"So we decided on three songs that are going on the new album," Taylor said to Tamara on the phone that night.
"Yeah? Which ones? I liked that If Only song that you guys wrote this summer," Tamara said.
"Well, definitly This Time Around, In The City and Love Song are going to be on the CD so far. We're not sure about the rest. They all need work," he explained.
"So what else have you guys been doing?" Tamara asked. "I mean, you've only been gone a week, but it seems like forever."
"Oh, not much. Hanging around the house and swimming and stuff," he said, trying to steer clear of the subject of Alison.
"No crazy fans stalking you yet?" she laughed. "You always gotta watch out for those crazy ones!"
"Yeah, crazy fans," muttered Tay. "Nah, hardly anyone noticed us yet."
"Well, that's good, I guess. I can't believe it's already late September," she said.
"I know. It's still so hot though," he said, relieved that they were off the subject of fans.
"I miss you, Tay," Tamara said. "It's boring around here. And it's depressing to see Phoebe and Scott looking so cute together. It's gross."
Taylor laughed. "I miss you too. But one month until Thanksgiving and then I'll see you."
She sighed. "Until then, sleep tight."
"Okay, talk to ya later. Love you," he said.
"Love you too. Bye." They hung up the phone and Taylor went outside on his balcony. It was about 9:30 and was almost totally dark out. He could see the lights of Los Angeles down in the valley far away and could hear the music of Vertical Horizon coming from Isaac's room. Tay loved this time of night, when he was alone and the weather was still warm at night. He decided it would be a good night to sit outside and listen to his DiscMan, so he went back inside his room to get it and some CD's. As he was rooting through his backpack to find it, Big Mike knocked on the door and came in his room.
"Well, I'm gonna head home for tonight. Looks safe around the house, just don't go outside at night. I'll be back tommorrow," he said.
"Okay, see ya," said Tay, finding his DiscMan. The bodyguard left the room and Tay could hear his car start in the driveway below. Taylor went back outside to the balcony and saw a piece of paper taped to the railing that wasn't there when he was just outside a few minutes before. Feeling a little scared, he quickly looked around the yard for a trace of someone who might have been there a second ago. He grabbed the note and tore it open.
Meet me in the woods 9:45, look for the light. Be there or else.
Shaking, he dropped the note on the floor and it fluttered to the pool deck below. Okay, what should I do? he thought silently. He looked at his watch. It read 4:39. Tay ran back inside his room and went downstairs to the family room, where his Mom, Dad and sisters were watching "A Bug's Life."
"Mom! Dad! I gotta tell you something..."
"Tay, shhh. We're watching this movie," said Diana. "Tell us afterwards."
"But..."
"Taylor," said Walker in a stern voice.
"Okay, fine," Taylor said as he stormed out of the room and back upstairs. It was now 9:43 when he went back to his balcony. In the distant woods, he saw a little light flickering on and off. He made up his mind, grabbed a black jacket and something else from the closet and climbed down the balcony until he dropped on to the ground. It was starting to get a little cool outside, so he put on the jacket and started off into the woods. It was pitch black when he reached the path that led to the edge of the forest and the ocean below. He got a sudden feeling of Deja-vu and realized that this was exactly like his dream a couple nights before. He gulped and then continued into the woods, following the blinking light.
He was about halfway to the cliff when he lost sight of the light. Unsure of where to go, he paused and looked around. Suddenly, someone came from behind him and put their hand over his mouth. He tried to yell, but they clamped their hand over his mouth so tight that he almost couldn't breath.
"Don't say anything," the person whispered. "You won't scream, right?" Taylor nodded and the person relaxed their grip. Taylor turned around slowly and came face to face with her.
"Alison," he managed to say.
"Follow me," she said, grabbing his hand. She pulled him through the rest of the woods until they reached a clearing and the edge of the world. Taylor began to feel dizzy as he recalled the ending of his dream. He looked around and saw the sharp decline of the cliff and the crashing waves below. Alison stopped about six feet away from the edge of the cliff and turned to face him.
"We meet again," she said in a cold voice. "It's time."
"Wait! What are you talking about? What's all this "It's Time" crap?"
"Okay, you want to hear a little story? Sit down, then," she said, pointing to a rock. He sat down, glad to be pushing off his death by even a few minutes.
She sat down on one across from him and for the first time, he looked right into her eyes. He was shocked when he saw that there was absolutley nothing in them, no emotion, no fear, sadness, hate, just nothing. It was like looking into the eyes of a robot.
"My dad was a lawyer, my mom, an accountant. They were really busy, never home, always working, never anytime for me, their only daughter. I was home alone all the time and I got to reading some books that were very interesting. I found them in my dad's horror book collection, he loved that kind of stuff. Anyway, they had some really good ideas in them, how to get away with the perfect murder and different types of techniques of how to kill. I started a little collection of knifes, razors, a .44 automatic and other sharp objects. I had the perfect plan to get back at my parents. One night when they thought I was sleeping, I snuck into their room and shot them both." She laughed when she saw Taylor's expression. "So what? They had it coming. Anyway, I trashed the house, made it look like a break-in and went back to bed. When the police came to the house, they found me sleeping and never even suspected me. I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle. They're not too bad, but they don't pay any attention to me either. I kept up my collection. Then one day when I was 13 I heard a song on the radio called "MMMBop." I liked it a lot. It wasn't depressing and it was real music. Then I saw you on T.V." She got up and paced in a circle.
"From the first time I saw you, I knew that we were meant to be together. I didn't care about the other girls, fans, Sierras, Adielas, Tamaras. Don't look so surprised. I know every single thing about you. And I knew I had to have you. You became my obsession. I have every single album, remix, single, unreleased song, video, music video, interview, picture there ever was of you. Every day, I would think of you and your music and it would make feel better about my life. But then these voices started talking to me. I first got them when I was nine, before I killed my parents. They went away for a while, but came back a couple months ago when I thought of a plan for you and me to be together forever."
Taylor was getting quite frightened now, but he stayed calm and tried to think of a way to save himselve.
"These voice, they don't control me, but I like what they say," she continued. "When you've lived like I have, some things just start to make sense after a while. Like who should live and die and who should be happy and miserable."
"You're crazy," whispered Taylor.
She raised her eyebrows. "Hm, maybe. Yes, I believe I am. But no matter, you're still going to die and then you'll have no choice but to be with me forever. That's the way it should be." She reached into her pocket and in an instant a silver knife appeared by her side.
Taylor kept the panic from coming up his throat. "Maybe we can talk about this," he stuttered. "You know, go get some help and work everything out." He took a few steps backwards.
Alison wiped the knife on the side of her shirt. "It's way too late to go for help. This is what it's come to." For a second Taylor thought he saw a flicker of sadness in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by the same monotonous expression of nothing. She walked slowly closer to him and he didn't move. She put her hand on his shoulder and leaned in towards his ear to speak.
"Don't think of me as this evil, wicked person, Taylor," she said softly. "It'll all be over soon. Then we'll be happy."
Taylor closed his eyes and tried to wake up from this nightmare, but he couldn't. He knew it was real. "No, we won't be happy. This isn't how it's going to end up, Alison, and you know it!" He shoved her away from him and she fell to the ground, the knife falling two feet away from her. Something dark flashed across her eyes and she started to get up and reach for the knife.
"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that, Taylor," she growled as she lunged for the knife. At the same time, Taylor dove for knife and kicked it out of her way. She fell in the dirt, trying to reach for it. Taylor bent down, pushed her out of the way and grabbed the knife by the handle. He was now about six inches from the edge of the cliff and he crawled towards it desperatly, trying to kick Alison off of his legs. As he stretched his arm out as far as he could, Alison slammed his face into the ground and he tasted blood in his mouth. He looked up, leaned forward and with all his might, he threw the knife over the side of the cliff. Time seemed to stop as Alison and he watched the knife tumble down to the rapids and rocks below.
Alison let out a strangled yell and grabbed Taylor's arms twisting them behind him. He grimaced in pain and swung around, knocking her off of her feet. She lost her balance trying to fight back and tried to grab at Taylor. He rolled out of the way and she soared past him, flying off the side of the cliff. In a last attempt to save herself, she grabbed on to the side of the edge, grabbing only moss and grass. The last thing Taylor heard was her piercing scream as she fell to the deadly waters below.
He sat by the edge stunned for a few minutes, until he heard voices and footsteps coming up behind him.
"Taylor!" came his mother's voice from the woods. "Tay! Is that you?!" Diana, Walker, Zac and Ike came running over to where Tay sat, still in shock over what had just happened. Taylor turned around slowly, the tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Mom!" he cried. He got over and rushed over to his mom, who took him in her arms.
"Shh, it's okay, honey," she said, trying to comfort her son. She looked at Walker, who was looking over the edge of the cliff with Ike and Zac, who were looking ill.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked, wiping his eyes and looking up at his family.
"We found this on the ground," Walker said, holding up the note Alison had written Taylor. "We figured you weren't going to have a tea party in the woods, so we came as soon as we could."
"I'm sorry, honey," said Diana. "We should have listened to you!"
"It's okay, Mom," he said, giving her a hug. "I guess you want to know what happened."
"I think it's pretty obvious," said Ike, still looking over the edge of the cliff. "She went over, didn't she?"
Taylor nodded. "And I have it all on tape," he said, opening up his jacket and pulling out a small recording device they used in the studio. He handed it to Walker. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said as he leaned behind a rock and threw up.
"I'll go call the police," said Walker, running back to the house. The rest of the family helped Taylor up and back through the woods.
Taylor watched the helicopters and search lights out by the ocean from his balcony. He gazed out past the woods and at the rocky shore where the Coast Guard was diving in the water. He knew they wouldn't find anything. The tide had already washed Alison's body out to sea, where she would finally rest peacefully. Diana came into Taylor's room.
"Hey," she said, sitting on his bed. "How's it going?"
"Alright," he replied. "I think I'm gonna be okay." He fell into his mom's arms and shuddered a little. "I guess it was just time, like she said," he tried to explain.
"Something like that," Diana said, smoothing his hair. "You better get some rest, okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Mom?" he said as she was headed out of the room. She turned around to look at him. "I'll be alright."
She looked at him sadly and closed the door behind her. "I love you, Taylor."