"Zac! There you are!" Taylor screeched in relief.
But Zac didn't even acknowledged that he had heard him talking. He stayed low and crouched down. His face and eyes kept towards the ground.
"Zac?" Taylor asked quietly. "Zac, are you okay?"
"Am I… okay?!" He exploded. Jumping from his position, he stood up straight, and turned in the direction of Taylor's voice.
"You left me!" He accused angrily. "You all left me! I made a fool out of myself out there!" He said as his hands carelessly waved off in a direction.
Taylor backed away slightly. Not wanting to get hit by one of his hands. "I'm sorry." He murmured apologetically.
"You're sorry!" Zac scoffed. "You know, I really don't think you are." He stated crossing his arms in front of him.
"Zac!" Taylor shouted defensively.
"What?!" He shouted back. "If you were truly sorry, you wouldn't have done it in the first place!"
"That's not true and you know it!" Taylor screamed, getting angry right back.
Zac had cowered slightly, but quickly regained his composure. "You left me." He said seething. His voice coming out in a harsh rasp, and his breathing irregular. "You all… left me."
"We didn't leave you." Taylor said gently. "We got separated. A lot of other people come to this church as well."
Zac just shook his head, and gave a sarcastic but soft laugh. "God," He muttered incredulously. "Why can't you just admit to it?!" He cried out coldly.
"You left me! You all did!"
Taylor leaned back against the cold tile wall of the men's bathroom.
He couldn't fight with him any longer. He didn't want to. There was no point, Zac was going to go by what he thought happened. Only his point of view mattered now… no one else's.
"Fine, Zac." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he straightened back up and took in a deep breath. "I'll see you at the car." He replied heading for the door.
"Wait! Taylor!" He cried out desperately.
"What?" Taylor asked as he turned back around. His voice hard from the tongue-lashing he had just undergone.
"What are you doing?" Zac asked him, as he shuffled his feet nervously.
"I'm abandoning you." Was all he spoke, before he stepped out of the bathroom, and left Zac behind on his own.
Zac slammed his fist against the wall as hard as he could. The pain didn't even distract him.
His pride had grown strong since the accident, and he was not about to ask someone to help him. He was going to make it to the car. "And on my own too!" He said loudly in determination.
Gathering his strength and packing up all his guts, Zac started feeling his way along the tile walls. Hoping he was going in the right direction.
"Taylor…" Mrs. Hanson started worriedly. "Where's your brother."
Taylor shrugged his shoulders and pointed at Isaac at her side. "Right there, Mom." He said smiling innocently. Then he pointed to Mackie in her arms. "And there too."
Mrs. Hanson tried not to smile, but corners of her mouth lifted anyway. "You know what I mean, Tay."
"He's in the bathroom." He said sulkily.
"And why is he in there?" His father asked firmly.
Taylor gave him a wry smile. "Think about that question, Dad."
Mr. Hanson gave him a stern look, but cracked a smile as well. "Taylor." He said warningly.
He sighed, "He said that we abandoned him. And when I fought him on it, he fought back. He's changed. He's not like he used to be!" He complained frustrated.
Mrs. Hanson gave him a small hug, "Things will be different of course." She assured him, "But it won't stay like this forever."
He looked up at her, "Mom, I don't think I've ever been this far from him before."
Isaac looked over at them, and nodded his head slowly and gave a weak laugh. "You know I actually feel the same way as Tay." He confessed. "Zac seems to have taken us out of his lives…"
The conversation trailed off, when they saw Zac walking towards them. His hands fumbling along the side of the wall and his feet tripping every now and again on pebbles and curbs.
Without even talking to them, he got himself situated in the van and buckled up. His hands folded tightly in his lap, and his lips in a firm line. This was already going to be a long and horrible day.
I shoulda stayed home. I shoulda stayed home. I shoulda stayed home. I shoulda stayed home. His mind repeated insistently as the van lurched forward.
