna will grow up in and we’ll get old in. It’s a nice feeling.

Taylor traces his fingers in little doodles over my side. “So… Do you want to go with a stranger surrogate or would we want to ask Andy again? Or is she just a complete no-no now?”

I sigh. “I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I haven’t talked to her in forever.”

“When was the last time you talked to her?” Taylor asks.

“Um…” I try to think hard about this. I frown when I figure out the answer. “June when we stayed with her after the wedding.”

“You can’t be serious,” Taylor replies. I nod sadly. “Oh, Zac.” He scoots up my body and hugs me around the neck. “Have you tried calling her?”

I nod again. “She never answers. I always get her voicemail and she never calls me back.” I shrug. Taylor picks up the phone off the end table. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“Calling JD,” he answers. “I’m sure she’ll know what’s going on.”
　


TAYLOR’S POV

JD picks up on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, JD.”

“Tay! Hey! What’s up? How’s Tulsa?” she asks.

“Tulsa’s good,” I tell her. “We just put a swing up in the backyard for Jenna. She fell asleep in it.” We both chuckle. “So, um, I was just wondering how Andy’s doing. She hasn’t been answering Zac’s calls or even calling him back. I thought you’d have the scoop.”

I hear my best friend sigh. “I’m sorry, Tay, but if Andy isn’t talking than I can’t talk either. It’s not my place.”

I grind my teeth a little in frustration. “Come on, JD, this is important. Zac hasn’t heard from her since the wedding, since we stayed with her and helped her move Aaron out. Zac’s worried.”

“Taylor, I can’t tell you. I’m sorry,” she replies.

“JD!” I exclaim.

“Look, Tay, all I can tell you is that she moved in with me and Paul once Aaron left because she couldn’t afford the apartment on her own,” she says. “I really can’t tell you any more.”

“JD!” I exclaim again, running my hand through my hair. “She’s sitting right there, isn’t she?”

JD sighs. “Yeah, she is.”

“Put her on,” I growl.

“I can’t do that, Taylor.”

“Put her on the damn phone. I want her to tell Zac why she won’t talk to him.” I thrust the phone at my brother.

Zac takes it in hand and puts it to his ear. “Hello?” he says with his eyebrows furrowed. There’s a pause and then he replies, “Just put her on the phone. I don’t care if she won’t talk to me. Just put her on.” There’s another pause, then, “Andy, hello? Andy, at least let me know you’re listening.” Pause. “Andy, I’m worried,” he says. “You won’t answer my calls and you won’t call me back. What’s going on?” He pauses. “Why won’t you talk to me?” he asks. “You’re not just hurting me, ya know. You’re hurting Jenna too.” Pause. “Fine. Be this way, but don’t expect me to call again any time soon. When you get your head out of your ass, call me.” Zac shoves the phone at me.

“Hello?” I ask hesitantly. I hear a sigh, but I’m not sure who it is. “Andy?”

“No, it’s me,” JD says.

“What was she saying to him?” I ask.

“Nothing,” JD answers.

“That’s not gonna cut it, JD.”

“No, I don’t mean it like that. She didn’t say anything. She just sat there and listened,” she explains.

I sigh and look at my brother who has tears rolling down his cheeks. “She’s really hurting him,” I murmur. “Tell her… Tell her she made him cry.” Then I hang up without so much as a goodbye.

I toss the phone on the table and pull my husband in to my arms. He melts in to my embrace, crying in to my neck, his tears soaking in to my skin. “Shh, baby,” I murmur. “It’s okay.”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not.”

“Sure it is, Sweetie.”

“How can it be okay, Taylor?” he asks. “She hates me or something. I’m not sure, she won’t talk to me. But I just… I think I just lost my best friend.”

I squeeze my little brother tighter and kiss his hair. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “But it’ll be okay. I promise.”

“And what about, Jenna?” he asks. “She’ll be so sad if she never sees Andy again.”

“I know, Zac, but we can’t think about that right now,” I tell him. “Maybe she was more upset about us figuring things out than she seemed. Maybe she just needs some time. Just give her time.” Zac climbs in to my lap, curling in to a little ball.

“I don’t want to lose her,” he mumbles against my neck.

“We’ll figure this out, baby,” I tell him quietly. “It’ll all get worked out.”

He sighs in to my skin. “I hope so.”


& & & & &

Stay Tuned for Chapter 44!

Comments = Love!