When Ginger left, Zac was completely miserable. I didn't know what to do with the poor guy. He looked ready to jump off a cliff and I did all I could to cheer him up, but he wouldn't let me take him to a strip club like I had initially planned. I know he would have liked it. He walked into the living room and sat down with a huff as I was looking through the newspaper a few days after she left. "What's up, Zac?"
"Mom won't let me go to Denver next week on our day off."
"Why would you want to go there?" I asked. He gave me a look. "Ohh�Ginger's there?" Zac nodded. I shrugged and sat back with my newspaper. I was looking for an apartment. I just figured, hey, I'm almost twenty. I think I should really move out. Isaac did it and he couldn't be happier. Having my own place meant I could bring home who I wanted and I wouldn't have to worry about my family. Frankly it's embarrassing to bring a girl back to my house with an entire family living here. That never stopped me from doing it, though.
"So what are you doing?"
"Nothing," I said. I didn't want to mention this to anybody, at least, not until I'd had the time to check everything out, make a down payment, and sign a contract so nobody can tell me I can't move out of the house.
"All right, don't tell me," he said. "Can you do me a favor?"
"I'm not going to cover for you while you fly to Denver when Mom insisted you don't go," I said. I know the only reason he's talking to me right now is because he wants to go. He wouldn't have brought it up if he didn't.
"No! No I don't need you to cover for me all day," Zac said.
"Yeah, not all day but you still want me to do it."
"Just for an hour," Zac said. I shook my head. "A half hour. Ten minutes. I just need to get out of the house and to the airport. I don't care if Mom finds out I go, I just don't want her to prevent me from going."
"Zac, you know if you go Mom is going to kill you."
"Whatever," Zac said. "So will you do it?"
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Well, next Thursday on our day off, at seven o'clock, I'm going to go to the airport. I just need you to make sure she doesn't see me leave, and she doesn't know I'm gone until my flight takes off at eight-thirty."
"Gee, Zac, an hour and a half? What's in it for me?"
"I'll�introduce you to Ginger the next time she's in town." I snorted.
"That's not really to my benefit, Zac," I told him.
"All right. I won't tell Mom you're looking for an apartment."
"I'm not�"
"Oh come on, Taylor, the only time you pick up a newspaper and it's not the funnies is when you're looking for something. Ike did the same thing. I won't mention it if you make sure I can get to Denver."
"Fine, it's a deal."
"Great. Thanks, Taylor."
"Whatever, Zac." I put the newspaper down. He gave me a smile and walked away. When he was gone, I grabbed the newspaper again and ran out of the house. I'd circled a few eligible places I'd like to live. I don't need much; I'm not in town long enough to enjoy a big apartment. My first destination was the closest place I'd circled�a flat about a mile away. I wanted something that was a good distance from home that nobody could walk to my apartment, but close enough that I could still get there. I also needed something that was close enough to the studio. That basically limited me to three places that were currently open, and hopefully I'll find something that I can bear.
I was checking out the flat with the landlord guy when Zac called. I had a feeling that if I moved here, my cell phone would never stop ringing. "Hello?" I asked, excusing myself from the landlord and turning away.
"Taylor, where they hell are you, we have to be in the studio in an hour!"
"I had something to take care of," I told him. "You can take yourself today. I'll be fine."
"Ugh! Fine!" He hung up on me.
"I'm sorry," I told the landlord. He continued to show me around, but all in all it wasn't what I was looking for. The idea of a flat had been really fun in my mind, but now that I'm looking at it, it's just a big empty room that I couldn't find myself living in. About five minutes later I made an excuse so I could leave, and nearly ran down to my car. Maybe the next two places will be better than this.
When I returned home that evening I had made my decision. The third apartment I looked at was it. I walked in and immediately I was at home. I liked that feeling, and as I was given a tour I liked it more and more. By the time I saw the bedroom I was sold. I took it right away. All I have to do now is find a way to tell my parents. At least when Ike decided he was going to move out, he told Mom and Dad first, and even brought Mom along with him while he decided where he was going to live. I'm not my brother. I make my decisions on my own.
I walked into the house and Zac was on the phone in the living room. He nodded to me as I pretty much ignored him and went to the stairs. I've decided that I'm going out tonight. I usually go to the same places. There are always some good parties going on at the clubs downtown. I don't stay long; I usually go late and pick up the first chick that smiles at me, then I come back here and get laid. I don't do it every night, because that would just be wrong. It usually happens about every other night.
It was a few minutes later when Zac appeared in the doorway to my bedroom. I looked over. "Did you find a place?" I nodded. "So you're really leaving, huh?"
"We all have to sometime, Zac," I told him. "There will be a point where you'll want to leave as well. It's different for everybody. Who knows? You may want to move out the day you turn eighteen."
"Like Mom would ever let me do that," Zac said, rolling his eyes. "I'd still have to finish school here."
"True," I said. "But if you wanted to leave she can't stop you. Once you're eighteen you could fly out to God knows where and get married if the situation arose." A light seemed to appear over Zac's head and I immediately knew I shouldn't have said that. "Of course I'd have to kick your ass if that ever happened, but�you know�"
"Yeah�" he said, slightly spaced out. "Well, I have work to do. Are you going out tonight?" I nodded. "All right. Have fun, not like you're not going to anyway." He left. I sighed and sat down, looking around the room. I'm going to miss this place. I'm sure all the other kids are just anxious for me to go; Jessica and Avery still share a room and when I leave it means one of them gets to come in here.
My mother passed by and stopped when she saw I was in the room. "Oh, hi honey," she said. "How was your day today?"
"Oh, it was fine," I said. "Ma, can I talk to you?"
"Sure, dear," she said. She walked into the room and sat down at my desk. "What's on your mind?"
"Well�there's something I need to tell you."
"Oh, honey," she said, shaking her head, "You didn't get anybody pregnant, did you?"
"What?" I asked. "No! No, nothing like that." She let out a deep breath. "Geez, Ma." A grin spread across her face. I sat down on my bed. "I just�I think it's time I moved out of the house." Her smile disappeared.
"Why?"
"Oh come on, Mom, I'm nearly twenty. I can't stay here forever. Jess and Ave are dying for separate rooms and frankly Zac is getting on my nerves." My mother laughed and I looked to the doorway where Zac was standing. I knew he was there. He crossed his arms. "Well you are!"
"Whatever, Taylor." He left.
"Do you want me to help you look for a place?" I cracked my knuckles, slightly uncomfortable.
"Uh�I kind of already found one."
"You did?"
"I didn't think I'd find one so quickly! I mean, it's exactly what I was looking for�it's close to home, it's close to the studio, it's just the right size and they weren't asking too much for it. It's in a nice neighborhood and I think it'll be nice to live there." My mother nodded. She looked like she wanted to cry and that was a terrible feeling. My brother just left a month or so ago and here I am, doing the same thing. At least she had a good seven or eight months until Zac was legally allowed to leave.
"All right," my mother said, continuing to nod. "When were you planning on moving out?"
"Soon, I guess," I told her. "I mean I already signed the contract. I'm not going to do right this second, but within the next couple of days I'm going to start packing up my things and getting out of here."
"Oh, Taylor, I don't want you to go," my mother said, getting up and embracing me. I stifled a groan.
"Mo-om," I whined.
"No! You're my baby and I love you. I get to hug my son before he leaves me forever�"
"I'm not leaving you forever, Ma."
"Yes you are! Look at how often we see Isaac and he's only been gone a month." I sighed. That was true. Sure, I saw Isaac every day because of the studio work we've been doing, but he doesn't come home anymore.
"Mom, that's different," I said. "I'm not like him. He wanted to leave. I don't want to leave; it's just my time to go. I'm still going to be here all the time! I'll miss my family too much if I'm not here all the time."
"Really?" she asked, sitting up and letting go of me. She was crying.
"Really. I'll be here so much you'll get sick of me and you'll say 'Geez, Taylor, don't you have your own place to live?' " I told her. She smiled. "I'll be eating your food and messing up the place�I'll be here so much you won't want me here."
"All right, dear," she said. "You can go. There's nothing I can do to stop you." She stood up. "Are you going out tonight?"
"Yeah, I am," I said.
"Okay. Have fun and be careful, honey," she told me. "I don't want to hear 'there's something I have to tell you' ever again." I gave her a smile and she left. As soon as she was gone, so was my smile and a slightly annoyed expression crossed my face. Does everybody think that I'm just going to ruin my life like that? I know better than that�but then again one never knows what life's got in store for them.