The next morning Kris and Ginger had some work to do and they took Taylor along with them. They tried to bring Zac, but he wasn't feeling up to it. He stayed behind in the hotel room, happy to be alone for a little while with his thoughts. However, his thoughts got the better of him and he ended up having to talk to someone. He picked up his cell phone and panned through the address book until he came across someone who would be willing to listen.
"Hello?"
"Hey Vin," Zac said, his voice just as dark as his mood.
"Oh, man, Zac�what happened?" Vinnie asked. "You sound ready to jump off a balcony or something." Zac smirked.
"No, not quite, Vin. Not yet. I just became away of something very troubling and I can't talk to anyone here about it."
"Where are you? Is this about Taylor? I heard he had a massive freak out in the studio the other day. Is he okay?" Zac laughed.
"No," Zac said, "No, that's not it. Taylor was just faking that so he and I could come here to Florida to visit Ginger. Taylor's dating her editor, Kris, so he pulled a panic attack and we said a couple of days in Florida would make him feel better. But, looking back, I think it would have been better just to stay in Tulsa."
"What happened, then?"
"I just found out Ginger's cheating on me," Zac said. "With Taylor."
"Are you serious? I'm going to kick his ass! You know, that boy never learns. The next time I see him�"
"No! No, Vinnie, don't," Zac said. "They don't know I know yet."
"Oh. What are you going to do?"
"I don't know yet," Zac said. "I found out yesterday. We were all in the car, that is, me and Ginger, then Kris and Taylor, and they did something�something that just kind of set it off for me, you know? Ginger and I are staying in this hotel here and when we got here I was going to yell and bitch and break up with her, but when I looked at her I couldn't do it."
"Zac, you're going to have to say something to one of them, or both of them. If you don't say something, it's going to keep going on. The longer it goes on, the harder it's going to be on all of you and the bigger the blowup is going to be at the end. This isn't something you can just look the other way and wait until it blows over, because it won't."
"But, Vin, if I talk to Ginger, the only way I can see us walking out of that is broken up and I don't want that to happen."
"Then don't talk to Ginger," Vinnie said. "Talk to Taylor. Things are going to get messed up whatever way you look at it. Things were bound to mess up anyway, even before you found out. Whenever people cheat on each other, nobody wins. Someone always gets hurt. Right now all you're looking for is a way to lessen the blow."
"Yeah�"
"It's going to be okay, Zac," Vinnie said. "Things always work out in the end." Zac smiled, although he didn't feel any better. The door opened and Ginger ran in, a bright smile on her face. Zac looked up.
"Baby, you need to come with us. It's no fun without you. Who are you talking to?"
"It's just Vinnie."
"Let me say hello." Before Zac could protest, Ginger took the phone from Zac. "Hey Vin, it's Ginger." Zac bit his lip. Vinnie wouldn't say anything, but just knowing that he knew and he was speaking to Ginger made Zac worry. Ginger said a few more words and handed the phone back to Zac.
"I'm gonna go, Vin," Zac said.
"Are you going to talk to her?"
"No. Not now, at least. See you later."
"All right. Take care of yourself, kid."
"I will. Bye Vin." Zac hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. Ginger plopped down next to him.
"Are you going to come down to the lobby with me? Kris and Taylor keep kissing and it's just no fun when you're not there to compete," she said, kissing him. He pulled away. "What?" He couldn't handle the fact that she continued to act like nothing was happening. She'd been acting like this the whole time, but then again, that was her profession.
"Nothing, babe," he said. "Let's go down to the lobby." He got up and led her out of the room and to the elevator. She kept her hand firmly in his, a smile on her face while he was still in a somber mood.
"What's wrong?"
"I told you," he said. "Nothing."
"My ass. There's something wrong and I can see it. You can't lie to me, I can see right through you," she told him. He sighed and looked away.
"No, Ginger."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Not now." She let it go at that and the two of them went into the lobby where Kris and Taylor were sitting together in a big, comfortable chair, flipping through a magazine. Zac sat down near them on the sofa. Taylor looked up.
"Oh, hey Zac, you decided to join us," Taylor said.
"Yeah�"
"Hey, bro, are you all right?" Taylor asked. Zac looked over at Taylor and Kris kissed him. It was a sad sight. He hadn't even thought about Kris yet. Although their relationship was new, this affected Kris as much as it did Zac. He'd have to have a chat with her later on.
"I'll be fine," Zac said. "Anyway, what are we doing down here?"
"Well, Ginger and I were supposed to be working on her book, but that obviously is not happening, so we're just kind of hanging out, reading magazines�" Kris said.
"Sounds like fun," Zac said. He reached for a magazine and Taylor looked at him, concern written on his face.
"Zac, what's going on?" Taylor asked Zac later that day. The girls had gone out for a while and Taylor and Zac were left in Zac's hotel room to talk. Zac wanted to talk to Kris before he even considered being alone in a room with Taylor, but he didn't have much control over the situation without seeming too obvious.
Taylor appeared so innocent Zac wanted to puke. Sighing, Zac sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands again. "Talk to me, Zac. I'm your brother. I haven't seen you down like this since you found out Gwen was cheating on�you�" Zac looked up at Taylor, dejected. "You know."
"Yes, Taylor, I know."
"How long?"
"Since last night. It hit me so hard I couldn't drive anymore." Taylor shook his head, sitting down in the armchair across the room, the furthest available place to sit.
"Listen, Zac�"
"Don't say anything," Zac said, putting his hand up. "There is nothing you can say to make this better, Taylor." Taylor shut his mouth and waited for Zac to continue. Zac looked back down at the floor, collecting his thoughts. It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "Why Ginger? Of all the girls in the world that you could have, that you have had, why my girlfriend? You knew how much I loved her. How much I still love her."
"Don't blame her for any of this, Zac. It was all my fault."
"Oh, don't even, Taylor. There were two people there. I doubt she was clawing to get away from you." Taylor sighed. "I just want to know why."
"You say it all the time, Zac," Taylor said. "I'm a whore. I do that sort of thing. I sleep with random girls and then throw them away when I'm done with them." Zac shook his head, looking away. "Ginger's different, Zac."
"I know, Taylor," Zac said. "That's why I was with her." Taylor didn't say anything. "When did this start?"
"Right away."
"Dammit, Taylor," Zac breathed, putting his head in his hands again and looking at the floor.
"It started the first time I met her and it just�continued�every time I saw her after that."
"Oh my God!" Zac said, getting up and walking to the other side of the room. "I cannot believe this. What about Kris? Have you even slept with Kris?"
"No," Taylor said.
"Why not? You have no problem sleeping with everyone else."
"It's because I love Kris, I�"
"You don't love Kris! You don't even know what love is! You've been dating her for two weeks."
"And you know any better? You said you were going to marry Ginger the first time you saw her on the screen, just because she was pretty! You weren't going to let anything stand in the way of that! This isn't the chick you saw in the movie, Zac. This is a real person. You don't love her, you love the idea of her."
"What the hell do you know?"
"I know more than you do!"
"All you know is how to fuck a girl and get rid of her, all right? That's all your good for, a cheap lay and a cigarette afterwards! Do me a favor, Taylor, and try to keep your dick out of my girlfriend!"
"Maybe if you didn't idolize her, she wouldn't come running to me all the time for someone who can see what she really is!" Taylor yelled. Zac punched him in the face. The door opened and Zac was too mad to notice.
"Don't fuck my girlfriend!" Taylor looked over at the door, his hands over his nose, at the maid who had walked in at the worst possible moment. "Did you even knock?"
"Yes, I�"
"Come back later!" Zac spat. The woman turned around and left quickly as Ginger and Kris came in, completely oblivious. "Don't you say anything," Zac said, pointing to Taylor.
"Geez, Zac, you didn't have to yell at her," Ginger said. She looked at Taylor. "What happened to you?" Taylor took his hands away from his face and wiped at his bleeding nose. "Oh my God! Zac, did you hit him?"
"I need to go for a walk," Zac said, brushing past both Ginger and Kris, who had walked into the room to check out Taylor's nose.
"I'll come with," Ginger said, starting towards Zac.
"No," Zac said, looking back at her. "I need to go by myself." Ginger stopped, confused. Zac looked past her to Taylor. Kris had taken a tissue to his face. "If you even start, I'll do more than make your nose bleed." Zac opened the door and left in a huff. Once the door closed, he was by himself. He walked steadily down the silent hallway to the elevator. His head was light and his hand hurt. While he waited for the elevator, he absently rubbed his left hand. It had to be Taylor. Taylor had to go and ruin it all. It could have been anybody else, some random guy in the street, that Anthony character from her movie, Vinnie even! Vinnie wouldn't have been as bad as this. It had to be Taylor.
Once Zac was out of the hotel he took his phone out of his pocket, dialed, and put it to his ear. He took a few steps to a bench and sat down. "Hey, Catania, the best travel agent in the world�"
"Hello Zac, what do you need?"
"How'd you know it was me?" Zac asked, a light smile on his face.
"Only you would start a phone call with flattery," Catania said. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm in Tampa. I need a flight back home, ASAP."
"All right, let me look�" Zac waited. "There's one leaving in an hour and I can get you a seat. Just you, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can you make it?"
"Probably. When's the next one?"
"Not until tomorrow, nine in the morning."
"I'll make this one. You get me a seat, I'll be there."
"All right."
"Thanks, Catania." Zac ran back into the hotel and up to his room, where Kris and Taylor were gone and Ginger was by herself.
"That was a short walk," Ginger said. Zac put his suitcase up on the bed. "Where are you going?"
"Home."
"What?! Why?"
"I can't explain," Zac said, looking around. He hadn't unpacked anything just yet, although Ginger had wanted to put all of his clothes into the drawers that morning. He ran into the bathroom and grabbed whatever he'd left in there and threw it into his suitcase.
"Well, can I go with you?" Ginger asked, sitting up on the bed.
"No."
"Zac, what's going on? You're not talking to me anymore!"
"Did Taylor say anything before he left?" Zac asked, closing his suitcase and looking around again.
"No, he didn't. Zac�"
"Good. Stay away from him. I love you, goodbye."
"You're leaving now?"
"My flight's in an hour and I still have to find a way to get to the airport."
"I'll take you."
"No," Zac said. "No, not this time." He kissed her. "Stay away from Taylor."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'll call you later! Tell Kris I said bye." He ran out of the room.