Before I knew it, finals were over and Winter Break was here. Being that I had family in California (grandparents as well as a few aunts and uncles and cousins), I went to stay with some of them for the first week of my month long vacation. My parents and sister flew out as well; we wouldn’t be spending Christmas together because my parents were going on a cruise for their 25th wedding anniversary and my sister was visiting her favorite cousin in Texas. And since we hadn’t seen our California relatives in a while, they figured it’d be nice to do a family thing before the holidays. So I stayed a few days at my grandparents’ house, catching up with them, and then a few days at my aunt and uncle’s house. It was wonderful to catch up with relatives I hadn’t seen in years; it was also wonderful to spend time with my own family. We had an early Christmas of sorts, exchanging gifts. My parents surprised me with a brand new car – well, brand new to me, but used in reality. A used Volkswagen Jetta in black; it looked very sleek and I screamed so loudly when they presented it to me that I probably woke up all of Southern California. My sister got a sweet new laptop and she screamed almost as loudly as I did; it was the most amazing holiday by far.

And now that I had a sweet new car, I made plans to surprise Taylor by showing up at their place a day early. He had made plans to come pick me up at my aunt and uncle’s place, but why wait a whole day more to see him? Of course, I didn’t tell him about my new car; I just said that I couldn’t wait to see him.

After my parents had left for their two-week long cruise, and after my sister departed on a plane bound for Houston, Texas, I set out on my own trip. I laundered all of my clothes and ate tons of fresh-baked cookies with my aunt and uncle, then hugged them goodbye. I popped in a Frank Sinatra CD and set-off to Los Angeles, which was about three hours away.

The first hour and a half went by without a hitch – I was singing along at the top of my lungs to songs like “Come Fly With Me”, probably causing other drivers to give me strange looks, but it didn’t matter to me. I was the happiest I’d been in a while; the stress of finals was finally lifted off of my shoulders; the restless, almost sleepless nights of studying were done for the quarter. I had a whole month to just relax, not have to think about derivatives or the effects of Prozac or anything. So I was feeling pretty good in my new (used) car, singing at the top of my lungs, acting like I didn’t have a care in the world.

Of course, nothing that good can last. After I had stopped at a fast food place to get something to eat (Singing like I was on-stage really drained the life out of me), I got back to driving again. I was halfway there and happy that I hadn’t gotten lost yet, so I was still in high spirits. But just as I was about to get onto the freeway, my car went Puttputtpfffft and just shut down. Okay, so maybe it didn’t make that exact noise, but it made a noise and then died.

And I was stranded in a city that I didn’t know.

“Oh shit,” I said, as I realized that I was not moving along with the other cars. “Oh shit!” What the hell was I supposed to do?! This had never happened to me before. I felt panic rising in me as people honked and drove around me, which didn’t help matters any. I felt the tears of panic in my eyes and then I started to bawl because I was so scared. After a minute or two of crying my eyes out, I spotted a gas station across the street. I turned on the hazard lights, grabbed my cell phone and purse, locked the doors and sprinted across the street, trying not to get killed. The clerk at the station looked surprised to see me and he tried to calm me down after I spewed out what had happened. He called a tow truck company for me as I sat there sniffling, probably looking like a horrid mess. They were there in a few minutes and I watched helplessly as my car got hooked up to this truck to be dragged away. I thanked the clerk and went with the tow truck guy to the tow truck place. He tried to make small talk with me, but I wasn’t in the mood to be made small talk with. We got to the tow truck place and he talked to me about fees and repair (they had a repair shop on site; my car would be done in a few days if they found something wrong with it), and I reluctantly paid for my car. He wanted to know if I had anyone to pick me up and I told him yes, even though I really didn’t.

When I was finally left alone, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Taylor’s number. I waited for it to connect and felt another sense of panic set in when I heard, “Hi,this is Taylor and you’ve reached my cell …”

This can’t be happening, I thought, as I shut my phone and took a deep breath. Maybe he’s out of his signal range, I thought. Yeah, that’s gotta be it,. So I opened my phone again and dialed his number once more, holding my breath. But I got the same, “Hi, this is Taylor and you’ve reached my cell …” message.

Now what do I do? I thought to myself miserably, feeling a pout on my face. I wasn’t going to call Zac, especially after what had happened over Thanksgiving.

I took a breath and looked for Isaac’s number, hitting the button to call. It rang twice before going straight to his voicemail. I sighed, closing my phone. Great. I was stranded.

And then I had an idea. The boys had recently installed a landline, despite the three of them having cell phones. Taylor had given me the number, which I promptly had put into the phone “just in case”. And that “just in case” was now. So I looked it up (under the name “The Boys”) and hit the button to call, holding my breath once again.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

And my hope dwindled with each passing ring.

Just as I was about to hang up and wait for a miracle to happen, someone picked up and said breathlessly, “Hello?”

It was not the person I was hoping to reach, but I took a breath and decided to say something anyway.

“Hey,” I said hesitantly.

I could practically feel Zac grow cold with me. “Tay’s not here, go call his cell phone. ‘Bye.”

“I did!” I said quickly, hoping he wouldn’t hang up on me. “He’s not picking up, it goes straight to his voicemail!”

“So keep trying, he’s out. Leave a message for him or something.”

“But Zac … I can’t …”

“Why not?”

“He’s not answering …”

“So leave a message; he’ll call you back eventually.”

“But … I need help now though.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” he asked, sounding like the old Zac again, full of concern.

“I was going to surprise Taylor by showing up a day early so he wouldn’t have to get me tomorrow, and I went to get something to eat, and I was going to get back on the freeway when my car broke down … so I’m here … at a tow truck place … all by myself …and I have no idea how I’m going to get there.”

He was quiet again, but when he spoke, his voice had completely changed and the hope fluttered within me. “Where are you? Give me the address and I’ll Mapquest it.”

I stopped a tow truck worker passing by and asked for the address, repeating it to Zac. “Okay,” he said. I could hear him typing in the background. “I can get there, I know where it is. Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll come to get you.”

“Zac, where would I go?”

I heard the smile in his voice when he said, “I don’t know, but don’t go anywhere far. I’ll call you when I’m there.”

“Okay.” We were quiet; I could hear his printer going in the background now. “Hey Zac …” I said.

“Mmhmm?”

“Thanks.”

“Hey Trish?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re welcome.”

I waited for about an hour or so at the towing place, going down the street to a small convenience store to buy something to drink as well as something to read. I called my parents and let them know what happened; they apologized for it breaking down even though it wasn’t their fault. I explained that it was going to be repaired and my dad told me to not let them screw me over. I told him I wouldn’t and went back to waiting for Zac to come get me, my new gossip magazine in hand. I had calmed down by now, but there were times where I’d look up from reading and feel a little bit panicked.

My cell phone rang and I saw Zac’s name on the display; I flipped it open and said hello.

“Hey, I just parked, where are you ‘Roo?”

“I’ll come find you, are you at the front?”

“Yeah. Oh, hold on.” I heard someone talking to him in the background and Zac saying something back. “Hey, this guy says you’re in the back, sitting on a bench?”

“Oh … yeah.”

“Great, I’m coming for ya.”

In a matter of seconds I saw Zac appear around the corner. My breath caught in my throat – I was so happy to see him. He gave me a small smile and waved, his pace quickening when he spotted me. I really should’ve restrained myself, but as soon as he got within arm’s length I practically threw myself on him and squeezed him to death.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” I said, wanting to cry all over again, but this time from relief. “I owe you, big time.”

He hugged me back tightly. “Don’t worry about it. Is all of your stuff in the car?” he asked.

I nodded. “My clothes and stuff, yeah.”

“Let’s go get it then, shall we?”

I nodded again and we retrieved my luggage. He asked where I got the car and I told him; he smiled and nodded. The tow truck guy told me that they would contact me when my car was repaired and I just nodded again, thanking him and then following Zac out to his own car. We threw my stuff into the backseat and hopped in his car, continuing my trip to Los Angeles. There were few words exchanged between us at first, so I tried calling Taylor’s cell phone again. Once again, it went straight to voicemail, so I gave up. I sat back and listened to music instead, staring at the other cars as we passed them and vice versa.

“So …” Zac began. “How’s life?”

I shrugged. “It was okay up until my car broke down. How’s life for you?”

“It’s okay. The new record’s coming along nicely, but your boyfriend is like, obsessed with it. He’s always wanting to go to the studio to fix something or record something else … maybe with you there now he won’t be so insane.”

“Maybe. He’s just … really passionate about his work.”

“It’s more of the obsessive kind now, though.”

We didn’t talk anymore afer that. When the familiar sights of Los Angeles were whizzing by my window, I felt the stress of the day lift a little bit. We pulled up to the apartment and got out of Zac’s car, grabbing my stuff and going inside. I had to laugh when Zac grabbed the door handle and walked right into the door, anticipating it being unlocked.

“Dammit,” he grinned with embarrassment. “Thought someone would be home by now.” He unlocked the door and let me in; I dropped my bags near the door and he followed suit.

“Hello?” I called out. When no one echoed my greeting, I looked at Zac for an explanation. He just shrugged in response.

“I’m going to go practice some guitar,” he said, as we just stood there looking at each other. “So I’ll be in my room. You know where everything is, so knock yourself out.”

“You’re going to just leave me all alone?” I asked. I had to admit, I was a little hurt that he’d just leave me there.

He stared at me and his eyes softened. “It’s really hard for me to concentrate with you in the room …” he said softly.

“I won’t say anything, I promise.” I crossed my heart and gave him my best puppy-dog face. “I’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”

“Mice squeak. And hell, Mickey talks.”

“I’ll be as quiet as a mouse that doesn’t squeak. And I’m not Mickey Mouse!”

He gave me a half smile. “Okay, okay. I’ll join you in the living room.”

I smiled and went over to sit on the couch while he went to get his acoustic guitar. He joined me, sitting on one of the smaller couches, tuning his guitar. He held the pick in his mouth and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, clearing his throat when he was ready. He started strumming, messing up and then cursing quietly. “Sorry,” he apologized, as though I had reprimanded him.

“For?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know why, just felt like apologizing.” He strummed a few chords and his eyes lit up. “Oh ‘Roo, guess what I learned how to play?”

“What?”

He started strumming; when he started singing, I couldn’t help the excited laugh that escaped my lips: “Listen, do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell? Whoa oh whoa, closer …”

As he was singing, the front door opened. I turned around and Zac stopped playing, looking surprised. Taylor walked into the house, his eyes down at first. After he shut the door, he looked up. He looked confused to see me there, and the first thing out of his mouth was, “What are you doing here?”

Before I could answer, Zac replied, “I live here!”

“Not you, dumbass.” We just stared at each other. “Oh my God, what day is it? Did I forget to pick you up?”

“No, I drove down here but –“

“You drove? When did you have a car?”

“I got one for Christmas, from my parents, but –“

“What kind?”

What was with all of these questions? “A used Jetta.”

“Nice. Is it outside? I didn’t see a Jetta outside.”

“Nope, it’s not --.”

“I thought you drove here …”

“I did … about halfway. And then my car broke down.”

He tilted his head like a confused puppy. “So … how did you get here?”

I glanced over at Zac. “Zac came to pick me up.”

Taylor was scarily quiet. “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked slowly.

“I did,” I said softly, my heart pounding. “But your phone was off.”

“What? No it wasn’t.”

“Tay, I called you tons of times; it went straight to voicemail each time.”

He yanked out his cell phone from his pocket. “Why would my phone be off, Trish? It’s almost –“ Then he stopped talking and angrily shoved his phone back into his pocket. “You could’ve called me at the studio.”

“How was I supposed to know you were there?”

“Well you could’ve called to find out.”

“I don’t have the number …”

“What are you getting your panties in a twist for, anyway?” Zac asked. “You should be happy to see her a whole day earlier.”

“No one was talking to you, Zac,” Taylor snapped. “Trish, really.”

“What?” I asked, getting annoyed. “I wanted to surprise you so I thought I’d drive down, it wasn’t my fault the damn car died and I had to call someone.”

“Why didn’t you call Isaac?”

“He wouldn’t answer his phone!”

“Why didn’t you keep trying until he did?”

“I just – I don’t know! Why does it matter?! I didn’t want to be stranded at the gas station all night!”

“Taylor,” Zac said. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Fuck off, Zac,” he spat out. “Mind your own fuckin’ business!”

“Jesus, Tay, you’re getting worked up over nothing!”

“Yeah, because that’s what happens when I leave you two alone: nothing,” he accused bitterly. He shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever, fine, I’m going to get some practice in.” With that, he walked into his room and slammed the door.

it was the first time he hadn’t greeted me with a hug or a kiss since we had known each other.