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chapter five
Jessica drove down the interstate, tears flowing steadily down her face. Why am I doing this? She thought. It doesn’t matter though. If I stayed there, it would be just as bad. I would feel just as bad. If leave and try to just forget, and get over it, then I’ll come back someday and it’ll be all right. Everything will be fine. She wiped away her tears and flipped on the radio. “And an oldie for you old Hanson fans out there…” the DJ was saying. “MMMBop, by Hanson.” Jessica felt the tears start up again as the first notes of the ever-familiar song began. “You have so many relationships in this life. Only one or two will last…” She pulled over to the side of the road and put her head on the steering wheel. She cried and cried until she couldn’t cry anymore.
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“Zac. Zac, wake up.” Zac groaned and turned over. He reached out and tried to push away the voice that was trying to wake him up.
“Zac! Wake up!” Taylor exclaimed. He groaned and opened his eyes.
“What?” he said groggily, all memory of the night before gone.
“Jessie’s gone.” Zac’s eyes flew open and the whole night came back to him.
“All her stuff’s gone too.” Zac threw back the covers and followed Taylor down to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Mr. Hanson was holding Mrs. Hanson in a hug, who was obviously hugging. Avery was in between Isaac and Mackie. Zoë leaned on Zac’s leg.
“Zaccy?” she said in a quiet, timid voice. She sounded about half her age. Zac looked down at her.
“Where’s Jessie?” Zac hesitated. After a few minutes he gulped and put his hand on her head.
“I don’t know, Zoë. I just don’t know,” he said quietly.
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Jessica drove all night and finally ended up in Lincoln, Nebraska. First things first, she thought. First, she had to find a place to live. She drove around until she found a store selling newspapers. She bought one, and some breakfast, and sat in her car with them. She looked through the classifieds until she found what she was looking for.
I8-year-old
male seeks roommate.
Preferably
18 years old. Male or female.
Rent
shared. 555-3675
Jessica smiled. “Bingo.” She climbed out of her car and walked over to the payphone. She dialed the number on the paper. 5-5-5-3-6-7-5. Ring, ring.
“Hello?”
“Uh, yes,” she said. “My name is Jessica Hanson and I saw your ad in the paper….”
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That day was hell for Zac. His heart ached to tell his family about the night before, but then he would feel guilty for not stopping her. So he said nothing. Zoë probably took it the hardest. She and Jessie had always had a special bond. Jessica was close to all her brothers and sisters, but more so with Zoë and Zac. Mrs. Hanson was practically hysterical. Nobody could comfort her. About 1:00, Zac left. He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get out of the house. He got in his car and just drove. Not stopping anywhere, not going anywhere. Just driving. Around three hours later, he came home. He had driven all over the town. The rest of the day, everybody kept to themselves, doing whatever they felt like. At about 10:00, Zac went to bed. He fell asleep immediately. A few hours later, he was awakened by Zoë.
“I can’t sleep,” she said in a small voice. He pulled back the covers.
“Get in.” She smiled and crawled under the covers next to him.