There was a groan.
“Zoe?”
“Zac?” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open.
“Shh, don’t try to move,” Zac advised. “You’re bleeding. You hit your head on something when the aftershock threw you.”
Zoe moaned, her eyes closing softly.
“No, don’t go to sleep,” he told her. “You might be concussed. Wake up! C’mon, open those eyes… that’s better. Just… just focus on my voice okay? Okay?”
“Okay,” Zoe replied softly.
“I’m just going to check the cellar door okay?” Zac said, getting up. “Okay, I’m walking over to the door. I’m going up the stairs. I’m… oh shoot. The door’s stuck. I bet the bookshelves have fallen on it from the outside. Great. We won’t get out of here until someone realises we’re in here.”
Zac walked back over, still talking.
“Umm, yeah… umm… now I don’t know what to say,” he commented.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. If you’re concussed, and you go to sleep, you could fall into a coma. And if you fall into a coma, you could die. That was what they think happened to Duane. He fell down the hole in the construction yard, hit his head and got a concussion, went to sleep, fell into a coma and died.”
“That’s so comforting. Duane… who was Duane again?”
“Your nephew.”
“Isaac?”
“No, Taylor.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It’s okay. That knock on your head probably scrambled your brains.”
“I’m surprised to hear you admit I’ve got any,” she joked weakly.
Zac laughed.
“That’s a good one,” he chuckled. “Wow… I don’t think we’ve ribbed each other in a long time. I don’t even remember the last.”
“Far and few between,” Zoe agreed.
There was a contemplative silence, then Zac realised he had better say something.
“Umm, ahh, so, umm, how are things?”
“Things are fine.”
“What about that boyfriend of yours?”
“Chris is just fine too.”
“Hey, wasn’t there something you wanted to talk to me about before?”
“Umm, yeah,” Zoe replied, her eyes drooping.
“Don’t you dare go to sleep. What was it?”
“It’s umm… it’s a problem that Taylor had a few years back. I, I wanted to talk to him but tonight I thought well, you were here and maybe you’re a better choice…” Zoe moaned softly.
“What is it?” Zac repeated.
“I have a stalker.”
“A stalker?”
“Mmm. He… at first he’d just send me notes through the mail. I just… I just threw them out. Then somehow he got my cell phone number, and started ringing me up, and then hanging up when I answer. But now he starts being… obscene. He starts telling me all the things he’s going to do when he gets me,” Zoe shuddered involuntarily. “I hang up on him. He uses one of those things to disguise his voice. And instead of the mail, I find his notes in my dressing rooms, and hotel rooms, and even now I find them in the studio, waiting for me.”
“What do they say?”
“Horrible, obscene stuff I wouldn’t repeat to anyone. I wanted to throw them all out, but Chris convinced me to keep them as evidence.”
“Good idea. I told Taylor to do the same. He hated the idea, so he gave the stuff to me to look after. Aside from the fact that he didn’t want to deal with it, he didn’t want Rita to find them. Is Chris the only one who knows?”
“No, Peter knows. And I suspect the people at the studio have some idea, but they haven’t said anything.”
“Hmm, okay. Well, it’s good that Peter knows. He can keep an eye out for you – not that he doesn’t already do that, of course. Try to avoid being alone, okay? I’ll look into what else we can do to keep you safe.”
“Thank you Zac.”
“No worries. No one is going to frighten my sister like this and get away with it.”
Zoe made a laughing, gasping noise.
“I’m amazed that you… I haven’t been the greatest sister. I know I’m an irritating person to work with. All through Indecision, I knew you guys thought I was a pain.”
“Why should that change anything? Sure, we get along better now that we hardly see each other, and maybe those two years I spent with Indecision was a bit rough with all the fighting going on, but you’re still my sister. And I love you no matter what you might say, or what you might do, or how much our personalities might clash.”
Zoe was silent for a moment, other than a few gasps.
“I love you too, Zac.”
“Glad to hear it.”