A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.
-George Eliot
TWO DAYS LATER
"Do you have everything you need?"
"Yeah, mom, I got it all."
Carrey sighed and smoothed down her son's long blonde hair. Smiling sadly she held out a smaller suitcase than the two he already carried.
"For when you get there," she said quietly, watching as he took it carefully and didn't look inside.
"Thanks," he said quietly, readjusting the weight of his baggage. He blew out his breath and turned around slowly where a taxi stood waiting, door held open despite the rain that fell from the sky in torrents.
"Listen to your father," Carrey told him, eyes filling up with tears.
"I will, mom," he said and began to turn away.
"Zack-," she grasped his arm and looked him in his blue eyes. "This is your last chance," she looked down to collect herself, gulping back a sob. "Please," she looked at him pleadingly. "Don't let me down. Don't let us down."
He nodded. "Bye," he said and ducking under the rain he hurried to the taxi, slinging his luggage inside and sliding in behind it. "I love you, mom!" he shouted to her as the door closed.
"Oh, Zack," she whispered as the taxi began to pull away from the curb. "I love you, too," and as it disappeared from sight she began to cry.
ONE DAY PREVIOUS
"Wouldn't want to forget anything,"
Zack looked up from the clothes he was stuffing into his suitcase. Cody stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, arms folded over his chest.
"No," said Zack, looking down again. "I won't."
"Sure you will," Cody said smoothly, blowing a bubble with the gum he chewed erratically. "You always do, Zack." He laughed humorlessly. "It'll just be a matter of time."
"What're you talking about?" Zack frowned at his brother, closing his suitcase clumsily, fumbling for the latches.
Cody shrugged, moving away from the door and into the room. "For you to forget," he said. "Me, mom," Zack looked up, eyes glinting. "Yeah. You say for the rest of the year but that's only three months. Next thing we'll know is that you've decided to stay the summer and then, hey, poor little Zacky's not better yet, better give him another year or-hey! How about two more, huh?" Cody angrily spit out his gum into the garbage can and glared at his twin. "Let him finish high school in Connecticut. Let him skip out on college and spend his life forgetting that somewhere he's got a brother and a mom he forgot about!"
"Shut up!" Zack shouted angrily, forgetting about packing and going at his brother furiously. "I'm NOT GOING TO FORGET ABOUT MOM!" He pushed Cody into his bed, watching as the younger twin hit his head on the backboard in surprise.
Wincing, Cody shot up and kicked at Zack who stumbled back. "Yes you will! You're an ASS HOLE and an IDIOT and a JUNKIE!"
"I'M NOT A JUNKIE!" Zack screamed barreling into the other boy and tackling him to the ground. They punched and slapped and scratched and fought at each other until a hand yanked open the door to their bedroom and their mother appeared in the doorway.
"BOYS!" she shouted, rushing in and getting in between the two of them. "BOYS, PLEASE!"
"You're such a LIAR!" Zack cried out, eyes glittering as he fell back against his bed, lower lip red and bleeding.
"YOU'RE A JERK!" Cody screamed, tears running down his face. He sported a cut on his cheeks and wiped a shaking hand over it angrily.
"That's enough!" Carrey declared, glaring at each of them in turn. "I would expect more mature behavior from a pair of FIFTEEN YEAR OLD boys!" she shook her head in disgust. "You are both going to be separated for what could be a very long time," as she spoke the last sentence her voice cracked a little. "Why don't you make the best of what time you both still have together?"
She sniffed and shook her head slowly, making her way out of the messy bedroom and gently closing the door behind her.
Cody looked at Zack who was bringing his fingers to his lip and back. "Why don't you just go, man? Just leave." He narrowed his eyes and blinked his tears away at his twin. "You're not my-my brother anymore."
And he turned and followed their mother out.
Zack watched him leave, making no move to try and stop him but feeling hot tears prickle the back of his eyes. He looked down and his hands, saw the shake, saw them curl into useless fists. He pressed them to the sides of his head and clenched his eyes shut to block out the world.
Sam was dead. Cody hated him. His mother didn't want him. His dad didn't know him. His friends had deserted him.
He began to shake with repressed sobs and turned away towards the one thing he had left. With quivering fingertips he reached for it, heart and soul aching, hungering for what would come with it.
And as he slowly lifted the guitar out of it's holder and gently sat it on his lap and played a few cords.
And cringed at how sour they sounded to his ears.
Eyes wide and disbelieving he set the instrument down and picked up his cell phone. As part of his punishment he was banned from making any calls but he didn't to make this one. He dialed the number from memory.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
"Zack, man. I see you've come to your senses."
Zack took a deep, calming breath and tried to remember where he'd put his inhaler. The asthma had calmed down a bit, but it was still there like a tiger waiting to spring. Everything was. "Do you-do you still have-have it, man?"
"The pot?"
Zack closed his eyes briefly. "No." he said. "No, the-the other stuff."
A chuckle. "Yeah, man, I got the other stuff."
"When can I-can I-?"
"Anytime," said Patrick, sounding smug. "Anytime you want."
"Give me twenty minutes."
Cody drew his head back from the door as the beep of the cell phone killed the conversation and looked stoically at the wall as his brother slowly crept out of the room.
"I'm going out." Zack said for explanation.
Cody nodded. "Don't hurry back."
Zack swallowed thickly (lip now an ugly shade of plum) and walked out of the suite, disappearing as their mother had just minutes before.
Cody watched him go.
Rock bottem.
Zack made it to Patrick's garage in eighteen minutes, waiting patiently for the door to open. It did.
"Not clear here," Patrick said as he stepped out wearing a grin. "Let's go somewhere else."
They walked deep into the inner city, watching as dealers slipped small bags to people in parks and neighborhoods and on street corners every which way. They noticed more when they were searching. More than they knew.
Finally the two boys came to an alleyway and Patrick pulled out a small zip-lock bag. "Stress at home?" he asked as they sat down in mock concern.
"Stress everywhere," Zack answered, drawing the bag closer to him in a strange hesitation.
"The guys'll understand," Patrick assured him. "On Monday-,"
"-No," Zack interrupted. "No, I'm not coming back on Monday." At the look of surprise on his friend's face he sighed. "I'm going to live with my dad. In Connecticut."
"You told," Patrick's gaze was steely. "I swear, man, if you mentioned my name-,"
"-Chill," Zack said calmly. "I didn't." He lifted the bag and examined its white contents. Springing to his feet he looked down at Patrick. "This is for the road," he said. "And for when I get there."
Patrick jumped up, reaching for it. "You can't steal my stash, man," he protested. "I paid a lot for it-,"
"-Yeah?" Zack stared him down. "I'm still paying."
By the time he'd reached the suite twenty minutes later Zack had long since stuffed the drugs into his inside coat pocket for safekeeping. He stepped into the elevator (hearing his mother's voice—sounding fake—resonating from the reception room) and rode it up to their suite.
He opened the door and stepped inside, seeing no sign of Cody. Smiling a little in his apparent good fortune he walked across and opened the door to the room they had shared since they were children and walked inside.
There.
He drew up short. Cody was sitting on his bed, guitar in his lap and a strange look on his face.
"What're you-?" Zack started forward, wanting his guitar back.
"Drugs or the guitar."
"What?" Zack looked at his brother oddly, frowning deeply.
"Drugs or the guitar." Cody glared at him stonily. "Your choice."
To Be Continued
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