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"Ow," Zack groaned sleepily. Cody looked at his brother, it was the only sound he had made in hours. Zack had actually managed to sleep through the entire ride so far, including hours of traffic and the occasional stop. He was fully awake now though. Sitting up, he rubbed his hand across the side of his sore head.
"Dad drove over the curbing, you hit your head on the window," Cody informed him. Zack nodded quietly at his explanation. Cody stared out the front window, leaning forward between his parents shoulders. "Where are we?" He asked as they pulled into a parking space.
"It wasn't a curb exacly,"Carey heard her ex-husband mumble. She raised an eyebrow at him curiously, did he need a dictionary? It had definitely been curbing.
"Dunkin Donuts," Woody replied. Cody rolled his eyes.
"I can see that," Cody said gesturing out the front window. "Why are we here?"
"Your dad couldn't figure out how to," Carey looked down at the directions, and read out loud. "From I-95 North take exit 12 to merge onto I-93."
"So we're lost?" Zack asked.
"We're not lost," Kurt replied, somewhat exasperated. "I said we'd make one more stop, and this is it." He turned the car off. "I'm getting a coffee. Same deal as before, everyone back here in ten minutes." He dropped his keys into his coat pocket, and exited the vehicle, heading straight for Dunkin Donuts.
"There's still a couple dollars in the glove compartment," Carey told them as she exited the vehicle. "Dunkin Donuts... Baskin Robbins... Bathrooms..." she gestured as she spoke, her voice trailing off for a moment. Squinting against the sun, she cupped a hand over her eyes like a visor. "If you need anything else, an Aspirin or something, I think that gas station might have a mini mart. We should probably stop for gas before we get back on the road anyway."
"Thank you mom," Cody replied leaning into the front seat to grab some cash.
"I'll be right back," she told them. "I don't know about you, but I definitely need to use the bathroom."
The passenger side door closed, and Cody flopped back into the back seat with a ten dollar bill. He didn't have a lot of room to maneuver, so he waited a minute for his twin to get out of the car, knowing he would. Despite his inherent laziness, Zack had always hated car trips.
Woody's phone vibrated for what seemed like the tenth time, and again Cody watched as he scrambled to hide it. Seatbelt unbuckled, and hand finally meeting the door, Zack also stopped to stare at him.
"Aren't you going to answer that?" Cody asked.
Finally settling with shoving it under his leg, he looked vacantly at his hands, before returning his gaze to his blond friend. "Answer what?" He asked nervously.
"Wow," Cody replied, unable to respond for a moment. The anomaly had been odd before, but now with the car off and Woody acting so infinitely bizarre, it was even more ridiculous. "Your phone Woody. You know, that thing you've been ignoring since about ten this morning?"
"Oh this?" He asked holding up the phone in his hand once more as if he had just mysteriously found it under his left thigh. "That was just a text message," he shrugged.
"I may not have gotten into Yale, but I know when something is up. You're lying to me!"
"Hurtful," Woody whined.
"Yes, it is," Cody replied. "Name one cell phone model that vibrates continuously for a text message? Just one, or even one that has that option."
"Codes, just drop it," Zack whispered.
"Hey," Woody said with a laugh. "You're the smart one, remember? I don't even know what kind of cell phone this is," he looked down at it briefly, then back at Cody. "It has been acting kinda weird since I dropped it in the toilet yesterday though. Wanna whiff?" He smiled playfully, dangling it in front of Cody's nose.
"Just forget it," Cody replied pushing his arm away. "Zack, let me out of the car," he said climbing over his brother. Zack allowed his brother to shove past him without a word.
Zack stepped out of the car after him, and watched as he headed into Dunkin Donuts. "Woody," he spoke through the opened door. Woody followed, and Zack closed the door behind them. "C'mon man, what'd I miss? You ok?"
"Yeah fine," he replied. "Where... Where are we going?"
"Taking a walk," Zack replied. Woody continued following him beyond the Dunkin Donuts building, and through the grass. Eventually as they reached an expanse of forestry. The sound of traffic grew faint amidst the sway of leaves on the breeze. Zack stretched, and sat down on a nearby rock.
"I'm tired," Woody whined.
"Than sit down," Zack replied gesturing to the many large rocks that seemed to outline the dense forest.
Woody joined him. "What are we doing?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm just not fanatical about being stuck in the car for hours on end. I'd rather be playing basketball you know?"
"At least you fell asleep," Woody replied.
"Yeah, because I was bored," Zack said standing again. He entered the woods cautiously. Just a glance, nothing more.
"Where are you going now?" Woody asked.
"Nowhere," he replied, turning back he returned to the large rock he had been sitting on just moments before. "Just thinking."
"Again?" Woody teased. "What has school done to you?"
Zack smirked. "I'll never be Cody, I swear. Too much work"
The mention of Cody's name reminded Woody that his friend was probably mad at him. He closed his eyes, and sighed quietly.
"Couldn't go camping aboard the SS Tipton. That and school were really the only low points." Well, and his break up with Maya, but he didn't say that out loud. Where was a good rubber band when you needed one? He needed to get her out of his head!
"Camping?" Woody asked.
"You've never been camping?" Zack asked.
"I have, I have," Woody replied slowly, thinking back. "At least I think I have."
Zack turned sharply at the sound. Was that the vibration of a cell phone? It was hard to be sure, but the uncomfortable look on Woody's face seemed confirmation enough.
Woody pulled the phone from his pocket, and stared at the screen. Zack was standing beside him in an instant. "Do you want me to answer it?" He asked. "I could take a message, or tell them they've got the wrong number." The vibration stopped, and the screen went blank.
Zack watched his friend stare absently at the blank screen. Why did he look so scared? He had never acted this way on the ship... Woody looked up, and Zack sat down next to him.
"The prince of persia is unable to take your call as he is off rescuing his beloved maiden, but if you leave a message, the dark prince will be sure to make an entrance through your back door wielding the dagger of time," Zack whispered, leaning his partially crossed arms onto his knees. He turned his head to watch for Woody's reaction. First a look of confusion, followed by a smile, then outright laughter.
"What? No good?" He asked smiling.
Still laughing Woody attempted to reply. "No... That was... That was funny..."
When their mutual laughter finally died down, Zack watched as he opened his phone again. "The phone calls are from Ohio," Woody whispered. His voice only barely audible. He scrolled down the missed calls list. Of course, Zack didn't recognize a single number.
"216, 419, 440, 740," Woody started.
"Hey, whatcha listing there man?" Zack asked placing an arm over Woody's shoulder. He tried to play it casual, but he could feel his heart rate racing again. The haunted look his friend had been sporting the past couple of days just wasn't a good look for him.
"Area codes Zack," Woody replied standing up. He spoke more quickly, pacing in small three to four step strides. "937... All of these are from Ohio," he closed his phone, and returned it to his pocket. "Who are these people? Maybe Wen... I guess it could be mom, but she knows I don't answer unless she calls from her cell. How else could I be sure it was her, and not Sss," he stuttered. "Somebody else."
Zack was staring at him, and dang it, he was acting like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had! Maybe he had left it back on the SS Tipton where he'd been safe. "Dang it," he droned out.
"Woody," Zack said sternly. "Woody," he said again taking hold of him firmly by the forearms. It truly seemed to be the only way to get his attention lately. "Listen to me, we are in Massachusetts, about thirty minutes from Boston. We are not going to Ohio, ok?" Woody stilled, but said nothing. "Turn off your phone."
"What?" Woody asked in surprise. It was as if the thought of turning his cell phone off had never even occurred to him. And perhaps the power button wasn't the most commonly used feature on a cell phone, especially among their age group, but Zack was almost certain that every phone had one. Granted, it had taken him more than a year to acknowledge the existence of such a feature on his own phone. His only incentive being Miss. Tutweiller and her obsessive confiscation of his ringing cell phone during class.
"Just turn it off," he said again when Woody didn't move. "Let whoever it is assume you lost coverage, your battery died, whatever. We'll get you a new number in Boston and you can call whoever you want, ok?"
Woody nodded, and powered off his cell phone, placing it back into his pocket. "Dang it! Dang it Zack, I'm sorry, you must think I'm crazy!"
"Not crazy," he replied. "But there is not a chance in hell that I'd let anyone take you back to Ohio against your will. The next time you wanna take a trip to Ohio, I'm coming with you."
Woody stood stunned as Zack walked past him. What had Zack just said? Woody shook his head remembering that his well intentioned friend had no idea what he was talking about. He liked the twins though, and he was glad to be going to Boston with them. Maybe he would be safe there, for a while at least.
He still hadn't been able to read the letters from his sisters or figure out exactly what Wen was planning, and how much of her plan had been executed. He worried about his mother... If the old lady was true to her word, than his sisters were safe. The boarding school in Pennsylvania seemed plausible enough, Willa had mentioned an out of state school on many occasions.
Memories scrambled through his mind mixing insignificant details with real world horrors. Not now! He could not afford another flashback. He never should have gotten off that ship. He held hid breath a moment and let the breeze wash over him as he stepped forward.
Zack listened hopefully for footsteps to follow, and was thankful when he finally heard them. The sudden urge he felt to protect his friend had surprised Zack nearly as much as it had surprised Woody. He had never felt so protective of Woody before. What had changed?
At some point during his slow stroll to the car he started to realize, he was actually feeling a little embarrassed. Had he not been getting enough sleep or something? Maybe there was something to that sleep debt thing Cody had been going on about. He hoped the seating arrangement in the car would remain the same, with Cody sitting between him. How could he face Woody after what he had said?
Then again, had it really been so bad? Despite their occasional arguments, Zack had always been protective of Cody too. But when had he started thinking of Woody like a brother?
"I told you they'd be back," Carey told Kurt, smiling as they approached the car. She had grown accustom to Zack's wanderings many years ago. "He has done this on every road trip since he was eight years old," Carey told added.
Zack leaned into her arms unexpectedly, and she put her arms around him. "You look exhausted honey, are you ok?" Zack nodded, pulling away from the hug.
"Are you sure you aren't getting sick?" Carey placed her hand on his forehead.
"Mom," he whispered harshly pushing her hand away. "Not in public. I'm not five years old."
"Sorry honey, but you look flushed, and you've slept almost the entire car ride," she said.
"I'm just really tired," he replied.
"Alright," she nodded her head, though she wasn't entirely convinced. She would have attributed her sons unusual state of mind to his recent breakup with Maya, but Woody seemed out of sorts as well. Though, admittedly, he was much harder to read, as she didn't know him very well.
"So, you guys were up kind of late last night," she remarked casually. That earned her two fleeting, but very clear looks of panic. The matching masks they wore on their faces further confirming that there was indeed something very wrong.
"Cody, would you like to take over as navigator for a little bit?" She asked waving the map at him.
"Yes, please do," Kurt replied. "We might actually get there sometime today."
"Hello, I'm right here," Carey said. Cody took the map, and sat down in the front next to his father.
"Alright guys," she put an arm over each Zack and Woody.
X-X
Thinking back, Carey wasn't actually sure how she ended up getting the middle seat, but she was sure Zack had something to do with it.
The same eighteen year old who had apparently been embarrassed by his mother placing a hand on his forehead to check his temperature was now laying his head against his shoulder, possibly asleep. Woody stared out the window.
"Have you ever lived in a city like Boston?" She asked Woody casually. She had heard a lot about him from Cody, but since he would be living with them, she wanted to get to know him.
"I'm from Cleveland," he replied.
"Cleveland," Carey echoed in reply. "Now that's a pretty big city. Did you like it there?" She could sense he was nervous, but hoped her casual demeanor would put him at ease.
Did he like it? Ha! Well, he couldn't exactly say no, now could he? "Yeah," he choked out. "Excuse me," he cleared his throat. "We've got the uh... Westside Market, lots of good food there. And the uh... Rock in Roll Hall of Fame."
"Sounds interesting," she replied nodding her head politely. His distain for the place was immediately obvious to her, so she decided to drop the topic and talk about Boston instead. "Zack and Cody have told me so much about you," she told him. "I'm so glad you're able to join us in Boston. It's going to be great!" She smiled.
Her smile brightened when Woody returned the gesture. "Thanks for inviting me," he said.
Carey's phone beeped, and Zack groaned lazily as she attempted to pull it from her pocket.
Woody looked out the window happily. He liked Carey, already he could tell she was as genuine as she appeared. Perhaps he really would be ok.
Zack opened his eyes just in time to catch the name on the front screen of her flip phone. "Maddie?" He asked wide eyed staring up at his mother. "Wait, why is Maddie texting you?"
"We're friends Zack," she replied. "She was just letting me know that Roger was able to get the extra bed I requested."
"Oh," he replied. Right, his mother had probably had to go through a lot of trouble to get an extra bed in their room. He hadn't even thought of that.
Wait a second... Two questions rushed out of his mouth at once. "Maddie works at the new Tipton? Who the heck is Roger?"
Carey took in a deep breath, had she mentioned Roger? She had, hadn't she. "Yes, she does reservations now."
"Great, and Roger is?" He asked impatiently.
"Roger does maintenance. He's also Maddie's fiancé," she said gently. Zack felt his heart break for the second time in three days.
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AN: Thank you for reading! There is more to come!
Again, I apologize for errors and sporadic updates. This is the best I am able to do from a cell phone. I have the type of illness that doesn't get any better, but I try to write on my good days! 3 Tera