CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
TAYLOR
It had been a week since the benefit. Taylor wanted to say he felt a little better about things with Mel but he'd be lying. On the plus side she hadn't left. She was still in the studio every day, still in Tulsa. The down side was that he had still hardly seen or spoken to her. Maybe it was because she was busy training Bethany's replacement, he didn't know. He tried to find as much comfort as he could just knowing she was there.
And then there was Natalie. Goddamn. He definitely applauded the woman for carrying the weight of pregnancy but he didn't think it was supposed to exhaust the both of them. Morning sickness was supposed to be MORNING sickness, right? Wrong. He had been up with her at all hours of the night while she puked
her guts up all fucking week long. If he was going to pick a time to make his exit, this certainly wasn't it. He was ready to leave but he wasn't a complete heartless bastard. Not completely.
She had been losing weight and he had to admit it scared him a little bit. She was supposed to be gaining
it, not losing it. That wasn't right. So she went to the doctor. The doctor had assured her that it happened sometimes and he put her on a strict diet that basically told her to just eat more. So she did. And by god, Tay made her eat. He may not have loved her anymore but he was sure going to make sure that baby was taken care of.
One night he was getting ready for bed, Natalie already sitting up, reading a book. He honestly wasn't sure why he bothered preparing for bed, he knew he would be awake in the next hour or so, holding her hair back while she threw up once again. He would be glad when this stage in her pregnancy finally passed.
He had just put the toothpaste on the brush when he dropped the tube, causing a chain reaction all over the
counter. "Goddammit!" he said, trying to catch it, knocking over a bottle of product which, in turn, shoved one of Natalie's small makeup bags off of the counter.
"Honey, are you okay?" She called as he watched the contents of her bag spill out on the floor by the toilet.
"Yeah," he called back. "Just dropped...all this..."
Frustrated, he put his toothbrush down and bent over to pick up the stuff he spilled all over the floor. Shoving things back into her bag, his hand landed on something that made his blood run cold and his forehead break into a sweat.
What did a pregnant woman need with ipecac?
He opened his mouth to speak and then quickly shut it again. Maybe it was old. He racked his brain, trying to recall the last time one of them had any stomach problems and came up with nothing. He opened the lid. It was definitely a used bottle. He contemplated asking her about it but something in his gut told him to keep his mouth shut. Carefully he replaced the bottle in her bag, brushed his teeth and crawled into bed.
Laying next to her made his stomach churn. That was the last place he wanted to be right then. His brain ran a mile a minute as he planned the next day. He didn't sleep a wink that night.
_____________________________________________________________
Bright and early the next morning, Taylor was in the doctor's office, arguing with the receptionist. "Mr. Hanson, I'm sorry. I can't release them to you."
"I am her husband. I can show you the marriage license. I need those records."
"Sir, I'm sorry. We have a patient confidentiality agreement, we can't release them to you."
"But I'm her HUSBAND!"
She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry."
"Get me the doctor. Where is he?"
"He's with a patient right now. Without an appointment you'll have to wait. And you won't get them from him either."
"It can't wait. I need to talk to him NOW."
"Mr. Hanson, I truly am sorry. But we legally cannot release those records to you--"
"This is the craziest damn thing I've ever heard. She's my WIFE! I have rights!"
"Mr. Hanson!" she finally said firmly. "We cannot release them to you because she signed an agreement saying that we can't. If you really need to have them, she can pick them up or you can go through the legal system. I am sorry but there is nothing more we can do for you here."
Taylor took a step backward in shock at the receptionist's words. She--she what? Why would she not want him to have access to her records? For ten years, she--? What?
His cell phone rang as he tore down the road to his next destination. "Tay, where are you? We've been waiting for you for over an hour," Ike said.
"I'm sorry. I'm not coming in today. I'm dealing with kind of an emergency."
"Is everything okay?"
"Um...no, not really. I'll fill you in when I know about it."
As soon as he tossed his phone into the passenger seat, blue lights came on behind him.
"GODDAMMIT!" He pounded his fist onto the steering wheel.
As he pulled over and dug for his license and registration, the officer tapped on his window. The officer smiled as Tay rolled it down. "Mr. Hanson! Fancy meeting you here! You still have a license?"
Jesus Christ, was there only one cop in this city? Taylor was what was known as a habitual speeder and
this certainly wasn't the first speeding ticket this particular officer had issued him.
Taylor handed his license and registration out the window. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm really trying but I have an emergency I'm dealing with this morning..."
The officer studied his face. Hard. "Have you been drinking?"
"What? No, I haven't been--it's ten in the morning!"
The officer sighed and handed his stuff back to him. "Today's your lucky day, Taylor. I can see you're having issues so I'm going to cut you a break. You get to keep you license again this time. But you're racking up the points, you know."
"Yes, sir, I know."
"Okay. Slow down. I hope your day gets better."
"Thanks."
Thoroughly embarrassed and even more pissed than he was before, he drove off to his next destination.
Twenty minutes later, Taylor was bursting into his attorney's office. "Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"No. And there isn't a single car in the parking lot, so I know he's here, I know he's alone, and I need to speak with him now. It's urgent."
"Um, okay," the receptionist said, startled. She buzzed the attorney and before she could tell him he could go in, Taylor was already bursting through his door.
"Taylor!" his attorney said. "Where's the fire? Have a change of heart again?"
"I don't have time to mess around right now. I need Natalie's medical records."
The attorney looked at him, confused. "Uh, so go get them."
"I can't. She signed an agreement saying I can't touch them."
The attorney let out a breath. "Wow. That's an interesting turn of events. Just a month ago you skipped out on your appointment to go through with the separation. What gives?"
"I need to know that Natalie is actually pregnant. On paper. And I need to know right NOW. I will pay double, triple your fee, anything, I don't care. I need you to make a fucking miracle."
"Give me twenty-four hours."
___________________________________________________________
DREW
"Knock knock," Drew said, knocking on Mel's office door.
Mel looked up and grinned. "Drew!" she ran up and hugged her. "I know I just saw you last week but we didn't even get a chance to spend any real time together!"
"Well, no, not since you skipped out in the middle of the night like you did."
Mel sighed. "Never a dull moment in the world of Taylor Hanson, I'll tell you that."
"Tell me about it. I just saw him pull up to the studio on two wheels."
Mel rolled her eyes. "Ever the drama queen. You wanna go get some coffee or lunch or something? We have much to catch up on!"
"No need. I came prepared. Did you know there's a picnic table out back?"
"Really? I never noticed it before."
The two women carried their lunch out the back door of the studio. They passed the guys in the art alcove and waved, three pairs of eyes watching them go by.
"What was that about?" Drew asked as they sat at the table and distributed sandwiches.
"Do you know how long it's been since we've been in the studio together? Or together at all, really?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, you first."
Mel sighed and rolled her eyes. "So...long story short...Jason told me he was no longer trying for a relationship with me and I had sex with Tay after the benefit."
Drew's eyes practically bugged out of her head. "No!"
"And...we trashed the entire room in the process. Lamps, clocks, TV's, everything. The bill was fucking enormous."
Drew let out a huge laugh she couldn't control. "Oh my god!"
"It was fucking magnificent."
"Oh my god, so...so what happens now?"
"Oh I'm not even finished..."
"Shit..."
"Yeah, so remember those bids I lost? On the fish and the Queen Vic replica? Yeah, Tay out bid me. And left them in the safe for me at the hotel. And then proceeded to tell me he was going to do whatever it took to 'make it happen,' whatever that means. So now here we sit a week later and...here I am!"
"Goddamn...and this all happened in one night?"
"Never a dull moment. Your turn."
"Gerard kissed me."
Now it was Mel's turn to be in shock. "Spill."
Drew found herself grinning uncontrollably. "Okay, so I had to stay in LA to do voiceovers, right? And at the benefit Gerard asked me to go to dinner with him. Like, for real. So we went and it was wonderful! He took me in a limo, in a chic upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills with a famous chef..."
"Wow, he's really laying it on thick."
"No, that's just it! It's not like you think, he's very humble. I think he's just used to that sort of thing, you know? Anyway so then I made an ass of myself during dessert, as always, and he didn't even care! Like, he was so understanding and sweet about it! So then he kissed me and...I think I really like him."
"You've 'liked' a lot of men..."
"No, this is different. Completely different. I mean, I can--I can see myself with him."
"Like...in the future?"
"Like in the very far future--I mean--I can see us down the road...you know?"
"Wow...does Zac know?"
Just then, over Mel's shoulder, Drew spied all three guys coming out the back door and walking toward them. She shook her head quickly. "Shh. No, he doesn't. And don't mention it."
As they neared the table, Drew noticed Isaac with his hands full of beer bottles. Passing them out, Drew
smiled. "Wow, what's all this?"
Ike smiled back. "Consider it a celebration."
"What are we celebrating?"
Ike looked around at his brothers and back at Drew and Mel. "Uh, life! That we're all able to just sit here and enjoy life!"
"Well I'll drink to that," Mel said, reaching for a beer.
Zac sat next to Drew, while Ike sat next to Mel. Taylor chose to keep his distance leaning against the trunk of his car, sunglasses on his face, sipping silently.
Drew started drinking before she noticed the bottle. She turned it around in her hand, looking at it, and smiled. "Hey...what's this? What are we drinking? Is this--Is this YOUR beer?"
Ike's grin would have lit up an entire city. "It absolutely is! What do you think?"
"I think it's awesome!" Drew answered. "I wasn't a beer drinker until I went to Ireland. Now I'm glad I can come back and appreciate it."
Drew watched Mel eye Tay over Drew's shoulder. "You can sit down, you know. I'm not gonna bite. Or hit you with my beer bottle. I promise."
Drew turned around to see Tay's reaction. She was glad when she saw him look at the ground and smile a
little before sheepishly taking a seat next to Mel. Mel shoved half of her sandwich over to him. "Here, eat this. You look like you could use it."
Drew glanced around at Ike and Zac and she knew they were all thinking the same thing. It was better not to provoke the animals in the cage while they were being civil. Neither one of them decided to bother Mel and Tay as they ate their lunches together in silence.
"So, uh, how's Gerard doing?" Zac asked, completely catching Drew off guard.
"He's good," she answered. "How's Kate doing?"
"Good," he answered. This was awkward. Drew didn't like it.
"Well Nikki's just fantastic," Ike said, taking a swig of his beer. Drew and Zac laughed, both obviously
grateful for the comic relief.
"How are YOU?" Drew heard Mel ask Tay quietly.
"Um, I'm not really sure yet," was his answer.
Drew looked around the table at her four best friends and sighed, smiling. "I've missed this," she said out loud. "It's good to be home. It's too bad I'm taking off again."
"Oh?" Mel asked, her head whipping up. "When?"
"In the next week. I have another audition. Gerard has another movie offer for me."
Drew ignored the scoff that escaped Zac's throat.
Mel was mid-celebration when Tay's cell phone rang and he jumped from the table. "Hey, what do you got? I thought you said twenty-four hours? Okay, okay, I'll be there in twenty." he hung up and turned to the table. "Sorry, I gotta go. Talk to you guys later." In a flash, Tay was in his car and out of the parking lot.
"What was THAT about?" Drew asked.
Then she watched Ike and Zac engage in an impromptu chugging contest.
________________________________________________
TAYLOR
I'm just a part in your masterpiece
A minuet in a minor key
A sad song that you know so well
You cheat me but you have no tell
And you keep leading me on
You make a good thing feel wrong
Well I know what you're doing
Girl, I see what you're doing
I'm caught up in a dark emotion
I've given you all that's left of me
You're giving me a crazy notion
I'm falling for your Tragic Symphony
I'm caught up in a dark emotion
I'm falling for the trap you set for me
You're giving me a crazy notion
I'm falling for your Tragic Symphony
You played me once but I did it twice
I guess I won't take my own bad advice
Well the lie you composed is intricate
But if it don't bleed then it ain't no cut
Well I know what you're doing
Girl, I see what you're doing
Twenty minutes later, as promised, Taylor was leaning on his attorney's desk. "That was fast."
The attorney held the file in his hands. "I want you to know, I pulled some strings and used some terms
I probably shouldn't have used to obtain these. If I get in any kind of trouble for this, I'm quadrupling your fee and probably using you for bail."
"Yeah, yeah, got it," Tay said, reaching for the file and sitting down. Grabbing the file, he flipped through the paperwork feverishly, barely slowing down to understand what he was reading.
It didn't take long. It was there, in black and white. "She--she--"
"Has been her entire life," the attorney said regretfully.
"She's...barren...she--she could never...I think I'm gonna be sick."
The attorney pointed to the nearest trash can and Tay knew he would never have made it to the bathroom. He felt like he released everything he had ingested for his entire life into that trash can. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry about that, really. I'll take it out right now--"
"No need. I have janitors for that. You'd be surprised how often it happens." he tossed a stick of gum at Taylor as the janitor came in and did his duty.
When Tay finally calmed down and gained his composure back, his next words were, "Get me out of this
marriage."
"How soon are we talking?"
"Yesterday. I'm not talking separation. I'm talking full on divorce. I'm done and I want to be rid of her. NOW."
"There's a lot of legal--"
"I don't care. She can have it all, I don't give a shit. I want out and I want you to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Spare no expense."
"Well all that may not be necessary. If you can get her to agree to an uncontested divorce it can be done in a matter of days. And judging by what we have on paper here, that would be in her best interest if she doesn't want any of this going on public record."
"How do we make that happen?"
It took only an hour to prepare the paperwork. Tay wasn't picky. She could have the house and everything inside it except for a few select items. She could have the cars and a pre-determined amount of money, or she could have it all, he didn't care. The point was, he wanted out and that was it.
"Now all you have to do is present her with it and get her here to sign it."
"I assure you, that will be no problem," Tay said. "Look for us both in here tomorrow."
On his way home, he called Natalie. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the store, I'll be home soon. Did you want me to pick you up anything?"
"Uh, no, I'll see you there. I got out of the studio early."
Hoping he would beat her home, he squealed into the driveway and dashed out of his car. Once inside the
house, he fished the ipecac out of her bag from the bathroom and set it on the table beside the divorce papers. And then he sat and he waited.
The look on Natalie's face when she saw him sitting there with the bottle and the paperwork was priceless.
_______________________________________________________
TAYLOR
It had been a week since the benefit. Taylor wanted to say he felt a little better about things with Mel but he'd be lying. On the plus side she hadn't left. She was still in the studio every day, still in Tulsa. The down side was that he had still hardly seen or spoken to her. Maybe it was because she was busy training Bethany's replacement, he didn't know. He tried to find as much comfort as he could just knowing she was there.
And then there was Natalie. Goddamn. He definitely applauded the woman for carrying the weight of pregnancy but he didn't think it was supposed to exhaust the both of them. Morning sickness was supposed to be MORNING sickness, right? Wrong. He had been up with her at all hours of the night while she puked
her guts up all fucking week long. If he was going to pick a time to make his exit, this certainly wasn't it. He was ready to leave but he wasn't a complete heartless bastard. Not completely.
She had been losing weight and he had to admit it scared him a little bit. She was supposed to be gaining
it, not losing it. That wasn't right. So she went to the doctor. The doctor had assured her that it happened sometimes and he put her on a strict diet that basically told her to just eat more. So she did. And by god, Tay made her eat. He may not have loved her anymore but he was sure going to make sure that baby was taken care of.
One night he was getting ready for bed, Natalie already sitting up, reading a book. He honestly wasn't sure why he bothered preparing for bed, he knew he would be awake in the next hour or so, holding her hair back while she threw up once again. He would be glad when this stage in her pregnancy finally passed.
He had just put the toothpaste on the brush when he dropped the tube, causing a chain reaction all over the
counter. "Goddammit!" he said, trying to catch it, knocking over a bottle of product which, in turn, shoved one of Natalie's small makeup bags off of the counter.
"Honey, are you okay?" She called as he watched the contents of her bag spill out on the floor by the toilet.
"Yeah," he called back. "Just dropped...all this..."
Frustrated, he put his toothbrush down and bent over to pick up the stuff he spilled all over the floor. Shoving things back into her bag, his hand landed on something that made his blood run cold and his forehead break into a sweat.
What did a pregnant woman need with ipecac?
He opened his mouth to speak and then quickly shut it again. Maybe it was old. He racked his brain, trying to recall the last time one of them had any stomach problems and came up with nothing. He opened the lid. It was definitely a used bottle. He contemplated asking her about it but something in his gut told him to keep his mouth shut. Carefully he replaced the bottle in her bag, brushed his teeth and crawled into bed.
Laying next to her made his stomach churn. That was the last place he wanted to be right then. His brain ran a mile a minute as he planned the next day. He didn't sleep a wink that night.
_____________________________________________________________
Bright and early the next morning, Taylor was in the doctor's office, arguing with the receptionist. "Mr. Hanson, I'm sorry. I can't release them to you."
"I am her husband. I can show you the marriage license. I need those records."
"Sir, I'm sorry. We have a patient confidentiality agreement, we can't release them to you."
"But I'm her HUSBAND!"
She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry."
"Get me the doctor. Where is he?"
"He's with a patient right now. Without an appointment you'll have to wait. And you won't get them from him either."
"It can't wait. I need to talk to him NOW."
"Mr. Hanson, I truly am sorry. But we legally cannot release those records to you--"
"This is the craziest damn thing I've ever heard. She's my WIFE! I have rights!"
"Mr. Hanson!" she finally said firmly. "We cannot release them to you because she signed an agreement saying that we can't. If you really need to have them, she can pick them up or you can go through the legal system. I am sorry but there is nothing more we can do for you here."
Taylor took a step backward in shock at the receptionist's words. She--she what? Why would she not want him to have access to her records? For ten years, she--? What?
His cell phone rang as he tore down the road to his next destination. "Tay, where are you? We've been waiting for you for over an hour," Ike said.
"I'm sorry. I'm not coming in today. I'm dealing with kind of an emergency."
"Is everything okay?"
"Um...no, not really. I'll fill you in when I know about it."
As soon as he tossed his phone into the passenger seat, blue lights came on behind him.
"GODDAMMIT!" He pounded his fist onto the steering wheel.
As he pulled over and dug for his license and registration, the officer tapped on his window. The officer smiled as Tay rolled it down. "Mr. Hanson! Fancy meeting you here! You still have a license?"
Jesus Christ, was there only one cop in this city? Taylor was what was known as a habitual speeder and
this certainly wasn't the first speeding ticket this particular officer had issued him.
Taylor handed his license and registration out the window. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm really trying but I have an emergency I'm dealing with this morning..."
The officer studied his face. Hard. "Have you been drinking?"
"What? No, I haven't been--it's ten in the morning!"
The officer sighed and handed his stuff back to him. "Today's your lucky day, Taylor. I can see you're having issues so I'm going to cut you a break. You get to keep you license again this time. But you're racking up the points, you know."
"Yes, sir, I know."
"Okay. Slow down. I hope your day gets better."
"Thanks."
Thoroughly embarrassed and even more pissed than he was before, he drove off to his next destination.
Twenty minutes later, Taylor was bursting into his attorney's office. "Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.
"No. And there isn't a single car in the parking lot, so I know he's here, I know he's alone, and I need to speak with him now. It's urgent."
"Um, okay," the receptionist said, startled. She buzzed the attorney and before she could tell him he could go in, Taylor was already bursting through his door.
"Taylor!" his attorney said. "Where's the fire? Have a change of heart again?"
"I don't have time to mess around right now. I need Natalie's medical records."
The attorney looked at him, confused. "Uh, so go get them."
"I can't. She signed an agreement saying I can't touch them."
The attorney let out a breath. "Wow. That's an interesting turn of events. Just a month ago you skipped out on your appointment to go through with the separation. What gives?"
"I need to know that Natalie is actually pregnant. On paper. And I need to know right NOW. I will pay double, triple your fee, anything, I don't care. I need you to make a fucking miracle."
"Give me twenty-four hours."
___________________________________________________________
DREW
"Knock knock," Drew said, knocking on Mel's office door.
Mel looked up and grinned. "Drew!" she ran up and hugged her. "I know I just saw you last week but we didn't even get a chance to spend any real time together!"
"Well, no, not since you skipped out in the middle of the night like you did."
Mel sighed. "Never a dull moment in the world of Taylor Hanson, I'll tell you that."
"Tell me about it. I just saw him pull up to the studio on two wheels."
Mel rolled her eyes. "Ever the drama queen. You wanna go get some coffee or lunch or something? We have much to catch up on!"
"No need. I came prepared. Did you know there's a picnic table out back?"
"Really? I never noticed it before."
The two women carried their lunch out the back door of the studio. They passed the guys in the art alcove and waved, three pairs of eyes watching them go by.
"What was that about?" Drew asked as they sat at the table and distributed sandwiches.
"Do you know how long it's been since we've been in the studio together? Or together at all, really?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, you first."
Mel sighed and rolled her eyes. "So...long story short...Jason told me he was no longer trying for a relationship with me and I had sex with Tay after the benefit."
Drew's eyes practically bugged out of her head. "No!"
"And...we trashed the entire room in the process. Lamps, clocks, TV's, everything. The bill was fucking enormous."
Drew let out a huge laugh she couldn't control. "Oh my god!"
"It was fucking magnificent."
"Oh my god, so...so what happens now?"
"Oh I'm not even finished..."
"Shit..."
"Yeah, so remember those bids I lost? On the fish and the Queen Vic replica? Yeah, Tay out bid me. And left them in the safe for me at the hotel. And then proceeded to tell me he was going to do whatever it took to 'make it happen,' whatever that means. So now here we sit a week later and...here I am!"
"Goddamn...and this all happened in one night?"
"Never a dull moment. Your turn."
"Gerard kissed me."
Now it was Mel's turn to be in shock. "Spill."
Drew found herself grinning uncontrollably. "Okay, so I had to stay in LA to do voiceovers, right? And at the benefit Gerard asked me to go to dinner with him. Like, for real. So we went and it was wonderful! He took me in a limo, in a chic upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills with a famous chef..."
"Wow, he's really laying it on thick."
"No, that's just it! It's not like you think, he's very humble. I think he's just used to that sort of thing, you know? Anyway so then I made an ass of myself during dessert, as always, and he didn't even care! Like, he was so understanding and sweet about it! So then he kissed me and...I think I really like him."
"You've 'liked' a lot of men..."
"No, this is different. Completely different. I mean, I can--I can see myself with him."
"Like...in the future?"
"Like in the very far future--I mean--I can see us down the road...you know?"
"Wow...does Zac know?"
Just then, over Mel's shoulder, Drew spied all three guys coming out the back door and walking toward them. She shook her head quickly. "Shh. No, he doesn't. And don't mention it."
As they neared the table, Drew noticed Isaac with his hands full of beer bottles. Passing them out, Drew
smiled. "Wow, what's all this?"
Ike smiled back. "Consider it a celebration."
"What are we celebrating?"
Ike looked around at his brothers and back at Drew and Mel. "Uh, life! That we're all able to just sit here and enjoy life!"
"Well I'll drink to that," Mel said, reaching for a beer.
Zac sat next to Drew, while Ike sat next to Mel. Taylor chose to keep his distance leaning against the trunk of his car, sunglasses on his face, sipping silently.
Drew started drinking before she noticed the bottle. She turned it around in her hand, looking at it, and smiled. "Hey...what's this? What are we drinking? Is this--Is this YOUR beer?"
Ike's grin would have lit up an entire city. "It absolutely is! What do you think?"
"I think it's awesome!" Drew answered. "I wasn't a beer drinker until I went to Ireland. Now I'm glad I can come back and appreciate it."
Drew watched Mel eye Tay over Drew's shoulder. "You can sit down, you know. I'm not gonna bite. Or hit you with my beer bottle. I promise."
Drew turned around to see Tay's reaction. She was glad when she saw him look at the ground and smile a
little before sheepishly taking a seat next to Mel. Mel shoved half of her sandwich over to him. "Here, eat this. You look like you could use it."
Drew glanced around at Ike and Zac and she knew they were all thinking the same thing. It was better not to provoke the animals in the cage while they were being civil. Neither one of them decided to bother Mel and Tay as they ate their lunches together in silence.
"So, uh, how's Gerard doing?" Zac asked, completely catching Drew off guard.
"He's good," she answered. "How's Kate doing?"
"Good," he answered. This was awkward. Drew didn't like it.
"Well Nikki's just fantastic," Ike said, taking a swig of his beer. Drew and Zac laughed, both obviously
grateful for the comic relief.
"How are YOU?" Drew heard Mel ask Tay quietly.
"Um, I'm not really sure yet," was his answer.
Drew looked around the table at her four best friends and sighed, smiling. "I've missed this," she said out loud. "It's good to be home. It's too bad I'm taking off again."
"Oh?" Mel asked, her head whipping up. "When?"
"In the next week. I have another audition. Gerard has another movie offer for me."
Drew ignored the scoff that escaped Zac's throat.
Mel was mid-celebration when Tay's cell phone rang and he jumped from the table. "Hey, what do you got? I thought you said twenty-four hours? Okay, okay, I'll be there in twenty." he hung up and turned to the table. "Sorry, I gotta go. Talk to you guys later." In a flash, Tay was in his car and out of the parking lot.
"What was THAT about?" Drew asked.
Then she watched Ike and Zac engage in an impromptu chugging contest.
________________________________________________
TAYLOR
I'm just a part in your masterpiece
A minuet in a minor key
A sad song that you know so well
You cheat me but you have no tell
And you keep leading me on
You make a good thing feel wrong
Well I know what you're doing
Girl, I see what you're doing
I'm caught up in a dark emotion
I've given you all that's left of me
You're giving me a crazy notion
I'm falling for your Tragic Symphony
I'm caught up in a dark emotion
I'm falling for the trap you set for me
You're giving me a crazy notion
I'm falling for your Tragic Symphony
You played me once but I did it twice
I guess I won't take my own bad advice
Well the lie you composed is intricate
But if it don't bleed then it ain't no cut
Well I know what you're doing
Girl, I see what you're doing
Twenty minutes later, as promised, Taylor was leaning on his attorney's desk. "That was fast."
The attorney held the file in his hands. "I want you to know, I pulled some strings and used some terms
I probably shouldn't have used to obtain these. If I get in any kind of trouble for this, I'm quadrupling your fee and probably using you for bail."
"Yeah, yeah, got it," Tay said, reaching for the file and sitting down. Grabbing the file, he flipped through the paperwork feverishly, barely slowing down to understand what he was reading.
It didn't take long. It was there, in black and white. "She--she--"
"Has been her entire life," the attorney said regretfully.
"She's...barren...she--she could never...I think I'm gonna be sick."
The attorney pointed to the nearest trash can and Tay knew he would never have made it to the bathroom. He felt like he released everything he had ingested for his entire life into that trash can. When he finished, he wiped his mouth and apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry about that, really. I'll take it out right now--"
"No need. I have janitors for that. You'd be surprised how often it happens." he tossed a stick of gum at Taylor as the janitor came in and did his duty.
When Tay finally calmed down and gained his composure back, his next words were, "Get me out of this
marriage."
"How soon are we talking?"
"Yesterday. I'm not talking separation. I'm talking full on divorce. I'm done and I want to be rid of her. NOW."
"There's a lot of legal--"
"I don't care. She can have it all, I don't give a shit. I want out and I want you to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Spare no expense."
"Well all that may not be necessary. If you can get her to agree to an uncontested divorce it can be done in a matter of days. And judging by what we have on paper here, that would be in her best interest if she doesn't want any of this going on public record."
"How do we make that happen?"
It took only an hour to prepare the paperwork. Tay wasn't picky. She could have the house and everything inside it except for a few select items. She could have the cars and a pre-determined amount of money, or she could have it all, he didn't care. The point was, he wanted out and that was it.
"Now all you have to do is present her with it and get her here to sign it."
"I assure you, that will be no problem," Tay said. "Look for us both in here tomorrow."
On his way home, he called Natalie. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the store, I'll be home soon. Did you want me to pick you up anything?"
"Uh, no, I'll see you there. I got out of the studio early."
Hoping he would beat her home, he squealed into the driveway and dashed out of his car. Once inside the
house, he fished the ipecac out of her bag from the bathroom and set it on the table beside the divorce papers. And then he sat and he waited.
The look on Natalie's face when she saw him sitting there with the bottle and the paperwork was priceless.
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