Me: Hey everybody!! What's up?!!!! I'm back with another chapter. Thank you
very much so far for all the reviews.....I really didn't expect to get as
many as I got but hey! Wild Card is a pretty popular show. Well, it's more
popular than Strong Medicine obviously or the stories on this site are
because I get more reviews for a chapter of Wild Card than I did for a
chapter of Strong Medicine and I'm rambling so I'm going to just say that I
don't own any characters and stuff and then I'm going to let you read
Chapter 2 of I Do or I Don't.
The next morning, Zoe came into work late and Sophia met her at the elevator near their offices.
"You're late."
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't get much sleep, and it's been a busy morning. I didn't even have time to get coffee." Zoe said, responding to her boss.
"Oh. No coffee. That busy huh?"
"Taylor was nagging me to go shopping tomorrow but I'm probably going to have to be here. Cliff kept talking about Marcos all morning so I was trying to tune him out." Zoe started explaining as they headed into her office. Sophia gave her a look. "I haven't told Cliff or Hannah what happened yet, but I will. Someday."
"Ok Zoe. Come on, Dan's waiting in the conference room for us." Sophia said and Zoe dropped the papers that were in her hands at the sound of his name. She glanced toward the conference room door. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing." Zoe lied and then the two women headed into the conference room. Dan stood up as they came in and smiled. Sophia and Zoe sat down and Zoe started pouring herself some coffee. She didn't look Dan straight in the eye at all.
"Let's get down to business." Sophia said. "Megan Rict. Twenty four year old women whose car was wrapped around a tree in Lanks Mountain yesterday morning."
"Lanks Mountain?" Zoe said, trying to remember where it was.
"It's a one of the big mountains about two hours away from here." Dan said and Sophia looked at him. "I've been hiking there a few times."
"Well, the only road on that mountain was repaved the day before it happened. It hadn't completely dried towards the end of the road and she claims there was no sign saying that the road was off limits."
"So, she's alive?" Zoe asked.
"Barely. Her family is helping her file the claim."
"Why wasn't there a sign?" Dan asked.
"We don't know. That's what you two need to figure out. The family thinks the construction company that repaved the road is at fault, but we don't know if that's for sure or not. So, here's the file. Get to work and update me every now and then." She finished up and left the conference room. Zoe took another sip of her coffee.
"Where to first?" Dan asked and it slightly startled her from the silence.
"Um.........we should probably check out the actual damage to the car and everything first."
"File says it's at the auto repair/impound joint in town." Dan said and Zoe grabbed the file from him. As she read the name of the place the car was at, she set down her coffee. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"It's nothing." She lied again. It was something though. It was the same place that her sister's car was taken after the accident. "Let's get going. Your car or mine?"
"We can take mine. I'll drive." He said simply, knowing that something was wrong with her but not daring enough to ask what again.
After about a twenty-minute car ride in silence, the two fraud investigators arrived at the auto repair/impound place and went inside. Memories flashed through Zoe's mind. Memories of the phone call she got saying there had been an accident and memories of investigating what really happened in that accident. The same man who had been working there when Zoe had gone there before, walked around the corner of the front desk when he saw them enter.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
"Hi." Zoe said, breaking her mind from the memories. "I don't know if you remember me but-"
"Yeah, I remember you. You're that fraud lady from a while back. What can I do for you?" The man said.
"We're here to look at Megan Rict's vehicle. It's a 1999 Honda Acura I believe." Dan said.
"Ahh...yes. The tree accident. Follow me." He said and led them out the back door to the storage lot of all the vehicles. When they approached Megan's car, Zoe gasped quietly and turned away from the sight. The car's front end was smashed into the front seats and the windshield had been shattered into a thousand little pieces of glass. Dan walked around and looked inside the use to be window. The seat belt was broken off of both seats in the front and blood was sprayed all over the damaged car. Zoe finally looked back at the car and pain filled her face.
"How could she live through something like this?" She asked quietly.
"It looks like she was one of the lucky ones." Dan answered back quietly. He turned back to the service man. "Was there anything else wrong with the car?"
"I haven't exactly been able to completely check it out yet, but I can say that it's going to be hard to find anything with so much damage. The engine is practically smashed. The only thing I could possibly look at would be some wires and stuff that goes completely through the front of the vehicle and to the trunk."
"Like the brakes?" Zoe asked.
"Well, yes." The man answered. Zoe nodded. "Contact us after you check it out, even if you don't find anything."
"Will do." He said and Zoe and Dan headed back out to his car.
"Where to now?" He asked.
"How about the hospital? See if she's willing to talk." Zoe said as they started driving off.
"Do you really think she'll be ok enough to?"
"Since when do you care if a patient is ok enough to talk?" Zoe asked harshly, then fell silent wishing she could take back the words.
"Since one of those patients was you." He stated referring to when she got shot while working on one of his cases. Zoe fell silent even more and looked out the window.
At the hospital, Megan Rict's parents sat in the waiting room when Zoe and Dan approached them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rict?" Dan asked. The man and the woman looked up at them and nodded. "Hi. We're the fraud investigators. Do you mind if we talk with you a moment?" They shook their heads this time and Zoe and Dan took it as a cue to sit down.
"How is she?" Zoe asked with concern.
"Better than yesterday but still pretty bad." Mr. Rict said quietly. "It's surprising that she wasn't killed instantly. She was lucky."
"Yes, she was." Dan said, also with concern. Zoe glanced at him and then back to the parents.
"Would Megan be willing to talk to us sometime today?"
"She might be able to later tonight." Mrs. Rict said.
"Did she tell you what happened?" Dan asked.
"Just enough to file the claim, but you should really hear it from her. I don't know if I can tell it exactly." Mr. Rict said. Zoe and Dan nodded.
"We'll return tonight around seven. Is that ok?"
"Yes, that's fine." Mr. Rict said. Zoe and Dan shook their hands and left the hospital. They both jumped into Dan's car and headed out of the parking lot.
"Do you think the construction company will be willing to talk without an attorney present?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know. Let's go find out." Dan answered quickly and then turned up the music. Zoe looked out the window, knowing that her comment earlier had bothered him.
When they arrived at the construction company's office buildings, they had to wait to see the manager. He had agreed to see them without an attorney there and had also agreed to have a few of the construction workers who worked on the road before the accident come to the office buildings to meet with them. Once again, Zoe and Dan sat in silence until the man came out of his office.
"Ms. Buisek, Mr. Lennox. Why don't we go into my office? Jack, Paul, Ben, and Steve, the construction workers, aren't here yet. Do you mind waiting?"
"Not at all." Dan said and the three headed into the manager's office. "Mr. Wheeler, how many men were working on Lanks Mountain?"
"Around twenty of my best men were working on that road for the past weeks. It's a long road."
"Yes, I know." Dan said.
"I have talked to most of the men and they all say the same thing. That they put a sign at the beginning of the road to mark it as off limits to any vehicles."
"Well, the police say that they haven't found any such sign anywhere near Lanks Mountain and that there were never any signs that there was one in the first place." Dan said, as four large men knocked on the office door. Mr. Wheeler stood and let them in. They all introduced themselves and took a seat in the office.
"We put a sign out." Paul said, having heard what Dan had said from outside the door. "We swear we did."
"Really? Or do you just not want to get in any trouble because a twenty four year old woman almost died because of it?" Zoe said.
"We swear." Steve said. "We even counted the number of signs we have left in our trucks and with the one we put on Lanks Mountain not in there, there is exactly the right amount."
"The police can't use that as evidence that it's not your fault." Zoe said. "You're going to have to come up with something better than that if you want to get out of this."
"Anybody could have taken that sign." Ben said. The four men were growing angry.
"Yeah, anybody could have. But you could have also forgotten to put one on the road." Dan said. "Now, before we jump to conclusions." He said and glanced at Zoe. She glanced back at him. "We've got to have more information. Right now, there is a auto repairman taking a look at what's left of Megan Rict's vehicle, and I believe the police are still investigating the actual crash scene. But just to let you know, if this turns out to be your fault, it's going to cost each worker that worked on that road more if they don't confess first." He said and grabbed Zoe. "I think we're done here. We'll be in touch." Dan and Zoe headed back out of the office building and back to his car.
"That was short." She commented.
"We got the info we needed." He said, while starting his car.
"Ok." She said quietly. Dan cranked up the music again but Zoe turned it back down. "Who could have taken that sign? Who would want to?" She asked.
"Teenagers playing games probably, or maybe somebody has a grudge against her. Remember Zoe, just because she is barely alive and has been through such tragedy doesn't mean she was the nicest person in the world before."
"I know. I just......I don't know." She said quietly. They fell silent and after awhile Dan turned his music back on. When they arrived back at their offices, they updated Sophia and then Dan went into his office. Zoe followed him.
"I've got to get going." He said. "I have some stuff to do before we go back to the hospital tonight." Zoe nodded in response. "Tomorrow, I was thinking maybe we should go for a little hike and see what we can find."
"You mean up Lanks Mountain?" Zoe said surprised. "Me and you?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Dan, we're not two of the best nature people around here. Well, at least I'm not."
"I'm pretty good at hiking. Like I said, I've done it before. It's a piece of cake."
"Who says we'll find anything?" She asked trying to work her way out of it as he picked up his briefcase to leave.
"Who says we won't?" He said. Zoe sighed finally giving in.
"Fine. We'll talk more about this tonight." She said and returned to her own office.
Taylor sat on the front porch swing with Julian, her neighbor. They had been talking about school and everything when out of nowhere, he brings up Ryder, Taylor's ex-boyfriend.
"Have you talk to him lately?"
"No. I haven't heard from him." She said quietly, wanted him to change the subject again.
"So it's officially over between the two of you?"
"I guess so." She responded getting more and more annoyed.
"Are you over him completely or are you just giving up on him?"
"What is this, the game twenty one questions or something?" She finally asked, breaking her shell of trying to hide her feelings about Ryder. Julian looked at her wide-eyed and then at his feet. "Julian, I'm sorry. I'm just uncomfortable talking about Ryder right now."
"Taylor, I'm just trying to clear some stuff up here. Are we just friends or are we something more? Because you're kind of sending mix signals." He responded.
"Julian." She said quietly and stood up. Her fingers started running along the banister of the porch as she paused. "I..." She started but couldn't finish.
"What is it Taylor?"
"I'm not ready for another relationship. Not yet." She blurted out, not looking at him. When she finally did look at him, she could see a bit of pain in his faces.
"Ok. Fine." He said and stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Home." He said. "I'll talk to you later." Julian left in a hurry down the porch steps as Zoe walked up the walkway.
"Julian!" Taylor called after him but stopped when she saw her Aunt standing there with a surprised look on her face.
"What's going on?" Zoe asked concerned.
"Nothing." Taylor lied. Zoe took it in and decided not to press on the situation.
"Where is your brother and sister?"
"Hannah's still at her friends house and Cliff is upstairs. His friend is over." Taylor answered.
"What friend?"
"Melissa or something like that."
"It's a girl?! In his room?! Taylor!!" Zoe yelled and ran into the house.
"What's the big deal? It's Cliff, Aunt Zoe." Taylor responded from the porch.
"If he's anything like this family, it is a big deal." She said quietly and headed upstairs. She knocked on Cliff's door and opened it quickly. "Hi." She said. Cliff and his friend Melissa were sitting on the floor next to his bed, listening to a CD of Cliff's and looking at books. Cliff noticed his Aunt standing there and turned down the music. "What are you doing?" Zoe asked casually.
"Just hanging out." Cliff answered innocently. Melissa smiled at Zoe.
"Oh, can I talk to you in the hallway Cliff?" Zoe asked and motioned for him to get out there. He stood up and closed the door behind him.
"What's up?" He asked.
"You know the rules Clifford. Downstairs only with girls in the house." Zoe stated simply.
"I know Aunt Zoe. The only reason we came up here was because we wanted to listen to my new CD." He said.
"No excuses. Get downstairs now." Zoe said firmly and started back down the stairs. Cliff went back into his room and smiled at Melissa.
"That was close one." She said with a sigh. "If you're Aunt would have caught us doing what we were doing then..."
"We would have both been in a crap load of trouble." Cliff said and started gathering his CDs to take downstairs. Melissa approached him from behind and grabbed him around the waist.
"It was fun though wasn't it?" She said with a grin. Cliff turned around and held her in return.
"It's always fun making out." He stated and pecked her lips.
"Or doing more than that." She said.
"And you know this from experience?" He asked curiously.
"Well, yeah. Duh. I thought you knew that."
"That you weren't a virgin?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said and backed away from him. "Is that ok with you Cliff?"
"Yeah, it's totally cool." He said and opened the door. "Come on. We have to go downstairs now." She frowned at him, but followed him down the steps.
Later that night, Zoe and Taylor were cooking when Hannah got home from her friend's house.
"Did you have fun?" Zoe asked.
"It was a blast, like always." Hannah said sarcastically.
"What's wrong?"
"All Shelly talked about was this guy in our . She's obsessed with him and I'm sick of it." Hannah stated while turning on the TV. Zoe and Taylor looked at each other and giggled.
"Why are you sick of it?" Taylor asked. Hannah got back up from the couch, turning the TV off, and came into the kitchen.
"Because, I am." She stated firmly and looked at what they were cooking. "What is that?" She asked.
"Noodles." Zoe said, surprised at the tone in her niece's voice. "It's what's for dinner. You're eating it."
"I didn't say I wasn't." Hannah said and plopped down at the table.
"What's with the attitude?" Taylor asked.
"Oh, Taylor, you did the same thing when you were her age." Zoe said. "I remember your mother used to call me up-"Zoe said but stopped when she got two surprised looks from her nieces. They hadn't spoken of their mother in a while. "And tell me that you were giving her attitude and that you needed to be set straight." She finished. Taylor and Hannah fell silent and looked at something besides their Aunt. "So anyway, Hannah." Zoe said and sat next to the girl at the table. "Does being angry with Shelly have anything to do with the fact that you might like this boy to?" She asked slowly.
"Maybe." Hannah said. Zoe smiled and then looked at Taylor for her to jump in on the boy conversation.
"Don't look at me Aunt Zoe. I'm not one who can really talk about relationships with guys right now." Taylor responded.
"Neither am I." Zoe said quietly.
"What?" Hannah asked.
"Nothing, dinners almost ready." Zoe responded.
"And it's your night to set the table Hannah." Taylor said. The little girl sighed and headed for the cupboards for dishes. Cliff walked into the room as he was hanging up the phone that was originally in his ear. "Who was that?" Taylor asked curiously.
"Coach." Cliff answered. Zoe dropped the big metal spoon she was stirring with and startled all three children. "He's on his way over Aunt Zoe. He says he needs to talk to you."
"What?! Clifford, did you tell him about the-"
"Date with Mr. Lennox? Yeah, so." Cliff said.
"Cliff!" Taylor and Zoe said together and then glanced at each other.
"He didn't seem to care." Cliff stated.
"Right." Zoe said and hurried up the stairs. "Finish cooking Taylor, I'll be right back." After their Aunt had disappeared, Taylor gave Cliff a death look.
"What?!" He asked. "What's the big deal?"
"He proposed to her. That's the big deal." Taylor blurted out and regretted what she had just told her younger siblings.
"Whao!! What? Coach proposed to Aunt Zoe?"
"And she said no so can you possibly imagine what it's going to be like seeing him right now." Taylor said, lowering her voice.
"Why did she say no?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know. She wasn't ready." Taylor lied.
"It's because of Mr. Lennox isn't it?" Hannah asked and Taylor didn't respond. "Ohhh!! Dan and Zoe sittin' in a tree, k-I-s-s-I-n-g." Hannah started singing and dancing around the kitchen like a little girl, as Zoe bolted down the stairs and back into the kitchen. She had obviously changed outfits and put on more make up. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a-"Zoe cupped her hand over Hannah's mouth to shut her up and then immediately looked at Taylor.
"Taylor!"
"It just came out. I'm sorry." She responded. Hannah got quiet under her Aunts hand so Zoe let go.
"k-I-s-s-I-n-g!" Hannah said and Zoe tried to grab for her again but she ran away. Zoe playfully chased her niece around the kitchen but eventually gave up when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Hannah yelled and ran for the door. Zoe tried to stop her but it didn't work. They could hear Marcos enter the home, greeted by Hannah. Zoe took a deep breath and then smiled, waiting for him to come into the kitchen. When he did, the kids smiled at him and he smiled back. Then he saw Zoe, and lessened his smile to a slight grin.
"You staying for dinner Coach?" Cliff asked.
"No, I can't. I'm sorry. I just need to talk to your Aunt real quick." He responded. Cliff frowned and then shrugged. Zoe approached him.
"We can talk on the porch." She said firmly and headed out the door. He followed her. Taylor continued cooking, thinking that she would get the details later, while Cliff and Hannah peered out the kitchen window. When they both got an evil glance from their Aunt they stopped peering and kept setting the table for dinner.
"Zoe." He began.
"Don't." She interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say and I don't know if I'm exactly sorry Marcos. I'm still trying to make up my mind about everything and that kiss was just so amazing and then you. You are so sweet and like I said I'm just trying to make my mind." She rambled without thinking.
"What? Zoe I came to talk to you about a benefit for the team. I'm going around every parents house to give them this." He said and handed her the invitation. "Wait a minute. What kiss?" He asked curiously. Zoe's jaw dropped at what she had mistakenly blurted out.
"It was nothing Marcos."
"Obviously it wasn't if you're still trying to make up your mind about something." He said. Zoe looked at her feet and then back up at him.
"It was Dan."
"Lennox?!" Marcos asked, half surprised.
"Yes. He kissed me right before I went to dinner with you a few night ago." She said with some guilt.
"Is that why you said no to me?" He asked offended. "Zoe. You made me believe that you wanted to wait because you just weren't ready for marriage. Not because you wanted to make up your mind if I'm the one or if he is."
"I know. Marcos-"Zoe started.
"Don't." He interrupted her. He looked at the invitation and then handed it to her. "I hope to see you there." He simply said. Zoe looked at him and could she the pain she had caused. Marcos backed away from her and went back to his car to leave. Zoe stared after him for awhile, trying to believe what had happened and what she had done. She didn't go want into the house for several minutes. At least, not until Hannah came out to get her because dinner was ready.
Throughout the meal, they ate in silence. When Zoe glanced at the clock on the kitchen stove, she noticed it was seven thirty.
"Oh no." She said under her breath.
"What is it?" Taylor asked.
"I was supposed to be at the hospital to talk to somebody thirty minutes ago." Zoe answered and jumped up from the kitchen table. She grabbed her pursed and kissed all three children's heads. "Get to bed on time, and clean this kitchen up. Thanks for helping me cook Taylor. Be good. Don't burn the house down!" She called while headed out the door. Zoe fumbled through her purse while walking down the walkway. Suddenly she ran into somebody. She looked up to see Dan. Zoe hadn't been that close to his body the entire day and it just reminded her more of the previous night, but then of Marcos. "I'm so sorry Dan. I know, I totally forgot but a lot as been happening tonight. Is it to late to go see her or-"
"I've already been to the hospital." He said, interrupting her.
"What?"
"I went there to meet you. You didn't show, so I did the interview by myself." He stated, walking back up the walkway to her porch.
"Well, what did Megan say?" Zoe asked, following him.
"She told me the story. How she was heading to the mountains and there was no sign on the road. How her car slipped on the slippery road and she blacked out at impact of the vehicle hitting the tree."
"That's it? Nothing weird happened?" She asked. Dan shook his head.
"If anything did, she doesn't remember it." He stated, sitting on the swing. Zoe joined him, but set her purse near the door before she did.
"So where does that leave us on this investigation?" She asked.
"Only at the beginning." He said quietly and pushed the ground for them to swing a little faster. "You up for that hike tomorrow?" He asked after a short pause.
"I guess so. Why not? Maybe it'll get us somewhere beside where we are right now." She said. "In the case." She added nervously. He stopped the swing and stood up.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He said. Zoe stood up next to him and held out her hand for him to shake it. He responded with a handshake but pulled her in for a hug. At first, she wanted to resist it but then she slowly relaxed in his arms, letting him take her away with his scents and strong grip. After they broke from the hug, Dan left and Zoe went back inside to find her nieces and nephew cleaning the kitchen.
The next morning, Dan called Zoe's house and Hannah answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Hannah. It's Mr. Lennox. Is you're Aunt there?" He asked from his cell phone.
"She's still asleep."
"Do you think she would mind if I came over there and woke her up? We've got some work to do."
"Probably. But you can anyway." Hannah answered.
"Ok, I'm on my way over right now."
"All right. See ya Mr. Lennox."
"Bye Hannah." He said and hung up his cell phone.
Within fifteen minutes, he arrived at Zoe's house and rang the doorbell. Hannah answered.
"Hi Hannah. Are you the only one up this morning or something?"
"Cliff is awake but not downstairs. Everybody else is still sleeping." She responded and motioned for him to come inside. "Aunt Zoe's room is the first on the right at the top of the stairs." She said and headed into the kitchen. Dan hesitated but then walked up the stairs and found Zoe's bedroom door cracked open. Inside, he could she her curled up in the covers, fast asleep. Dan opened the door and walked inside. He wasn't exactly sure if he should be doing this but he did anyway. As he sat down next to her on the bed, she stirred in her sleep. His hands gently touched her waist and shook it, in an effort to wake her up.
"Zoe." He whispered in her ear. "Zoe." He said more slowly this time. She slowly opened her eyes to see what was going on. When she saw his appearance in front of her face and felt his hand on her hip, she jumped slightly away from him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly.
"Hannah let me in. It's time for our little hike."
Zoe looked at the clock on her nightstand. "It's like 7 in the morning Dan."
"This is going to probably take all day. Come on, get up. Get ready, it's time to go." He said and got up from her bed. Zoe looked at him and then realized she probably looked horrible, as if she had been sleeping to hard. She got out of bed and he stood by the door. "You're cute in the morning." He stated and smiled at her, while his eyes looked up and down her body.
"Thank you." She said and smiled back. "You can wait for me downstairs. Hannah will keep you company." She said, hinting for him to leave so she could get ready to go. Dan took the hint and went back downstairs.
For two hours, Dan and Zoe drove towards Lanks Mountain.
"You better know what you're doing Dan." Zoe stated as they got out of his car. She looked up at the mountain in front of her and shook her head.
"Come on." He said while opening the trunk. Inside was a large backpack that he tossed over on his back to carry. "I'm guessing the cops have finished investigating. There aren't any vehicles here."
"So, why don't we just talk to them?" Zoe asked.
"I already have."
"And?"
"Nothing." He responded. "No sign, nothing. Just the many smashed pieces of her car and all the accident debris."
"So, why are we going up there if we already know there isn't anything." Zoe asked, trying to work her way out of hiking.
"Because, I have a feeling."
"Ok, now you sound like me." She said. Zoe was the one who usually had the gut instincts and everything, not Dan.
"Ready to go?" Dan asked. He was wearing the big backpack and looked like a real nature man. Zoe was wearing jeans and a semi-nice shirt. She quickly grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and through the purse back into the car. "I'll lock the car." He said and did what he said he was going to do. Zoe nodded and they started up into the woods of the mountain.
For the next fifteen minutes, Zoe and Dan hiked towards the crash scene. Since the road was completely off limits they had to follow it from the woods next to it. Zoe stopped to breathe a minute. She wasn't used to hiking and didn't think it was a lot of work, but it was. Besides the fact that it was hot, and there was no breeze, she was thirsty.
"What's wrong?"
"I need water." She said and sat down on a tree stump near by. Dan set down his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water.
"I come prepared." He said and handed the bottle to her, while sitting down on another tree stump near her.
"Thank you. I'm not used to hiking." She stated. Zoe looked around at the nature. "It's really beautiful, even if it's hot."
"Yeah, it is beautiful. I like beautiful things."
"Do you?"
"Yep. Things like nature, especially waterfalls. They are so beautiful. And then there are other beautiful things I like, such as you." He said. Zoe looked at him quickly and took in what he said. After a second, she smiled and looked down at the bottle of water in her hands. There was a pause as Dan looked around at the trees. He noticed that the road had disappeared next to the woods they were in.
"Where's the road?" He asked.
"What?" She looked around and noticed it to. "Oh my gosh, where's the road?!" Zoe repeated his question. "Dan, if we are lost in these woods, I hold you personally responsible!"
"We're not lost. Stop freaking out." He said, standing up and looking around more. "We just currently can't see the road."
"Dan!" Zoe pulled out her cell phone.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Calling for help."
"Zoe, come on. Would you stop it. I know what I'm doing." He stated but Zoe ignored him. She opened her cell phone to find no service.
"Oh no."
"What?" He asked, with nervousness in his voice.
"It's dead. My phone is dead!" She stated and kept pushing buttons to try and turn it back on. A grunt came from her after a few seconds as she shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Is your cell phone working?" She asked with hope.
"I didn't bring it." He said slowly.
"What?! Dan!"
"What?!" He yelled back at her and picked up his backpack. "Listen, can we please stop panicking. We'll just have to keep hiking until we find the road or something else." He said. Zoe stood up and sighed. They continued on up the mountain for a few minutes, searching for anything. All of a sudden, both Zoe and Dan heard rustling in the woods next to them and both saw a shadow go by. They completely froze and looked in the direction of the sounds. Something was moving extremely fast through the woods and they couldn't tell if it was heading towards them or moving away.
"Dan?" Zoe whispered, inching closer to him. He gripped her around her waist and held her tight with worry. Zoe grabbed his arm in response. "Can I panic now?"
Me: Muahahahahaha!!! Cliffhanger!!
TV Voice: Tune in next time for an all new Chapter of "I Do or I Don't". Find out what is in the woods besides Zoe and Dan, and what they'll do about it. Also, will Taylor and Julian hook up or not? What about Hannah and her new found attitude? Will she admit her feelings or hide them inside? And what about Cliff? Can he accept the fact that his new girlfriend isn't a virgin and if he doesn't, what will he do to make himself more appealing to her? Find it all out next time, in "I Do Or I Don't".
Me: Uh...thanks dude. I guess that sums that up. Review my peeps!! Luv ya!!
The next morning, Zoe came into work late and Sophia met her at the elevator near their offices.
"You're late."
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't get much sleep, and it's been a busy morning. I didn't even have time to get coffee." Zoe said, responding to her boss.
"Oh. No coffee. That busy huh?"
"Taylor was nagging me to go shopping tomorrow but I'm probably going to have to be here. Cliff kept talking about Marcos all morning so I was trying to tune him out." Zoe started explaining as they headed into her office. Sophia gave her a look. "I haven't told Cliff or Hannah what happened yet, but I will. Someday."
"Ok Zoe. Come on, Dan's waiting in the conference room for us." Sophia said and Zoe dropped the papers that were in her hands at the sound of his name. She glanced toward the conference room door. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing." Zoe lied and then the two women headed into the conference room. Dan stood up as they came in and smiled. Sophia and Zoe sat down and Zoe started pouring herself some coffee. She didn't look Dan straight in the eye at all.
"Let's get down to business." Sophia said. "Megan Rict. Twenty four year old women whose car was wrapped around a tree in Lanks Mountain yesterday morning."
"Lanks Mountain?" Zoe said, trying to remember where it was.
"It's a one of the big mountains about two hours away from here." Dan said and Sophia looked at him. "I've been hiking there a few times."
"Well, the only road on that mountain was repaved the day before it happened. It hadn't completely dried towards the end of the road and she claims there was no sign saying that the road was off limits."
"So, she's alive?" Zoe asked.
"Barely. Her family is helping her file the claim."
"Why wasn't there a sign?" Dan asked.
"We don't know. That's what you two need to figure out. The family thinks the construction company that repaved the road is at fault, but we don't know if that's for sure or not. So, here's the file. Get to work and update me every now and then." She finished up and left the conference room. Zoe took another sip of her coffee.
"Where to first?" Dan asked and it slightly startled her from the silence.
"Um.........we should probably check out the actual damage to the car and everything first."
"File says it's at the auto repair/impound joint in town." Dan said and Zoe grabbed the file from him. As she read the name of the place the car was at, she set down her coffee. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"It's nothing." She lied again. It was something though. It was the same place that her sister's car was taken after the accident. "Let's get going. Your car or mine?"
"We can take mine. I'll drive." He said simply, knowing that something was wrong with her but not daring enough to ask what again.
After about a twenty-minute car ride in silence, the two fraud investigators arrived at the auto repair/impound place and went inside. Memories flashed through Zoe's mind. Memories of the phone call she got saying there had been an accident and memories of investigating what really happened in that accident. The same man who had been working there when Zoe had gone there before, walked around the corner of the front desk when he saw them enter.
"Hello. Can I help you?"
"Hi." Zoe said, breaking her mind from the memories. "I don't know if you remember me but-"
"Yeah, I remember you. You're that fraud lady from a while back. What can I do for you?" The man said.
"We're here to look at Megan Rict's vehicle. It's a 1999 Honda Acura I believe." Dan said.
"Ahh...yes. The tree accident. Follow me." He said and led them out the back door to the storage lot of all the vehicles. When they approached Megan's car, Zoe gasped quietly and turned away from the sight. The car's front end was smashed into the front seats and the windshield had been shattered into a thousand little pieces of glass. Dan walked around and looked inside the use to be window. The seat belt was broken off of both seats in the front and blood was sprayed all over the damaged car. Zoe finally looked back at the car and pain filled her face.
"How could she live through something like this?" She asked quietly.
"It looks like she was one of the lucky ones." Dan answered back quietly. He turned back to the service man. "Was there anything else wrong with the car?"
"I haven't exactly been able to completely check it out yet, but I can say that it's going to be hard to find anything with so much damage. The engine is practically smashed. The only thing I could possibly look at would be some wires and stuff that goes completely through the front of the vehicle and to the trunk."
"Like the brakes?" Zoe asked.
"Well, yes." The man answered. Zoe nodded. "Contact us after you check it out, even if you don't find anything."
"Will do." He said and Zoe and Dan headed back out to his car.
"Where to now?" He asked.
"How about the hospital? See if she's willing to talk." Zoe said as they started driving off.
"Do you really think she'll be ok enough to?"
"Since when do you care if a patient is ok enough to talk?" Zoe asked harshly, then fell silent wishing she could take back the words.
"Since one of those patients was you." He stated referring to when she got shot while working on one of his cases. Zoe fell silent even more and looked out the window.
At the hospital, Megan Rict's parents sat in the waiting room when Zoe and Dan approached them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Rict?" Dan asked. The man and the woman looked up at them and nodded. "Hi. We're the fraud investigators. Do you mind if we talk with you a moment?" They shook their heads this time and Zoe and Dan took it as a cue to sit down.
"How is she?" Zoe asked with concern.
"Better than yesterday but still pretty bad." Mr. Rict said quietly. "It's surprising that she wasn't killed instantly. She was lucky."
"Yes, she was." Dan said, also with concern. Zoe glanced at him and then back to the parents.
"Would Megan be willing to talk to us sometime today?"
"She might be able to later tonight." Mrs. Rict said.
"Did she tell you what happened?" Dan asked.
"Just enough to file the claim, but you should really hear it from her. I don't know if I can tell it exactly." Mr. Rict said. Zoe and Dan nodded.
"We'll return tonight around seven. Is that ok?"
"Yes, that's fine." Mr. Rict said. Zoe and Dan shook their hands and left the hospital. They both jumped into Dan's car and headed out of the parking lot.
"Do you think the construction company will be willing to talk without an attorney present?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know. Let's go find out." Dan answered quickly and then turned up the music. Zoe looked out the window, knowing that her comment earlier had bothered him.
When they arrived at the construction company's office buildings, they had to wait to see the manager. He had agreed to see them without an attorney there and had also agreed to have a few of the construction workers who worked on the road before the accident come to the office buildings to meet with them. Once again, Zoe and Dan sat in silence until the man came out of his office.
"Ms. Buisek, Mr. Lennox. Why don't we go into my office? Jack, Paul, Ben, and Steve, the construction workers, aren't here yet. Do you mind waiting?"
"Not at all." Dan said and the three headed into the manager's office. "Mr. Wheeler, how many men were working on Lanks Mountain?"
"Around twenty of my best men were working on that road for the past weeks. It's a long road."
"Yes, I know." Dan said.
"I have talked to most of the men and they all say the same thing. That they put a sign at the beginning of the road to mark it as off limits to any vehicles."
"Well, the police say that they haven't found any such sign anywhere near Lanks Mountain and that there were never any signs that there was one in the first place." Dan said, as four large men knocked on the office door. Mr. Wheeler stood and let them in. They all introduced themselves and took a seat in the office.
"We put a sign out." Paul said, having heard what Dan had said from outside the door. "We swear we did."
"Really? Or do you just not want to get in any trouble because a twenty four year old woman almost died because of it?" Zoe said.
"We swear." Steve said. "We even counted the number of signs we have left in our trucks and with the one we put on Lanks Mountain not in there, there is exactly the right amount."
"The police can't use that as evidence that it's not your fault." Zoe said. "You're going to have to come up with something better than that if you want to get out of this."
"Anybody could have taken that sign." Ben said. The four men were growing angry.
"Yeah, anybody could have. But you could have also forgotten to put one on the road." Dan said. "Now, before we jump to conclusions." He said and glanced at Zoe. She glanced back at him. "We've got to have more information. Right now, there is a auto repairman taking a look at what's left of Megan Rict's vehicle, and I believe the police are still investigating the actual crash scene. But just to let you know, if this turns out to be your fault, it's going to cost each worker that worked on that road more if they don't confess first." He said and grabbed Zoe. "I think we're done here. We'll be in touch." Dan and Zoe headed back out of the office building and back to his car.
"That was short." She commented.
"We got the info we needed." He said, while starting his car.
"Ok." She said quietly. Dan cranked up the music again but Zoe turned it back down. "Who could have taken that sign? Who would want to?" She asked.
"Teenagers playing games probably, or maybe somebody has a grudge against her. Remember Zoe, just because she is barely alive and has been through such tragedy doesn't mean she was the nicest person in the world before."
"I know. I just......I don't know." She said quietly. They fell silent and after awhile Dan turned his music back on. When they arrived back at their offices, they updated Sophia and then Dan went into his office. Zoe followed him.
"I've got to get going." He said. "I have some stuff to do before we go back to the hospital tonight." Zoe nodded in response. "Tomorrow, I was thinking maybe we should go for a little hike and see what we can find."
"You mean up Lanks Mountain?" Zoe said surprised. "Me and you?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Dan, we're not two of the best nature people around here. Well, at least I'm not."
"I'm pretty good at hiking. Like I said, I've done it before. It's a piece of cake."
"Who says we'll find anything?" She asked trying to work her way out of it as he picked up his briefcase to leave.
"Who says we won't?" He said. Zoe sighed finally giving in.
"Fine. We'll talk more about this tonight." She said and returned to her own office.
Taylor sat on the front porch swing with Julian, her neighbor. They had been talking about school and everything when out of nowhere, he brings up Ryder, Taylor's ex-boyfriend.
"Have you talk to him lately?"
"No. I haven't heard from him." She said quietly, wanted him to change the subject again.
"So it's officially over between the two of you?"
"I guess so." She responded getting more and more annoyed.
"Are you over him completely or are you just giving up on him?"
"What is this, the game twenty one questions or something?" She finally asked, breaking her shell of trying to hide her feelings about Ryder. Julian looked at her wide-eyed and then at his feet. "Julian, I'm sorry. I'm just uncomfortable talking about Ryder right now."
"Taylor, I'm just trying to clear some stuff up here. Are we just friends or are we something more? Because you're kind of sending mix signals." He responded.
"Julian." She said quietly and stood up. Her fingers started running along the banister of the porch as she paused. "I..." She started but couldn't finish.
"What is it Taylor?"
"I'm not ready for another relationship. Not yet." She blurted out, not looking at him. When she finally did look at him, she could see a bit of pain in his faces.
"Ok. Fine." He said and stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Home." He said. "I'll talk to you later." Julian left in a hurry down the porch steps as Zoe walked up the walkway.
"Julian!" Taylor called after him but stopped when she saw her Aunt standing there with a surprised look on her face.
"What's going on?" Zoe asked concerned.
"Nothing." Taylor lied. Zoe took it in and decided not to press on the situation.
"Where is your brother and sister?"
"Hannah's still at her friends house and Cliff is upstairs. His friend is over." Taylor answered.
"What friend?"
"Melissa or something like that."
"It's a girl?! In his room?! Taylor!!" Zoe yelled and ran into the house.
"What's the big deal? It's Cliff, Aunt Zoe." Taylor responded from the porch.
"If he's anything like this family, it is a big deal." She said quietly and headed upstairs. She knocked on Cliff's door and opened it quickly. "Hi." She said. Cliff and his friend Melissa were sitting on the floor next to his bed, listening to a CD of Cliff's and looking at books. Cliff noticed his Aunt standing there and turned down the music. "What are you doing?" Zoe asked casually.
"Just hanging out." Cliff answered innocently. Melissa smiled at Zoe.
"Oh, can I talk to you in the hallway Cliff?" Zoe asked and motioned for him to get out there. He stood up and closed the door behind him.
"What's up?" He asked.
"You know the rules Clifford. Downstairs only with girls in the house." Zoe stated simply.
"I know Aunt Zoe. The only reason we came up here was because we wanted to listen to my new CD." He said.
"No excuses. Get downstairs now." Zoe said firmly and started back down the stairs. Cliff went back into his room and smiled at Melissa.
"That was close one." She said with a sigh. "If you're Aunt would have caught us doing what we were doing then..."
"We would have both been in a crap load of trouble." Cliff said and started gathering his CDs to take downstairs. Melissa approached him from behind and grabbed him around the waist.
"It was fun though wasn't it?" She said with a grin. Cliff turned around and held her in return.
"It's always fun making out." He stated and pecked her lips.
"Or doing more than that." She said.
"And you know this from experience?" He asked curiously.
"Well, yeah. Duh. I thought you knew that."
"That you weren't a virgin?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said and backed away from him. "Is that ok with you Cliff?"
"Yeah, it's totally cool." He said and opened the door. "Come on. We have to go downstairs now." She frowned at him, but followed him down the steps.
Later that night, Zoe and Taylor were cooking when Hannah got home from her friend's house.
"Did you have fun?" Zoe asked.
"It was a blast, like always." Hannah said sarcastically.
"What's wrong?"
"All Shelly talked about was this guy in our . She's obsessed with him and I'm sick of it." Hannah stated while turning on the TV. Zoe and Taylor looked at each other and giggled.
"Why are you sick of it?" Taylor asked. Hannah got back up from the couch, turning the TV off, and came into the kitchen.
"Because, I am." She stated firmly and looked at what they were cooking. "What is that?" She asked.
"Noodles." Zoe said, surprised at the tone in her niece's voice. "It's what's for dinner. You're eating it."
"I didn't say I wasn't." Hannah said and plopped down at the table.
"What's with the attitude?" Taylor asked.
"Oh, Taylor, you did the same thing when you were her age." Zoe said. "I remember your mother used to call me up-"Zoe said but stopped when she got two surprised looks from her nieces. They hadn't spoken of their mother in a while. "And tell me that you were giving her attitude and that you needed to be set straight." She finished. Taylor and Hannah fell silent and looked at something besides their Aunt. "So anyway, Hannah." Zoe said and sat next to the girl at the table. "Does being angry with Shelly have anything to do with the fact that you might like this boy to?" She asked slowly.
"Maybe." Hannah said. Zoe smiled and then looked at Taylor for her to jump in on the boy conversation.
"Don't look at me Aunt Zoe. I'm not one who can really talk about relationships with guys right now." Taylor responded.
"Neither am I." Zoe said quietly.
"What?" Hannah asked.
"Nothing, dinners almost ready." Zoe responded.
"And it's your night to set the table Hannah." Taylor said. The little girl sighed and headed for the cupboards for dishes. Cliff walked into the room as he was hanging up the phone that was originally in his ear. "Who was that?" Taylor asked curiously.
"Coach." Cliff answered. Zoe dropped the big metal spoon she was stirring with and startled all three children. "He's on his way over Aunt Zoe. He says he needs to talk to you."
"What?! Clifford, did you tell him about the-"
"Date with Mr. Lennox? Yeah, so." Cliff said.
"Cliff!" Taylor and Zoe said together and then glanced at each other.
"He didn't seem to care." Cliff stated.
"Right." Zoe said and hurried up the stairs. "Finish cooking Taylor, I'll be right back." After their Aunt had disappeared, Taylor gave Cliff a death look.
"What?!" He asked. "What's the big deal?"
"He proposed to her. That's the big deal." Taylor blurted out and regretted what she had just told her younger siblings.
"Whao!! What? Coach proposed to Aunt Zoe?"
"And she said no so can you possibly imagine what it's going to be like seeing him right now." Taylor said, lowering her voice.
"Why did she say no?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know. She wasn't ready." Taylor lied.
"It's because of Mr. Lennox isn't it?" Hannah asked and Taylor didn't respond. "Ohhh!! Dan and Zoe sittin' in a tree, k-I-s-s-I-n-g." Hannah started singing and dancing around the kitchen like a little girl, as Zoe bolted down the stairs and back into the kitchen. She had obviously changed outfits and put on more make up. "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a-"Zoe cupped her hand over Hannah's mouth to shut her up and then immediately looked at Taylor.
"Taylor!"
"It just came out. I'm sorry." She responded. Hannah got quiet under her Aunts hand so Zoe let go.
"k-I-s-s-I-n-g!" Hannah said and Zoe tried to grab for her again but she ran away. Zoe playfully chased her niece around the kitchen but eventually gave up when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" Hannah yelled and ran for the door. Zoe tried to stop her but it didn't work. They could hear Marcos enter the home, greeted by Hannah. Zoe took a deep breath and then smiled, waiting for him to come into the kitchen. When he did, the kids smiled at him and he smiled back. Then he saw Zoe, and lessened his smile to a slight grin.
"You staying for dinner Coach?" Cliff asked.
"No, I can't. I'm sorry. I just need to talk to your Aunt real quick." He responded. Cliff frowned and then shrugged. Zoe approached him.
"We can talk on the porch." She said firmly and headed out the door. He followed her. Taylor continued cooking, thinking that she would get the details later, while Cliff and Hannah peered out the kitchen window. When they both got an evil glance from their Aunt they stopped peering and kept setting the table for dinner.
"Zoe." He began.
"Don't." She interrupted him. "I know what you're going to say and I don't know if I'm exactly sorry Marcos. I'm still trying to make up my mind about everything and that kiss was just so amazing and then you. You are so sweet and like I said I'm just trying to make my mind." She rambled without thinking.
"What? Zoe I came to talk to you about a benefit for the team. I'm going around every parents house to give them this." He said and handed her the invitation. "Wait a minute. What kiss?" He asked curiously. Zoe's jaw dropped at what she had mistakenly blurted out.
"It was nothing Marcos."
"Obviously it wasn't if you're still trying to make up your mind about something." He said. Zoe looked at her feet and then back up at him.
"It was Dan."
"Lennox?!" Marcos asked, half surprised.
"Yes. He kissed me right before I went to dinner with you a few night ago." She said with some guilt.
"Is that why you said no to me?" He asked offended. "Zoe. You made me believe that you wanted to wait because you just weren't ready for marriage. Not because you wanted to make up your mind if I'm the one or if he is."
"I know. Marcos-"Zoe started.
"Don't." He interrupted her. He looked at the invitation and then handed it to her. "I hope to see you there." He simply said. Zoe looked at him and could she the pain she had caused. Marcos backed away from her and went back to his car to leave. Zoe stared after him for awhile, trying to believe what had happened and what she had done. She didn't go want into the house for several minutes. At least, not until Hannah came out to get her because dinner was ready.
Throughout the meal, they ate in silence. When Zoe glanced at the clock on the kitchen stove, she noticed it was seven thirty.
"Oh no." She said under her breath.
"What is it?" Taylor asked.
"I was supposed to be at the hospital to talk to somebody thirty minutes ago." Zoe answered and jumped up from the kitchen table. She grabbed her pursed and kissed all three children's heads. "Get to bed on time, and clean this kitchen up. Thanks for helping me cook Taylor. Be good. Don't burn the house down!" She called while headed out the door. Zoe fumbled through her purse while walking down the walkway. Suddenly she ran into somebody. She looked up to see Dan. Zoe hadn't been that close to his body the entire day and it just reminded her more of the previous night, but then of Marcos. "I'm so sorry Dan. I know, I totally forgot but a lot as been happening tonight. Is it to late to go see her or-"
"I've already been to the hospital." He said, interrupting her.
"What?"
"I went there to meet you. You didn't show, so I did the interview by myself." He stated, walking back up the walkway to her porch.
"Well, what did Megan say?" Zoe asked, following him.
"She told me the story. How she was heading to the mountains and there was no sign on the road. How her car slipped on the slippery road and she blacked out at impact of the vehicle hitting the tree."
"That's it? Nothing weird happened?" She asked. Dan shook his head.
"If anything did, she doesn't remember it." He stated, sitting on the swing. Zoe joined him, but set her purse near the door before she did.
"So where does that leave us on this investigation?" She asked.
"Only at the beginning." He said quietly and pushed the ground for them to swing a little faster. "You up for that hike tomorrow?" He asked after a short pause.
"I guess so. Why not? Maybe it'll get us somewhere beside where we are right now." She said. "In the case." She added nervously. He stopped the swing and stood up.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He said. Zoe stood up next to him and held out her hand for him to shake it. He responded with a handshake but pulled her in for a hug. At first, she wanted to resist it but then she slowly relaxed in his arms, letting him take her away with his scents and strong grip. After they broke from the hug, Dan left and Zoe went back inside to find her nieces and nephew cleaning the kitchen.
The next morning, Dan called Zoe's house and Hannah answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Hannah. It's Mr. Lennox. Is you're Aunt there?" He asked from his cell phone.
"She's still asleep."
"Do you think she would mind if I came over there and woke her up? We've got some work to do."
"Probably. But you can anyway." Hannah answered.
"Ok, I'm on my way over right now."
"All right. See ya Mr. Lennox."
"Bye Hannah." He said and hung up his cell phone.
Within fifteen minutes, he arrived at Zoe's house and rang the doorbell. Hannah answered.
"Hi Hannah. Are you the only one up this morning or something?"
"Cliff is awake but not downstairs. Everybody else is still sleeping." She responded and motioned for him to come inside. "Aunt Zoe's room is the first on the right at the top of the stairs." She said and headed into the kitchen. Dan hesitated but then walked up the stairs and found Zoe's bedroom door cracked open. Inside, he could she her curled up in the covers, fast asleep. Dan opened the door and walked inside. He wasn't exactly sure if he should be doing this but he did anyway. As he sat down next to her on the bed, she stirred in her sleep. His hands gently touched her waist and shook it, in an effort to wake her up.
"Zoe." He whispered in her ear. "Zoe." He said more slowly this time. She slowly opened her eyes to see what was going on. When she saw his appearance in front of her face and felt his hand on her hip, she jumped slightly away from him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly.
"Hannah let me in. It's time for our little hike."
Zoe looked at the clock on her nightstand. "It's like 7 in the morning Dan."
"This is going to probably take all day. Come on, get up. Get ready, it's time to go." He said and got up from her bed. Zoe looked at him and then realized she probably looked horrible, as if she had been sleeping to hard. She got out of bed and he stood by the door. "You're cute in the morning." He stated and smiled at her, while his eyes looked up and down her body.
"Thank you." She said and smiled back. "You can wait for me downstairs. Hannah will keep you company." She said, hinting for him to leave so she could get ready to go. Dan took the hint and went back downstairs.
For two hours, Dan and Zoe drove towards Lanks Mountain.
"You better know what you're doing Dan." Zoe stated as they got out of his car. She looked up at the mountain in front of her and shook her head.
"Come on." He said while opening the trunk. Inside was a large backpack that he tossed over on his back to carry. "I'm guessing the cops have finished investigating. There aren't any vehicles here."
"So, why don't we just talk to them?" Zoe asked.
"I already have."
"And?"
"Nothing." He responded. "No sign, nothing. Just the many smashed pieces of her car and all the accident debris."
"So, why are we going up there if we already know there isn't anything." Zoe asked, trying to work her way out of hiking.
"Because, I have a feeling."
"Ok, now you sound like me." She said. Zoe was the one who usually had the gut instincts and everything, not Dan.
"Ready to go?" Dan asked. He was wearing the big backpack and looked like a real nature man. Zoe was wearing jeans and a semi-nice shirt. She quickly grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and through the purse back into the car. "I'll lock the car." He said and did what he said he was going to do. Zoe nodded and they started up into the woods of the mountain.
For the next fifteen minutes, Zoe and Dan hiked towards the crash scene. Since the road was completely off limits they had to follow it from the woods next to it. Zoe stopped to breathe a minute. She wasn't used to hiking and didn't think it was a lot of work, but it was. Besides the fact that it was hot, and there was no breeze, she was thirsty.
"What's wrong?"
"I need water." She said and sat down on a tree stump near by. Dan set down his backpack and pulled out a bottle of water.
"I come prepared." He said and handed the bottle to her, while sitting down on another tree stump near her.
"Thank you. I'm not used to hiking." She stated. Zoe looked around at the nature. "It's really beautiful, even if it's hot."
"Yeah, it is beautiful. I like beautiful things."
"Do you?"
"Yep. Things like nature, especially waterfalls. They are so beautiful. And then there are other beautiful things I like, such as you." He said. Zoe looked at him quickly and took in what he said. After a second, she smiled and looked down at the bottle of water in her hands. There was a pause as Dan looked around at the trees. He noticed that the road had disappeared next to the woods they were in.
"Where's the road?" He asked.
"What?" She looked around and noticed it to. "Oh my gosh, where's the road?!" Zoe repeated his question. "Dan, if we are lost in these woods, I hold you personally responsible!"
"We're not lost. Stop freaking out." He said, standing up and looking around more. "We just currently can't see the road."
"Dan!" Zoe pulled out her cell phone.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Calling for help."
"Zoe, come on. Would you stop it. I know what I'm doing." He stated but Zoe ignored him. She opened her cell phone to find no service.
"Oh no."
"What?" He asked, with nervousness in his voice.
"It's dead. My phone is dead!" She stated and kept pushing buttons to try and turn it back on. A grunt came from her after a few seconds as she shoved the phone back in her pocket. "Is your cell phone working?" She asked with hope.
"I didn't bring it." He said slowly.
"What?! Dan!"
"What?!" He yelled back at her and picked up his backpack. "Listen, can we please stop panicking. We'll just have to keep hiking until we find the road or something else." He said. Zoe stood up and sighed. They continued on up the mountain for a few minutes, searching for anything. All of a sudden, both Zoe and Dan heard rustling in the woods next to them and both saw a shadow go by. They completely froze and looked in the direction of the sounds. Something was moving extremely fast through the woods and they couldn't tell if it was heading towards them or moving away.
"Dan?" Zoe whispered, inching closer to him. He gripped her around her waist and held her tight with worry. Zoe grabbed his arm in response. "Can I panic now?"
Me: Muahahahahaha!!! Cliffhanger!!
TV Voice: Tune in next time for an all new Chapter of "I Do or I Don't". Find out what is in the woods besides Zoe and Dan, and what they'll do about it. Also, will Taylor and Julian hook up or not? What about Hannah and her new found attitude? Will she admit her feelings or hide them inside? And what about Cliff? Can he accept the fact that his new girlfriend isn't a virgin and if he doesn't, what will he do to make himself more appealing to her? Find it all out next time, in "I Do Or I Don't".
Me: Uh...thanks dude. I guess that sums that up. Review my peeps!! Luv ya!!