BROKEN FENCES
"Tay," Millie breathed into his ear as they both neared the end. "Oh, Tay, yes. Yes!"
Taylor groaned his release into her ear as he slowed down on top of her, suddenly aware of how cramped they were in the backseat of her car. It was a large backseat but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. The only distraction he had from the odd position they'd found themselves in, was how good it felt to be with her.
His face poured with sweat as he pulled himself out of her and moved across the seat, adjusting his pants and putting himself back together. It was hot in the car in the middle of the late, June afternoon and he reached over to roll down a window. Millie, who had dressed herself quickly, reached for the car door almost immediately before he stopped her. "Millie. Where are you going?"
Her brown eyes darted into his and then back at the door handle again. "Um, this was fun, but--and thank you for meeting me, but I have to go."
"Go?" He asked her, ashamed of the hurt he suddenly felt. "Go where? You've never left so quickly."
"I just--Tay, I'm sorry, I just have to go."
"Millie," he said again, taking her by the hand and pulling her back to the seat. "Why don't we just talk for a minute? You don't have to rush off."
Millie glanced down at his hand and then back up into his eyes before she freed her hand from his and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Talk?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, just--just talk. I'm not sure we've ever done that before."
She scoffed nervously. "Oh, come on. Of course we have. We talk all the time."
"Not like we should. Not like--I mean, we've known each other for a couple of years now. I don't know your hopes or your dreams or--or even what your favorite animal or your favorite book is. Wouldn't--I mean, wouldn't you want me to know those things? Wouldn't you want to know those things about me?"
She blinked at him blankly for a moment. "Tay, I don't--I'm sorry, I just don't understand. I thought we just--I thought we were having fun--?"
"We are. I just--I don't know, maybe I want more. I like you, Millie. Maybe I want...I don't know, maybe I want you."
"Oh, Tay," she said, taking his hand again and closing both of her hands over it. "I like things the way they are now. I think we're good this way. It works for us."
"You mean it works for you," he said slowly, studying her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"You think I liked knowing you were out with another guy at the dance Saturday night? You think I like knowing you've probably got dozens of boyfriends waiting on you back at school?"
"Tay--"
"Maybe it doesn't work for me anymore, Millie. Maybe I want more. Maybe I want to talk and share things with you. Maybe I think we deserve a chance to be happy--together."
Her jaw had dropped in shock and Taylor's heart pounded in anticipation. There it was. His heart and his feelings out on the line. Now it was up to her to decide what to do with them. The waiting nearly killed him.
Finally, she managed to say, "Tay, I--um...I don't think I'm ready for any kind of commitment. We have fun. And I like you, but--but you and I just--we wouldn't work--"
"Why?"
"You know why..."
"I want to hear you say it," he commanded. "Tell me why you can't be with me."
"Because we're just so...different," she whispered.
"I knew it," he spat, dejected, heartbroken, and angry. "I knew it. You know, Bessie's right--"
Millie's entire face changed and she held her head back in disgust. "Bessie?" She sneered. "What about Bessie?"
"She and I talked. She reminded me of a few things. She reminded me that I am a good person. I'm an individual, a man with feelings. And I'm not getting any younger. I just--Millie, I think that, for once in my life, I deserve better than this."
She scoffed a laughter of disbelief. "Oh, Taylor, please. We both know you enjoy sleeping around just as much as I do, it's why we get along."
"Well, not anymore. I'll be thirty years old in a couple of short years and it's time I got my act together. And--and I think that if you don't see anything more for us than what we are, then it's time for me to move on with my life--without you."
The blood drained from her face and her jaw hung open. She blinked at him in silence for a moment. "So...so you talk to Bessie one time and--"
"Uh, twice, actually..."
"Oh. Twice. Excuse me," she snapped. "So...wait, you like her, don't you? You like Bessie?"
"No," he shot quickly. "No, it's not--it's not like that--"
"It's bad enough your brother got his claws in her, but now you want a piece of her, too?"
"Millie, no--"
She began to straighten up in the seat and vigorously smooth out her dress and her hair. "What is it about her? Huh? All she is, is a silly little eighteen-year-old virgin. She's not even a real woman yet. But all she has to do is open her mouth and all of you boys are suddenly gaga over her? It's sickening."
"That's not it at all--"
"I can't believe this. I can't believe you're dumping me based on what that stupid little naïve...child has to say! She doesn't know anything about life, she doesn't know anything about anything!"
"She speaks to me like I'm human! Okay, Millie? She's a good friend, that's it! It would do you good to learn from her!"
"Get out of my car," she commanded through her teeth, her voice laden with pure hatred. "I don't ever want to see you again."
"Well, the way things were going, I figured that would be the outcome anyway," he muttered.
"Get out!"
Looking her over one last time, Taylor opened the door and slammed it behind him, never looking back. He listened to her tear out of the brush and onto the main road, but he never turned around to watch her leave. He was hurt and he was angry. But mostly he was relieved. Letting go of Millie, and all the apprehensions he'd been having about her lately, was freeing, as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Sure, he was still lonely--lonely as he'd ever been. But, somehow, letting go of Millie made him feel less lonely. He looked forward to something fresh, something new.
As he trudged through the woods and stepped into the clearing of the camp, he stopped in his tracks. The sun glistened off of Aishe's dark hair and the white dress she wore flowed around her body as her dark skin glowed against the bright color. He watched her hang laundry on the line for a moment before he made his way to the trailer. And then, once inside, he found himself peeking at her through the curtain in the window.
Before he could make himself scarce, she turned and locked eyes directly with him through the small sliver in the curtains. She raised an eyebrow and she smirked at him and then she went back to her laundry. She knew he was there. She'd known he was there the whole time.
Taylor snapped the curtain shut and pressed his back up against the wall, his heart pounding with nerves at the fact that he'd been caught. What the hell was he doing, spying on a woman after just breaking it off with another one? If he really wanted to change, it would have to start now.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bessie giggled as she watched Scout tear across the open grass to chase the ball Zac had thrown for him. Today they stood at the edge of the woods by the house, safe from the fact that her father wasn't due home for several more hours. Zac had met her at the edge of the woods to take her to their special tree and he'd brought a gift for Scout. Scout had smelled the ball on him and there was no getting past the woods, as he got excited and Zac had given in and thrown it for him.
Now Scout was on doggie cloud nine and he was returning from what was at least his fifth retrieval.
She also loved watching Zac throw the ball. The more she looked at him, day after day, the less ashamed she was to stare at him. He was a gorgeous, handsome man and he was her gorgeous, handsome man and she'd never been more grateful for anything in her life. It was still so surreal, knowing that someone like him could ever be interested in a girl like her and she counted her blessings for it every single day.
He had tucked his ponytail up into his wool cap today and she had to admit, she was slightly disappointed, as she madly loved his long hair. But she understood his wanting to keep his hair off of his neck. After all, she could relate. She wore her hair in a braid more often than not lately for the same reason.
As Zac continued to throw the ball, and Scout continued to fetch it, Bessie watched Millie's car tear up the road and turn into the yard. Except she didn't park beside the house like normal. No, she drove clear across the yard like a mad woman and for a split second, Bessie feared for Scout.
Barely turning the car off, Millie got out of it, slamming the door behind her, and then she stormed through the grass toward Bessie, her dark waves blowing off her shoulders. Bessie watched her approach, bewildered. Her face read rage and her walk was purposeful and deliberate. It was bad enough that they had yet to make up from the night of the dance. Bessie could only imagine what this could be about.
She could feel Zac's body heat against her as he'd closed in the gap behind her for support. She was glad to have him there.
Millie stopped in front of her cousin and huffed out a breath. "Taylor broke up with me today."
Bessie was as confused as ever, knowing their relationship status, or lack thereof, and she furrowed her brow. "Broke up with you?"
"Oh god," Zac muttered in a whisper under his breath.
"Yes," Millie snapped. "Broke up. Do you know why he broke up with me?"
Bessie shook her head slowly. "I didn't think you two were actually going togeth--"
"Because of you, Bessie! Because of you!"
Now Bessie was completely taken aback and dumbfounded. "Because of me? That's absurd--"
"Not to hear Taylor tell it, it isn't. It's bad enough that you think you can just waltz up to me at the diner and tell me how to run my life, but now you're meddling in my relationships, too?"
Bessie shook her head rapidly. "I didn't meddle in anything--"
"I should have known. All that talk about Taylor that night, about--about how he's handsome and generous...how you had the audacity to tell me I was being unfair--"
"Because you were, Millie! You were being completely unfair--"
"Well now it's over. And it's all your fault!"
Now Bessie was getting angry. She had no idea why Millie was getting so upset at her over something she'd had no involvement in. "It is not my fault, I don't even know what you're talking about!"
"Like hell you don't. You already have one Hanson brother falling all over you. Was one not enough, that you had to go and get mine, too?"
"What?" Bessie replied incredulously. "Millie, this is crazy talk!"
"He said he talked to you. Taylor said he talked to you and then all of a sudden he doesn't want to be with me--"
"Well, you didn't want to be with him, either, Millie!"
"That's not the point, you don't know what I want! You have your guy, Bessie! Just because only one whole man in the entire universe actually likes you, you think you're God's gift to men now. That you have one and you can have them all. Well let me tell you something, you little hussy. You might have Zac and you might have Taylor, too, but I'll be damned if I ever bring another boyfriend around you ever again. I never knew that you, of all people, would grow up to become such a whore."
"HEY!" Zac barked, finally. "You watch your mouth, don't speak to her that way."
"Maybe you ought to watch your back," Millie snapped at him. "Taylor will snatch up your girl in a heartbeat and from the way it sounds, she'll probably let him."
Bessie's jaw dropped and the tears welled up in her eyes. She prayed that Zac didn't believe a shred of anything that was coming out of Millie's mouth because none of it was true. "Millie, that's not fair," she said, her voice cracking. "It's not true--"
"You and I aren't friends anymore," Millie said to her. "And we're only cousins because we have to be. You're not the person I thought you were. You were supposed to be my best friend, not turn your back on me and steal my man."
Bessie's voice cracked as the tears began to fall down her face. "Millie, I didn't steal anyone, I never tried to and I never wanted to. Please, Millie, you have to believe me. You're my cousin and I love you."
"No," Millie said darkly. "No more. We are finished. Have a nice life."
"Millie, please don't go," Bessie pleaded.
"Oh. And don't you dare think you have a saving grace in me when you go to the university next semester. Because once I get through telling everyone the kind of person you really are, you won't have a leg to stand on. You can count on that!"
"Millie, please! Calm down and let's talk about this! Please!"
But it was too late. Millie had already gotten in her car and began tearing out of the yard.
Bessie watched after the car in shocked devastation. She stood still and couldn't move as her mind raced and raced, racing so fast she couldn't focus on one single thought. All she knew was that she'd just lost her very best friend and she had no idea why.
Finally, she turned slowly and looked at Zac, searching his eyes and his face desperately for any kind of answer. "Zac," she creaked out. "I--I have no idea what just happened. I don't even know what she's talking about."
The moment he reached for her hand and pulled her close was when the sobs finally escaped her. It was as if the flood gates had been opened and she couldn't stop crying. She sobbed and she sobbed and she sobbed into his shoulder, desperately wishing she could find the comfort in his arms that she usually did. "There's nothing going on with Taylor," she finally said through her tears. "There's nothing going on with him, I swear it. It's only you, Zac. Only you, nobody else."
"I know," he whispered. "I know. It's okay."
"But it's not okay," she said, finally lifting her head and wiping her face with her arm. "It's not okay. She thinks I broke them up. She thinks he broke up with her because--oh, Zac, I could never face him again. What if she's right? What if he--?"
"He doesn't," he assured her. "I mean, no offense. He's an idiot not to be attracted to you, but he doesn't--he doesn't look at you that way. He knows you belong to me, he doesn't like you like that. Okay? Don't you worry about him."
"So then why does she think it's my fault? I don't understand."
Zac sighed and kissed her forehead and pulled her close to him again. "I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't."
"I just don't know what to do," she whispered. "I don't know what to do."
"I'll talk to Tay," he replied quietly. "I'll talk to him, try to get to the bottom of it. I'm going to fix this, okay?"
"Zac, you don't have to trouble yourself to--"
"You're hurting and that upsets me. It's really taking everything in my power to have at least a shred of respect for Millie right now. I'm going to make this better. It's what I'm here for."
Bessie's eyes darted around as he held her, trying desperately to recall everything that had just happened. "She called me a--she said I was a--"
"I heard what she called you," he said flatly.
"I don't understand. How can she--how can she call me something like that when I'm not the one going out with all these boys--?" Then her words caught in her throat and she widened her eyes at Zac. "But I just--I went out with Billy. Is that what--? What if she thinks--?"
"No," he assured her. "That has nothing to do with anything. I want you to get that out of your head right now. You're not any of those things she called you and you had nothing to do with whatever happened between her and Taylor. To be honest, I saw this coming eventually anyway."
"You did?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Tay's been...having doubts, I think. Questioning things lately, I don't know." She watched him look around the yard over her head before he focused his attention on her again. "Look, I need you to go inside, okay? I need to go talk to my brother."
Bessie shook her head in objection. "I don't want you two to have any problems--"
"There won't be any problems. We just need to know why you're stuck in the middle of this, that's all. I want you to work things out with Millie, she's your family. Family is important. Okay?"
"Okay," she nodded, sniffing quietly.
Zac pulled her in and wrapped his arms tightly around her as she buried her face in his neck. She didn't want him to let her go and she didn't want him to leave. But she was insanely curious as to why Millie was so upset with her all of a sudden and if Taylor had the answers, she wanted to know them. In the meantime, she should probably let her mother know what was going on. Which would, in turn, mean telling her that Millie had been involved with Taylor in the first place. Which would probably make Millie even more mad. Bessie sighed against Zac's chest in exasperation. Wow, what a mess she was in.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Finding Taylor in the trailer hadn't been difficult. Zac found him on a bench, perched next to the window, with his nose in a book. With Isaac being nowhere to be found, as usual, the two brothers were alone and Zac closed the door behind him and parked his hands on his hips. "Well. You had quite a day, didn't you?" Zac addressed him.
Taylor didn't bother looking up from his book as he muttered, "Not really in the mood to discuss it."
"And I'm not really in the mood to care what you're in the mood for," Zac snapped.
"Zac, would you just lay off already? Just--leave me alone." Then he looked up at Zac, an annoyed expression crossing his face. "How do you know anything, anyway?"
"How the hell do you think I know? What I want to know is how Bessie all of a sudden got caught up in the middle of it."
Finally, Taylor put his book down and planted his feet on the floor. "Bessie? What are you talking about?"
"Yes. Bessie. Millie just came to her house and blamed her for your breakup. Then she called her a name or two that, if she wasn't a woman, I'd have hit her for. I don't know what in the hell went down between you and Millie, but what Bessie just had to endure, she did not deserve."
"Oh man," Taylor said, letting out a breath and running a hand through his hair. Then he looked up at Zac. "You gotta believe me, I didn't mean for Bessie to ever be involved."
"Tell me what happened."
"Nothing, I just--I decided to end it with Millie for personal reasons and--well, I may have mentioned that I talked to Bessie--"
"Great, Tay. That's just great."
"But I didn't say anything, really. I just told her that Bessie's a good friend, that's all. And then she started jumping to conclusions and I couldn't get a word in and that was it. I'm serious, Zac, that was it. And I'm sorry if I caused problems between the two of them, I didn't mean it, I swear. I'll--I'll go apologize to her right now if you want me to."
Sighing, Zac sat down in a chair across from him and took off his hat, running his hand across his pulled back hair. "Jesus, Tay. How did we get ourselves into this?"
"You're the one who fell in love with Bessie," Taylor scoffed. "Not me. It's not my fault she's Millie's cousin. That whole Millie thing was coming anyway--"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Zac muttered. "It was horrible. Millie really laid into her and poor Bessie couldn't do a thing about it because she had no idea what was going on. And I could hardly defend her because I had no idea what was going on, either. Do you know what that feels like? To not be able to defend your woman? Or not have an answer for her?"
"Zac, I'm really sorry. Really, I am. I should have never said I talked to her. What if--what if I tried to talk to Millie?"
"It wouldn't work. She's so irrational right now..."
"She sat right there in that car and looked at me and told me that it would never happen between us. So why is she so upset?"
"I don't know. Women are...well, they're women, you know that. Nobody ever understands them."
"Well. It sounds to me like there's more there than she's showing on the surface."
"Now you're starting to sound like a woman," Zac joked dryly.
"I'm serious. What if she's...I don't know, jealous of Bessie or something?"
Zac furrowed his brow and looked at his brother. "Jealous of what? They're as different as night and day."
"I don't know--"
"She thinks you and Bessie have something going on."
The blood drained from Taylor's face all of a sudden. "Are you serious? That's insane."
"Tay, I have to ask..."
"We don't have anything going on--"
"I know you don't. But...but do you like her? I mean--I want you to be honest with me. I don't want to wake up one morning and find out that--you know?"
"Zac, no. She and I spoke a couple of times, but that's it. She's a good girl and I respect her, but--well, she's awfully young, for one thing. But, no, I--I have no interest in her like that. None at all. She's yours, Zac. Nobody else's. I would never do that to you. And neither would she."
Zac sighed and sat back against the wall behind him. "I know. I know, I just--I mean, now we're sitting here, amidst this huge misunderstanding, apparently, and I have to report back to her with...nothing. Nothing that has happened here is going to help her situation with Millie."
"You can't fix everything," Taylor replied gently.
"Yeah? Well I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to be there for her, I'm supposed to--to pick her up when she's down, fix her when she's broken. What kind of a man am I if I can't help her?"
"This is between Bessie and Millie. I mean, the best I can do is apologize to Bessie but other than that, there really is nothing you or I can do about it. Except be there. That's it."
Zac stared across the trailer at Taylor for a minute before he narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "I knew this would happen one day. I knew that, somehow, you and your loose women would be the bane of my existence."
Taylor smirked and sat back, crossing his ankle over his knee and picking his book back up. "Yeah, well. Welcome to the wonderful world of women, my friend. They're all crazy here." Then he paused and nodded his head in Zac's direction, his dark blonde hair flopping in his eyes. "Hey. Did you know Bessie's a virgin?"
"Of course I know," he spat at him. "I gave her her first kiss at the social."
"Oh. Okay. You think you'll take her virginity, too?"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"
"Okay. Okay. Sorry. I'll butt out."
Zac turned his nose up in disgust as Taylor put his nose back in his book. It was too late to return to Bessie now. Her father was home and they were probably having dinner. But Millie. Was there any way possible that he could reach out to Millie?
Zac didn't know. But he intended to do everything he could to mend these broken fences.
"Tay," Millie breathed into his ear as they both neared the end. "Oh, Tay, yes. Yes!"
Taylor groaned his release into her ear as he slowed down on top of her, suddenly aware of how cramped they were in the backseat of her car. It was a large backseat but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. The only distraction he had from the odd position they'd found themselves in, was how good it felt to be with her.
His face poured with sweat as he pulled himself out of her and moved across the seat, adjusting his pants and putting himself back together. It was hot in the car in the middle of the late, June afternoon and he reached over to roll down a window. Millie, who had dressed herself quickly, reached for the car door almost immediately before he stopped her. "Millie. Where are you going?"
Her brown eyes darted into his and then back at the door handle again. "Um, this was fun, but--and thank you for meeting me, but I have to go."
"Go?" He asked her, ashamed of the hurt he suddenly felt. "Go where? You've never left so quickly."
"I just--Tay, I'm sorry, I just have to go."
"Millie," he said again, taking her by the hand and pulling her back to the seat. "Why don't we just talk for a minute? You don't have to rush off."
Millie glanced down at his hand and then back up into his eyes before she freed her hand from his and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Talk?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, just--just talk. I'm not sure we've ever done that before."
She scoffed nervously. "Oh, come on. Of course we have. We talk all the time."
"Not like we should. Not like--I mean, we've known each other for a couple of years now. I don't know your hopes or your dreams or--or even what your favorite animal or your favorite book is. Wouldn't--I mean, wouldn't you want me to know those things? Wouldn't you want to know those things about me?"
She blinked at him blankly for a moment. "Tay, I don't--I'm sorry, I just don't understand. I thought we just--I thought we were having fun--?"
"We are. I just--I don't know, maybe I want more. I like you, Millie. Maybe I want...I don't know, maybe I want you."
"Oh, Tay," she said, taking his hand again and closing both of her hands over it. "I like things the way they are now. I think we're good this way. It works for us."
"You mean it works for you," he said slowly, studying her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"You think I liked knowing you were out with another guy at the dance Saturday night? You think I like knowing you've probably got dozens of boyfriends waiting on you back at school?"
"Tay--"
"Maybe it doesn't work for me anymore, Millie. Maybe I want more. Maybe I want to talk and share things with you. Maybe I think we deserve a chance to be happy--together."
Her jaw had dropped in shock and Taylor's heart pounded in anticipation. There it was. His heart and his feelings out on the line. Now it was up to her to decide what to do with them. The waiting nearly killed him.
Finally, she managed to say, "Tay, I--um...I don't think I'm ready for any kind of commitment. We have fun. And I like you, but--but you and I just--we wouldn't work--"
"Why?"
"You know why..."
"I want to hear you say it," he commanded. "Tell me why you can't be with me."
"Because we're just so...different," she whispered.
"I knew it," he spat, dejected, heartbroken, and angry. "I knew it. You know, Bessie's right--"
Millie's entire face changed and she held her head back in disgust. "Bessie?" She sneered. "What about Bessie?"
"She and I talked. She reminded me of a few things. She reminded me that I am a good person. I'm an individual, a man with feelings. And I'm not getting any younger. I just--Millie, I think that, for once in my life, I deserve better than this."
She scoffed a laughter of disbelief. "Oh, Taylor, please. We both know you enjoy sleeping around just as much as I do, it's why we get along."
"Well, not anymore. I'll be thirty years old in a couple of short years and it's time I got my act together. And--and I think that if you don't see anything more for us than what we are, then it's time for me to move on with my life--without you."
The blood drained from her face and her jaw hung open. She blinked at him in silence for a moment. "So...so you talk to Bessie one time and--"
"Uh, twice, actually..."
"Oh. Twice. Excuse me," she snapped. "So...wait, you like her, don't you? You like Bessie?"
"No," he shot quickly. "No, it's not--it's not like that--"
"It's bad enough your brother got his claws in her, but now you want a piece of her, too?"
"Millie, no--"
She began to straighten up in the seat and vigorously smooth out her dress and her hair. "What is it about her? Huh? All she is, is a silly little eighteen-year-old virgin. She's not even a real woman yet. But all she has to do is open her mouth and all of you boys are suddenly gaga over her? It's sickening."
"That's not it at all--"
"I can't believe this. I can't believe you're dumping me based on what that stupid little naïve...child has to say! She doesn't know anything about life, she doesn't know anything about anything!"
"She speaks to me like I'm human! Okay, Millie? She's a good friend, that's it! It would do you good to learn from her!"
"Get out of my car," she commanded through her teeth, her voice laden with pure hatred. "I don't ever want to see you again."
"Well, the way things were going, I figured that would be the outcome anyway," he muttered.
"Get out!"
Looking her over one last time, Taylor opened the door and slammed it behind him, never looking back. He listened to her tear out of the brush and onto the main road, but he never turned around to watch her leave. He was hurt and he was angry. But mostly he was relieved. Letting go of Millie, and all the apprehensions he'd been having about her lately, was freeing, as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Sure, he was still lonely--lonely as he'd ever been. But, somehow, letting go of Millie made him feel less lonely. He looked forward to something fresh, something new.
As he trudged through the woods and stepped into the clearing of the camp, he stopped in his tracks. The sun glistened off of Aishe's dark hair and the white dress she wore flowed around her body as her dark skin glowed against the bright color. He watched her hang laundry on the line for a moment before he made his way to the trailer. And then, once inside, he found himself peeking at her through the curtain in the window.
Before he could make himself scarce, she turned and locked eyes directly with him through the small sliver in the curtains. She raised an eyebrow and she smirked at him and then she went back to her laundry. She knew he was there. She'd known he was there the whole time.
Taylor snapped the curtain shut and pressed his back up against the wall, his heart pounding with nerves at the fact that he'd been caught. What the hell was he doing, spying on a woman after just breaking it off with another one? If he really wanted to change, it would have to start now.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bessie giggled as she watched Scout tear across the open grass to chase the ball Zac had thrown for him. Today they stood at the edge of the woods by the house, safe from the fact that her father wasn't due home for several more hours. Zac had met her at the edge of the woods to take her to their special tree and he'd brought a gift for Scout. Scout had smelled the ball on him and there was no getting past the woods, as he got excited and Zac had given in and thrown it for him.
Now Scout was on doggie cloud nine and he was returning from what was at least his fifth retrieval.
She also loved watching Zac throw the ball. The more she looked at him, day after day, the less ashamed she was to stare at him. He was a gorgeous, handsome man and he was her gorgeous, handsome man and she'd never been more grateful for anything in her life. It was still so surreal, knowing that someone like him could ever be interested in a girl like her and she counted her blessings for it every single day.
He had tucked his ponytail up into his wool cap today and she had to admit, she was slightly disappointed, as she madly loved his long hair. But she understood his wanting to keep his hair off of his neck. After all, she could relate. She wore her hair in a braid more often than not lately for the same reason.
As Zac continued to throw the ball, and Scout continued to fetch it, Bessie watched Millie's car tear up the road and turn into the yard. Except she didn't park beside the house like normal. No, she drove clear across the yard like a mad woman and for a split second, Bessie feared for Scout.
Barely turning the car off, Millie got out of it, slamming the door behind her, and then she stormed through the grass toward Bessie, her dark waves blowing off her shoulders. Bessie watched her approach, bewildered. Her face read rage and her walk was purposeful and deliberate. It was bad enough that they had yet to make up from the night of the dance. Bessie could only imagine what this could be about.
She could feel Zac's body heat against her as he'd closed in the gap behind her for support. She was glad to have him there.
Millie stopped in front of her cousin and huffed out a breath. "Taylor broke up with me today."
Bessie was as confused as ever, knowing their relationship status, or lack thereof, and she furrowed her brow. "Broke up with you?"
"Oh god," Zac muttered in a whisper under his breath.
"Yes," Millie snapped. "Broke up. Do you know why he broke up with me?"
Bessie shook her head slowly. "I didn't think you two were actually going togeth--"
"Because of you, Bessie! Because of you!"
Now Bessie was completely taken aback and dumbfounded. "Because of me? That's absurd--"
"Not to hear Taylor tell it, it isn't. It's bad enough that you think you can just waltz up to me at the diner and tell me how to run my life, but now you're meddling in my relationships, too?"
Bessie shook her head rapidly. "I didn't meddle in anything--"
"I should have known. All that talk about Taylor that night, about--about how he's handsome and generous...how you had the audacity to tell me I was being unfair--"
"Because you were, Millie! You were being completely unfair--"
"Well now it's over. And it's all your fault!"
Now Bessie was getting angry. She had no idea why Millie was getting so upset at her over something she'd had no involvement in. "It is not my fault, I don't even know what you're talking about!"
"Like hell you don't. You already have one Hanson brother falling all over you. Was one not enough, that you had to go and get mine, too?"
"What?" Bessie replied incredulously. "Millie, this is crazy talk!"
"He said he talked to you. Taylor said he talked to you and then all of a sudden he doesn't want to be with me--"
"Well, you didn't want to be with him, either, Millie!"
"That's not the point, you don't know what I want! You have your guy, Bessie! Just because only one whole man in the entire universe actually likes you, you think you're God's gift to men now. That you have one and you can have them all. Well let me tell you something, you little hussy. You might have Zac and you might have Taylor, too, but I'll be damned if I ever bring another boyfriend around you ever again. I never knew that you, of all people, would grow up to become such a whore."
"HEY!" Zac barked, finally. "You watch your mouth, don't speak to her that way."
"Maybe you ought to watch your back," Millie snapped at him. "Taylor will snatch up your girl in a heartbeat and from the way it sounds, she'll probably let him."
Bessie's jaw dropped and the tears welled up in her eyes. She prayed that Zac didn't believe a shred of anything that was coming out of Millie's mouth because none of it was true. "Millie, that's not fair," she said, her voice cracking. "It's not true--"
"You and I aren't friends anymore," Millie said to her. "And we're only cousins because we have to be. You're not the person I thought you were. You were supposed to be my best friend, not turn your back on me and steal my man."
Bessie's voice cracked as the tears began to fall down her face. "Millie, I didn't steal anyone, I never tried to and I never wanted to. Please, Millie, you have to believe me. You're my cousin and I love you."
"No," Millie said darkly. "No more. We are finished. Have a nice life."
"Millie, please don't go," Bessie pleaded.
"Oh. And don't you dare think you have a saving grace in me when you go to the university next semester. Because once I get through telling everyone the kind of person you really are, you won't have a leg to stand on. You can count on that!"
"Millie, please! Calm down and let's talk about this! Please!"
But it was too late. Millie had already gotten in her car and began tearing out of the yard.
Bessie watched after the car in shocked devastation. She stood still and couldn't move as her mind raced and raced, racing so fast she couldn't focus on one single thought. All she knew was that she'd just lost her very best friend and she had no idea why.
Finally, she turned slowly and looked at Zac, searching his eyes and his face desperately for any kind of answer. "Zac," she creaked out. "I--I have no idea what just happened. I don't even know what she's talking about."
The moment he reached for her hand and pulled her close was when the sobs finally escaped her. It was as if the flood gates had been opened and she couldn't stop crying. She sobbed and she sobbed and she sobbed into his shoulder, desperately wishing she could find the comfort in his arms that she usually did. "There's nothing going on with Taylor," she finally said through her tears. "There's nothing going on with him, I swear it. It's only you, Zac. Only you, nobody else."
"I know," he whispered. "I know. It's okay."
"But it's not okay," she said, finally lifting her head and wiping her face with her arm. "It's not okay. She thinks I broke them up. She thinks he broke up with her because--oh, Zac, I could never face him again. What if she's right? What if he--?"
"He doesn't," he assured her. "I mean, no offense. He's an idiot not to be attracted to you, but he doesn't--he doesn't look at you that way. He knows you belong to me, he doesn't like you like that. Okay? Don't you worry about him."
"So then why does she think it's my fault? I don't understand."
Zac sighed and kissed her forehead and pulled her close to him again. "I don't know. I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't."
"I just don't know what to do," she whispered. "I don't know what to do."
"I'll talk to Tay," he replied quietly. "I'll talk to him, try to get to the bottom of it. I'm going to fix this, okay?"
"Zac, you don't have to trouble yourself to--"
"You're hurting and that upsets me. It's really taking everything in my power to have at least a shred of respect for Millie right now. I'm going to make this better. It's what I'm here for."
Bessie's eyes darted around as he held her, trying desperately to recall everything that had just happened. "She called me a--she said I was a--"
"I heard what she called you," he said flatly.
"I don't understand. How can she--how can she call me something like that when I'm not the one going out with all these boys--?" Then her words caught in her throat and she widened her eyes at Zac. "But I just--I went out with Billy. Is that what--? What if she thinks--?"
"No," he assured her. "That has nothing to do with anything. I want you to get that out of your head right now. You're not any of those things she called you and you had nothing to do with whatever happened between her and Taylor. To be honest, I saw this coming eventually anyway."
"You did?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Tay's been...having doubts, I think. Questioning things lately, I don't know." She watched him look around the yard over her head before he focused his attention on her again. "Look, I need you to go inside, okay? I need to go talk to my brother."
Bessie shook her head in objection. "I don't want you two to have any problems--"
"There won't be any problems. We just need to know why you're stuck in the middle of this, that's all. I want you to work things out with Millie, she's your family. Family is important. Okay?"
"Okay," she nodded, sniffing quietly.
Zac pulled her in and wrapped his arms tightly around her as she buried her face in his neck. She didn't want him to let her go and she didn't want him to leave. But she was insanely curious as to why Millie was so upset with her all of a sudden and if Taylor had the answers, she wanted to know them. In the meantime, she should probably let her mother know what was going on. Which would, in turn, mean telling her that Millie had been involved with Taylor in the first place. Which would probably make Millie even more mad. Bessie sighed against Zac's chest in exasperation. Wow, what a mess she was in.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Finding Taylor in the trailer hadn't been difficult. Zac found him on a bench, perched next to the window, with his nose in a book. With Isaac being nowhere to be found, as usual, the two brothers were alone and Zac closed the door behind him and parked his hands on his hips. "Well. You had quite a day, didn't you?" Zac addressed him.
Taylor didn't bother looking up from his book as he muttered, "Not really in the mood to discuss it."
"And I'm not really in the mood to care what you're in the mood for," Zac snapped.
"Zac, would you just lay off already? Just--leave me alone." Then he looked up at Zac, an annoyed expression crossing his face. "How do you know anything, anyway?"
"How the hell do you think I know? What I want to know is how Bessie all of a sudden got caught up in the middle of it."
Finally, Taylor put his book down and planted his feet on the floor. "Bessie? What are you talking about?"
"Yes. Bessie. Millie just came to her house and blamed her for your breakup. Then she called her a name or two that, if she wasn't a woman, I'd have hit her for. I don't know what in the hell went down between you and Millie, but what Bessie just had to endure, she did not deserve."
"Oh man," Taylor said, letting out a breath and running a hand through his hair. Then he looked up at Zac. "You gotta believe me, I didn't mean for Bessie to ever be involved."
"Tell me what happened."
"Nothing, I just--I decided to end it with Millie for personal reasons and--well, I may have mentioned that I talked to Bessie--"
"Great, Tay. That's just great."
"But I didn't say anything, really. I just told her that Bessie's a good friend, that's all. And then she started jumping to conclusions and I couldn't get a word in and that was it. I'm serious, Zac, that was it. And I'm sorry if I caused problems between the two of them, I didn't mean it, I swear. I'll--I'll go apologize to her right now if you want me to."
Sighing, Zac sat down in a chair across from him and took off his hat, running his hand across his pulled back hair. "Jesus, Tay. How did we get ourselves into this?"
"You're the one who fell in love with Bessie," Taylor scoffed. "Not me. It's not my fault she's Millie's cousin. That whole Millie thing was coming anyway--"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Zac muttered. "It was horrible. Millie really laid into her and poor Bessie couldn't do a thing about it because she had no idea what was going on. And I could hardly defend her because I had no idea what was going on, either. Do you know what that feels like? To not be able to defend your woman? Or not have an answer for her?"
"Zac, I'm really sorry. Really, I am. I should have never said I talked to her. What if--what if I tried to talk to Millie?"
"It wouldn't work. She's so irrational right now..."
"She sat right there in that car and looked at me and told me that it would never happen between us. So why is she so upset?"
"I don't know. Women are...well, they're women, you know that. Nobody ever understands them."
"Well. It sounds to me like there's more there than she's showing on the surface."
"Now you're starting to sound like a woman," Zac joked dryly.
"I'm serious. What if she's...I don't know, jealous of Bessie or something?"
Zac furrowed his brow and looked at his brother. "Jealous of what? They're as different as night and day."
"I don't know--"
"She thinks you and Bessie have something going on."
The blood drained from Taylor's face all of a sudden. "Are you serious? That's insane."
"Tay, I have to ask..."
"We don't have anything going on--"
"I know you don't. But...but do you like her? I mean--I want you to be honest with me. I don't want to wake up one morning and find out that--you know?"
"Zac, no. She and I spoke a couple of times, but that's it. She's a good girl and I respect her, but--well, she's awfully young, for one thing. But, no, I--I have no interest in her like that. None at all. She's yours, Zac. Nobody else's. I would never do that to you. And neither would she."
Zac sighed and sat back against the wall behind him. "I know. I know, I just--I mean, now we're sitting here, amidst this huge misunderstanding, apparently, and I have to report back to her with...nothing. Nothing that has happened here is going to help her situation with Millie."
"You can't fix everything," Taylor replied gently.
"Yeah? Well I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to be there for her, I'm supposed to--to pick her up when she's down, fix her when she's broken. What kind of a man am I if I can't help her?"
"This is between Bessie and Millie. I mean, the best I can do is apologize to Bessie but other than that, there really is nothing you or I can do about it. Except be there. That's it."
Zac stared across the trailer at Taylor for a minute before he narrowed his eyes and glared at him. "I knew this would happen one day. I knew that, somehow, you and your loose women would be the bane of my existence."
Taylor smirked and sat back, crossing his ankle over his knee and picking his book back up. "Yeah, well. Welcome to the wonderful world of women, my friend. They're all crazy here." Then he paused and nodded his head in Zac's direction, his dark blonde hair flopping in his eyes. "Hey. Did you know Bessie's a virgin?"
"Of course I know," he spat at him. "I gave her her first kiss at the social."
"Oh. Okay. You think you'll take her virginity, too?"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"
"Okay. Okay. Sorry. I'll butt out."
Zac turned his nose up in disgust as Taylor put his nose back in his book. It was too late to return to Bessie now. Her father was home and they were probably having dinner. But Millie. Was there any way possible that he could reach out to Millie?
Zac didn't know. But he intended to do everything he could to mend these broken fences.