Mercy stepped from her room. She had been oddly
awakened by a phone ringing the night before, but blew it off. She opened her
door, and stepped into the main room. There was a large padded sofa in the middle, a
throw rug on the floor in front, and a very expensive looking coffee table in front. The
television in the room sat against the wall, and a large window was blocked by a closed
curtain behind it. She walked clumsily to the curtain and jerked it open, turning around
to look back. The hotel suite was more of a condo then a hotel room. There was a
small kitchenette in the back of the room, just as you walked in the door from the hall,
and as you walked in, the room opened into a quite large living room. The kitchenette
was ducked under a level, and stairs led up the wall to a small reading nook or loft
above it. The living room had hard wood floors, and was densely furnished. From
the living room, three bedrooms opened off of it, one room contained two beds, where
Mercy and Dorin had slept, and each of the other two rooms contained only one bed,
where Zac and Jeremy had slept. Mercy scooted across the floor, not lifting her
socked feet off the floor. Walking back to her and Dorin's room, she stood in the
doorway. "Door get up." From there she moved to each of her brother's rooms
and stood in the doorway, telling them to get up. Sitting down after her quest to
get them up, she turned on the television. Watching early morning cartoons, she
waited about 5 minutes, then realized her brothers had not yet gotten up. Standing
up once more, she walked to Zac's room. "Get up you!" She looked across the
bed. "What a sloppy sleeper." His blankets were twisted on one half of the bed,
and balled up under his feet on the other half. "You sure know how to use the
whole bed." She turned back around, walking to the middle of the living
room. Counting to three, she clenched her fists and yelled. "GOD DAMNIT
I'VE NEVER BEEN TO NEW YORK AND I WANNA GO SHOPPING!" She
folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot, waiting for the pitter-patter of
her brothers. Dorin was the first to wake, coming out, rubbing his eyes and
scowling somewhat at his rude wakeup. Jeremy followed, shaking his head and pulling
his hair back out of his face. She turned to Zac's room, and tapped her foot more
ferociously, raising one eyebrow and waiting. When finally no one emerged from
Zac's room, she walked to his room, only to be met by a door in the face and a growl
from within. "ZACHARY DENTRA GETR YOUR ASS UP!" She waited once
more then tried the doorknob. "You little terd! Unlock the door!" She thumped
on its surface then waited once more. "Damn you Zac!" Mercy turned around
and stormed away. "Well. She's quite the moody one this morning." Dorin
grinned. "I hope for your sake she didn't hear that." "Han. You are going to get us in trouble." "Be happy I was hid by the
time she made her way in the first time!" The two got dressed hurriedly. "So
how are we going to break this to my brother then?" Zac Hanson paused in
thought. "I could just sort of walk out….and grab a bite to eat?" "Oh yeah. That
would be the greatest way to die." "Well you come up with an idea." The two
flopped down on the bed, letting it bounce from their weight. "Well, we could
leave you here all day." "No way! There's no food up here." "There's enough.
I'll ask Door if we can go shopping." "For what." "Food!" The two frowned.
They couldn't go on hiding a Hanson in New York. "Wanna just walk out and grab
something to eat?" Zac Hanson grinned. "I love excitement." "Bout time you friggin got up." Mercy yelled at him
from the sofa. Dorin Jeremy and Mercy were all too involved in Saturday morning
cartoons to look up. He walked over to them, and sat down in front, leaning up
against the sofa. He had shut the door behind him when he had left his room, for
the sole purpose of it making noise when his friend exited. He watched as if he was
intrigued, but waited for the sound of footsteps and a door. When at last it came, it
was just before the roadrunner ate the birdseed. The door swung open and clumsy
shoed steps were heard. Zac felt Dorin's leg tense, and waited for his oldest brother
to turn around. Zac stood up, turned around and faced his brother. Dorin
narrowed his eyes at Zac. "Who's here." Zac shrugged, swallowing
hard. "Just a friend." "Just a friend. What friend do you have in New
York." Zac gulped once more and took a deep breath. "Well see, he's not really
from New York, he's here on a trip." Zac was amazed his brother hadn't turned
around yet. "Where is he from Zac." Zac sighed. Door must already
know. "Well Door he's from Tulsa." Dorin leaned back further. "Oh really.
He wouldn't happen to be interested in any of the same things you enjoy doing would
he." Zac threw up his arms. "Damnit Door he came cause he didn't want to stay
home and listen to Ike and Tay gripe about it." Dorin stood up abruptly and looked
around at Zac Hanson. "You get over here." Zac Hanson averted his eyes to the
floor and slowly walked towards Dorin. "Stand right there." Dorin directed him
next to his best friend. "Care to tell me why the hell you are here, and how the hell
you got here?" Zac started. "Look me straight in the eye and tell me if you have
any hopes of surviving this." Zac Hanson trembled once and looked up. "I'm
here cause I didn't want to stay home, and I got here with a plane ticket D helped me
get." Dorin allowed him to speak. "Did you even think about telling your
brothers at home?" Zac shook his head. "Were you planning on it?" Zac
shrugged. "You don't know? How can you not know?" "I don't
know." "You don't know." Zac shook his head. Dorin sighed and turned to
Mercy and Jeremy. "You guys are dressed. Go get breakfast downstairs and stay
there for a while. Me and the kids have a lot to talk about." Zac Hanson and Zac
Dentra looked at eachother. Hearts hitting the floor at the same time. "Oh yeah. More then mad. He's going to kill one by the time we get
back." "I don't know if kill is the right word there Jem. More like mutilate. Torture.
Cause to cry." The two waited for the hostess of the lobby restaurant to find them a
table. "He said take a while." "Eggs Benedict takes a while right?" The two sat quietly on the sofa. "You think
you're big enough and bad enough to handle drugs?" They sat silently. In unison
they felt that if they just stayed quiet it would be over. "What makes you think that
I even want you here Zac. I have one problem kid already. I don't need one that I don't
have to deal with. And you my friend are just the kind I don't need." Dorin paced
around the room. "I was a little more then shocked and hurt when Jem did it. Just
to let you guys know that. But it bit through me like a knife to know you two were
doing it too." He paused. "I really and truly don't know what to do about the
situation. As far as you go Zac, I hope you stop right now, and never pick it up again.
One thing you've got your brothers worried about you, you broke their trust, and your
parents aren't going to be too thrilled if they find out. You have a long life to live and
I'd hate to see it ruined by drugs. As far as my little brother goes, I hope you're
satisfied." Zac Dentra looked up at his brother. "What the hell is that supposed
to mean?" Dorin walked around to the front of them. "What's that supposed to
mean? You wanna know? Fine. I busted my ass for you for years. YEARS! I tried
helping you! I tried to make it better for you, and the first thing you do to repay me is
ignore me. Then you give me the great gift of non speech, and all your drug problems
and alcohol problems that go with them." Dorin paused to take a breath, and his
youngest brother blushed as he saw his best friend stare at him. "And last but not
least your repetitious way of dealing drugs to yourself and killing every smart cell in
your body. Then I hear that Ike's little brother is doing it too cause of my little brother.
I can tell you that make me soon proud to know. To know my little brother fucked up
someone else's life." Dorin stopped and sighed. Looking down at his hands he
continued. "I sort of hopped that when we got out of that apartment and into the
new house, and got you away from your old friends and everything in that part of
Tulsa you'd clean up. You'd start to hang out with more people, stay out of trouble. I
guess I was wrong though." Zac Hanson frowned. "It's not all my
fault." Dorin turned to look at him. "Did I say it was? I didn't think so. You
aren't in the greatest situation here either in case you did notice. I don't think either of
you realizes the amount of stress you put on both families. Isaac is incredibly worried
about you. He may not show it but he is, and I'm afraid you have a lot of work to do
before Taylor ever actually listens to you again." Zac sighed. He hadn't really
thought about that, about the feelings involved. And if he had they'd become very quiet
things he'd preferred not to discuss. But now they were things he couldn't get away
from. "Music is supposed to be your life. I would think that after years of doing it,
and doing it well you'd still want to do it. But I guess now I'm wrong. And that both of
you have some how forgotten about what was once your passion." Dorin took one
more deep breath. "Look. I'm not one to tell you what to do with your life. It's your
life after all. I just wish that you would chose a more appropriate thing to do with it. If
not, I hope it finds you happy and enjoying yourselves." Dorin walked away,
leaving to very upset teenagers. "You think they survived?" Mercy shrugged. "Hope
so." Together they stood, and walked to the front desk. "Can you put that to
our room?" The waitress nodded and together they stepped from the restaurant and
walked to the elevator. When they reached their floor, they warly stepped to their
room. "I don't hear yelling." "Me neither." Mercy grabbed the door knob and
stepped inside. Both of the Zac's were sitting on the floor by the sofa. Their eyes
closed, they were both leaned foreward and they were leaning against one another,
resting on the other's forehead. "What on earth are they doing?" Jeremy walked
over to them. "You two?" Neither of them stirred, and Jeremy
frowned. "Hey you two." Still there was no movement and Jeremy walked right
next to them. "You two. What happened?" His brother swung out and cracked
Jeremy in the leg. "What the hell was that for!" Zac Dentra stood. "That was
for already telling him Zac was here." Zac hauled off and punched his brother
again, this time a little harder in the shoulder. "And that god damnit is for getting
on drugs and giving them to me. You're the one who always fucking told me stay off
anyway. When the hell did you turn into a hypocrit." Zac Dentra leaned down and
offered his friend a hand up. "Dorins' in his room. Doing what the hell I don't know.
I'm going to my room. Go ahead and fucking call Zac's brothers. Like it matters to
either of us anymore." Zac pulled his friend to his feet and the two briskly stepped
to their room. "What the hell was that all about?" Mey shrugged. "I think
this month just turned way sour."
Zac took a deep
breath.
Zac
cautiously opened the door.
"He's
mad."
"So
you guys think you're too cool."
Mercy and Jeremy sat eating and talking
quietly.