Chapter 4 – The Life He Always Wanted

Disclaimer: I do not own the Suite Life series or any characters from the shows.

After forty-five minutes, the car pulled into a rather long driveway. The sound of the gravel on the tires drown out the almost silent hybrid engine of Kurt's Highlander. The house, or mansion, loomed over them, casting an intimidating shadow over the spot their car finally parked.

Zack took the sight in. The monolith before him was a two-story house. It appeared to be mostly made of wood. There was an overhand that the car parked under. Adjacent, on the second floor, a large room protruded from the rest of the house that was mostly windows. The house wasn't a usual appearing house at all. Instead of squares, rectangles, and triangles there were box-shaped protrusions. On the east-facing side there were tall, floor to ceiling windows.

Zack didn't know how far back the house went, but it was plainly obvious that it was large. Very, very large.

But the house alone was only half of the attraction. Surrounding it were trees upon trees. They had past a pond on the way up the driveway. The vivid green lawn was perfectly manicured to the point of obsession, maybe beyond. Zack also could help but notice the Aston Martin and the Audi parked not far away.

It was bittersweet, to say the least. Zack knew, just from first glance, that his family was very wealthy. During his dream days at the Tipton he had wanted a wealthy family. Zack couldn't count the number of times he wished to win the lottery. He wanted cars, a big house with a nice lawn, and he wanted a flat-screen TV. He wanted a pool, he wanted a basketball court, and he wanted a game room. He wanted everything he knew he couldn't have. Now, however, he had all of that. There was one thing that was missing, the one thing that made all the worldly possessions seem worthless. Cody was missing, and Zack could never have him back.

"Well come on. Stop staring. Let's get inside." Kurt laughed and pushed Zack towards the house. To him, it was funny that his son, who had lived in this house for sixteen years, was admiring it like it was new. Then Kurt remembered. The house was new to Zack.

Zack walked in and took in the surroundings. In the living room there were leather couches and chairs. There was a flat-screen TV. And there were many framed pieces of art. In the kitchen, there were granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. The bathroom included a marble sink and tub, with an overly plush floor rug on top of the heated stone tile. The rest of the downstairs and the upstairs were all the same. The lavish furniture and framed artwork never went away. Not only did the house cost a lot, but the furniture must have too.

Zack closed his mouth because it was becoming dry from hanging open. He hadn't realized he had been gaping at every fine detail of the house. The details did make him momentarily forget about his situation, his battle with reality.

"Zack, this is your room." Kurt opened a door and smiled to him.

"Go on in." Carey did her best to offer encouragement, hoping he didn't blow up again.

Zack took a deep breath and entered. It smelled different. It was too clean. The bed was too big. Zack figured that those negatives were hardly negative, and the positives far outweighed them. He also had an Xbox 360, a PS3, another TV, and a few pieces of art of his own. Upon further investigation Zack realized that the artist's name was Zack Martin. He made these works of art. A nauseating feeling came over him as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he created these drawings and paintings. Zack wasn't an artist; he was a jock.

Zack finally understood the term, "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." He had always wanted a life like this. He had always wanted to be good at something that counted, like art. He always wanted exactly what he had now, but now that wasn't good enough. As Zack looked back over that metaphorical fence he realized how green that grass was, and he was already missing it. It had only been a couple of hours, how could he live the entire rest of his life?

Zack, suddenly feeling pensive, turned to his mother, "Can I just be alone for a while?"

She smiled to him, happy that they were having a conversation, if it could even be called that. She nodded and exited the room with Kurt in tow.

The parents headed downstairs, and into the living room. They both fell into the couch and held each other.

"Can you even believe it?"

Kurt smiled, "I hoped every day from when he was admitted to the hospital that he'd make a miraculous recovery. I guess I just never expected it."

Carey nodded, "We have our son back."

Kurt decided to chance his luck, "But, Carey, is he our son?"

She sighed. She knew his meaning exactly. "I was thinking the same thing. I mean, it's Zack on the outside, but it's not him on the inside. He's never swore before."

"Well I think his language is the least of our worries. Do you realize that sixteen years of teaching, nurturing, and instilling common sense in him was wasted?"

"Kurt, don't say that. It wasn't wasted. For all we know his amnesia is temporary, that's what the doctors said."

"Honey, do you believe that for one second?"

Carey shook her head, "No. I don't."

"I think we should all have a little talk. Can you imagine the questions he must have? He doesn't know who we are. He doesn't even know who he is. I have a feeling we're going to be talking the night away."

"We probably will, but I think it's a good idea."

Zack paced his room from end to end. This all just seemed like a joke. It seemed like somebody was pulling a prank on him. Zack knew a thing or two about pranks. But his extended knowledge of pranks also made him realize how difficult something like this would be to pull off. That still didn't explain what kind of trick this was.

If this whole thing isn't a prank what is it? It's got to be a dream then, right? Yeah, that's it. A dream. Somehow I'm dreaming this all up. But, when I dream I've never been conscious of it until I wake up. Could it possibly be true, could it be that I woke up from a dream today? No. I know Cody wasn't fake. There's no way he was a dream. It was so real. I felt it. I loved him. I guess maybe I never told him that enough, but I loved him so much! You can't love something that isn't there! No, you can't. There's something missing. If, for some reason this is real, there's still something missing. This just isn't right.

Exhausted, confused, and angry he took a seat on his surprisingly soft bed.

I need to find out who I am. God, I never thought I'd ever say that.

As if to answer his questions, his mother's head popped in his door. "Zack?"

"What?" He almost called her mom, but opted against it.

"Your father and I think that, if you want to, we should have a family talk. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Normally if Zack would ever have been presented with the option to sit down and talk about things he would have brushed it off, called it lame, and played a prank on someone. However, things were far from normal.

"Alright. I guess that might be a good idea."

The two descended down the stairs as mother and son. Carey was mother to a boy that didn't exist anymore, and Zack was the son of a mother who never existed.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story! It means a lot to me, I love hearing that people like my writing.

Also thanks to those who have already put this story in your favorites list. I'm happy that you like the story, but we're just getting started. Things'll get much more exciting in future chapters. Keep in mind the description...

Some questions to ponder... When will Zack meet the person who will 'send his world spinning'? Who will it be? What will happen if Zack decides to give his life a shot? How will Kurt and Carey deal with having to get to know a new child?