Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you like it. So here's another chapter….. Oh and notice it kind of skips around a little. It's all in one day though, but it skips around the times.
Chapter 7- 'Day Four'
Zack layed in bed staring at the ceiling. His elbow would not stop hurting, all night he would wake up after rolling on it wrong. This time he couldn't go back to sleep. He looked out the double doors in his room, the moon was just barely lighting up the world outside. It just turned 4:45 AM as Zack rolled his head sideways to see if Cody was awake.
"Cody?" Zack whispered, Cody didn't move. "Cody?" Zack whispered again.
Cody stirred a little in his bed letting out a groan, "What?"
Zack thought for a second about what he wanted to tell Cody. Should he tell him about his second chance? "Nothing."
Cody groaned annoyed at Zack for waking him up. Cody flipped his head to the other side so his face was facing the double doors, he was on his stomach. Zack looked at Cody, moon light peeking through the curtains glowed on Cody's face making it seem like this all wasn't real.
Zack sat up and leaned against the headboard. He needed to do something; he couldn't just lie in bed waiting for the alarm clock to go off. So he got out of bed in his basketball with flames flannel pajama pants and red shirt, slipped on some shoes and went to the lobby without waking up his mom.
The lobby looked different at 5 AM with it only lit up by two lamps on the end tables and the moonlight turning into sun light, showing through the doors. Zack sat down in a chair and leaned back.
"Zack! Cody!" Zack heard a girl voice say loudly in the lobby.
He turned around to see who it was and why she was calling him and Cody. There was nobody in sight. Zack leaned back in the chair.
"Zack, Cody, it's your mom," Zack could hear the girl clearer now, it was Maddie, but nobody was in the lobby. "There was a subway accident."
"She's okay right?" that was definitely Cody.
"Guys, I'm sorry. Your mom's….gone."
Zack closed his eyes and clenched the arms of the chair, the words repeating. "Your mom's gone."
"Stop!" Zack screamed wanting to stop the memory. Zack looked around the lobby, the sun just barely seeping through the glass doors now, empty.
Zack turned at the sound of the manager's room door open and Mr. Moseby appeared. Zack wanted to disappear, he didn't want Mr. Moseby to question him, too late.
"Zack," Mr. Moseby said getting behind the front desk sorting out some papers, "what are you doing down here so early? It's 15 after 5."
Zack stood up, "I couldn't sleep."
"Elbow hurt?"
"How'd you know about my elbow?"
"I know more than you think." Zack gave Mr. Moseby a confused look. "Zack, you've liver here for four years, do you not think I notice you and Cody and what goes on in your lives?"
"I didn't think you cared. I mean when we first moved here you hated us," Zack moved to the front desk and put his hands on it.
"The truth is, I really loved having you two here. Sure you got on my nerves, but I did care about you two….a lot. You made me want kids of my own, which I have now."
"Thanks, Mr. Moseby."
"That's Moseby to you."
Zack laughed. "So how old are your kids now? You have two right?"
"Yep. Teagon's three and Tyson's going on two…."
Zack and Mr. Moseby talked for a long time. Zack felt good that Mr. Moseby had always cared about him and Cody. Him and Mr. Moseby became closer after just one talk and Zack was glad.
"Cody, wake up, wake up," Zack said shaking Cody. The sun was out now, it was 6 AM.
"What?" Cody moaned.
"I have something to tell you."
Cody rolled over to look at the clock. "It's 6 in the morning, I could've slept 40 more minutes."
"Oh well, this is really awesome news."
The door opened and Carey came in. "What are you guys doing up so early?"
"I have the same question," Cody said sitting up.
"Okay, well I'm going to get some breakfast. You guys want the usual?"
"Yeah," the boys replied in unison.
Carey left leaving the door open. Zack got up and made sure she left before sitting down on the end of his bed.
"Okay, listen to this, Moseby's making us move."
"What?"
"Yeah, to a bigger suite."
"What? What suite, what floor? How big?"
"I don't know, Moseby wouldn't tell me anything else."
"So, when are we moving?"
"In about three days. Oh no." Zack got wide-eyed. 'Three days, I only have three days.'
"What?"
"Um, nothing. I guess it just hit me that we'll be leaving this suite that we lived in for four years."
"Yeah, but it's not like we're leaving the Tipton."
"True." That would have made Zack feel better, but knowing that his mom only had three days left and nobody knew, just made it worse.
Zack sat in his usual chair in English, Cody on his left and Katelynn on his right. He usually liked English class, but today he didn't really feel like doing anything. It was only first period, but it was Friday, so they only had half a day, only three classes to get through. Zack was glad of that, but every time he looked at the clock time went slower. Katelynn noticed something was wrong after the fifth time Zack looked at the clock. She passed Zack a note, he didn't notice it, he was lost in thought. Katelynn rolled her eyes.
"Zack," Katelynn whispered. That got his attention and he looked at Katelynn. "What's-," the bell cut her off.
Zack shut the book on his desk with the note in it and left. He didn't want to talk to anyone really; he wanted to talk to his mom or Cody. He wanted to tell Cody about his second chance, but he was afraid that would mess it all up. So Zack just went thought the day being completely quiet and being lost in thought. Katelynn decided to just let it go.
"I'm ordering pizza, what do you want?" Carey asked. It was finally noon and Zack and Cody just walked into the suite.
"Pepperoni," both boys replied.
"Okay," Carey said dialing the number on the phone. "Zack, get some ice and some pain killers for your elbow."
"How'd you know it hurts?"
"I'm your mother."
Zack smiled, he loved it when she knew what was wrong. There was a knock at the door. Zack sat on the couch as Cody answered the door, it was Max.
"Hey, Cody," Max said after kissing Cody on the cheek.
"Hey. My mom's ordering pizza."
"Cool, I haven't eaten yet."
"I know, that game was intense," Max said putting down her cup.
Max, Cody, Zack and Carey were sitting around the table finishing up their pizza.
"Just wait for tonight," Cody said. Cody was taking Max to a college basketball game. "Which if we want to get in before the crowd, we better go now."
"Yeah, good idea. Thanks for the pizza Carey," Max said getting up with Cody.
"Any time. You guys have fun."
"Okay, mom."
"Don't into any trouble"
"We won't, mom."
"Love you."
"Love you," Cody said leaving.
Carey got up and picked up all the empty plates, she got to Zack's. "You done?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna be gone too?"
"Not that I know of. Do you want to do something?"
"Well-"
The door opened and Mr. Moseby appeared. "Carey, we need you at practice. There's going to be a big crowd and our back up singer got sick."
"Yeah, of course. Zack, I want you to stay here and rest your elbow, okay?"
"Okay."
"I'll be downstairs if you need anything."
"Okay"
"Love you"
"Love you"
Mr. Moseby and Carey left, leaving Zack alone at the table.
"Woo," Zack said being sarcastic. "Now I'm alone….again."
Zack got up and sat on the couch turning on the TV and leaned back. He flipped through the channels. "There's nothing on," he put down the remote on the coffee table. There was Carey's scrapbook. On the cover it said 'Tipton Times'. Zack smiled as he remembered the book. Carey had started making it when they moved into the Tipton four years ago. Zack picked up the book, set it on his lap and opened to the first page.
There was a picture of Zack, Cody and Carey in front of the Tipton when Zack and Cody were only 11. Next to it was a picture of Zack, Cody and Carey with a married couple. The couple was dressed up, along with Zack and Carey, but Cody was just wearing a red hoody and pants. "Oh, we got grounded big time that night and we still have the million dollar picture." Zack laughed turning the page.
There was a picture of Zack, Cody, Max and Tapeworm with a caption underneath it. 'Sometimes you pick your friends, sometimes they pick you.' Zack smiled, it was the start of a good friendship for the four. Underneath that picture was one of Cody with a girl, they were standing on the stage in front of a sign that said 'Miss Mini Miss Beauty Pageant' There was a small picture of Zack and Cody dressed as girls next to it.
Zack laughed, "That'll never happen again."
On the next page was a picture of Max and Zack doing a dance routine wearing matching outfits, caption- 'Dance, Dance USA' with another picture of Max and Cody dancing wearing matching outfits. Zack looked through the book showing all these pictures- Zack and Maddie at Maddie's prom, the haunted suite, battle of the bands, Cody's cookie disaster, Kurt coming with a limo, basketball champions, Jesse McCartney staying at the Tipton, Day Care, and Cody taking over the kitchen.
Zack turned the page again and pictures fell out, "Crap."
He put the scrapbook to the side and picked up the pictures, they were of the basketball game the night before. He looked at the one of Cody shooting a free throw, in the crowd he sees the man in white he saw before in the bathroom. Zack stares at the man confused, the man waves. Zack dropped the picture wide-eyed, looks around, rubbed his eyes and picked up the picture to look at it again. The man was gone.
"You should get use to this." Zack turned around and saw the man by the window looking through the scrapbook."
"Who are you?"
"I'm your second chance."
"Okay, so why did you give me a second chance, why not someone else? And why in the heck do I have to like Cody's wife?"
Well," the man disappeared. "You," Zack jumped as he saw the man now sitting next to him on the couch eating an apple. "You seemed to have a lot of things changing around you, mostly bad. Your mom was gone, your brother was gone, your dad was in another country, your son was very sick, you-"
"Okay stop, I get it." Zack didn't want to remember all those things, they were bad. He had a second chance now, he wanted to change everything and make it so he had everyone he loved by his side when he was older.
"No, Zack," the man interrupted Zack's thoughts, "you can't change it, it's the rules."
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
"I know a lot of things." Something beeped, the man got a pager out of his pocket. "Whoa, sorry, I have to go do something."
"But-"
"I'll send someone over."
"Who?"
"A good friend of mine."
"Don't mess with my head."
"I'm not. Your mom's coming, I've got to go."
"But wait," Zack blinked and the man was gone.
Care came in. "Mom," Zack said.
"Zack," Carey said imitating Zack as she put her keys down.
"Why are you back, it's only been like ten minutes."
"Mr. Moseby was showing me some suites. Apparently someone's moving in and he wanted me to help him decide which one would fit a family of three with two boys."
"Oh," Zack had a smirk on his face, "well which one did you choose?"
"Well," Carey sat down next to Zack, "he told me they were special and could have any suite, so I told him the one with two bedrooms and two bathrooms on this floor."
"Good choice, mom. They'll love it."
"I would hope so, I spent ten minutes alone with Moseby talking about décor."
Zack laughed, Carey had no idea that the suite was for this family of three. He was happy the rest of the day, he spent every minute with Carey talking about anything and everything, watching TV, playing games and waiting for Cody to get home.
'I'm changing my future,' Zack thought lying in bed that night, everything's going to change because of me.'
Okay, there you go! Hope you like it! More soon. R&R