The next morning Ginger woke up with Kris already awake and putting on her makeup in the mirror. She got up and went to the bathroom, where she brushed her teeth and washed her face, then walked back to the bedroom and got dressed. Kris looked like she was about to cry upon realizing that in an hour she was going to leave with Taylor to the airport, and that made Ginger a bit misty.
The room seemed very bare. In a couple of hours Jess would be moving all of her things into the room and it would be crammed with things again. They had already switched out the queen-sized bed for two twin beds, and Ginger had cleared a place in her closet for Jess's clothes. "What's the weather supposed to be like in Tampa now?" Ginger asked.
"In the nineties." Ginger shrugged.
"It's about the same, then."
"Well the humidity in Florida makes it feel like a hundred and ten. At least here there's a cool wind. It doesn't feel as bad as it is." Ginger nodded. "I don't know how I ever put up with that damn Florida weather. I don't know why I'm putting on so much makeup. All I'm seeing is my parents and it's just going to melt off the moment I get there."
"Yeah."
"So are you going to be okay here alone next week? I know Zac and Taylor are flying out to LA on Monday."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Zac said I could go with but I don't think it'll be very much fun. He's going to be working all day until late at night and he'll never see me. At least here I won't be alone. I can help Jess set up the room and everything. Clean the house, maybe."
"Since when do you clean?"
"I clean!" Kris laughed.
"That's funny."
"Shut up."
"Well at least if you went to LA you could go sight-seeing and you could go to the beach and stuff," Kris said. "Here all that awaits you is Diana and we all know how wonderfully the two of you get along."
"I wouldn't go anywhere by myself," Ginger said. "You know that. I wouldn't want to see anything with just me." Kris shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I'll get by. And if not, I could always just call you and bug you until you hang up on me."
"Whatever, hun," Kris said. "Hey, I just thought of something." Kris turned around and Ginger looked up. "Have you told Zac your name yet?" Ginger shook her head. "Honey! You're engaged and he doesn't even know your real name? When are you planning on telling him?"
"Well�I was originally planning on never, but now I'm thinking of the priest saying it when we get married." Kris groaned. "What?"
"You can't have the priest be the one who tells him! You have to tell him!" Ginger shook her head. "I don't know, honey. This is the guy you're going to spend the rest of your life with and he doesn�t even know your first name."
"Come on, Kris, you know why I'm not doing this. Everything that goes with that name is crap. My parents, my brother�they're all with that name. Everything that has gone wrong with my life has centered on that name. Then I meet Zac and when I'm with Zac I'm Ginger. Zac is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He doesn't need to know that other girl. He doesn't need her. All she's ever done with her life is mess up."
"I know that girl," Kris said. "I know her and she is a lot better than you make her up to be. She is the strongest person I know. She can get through any situation, no matter how tough, no matter how much it seems like all the odds are against her, she makes it through. You're still that girl, sis. She hasn't ruined anything. Everything just ruined itself around her. You're not the reason your life has gone wrong."
"Whatever, Kris."
"No. Not whatever. Listen to me. Consider this your parting advice. It's not your fault everything has gone wrong, sis. Yes, your parents died. You're the better for it. Not only do you have those parents watching over you, you have my parents watching over you as well. You have two sets of parents who love you very much and not that many people have that. Yes, you moved in with your brother and he beat you. If he didn't beat you, you would have never come to my house that night to get away from him, I would have never taken you to that party, and you would have never met Zac. If he didn't beat you, you would have never moved in with me and became my sister. We wouldn't be as close as we are today. So a lot of stuff has happened to you in your life. Look at all the good things that came out of it."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Of course I'm right," Kris said. "I'm your sister."
"What am I going to do around here without you?" Ginger asked. "Who's going to give me good advice like that?" Kris smiled.
"I'm still going to be around! I'll just be a phone call away. Don't be racking up the phone bill calling me, though, cause I don't think Diana would like that very much." Ginger smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll call you every day twice a day just to piss Diana off," Ginger said, smiling. "Have you had breakfast yet?" Kris shook her head. "We should go have breakfast."
The two went downstairs and into the kitchen where Zac and Taylor were working on something on the kitchen table. Ginger glanced over at it before walking to the pantry, pulling out the Special K (it had become like a routine for her and Kris to have a bowl in the morning).
"Whatcha working on, boys?" Kris asked, sitting down across from them with her bowl of cereal. Ginger sat next to her sister, just as interested.
"Work," Zac said.
"Oh, thanks for the elaborate response, babe," Ginger said. She took a bite from her cereal. She made a face. "I think I used Taylor's milk."
"Me too," Kris said. They both put their bowls on the table and tried to see what Zac and Taylor were working on. "What is that?"
"It's a surprise," Taylor said. "And I'll mind you not to look at it." Kris made a face and sat back in her chair.
"Can I look?" Ginger asked.
"No."
"Ugh! How rude! I'm leaving." She got up and cleaned out her dish before sticking it in the dishwasher. "Kris, come with me."
"We're leaving in about ten minutes," Taylor said, "so don't go far." Ginger turned to Kris, who looked down at the ground and went up the stairs. Ginger followed close behind and found Kris in their room grabbing the suitcase that she lived out of for the past forty-eight hours since the rest of her things were already shipped back home.
"What do you think they're working on?" Ginger asked.
"Probably something stupid that concerns the both of us," Kris said with a sad smile on her face. "But they look like they've been working on it a long time."
"Obviously not long enough because they're rushing to finish it right now." Kris shrugged. They left the room and went back down the stairs, Kris putting her suitcase next to the door. They hung out in hallway for a few minutes until Taylor and Zac came out of the kitchen.
"Geez," Taylor said. "I said don't go far, not wait in the hallway until I came out." Kris shrugged. "Well, anyway, here." Zac handed Ginger a piece of paper and Taylor handed one to Kris. They read it quickly, Ginger finishing first and looking up at Zac.
"Zac�oh my God�" she said, tears in her eyes.
"So I'm guessing you like it."
"Yeah! This is beautiful!" Taylor and Zac had been collaborating for a while and ended up writing a song about Ginger and Kris. Kris was nearly crying, which was why it took her so long to read it, then threw her arms around Taylor. Ginger did the same, clutching her piece of paper like it was gold. "See, this is why I'm dating you. So you can write me cool stuff like this."
"Really? Just for my music? I see how it goes," Zac said, turning away and mocking his disappointment.
"Well, you're hot too." He gave her a look. "I'm kidding. I love you. Thank you." She glanced over at Kris.
"Are you ready to go?" Taylor asked. She paused.
"Yeah, I guess. I just have to say goodbye to everyone." Taylor nodded.
"I'll put your suitcase in the car." Taylor opened the door and took Kris's suitcase out to the car. Kris had already said goodbye to the rest of the family, but she waited to said goodbye to Zac and Ginger.
"I'll see you at Christmas," Zac said. "We're all coming down." Kris put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you."
"I'm gonna miss you too," she said. "Take care of my sister, all right?"
"Of course."
"See you at Christmas." Kris let go and turned to her sister, who was looking away and biting her lip to fight back tears. "Honey�"
"I'm okay," Ginger said, still looking away. "It's just for a little while."
"You know it is," Kris said, throwing her arms around her sister. Ginger held her tightly, beginning to cry. "After I'm done with college it'll be like Sex and the City, right? Having lunch every day at the same place and getting the same thing?"
"Yeah. Just like Sex and the City. Call me when you get home. Tell Mom and Dad hi for me and I'll see you Christmas. Maybe sooner."
"Calm down, honey. I'll see you at Christmas." Kris kissed her sister's cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"I'll be just a phone call away, you know that," Kris said. "So don't worry about it." Taylor walked back into the house.
"You ready, hun?" he asked. Kris let go of her sister and looked straight in her eyes.
"Remember what I said this morning," she said. Ginger nodded. "Goodbye."
"Bye." Kris kissed her again and waved to Zac before leaving with Taylor. When the door closed Ginger began to cry and Zac put a protective arm around her and kissed her forehead.
After Kris left, Zac and Taylor went to LA for a week. Ginger helped Jessie move in to her room and, indeed, ended up cleaning the house to relieve her boredom. She called Kris a lot, a lot more that usual, but that was just because she missed her so much. Her and Diana were getting along all right, not any better than they'd been, but not any worse either. Diana appreciated that Ginger cleaned the house, but didn't say anything about it.
Late on Thursday evening, Taylor came home without Zac. Zac was supposed to come home the next evening, and that was longer than Ginger wanted to be alone with Taylor. She hoped he wouldn't take advantage of the fact that both Zac and Kris were gone, but as soon as she went downstairs on Friday morning he'd started.
She got herself a bowl of cereal and was sitting down at the table to eat it when Taylor came strolling in. He sat down across from her and she tried to ignore him, reading the comics from the newspaper, but eventually his stare got to her.
"Would you stop it?" she said, looking up at him.
"No."
"Dammit, Taylor, it's not even nine o'clock in the morning and you're already starting. I'm telling Zac once he gets home."
"You won't tell Zac," he said. "You know he'll blame you just as much as he blames me. He doesn't trust you. He doesn't trust any girl he's with."
"It's different this time," she said. "I don't want any part of it. And it's not going to happen! If you don't mind, I'm reading my funnies." She looked back down at the newspaper and turned the page. He didn't leave. She finished her cereal and her comics, then folded up the newspaper, cleaned out her dish, and left the room. He followed her. "Go away, Taylor."
"Why?"
"Because you're bothering me! This is harassment!"
"No, it's not. This is harassment." He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up against him.
"Taylor, let go of me."
"I don't understand why you're resisting so much. We did this before and you didn't have a problem with it. If I remember correctly, I think you enjoyed it."
"I didn't enjoy anything!"
"It sure sounded like it," he said. "I don't understand it. I'm not asking you to break up with Zac and I'm not breaking up with Kris. There's obviously something here and I just think we should we do something about it before you get married. Then it'll be really messy if we fuck up and he finds out."
"Get away from me." She pushed him away and ran up the stairs. He followed. "Taylor! Stop it! You know at first I was kind of flattered but now it's just creepy. You're really starting to weird me out. You're not Taylor anymore. You're just Zac's sleazy brother. I'm not interested."
"Fine," he said, backing off. "Fine. If you're so sure that you don't want thing, go right ahead. I'll leave you alone."
"Good. Thank you." She started walking down the hall to her room. He watched her go, but before she went into her room, she stopped and looked back at him. He was still standing in the place she left him, looking at her. She bit her lip and looked back inside her room. It was empty. She lightly hit the doorframe with her fist, then walked back to him. "Just this once. Get it out of your system."
He smiled.