You are a drug and it is quick

Chapter Twenty-One

Tour had always been exhausting, but Zac had always loved it anyway. He beyond loved it - he lived for it. For as long as he could remember, ever since he was a child, he was able to make a very substantial living by doing what he loved. He knew not everyone was quite so lucky. This tour, however...this was the first time he had actually hated it. The first half had been fantastic, and when Abby had joined him for a week, it was even better. Probably the most fun he had on tour in his entire career. The last half, however. Things went downhill more and more every day until finally everything blew up and he wanted nothing more than to just go home.

Every night, at every show, he was filled with so much stress and anxiety and heartache that he struggled on stage. Part of growing up as a celebrity was learning how to act, put on a front for fans but he was sure the fans could tell something was very, very wrong with him. By the time they only had a few days left, he realized that going home was not going to make him feel any better. It wasn't going to bring Abby back.

He tried and tried to contact Abby only to be ignored each and every time. Adam continued to send him text messages, however, each and every one more graphic and descriptive than the rest. Zac had eventually given up on trying to call her, but he had not given up on her completely. He no longer believed that Abby had cheated on him, but now that Adam had managed to come between the two of them and break them up, he did believe it was highly likely that Abby would fall into his trap and he could not handle the idea of her being with that manipulative loser. He had to try to get her back...and if he couldn't get her back, he had to at least get her away from Adam.

When the tour came to a close, Zac informed his brothers that he would not be joining them on the bus ride home, rather flying straight to Maine to find Abby in Portland. He knew it wouldn't be that hard to track down Adam's address. He was aware that he was fairly popular in the music scene there and all he had to do was pop into a few clubs and do some investigating. Taylor and Isaac didn't protest, in fact Taylor had even offered to come with him. He knew Isaac would have too if Carly wasn't so close to giving birth. Zac however had insisted that they both go home to their wives and if all went as planned, he would be returning home with Abby in a matter of days as well.

As soon as he arrived in Portland late in the evening, he checked into his hotel and then set out on foot. He realized that he was not wrong about how easy it would be to find Adam's address. The first alcoholic in the first dirty bar he popped his head into knew exactly who Adam was and where to find him. As luck would have it, it was just around the corner.

"You lookin' to buy?" The drunk asked him from his bar stool just as Zac had turned to leave the bar.

"Huh?" Zac asked, turning back to face the man.

"If you wanna score, ya gotta text him first. Make sure he sends his old lady on some errand so he don't get caught."

"Oh um...he sells drugs?" Zac asked, more shocked than he really should have been.

"Best stuff in town. Jus' don't tell anyone I told ya so." The man mumbled before finally flopping his head down against the bar loudly.

Zac could not have gotten out of there faster than he did. Abby was with a drug dealer? He knew the guy was a liar, a manipulator, a cheater, and apparently a recovering alcoholic and drug addict himself...but he never knew he was a dealer. Could he even really be sober if he was selling? Was he lying to Abby about that, too? Zac wondered what kind of drugs he sold, and how risky and dangerous of a situation this asshole could have been putting Abby in this entire time.

His blood boiled as he stomped around the corner, finally locating Adam's address and banging on the front door. He was so upset and angry that he hardly had time to think about how seeing Abby for the first time in over six weeks was going to feel, especially since they weren't currently together and he could not hold her in his arms and kiss her even though he ached for her with every fiber of his being.