"Now Hope, tell me everything."
Hope sat in a psychiatrist�s office, not wanting to have anything to do with a �shrink.� Dr. Lira was a nice woman in her mid forties. In her hand was a pencil and a small notebook.
"Why should I say anything, there�s nothing to say," Hope stammered, looking cowardly down at her hands. She couldn�t understand why they sent her to a shrink, she didn�t need any help. She was fine.
"Well clearly there�s something wrong with you, but if you have nothing to say, we have 55 minutes left, you can just sit there and do squat until I let you go. But I�ll continue to ask questions."
Hope sat there, staring at the woman.
"Do you feel responsible?" Dr. Lira asked. Hope looked at her shoes. "I�m sure you do, you are the bodyguard." Hope glanced at Dr. Lira, a first sign that she was getting somewhere.
"Tell me everything."
Chapter One
"Mom, why did you hire a new bodyguard without me even knowing who it is?" Taylor Hanson whined. Diana just continued feeding Zoe, ignoring Taylor. "Mom! Why are you ignoring me? How come I don�t get to have a choice in who�s protecting me now?"
Zac walked into the kitchen where his brother was once again whining about something, and Diana was ignoring him. Finally she put down the small spoon and turned to Taylor. "I know how picky you are Taylor, you would of eaten this little girl alive."
"The new bodyguard is a little girl?" Taylor asked, his face dropping. Zac didn�t know about any new bodyguard, he didn�t even know of the recent absence of the last one.
"What new bodyguard? What happened to Jason?" Zac asked, his voice cracking in the middle of speaking. He just ignored it and walked over.
"Ask your brother," Diana said. Zac looked to Taylor, who glanced away.
"Taylor, what happened to Jason?"
"I fired him." Zac�s jaw dropped, but he recovered.
"You fired our bodyguard!? Why would you do something like that?" Zac yelled. Zoe started crying from the sudden suspense in the room.
"Look what you did, Zac! You made the baby cry," Taylor said. Diana gave them both a look, took Zoe and left the room. "I fired him because he was threatening me."
"He threatens all of us all the time, Taylor! But he�s just joking around and you know that. Now you�ve fired him and I�m sure he didn�t deserve it. I don�t know why you should be able to fire someone!"
"Well he left."
"And now we�re going to be having a little girl as our bodyguard? How the hell is a little girl supposed to help us out?"
"Like I know."
"Well it sure does seem like it, Tay. Remember, you know everything. You even knew that Jason was kidding when you fired him." Zac gave his older brother a look and walked out of the room. The last thing he needed now was to get used to having a little girl around with him everywhere he went�unless she was cute.
Well the day went by minute by minute, waiting for this new bodyguard to arrive. She was supposed to come that day. Taylor had found out her name was Hope Hollowell, she was fifteen, blonde hair, green eyes. That�s all he could soak out of his mom before he was shooed out.
So he sat where he could, periodically taking a sip of his water. He had a clear view of the front door, but he was far enough away to make it seem like he wasn�t waiting. Everyone else was expecting her arrival, but they had found something else to do.
Taylor glanced at the unopened book on the table. He had been into it for the longest time. He had been reading it all day. When he came downstairs for something to drink when he heard his mother talking on the phone about some new bodyguard.
Now he just didn�t care about the book, he was into something else now. What was she like? If she was such a �little� girl like his mother had said then how could she protect three famous guys when Jason had a hard time?
His eyes bore into the front door, wishing the doorbell to ring and her to be there, so all the suspense would finally be lifted.
Ding dong.
He jumped up, knocking over the chair. It scared the shit about of him. Figuring since he was up and he was probably the most antsy out of anyone in the house, he should open the door. So Taylor walked over to the door, sighed, and opened it up.
A drop-dead gorgeous girl smiled to him, green eyes shimmering in the moonlight. Taylor hadn�t noticed the sun had set. Just mesmerized by everything there, Taylor didn�t notice her smile was gone now and replaced by a strange look.
"You can stop drooling now. Is this the Hanson house?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said, adding an inconsequential nod.
"Well can I come in?" He noticed that she was being very rude, but the looks made up for it.
"Oh yeah, sure." He stepped out of the way and she proceeded on in.
"I hope you�re not the only one home. I wouldn�t want to be alone with you." Taylor gave her a strange look. Hope noticed Diana walk in. "Hello!" she said, immediately turning on charm that went with her looks.
"You must be Hope, I�m Diana." Hope put on a sweet smile and shook her hand, then tucked a piece of her loose blonde hair behind her ear. "Would you like to see your room?"
"Sure," Hope said, still smiling. They went upstairs. Taylor watched as Hope followed Diana, pondering. O.K., she hates me for some reason. She just turned on the worst act of kindness and my mother sucked it in. What�s with that?
Zac ran in. "Damn, did I miss her?" Taylor nodded. "Is she pretty?" Taylor nodded again. "What�s wrong? Why won�t you talk?" Taylor shrugged.
"I really don�t feel like it right now, Zac." He blew off his brother and walked upstairs. As he passed by the guest room, he realized it had been made up for Hope. Why is she even staying with us? Tay thought, and went over to his room.
He turned into the room, his eyes closed, hoping no one would be in there. Taylor opened his eyes and the room was empty�no one was in there. A first. He always had to kick someone out.
Taylor closed the door, locked it, and slid down. The silence was beautiful. No screaming four-year-old little brother, no screaming thirteen-year-old one either. Zac had been abnormally loud lately. Normally he was only loud and obnoxious on camera when he had no other way to act and feel comfortable. He must of been uncomfortable a lot lately because you couldn�t go a day without hearing him scream something or another.
He sat there with his eyes closed for a half an hour, just letting the silence and the moonlight overflow him. No knocks at the door�where was everyone?
Knock, knock.
Dammit. He opened his eyes, the moonlight the only glow in the room. But he didn�t move. "What?"
"Taylor, it�s time for dinner," Diana�s voice said. "I�ve been calling for some time now, everyone�s waiting."
"I don�t want any," Taylor said. The silence was too valuable to let go now.
"Taylor you have to eat something," Diana said. She was too concerned. Why can�t I just be alone?
"I�ll grab something later."
"Are you sure? I mean it�ll be a good time to get to know Hope, she�s sitting right across from your seat."
"Please, mom." He didn�t mean it the way it came out, he just enjoyed the pleasure of the silence and the moonlight. If he couldn�t go out anymore he should at least be able to have peace in his room without being interrupted.
He heard her walk away, and closed his eyes again. These were the best times, where the world is silent and everything just goes along with you. Tay could almost feel the presence of a lovely cruise by himself. Would you like a drink, sir? Tay smiled.
He sat there for what felt like two minutes but really it was an hour, and dinner had been long over. "Tay!!! Let me in!!" Zac�s bantering voice penetrated the silence.
Tay groaned, unlocked the door and crawled over to a bed, he didn�t care if it was his or not. Zac finally realized the door was open, and went in. Taylor didn�t even look up to see why his brother had so eagerly needed to get into the room.
"Tay, you alright?" Zac asked.
"Zac, just leave me alone. I�m fine, I don�t get why everyone thinks there�s something wrong. Can�t a guy just have some peace and quiet for five minutes?"
"Tay, you�ve been up here an hour an a half, mom has been the only one up here since you."
"And she was bugging me too. Just leave me alone."
"Well I�ll leave you alone if you stop being a lump on my bed." Taylor rolled over and faced the other way. Zac gave him a look and walked out of the room.
Zac went downstairs and into the living room, where everyone had been so immersed in Hope�s story of what had happened to her while she was in boot camp, they didn�t even noticed he had gone. Zac thought the story was stupid. What were her parents thinking when they put her in a boot camp when she was six? They must of been off their rocker or something.
Now she was showing off her arm muscles. How they all just flocked to the new girl, the little fifteen year old, 5 foot tall bodyguard. Wherever they found her, Zac thought they should put her right back.
He figured he wouldn�t get to do anything but listen and watch, so he went to the backyard. Fans couldn�t get back there. They could camp out in the front of the house for all he cared, as long as the back was for him.
There was clouds brewing in the far distance but they seemed to be moving away from him. The wind gently whispered into his ear, sending his hair flowing behind him. He gazed above at the crescent moon and the small star next to it, then out into the night at nothing but vast skies and distant clouds.
It was so beautiful out, Zac could sit there for hours. In a way he was much like Taylor. They both could just sit and stare at nothing, just thinking in their minds about anything and everything while the others believe there�s something wrong.
Duh Zac, you wonder what�s wrong with Tay when you�re doing the same thing out here! I just don�t know how he could think in there! It�s a mad house, everyone�s doing a million different things. He never comes out here and appreciates the beauty of it all. Today we started out on bad terms, maybe I should invite him to come out here and get some good vibes in his brain besides whatever he�s getting in that stale room of ours.
Zac got up and went inside, ignoring everyone else still mesmerized by Hope�s tales, and went to his room. "Tay," he gently said, walking into the room.
"What?" Tay answered, still far away.
"It�s a really cool night out, why don�t you get out of here and go think out there?"
"Sounds cool. Any clouds?"
"In the distance, moving away." Taylor turned over and smiled. That�s how the two brothers bonded, really. They don�t say a word to each other, but the spend hours doing nothing. Diana calls it wasting time but really, it�s the best way to spend time.
Tay got up and followed Zac to the backyard, where they just sat there, gazing at whatever. If this isn�t how brothers bond then I don�t know what is, Zac thought. He enjoyed actually being with his brother, well Taylor at least. Ike couldn�t sit still for five minutes, let alone being silent and not moving for hours on end.
But it was always the other way on camera, really. Zac couldn�t sit still, Ike was quiet and Taylor talked a lot. At home Zac was a sane human being always sitting in one position for hours, Ike was so goofy and couldn�t sit still at all, and Taylor kept to himself. People called him shy but really he only talks when there�s something to say.
They stayed out there until the moon was in a whole other position in the sky, not even looking at each other. It was just the presence, being able to be in the other�s proximity for that long and not fight, not even say a word.
Ike was never able to understand the whole nature thing, when you could just sit and look. Zac had tried it with him but Ike got bored and they just ended up in a fight.
Something scampered across the fresh cut grass, taking the attention of Zac from the night sky. Without a sound Zac got up and picked up a small grasshopper in his hand. Keeping the silence, he sat down next to Tay, showing him the new discovery.
They stared at the grasshopper for a while, amazed that it was actually trusting them. If Ike was there he would of killed it or something. That was the whole difference between them.
"Guys!" Ike's voice loudly said as he walked out of the house. The grasshopper got scared and jumped into the grass.
"Ike look what you did!" Tay yelled. "I�ll never find him again." Ike gave him a strange look. "The grasshopper you idiot! Don�t you have any concern at all for something we appreciate?"
Zac was busy looking in the patch of grass the small insect had jumped in, but couldn�t find him. Taylor tuned out Ike, not caring about whatever he wanted.
Fine, be freaks. I don�t think I�ll ever understand them, Ike thought, and walked back in the house. The discussion with Hope had ended when someone inquired with what she was doing between her last job and now. She had dismissed everybody, insisting they shouldn�t have to know about that.
So the long discussion with her had ended. Everyone knew her very well now, except for the two nature lovers outside. Ike had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. They were so into this stuff, like when they were flying over the Rocky Mountains, Zac and Taylor fought for the window so they could see.
It was always Zac and Taylor who got the window seat when they went somewhere, even if it was to the store or something. When they visited the redwoods, Ike was so bored but Zac and Taylor insisted they stay the whole day over the planned hour and a half. The whole family was bored but they were so fascinated they had to spend an hour on each tree there.
"Ike, did you go out and get your brothers?" Diana asked.
"I tried, they won�t listen to me. They just got pissed at me because I scared away a grasshopper or whatever."
"Well Ike you need to realize that your brothers really appreciate nature, they don�t like to be disturbed."
"Then why did you send me out there?" Ike asked. Figuring his mother wouldn�t answer him, he walked out of the room. The littler kids had all gone to bed a while ago.
Ike looked at the clock. One a.m. They�d been out there for hours upon hours. I guess they really do enjoy it if they can stay out there since after dinner to one in the morning. They�re not going to get up tomorrow to catch the plane.
Isaac went into his room and got ready to go to sleep. He figured he could at least be able to get up and drag them out of the bed without being half asleep himself.
He climbed into his bed and looked out into the night. I don�t get it, I really don�t get how they can be out there for hours just looking. I�d need to do something�
It took a while, but he fell asleep without his brothers even back in the room.