(47) Boyfriend Things

Her exhaustion drove her straight to sleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. However, the pain in her neck and the uncomfortable swelling woke her back up at three in the morning, and then she lie awake for several hours.

It wasn't until noon Sunday morning that she woke up, washed her face and brushed her teeth. Her stomach urged her to hurry along downstairs for some breakfast.

Unfortunately, more than just breakfast waited for her in the kitchen.

"Good morning. Did you sleep alright?" Will asked, laying the paper on the counter top and removing his glasses. A half empty cup of tea steamed on the island beside his paper.

"Fine," she commented back quietly. She didn't really want to talk about.

She'd never been grounded before. Or punished. Whatever that meant. This whole process was new to her so she didn't know what to expect. And she didn't like walking into something blindly.

"Oh you're up." Carolynn, carrying a load of fresh laundry, joined them in the kitchen from the basement.

"Can we get this over with?" Makennah asked, standing on the other side of the island and handing her hands inside the sleeves of her long sleeve Wolverines shirt.

Will chuckled quietly. Well he didn't seem to be mad. That was a good thing. "Anxious?"

"I've never been grounded before," she admitted.

"Never?" Carolynn asked loudly in disbelief as she entered Makennah's personal space to tilt up her chin and take a long look at her neck.

"You've never gotten in trouble before?" Will inquired thoughtfully.

Makennah shrugged. "I didn't do anything bad by my mom's standards. And at other homes, I just didn't get caught."

Will snickered but Carolynn shot him a look that shut him up. "Yes well...today is your lucky day because we decided not to ground you."

Makennah reeled back, totally shocked. "What?"

Carolynn patted her on the shoulder. "You can keep your streak going."

"Okay not that I'm complaining...but why?" She crossed her arms over her body and hunched her shoulders. Were they trying to psychologically punish her? Because it was working. She didn't know what was happening.

Carolynn stood at Will's side and looped her arm around his shoulders. They approached her in companionship how they always did whenever they had a serious talk to conduct. "In a very short amount of time, you've gone through a great deal. While we don't condone your actions, we understand why you may have done what you did," Carolynn started.

Will continued for her, "Adding a punishment to what you've already been through wouldn't be fair."

"However, it does demand attention. Though we do hope you will be with us for a very long time..." Carolynn started and then stopped, delicately placing her hand on her throat.

Will placed his hand over Carolynn's. "We can't control that. So as long as you are with us, we intend to treat you with the best care possible and what we think might suit you."

Carolynn cleared her throat. "With that being said, we think the best thing for you would be to go to counseling," Carolynn explained slowly.

Makennah raised her eyebrows. "Um...what?"

"You don't have to talk. You don't have to listen. But you do have to go. If it helps you to think of this as a punishment, then that's fine," Will said.

"We haven't told anyone and we don't intend to. This is purely between us three," Carolynn assured her.

Counseling. For what?

She was fine.

She didn't need help. Didn't need to talk. It was just another bad day. Another bad moment. She would be fine.

In fact, Makennah would rather be grounded. "Is there an option B?" She asked.

Will chuckled. "No, I'm sorry but there isn't. There's things you need to work through. For starters, you can tell them about your mother."

"Not worth it," she said.

"Or your previous relationship," he continued.

"I'd rather not."

"Or the abuse you've suffered through."

"I'm already over it."

Carolynn circled the counter and patted her on the arm. "That's good. That's fine. If you're already over it, then you'll be in and out of counseling no time."

"I didn't consent to this," Makennah countered. Maybe this angle would work.

"I don't care," Will said as he slipped out of his seat, placed his glasses back on his nose, and carried his tea cup into his study, shutting the door behind him.

So much for that.

"Breakfast?" Carolynn asked.

"Makennah Claire Thomas!"

Makennah groaned and dropped her head into her hands except a piercing pain cracked through her skull from the base of her neck and she jerked upright. "Ow."

"I'll leave you to that. He sounds mad!" Carolynn winked and disappeared into the family room as none other than Theodore Alexander Rose III marched into the kitchen and pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"Makennah!" He yelled, getting right in her face.

She swallowed and covered her throat with her hands so that he couldn't see. That didn't hide what happened to her though because he could still see the scratch on her cheek and her fat upper lip that was split on the side.

The anger instantly slipped from his features and morphed into extreme worry. He let out a weak breath. "Makennah...."

The image that stared back at her in the mirror that morning wasn't pretty. Perhaps her only saving grace was her slightly wavy air dried hair that hung around her cheeks and accented her cheekbones. But everything else...the hallow cheeks, the dark circles under her eyes, the split bruised lip, and the scratch across her cheek....wasn't that nice to look at.

"Show me," Theo said quietly. "Show me."

She could hide from the world and her friends but she couldn't hide from Theo. That wasn't fair to him. And honestly, she wanted to curl up in his arms and cry.

So she lowered her hands.

His eyebrows knitted together as his once angry eyes found a hint of sadness. He clenched his jaw and sucked in a breath through his teeth. His reaction made her lick her lips anxiously while she waited for him to say something.

"Dammit, I'm so pissed," he whispered.

"Why?" She asked, standing still in the kitchen with her oversized long sleeve shirt and her flannel shorts, legs exposed.

"Because I wasn't there. I should have been there."

Makennah laid her hand on his arm. "No, don't do that. I'm fine."

"Makennah!" The fierceness returned to Theo's tone. "Have you looked in the mirror?! You're not fine! Please tell me you're pressing charges!"

Makennah forced his palm to unleash and she tucked her hand into his, interlacing their fingers. "Stop. That's not important."

He banged his free hand on the counter. "You're kidding me! You're kidding me, right?!"

She sighed. "Theo, it all happened so fast. I've just been resting." And visiting Maisie Green.

"And ignoring me!" He yelled.

"I just..." she closed her eyes. She wasn't expecting this reaction from him. "I was just resting. I was exhausted."

"I didn't even know you were okay!" He yelled, raising his voice again. Theo curled his hand into a fist and fiercely clenched her hand in his to the point that it hurt. She didn't think he even realized he was doing it.

Theo has never been angry at her before, but she expected more calmness from him. Even when she disappeared after homecoming, he still maintained his cool. Maybe something else was going on. "I'm sorry I should have called."

"Yeah! You should have! And I get this cryptic text from Matt telling me you got hurt and then you don't answer me! And Matt wouldn't fill me in either because he said you should tell me." His eyes grazed her face, looking for her remorsefulness.

After everything else he did, Matt still covered for her. She appreciated that and she still owed him the biggest thanks for taking down Lucas. "I didn't know that. I figured Matt told you. I didn't mean to keep you in the dark."

"Well I was! I was in the dark!"

"Theo," Makennah said calmly, implying from her tone that he needed to calm down. "Please lower your voice. I'm right here."

Theo sighed. Consciously he loosened his hand and rubbed his finger back and forth over her unblemished knuckles. He stared down at their interlocked hands, pondering what to say next. His frustration collected in his shoulders and tended his muscles. The muscle in his jaw flickered every time he clenched his teeth to control himself. "I'm...I..."

Makennah waited for him to look up at her and make eye contact. "Theo, what's going on? What's really wrong?"

"I'm mad because....when I found out something happened to you, I wanted to get in my car and speed over here and take care of you myself. And I couldn't. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even come over here and come see you because of Matt...because of everything. If I showed up here unannounced and swooped you up and....well everyone would know. And...and the fact is...that you're not mine. Not really. I have you...or at least I think I do," he smiled weakly and she smiled back. "But I don't get to do those boyfriend things because I'm not your boyfriend."

Her heart melted into a puddle on the floor. His heartfelt message warmed her skin with a subtle flush. It was like...it was like they were back in her room, kissing under the covers, except his words made her feel the same way that his kisses did. He completely unwound all over her nerves without even touching her with his lips.

"I'm tired of hiding," Theo admitted.

Tears sprung to her eyes but she swallowed them. Already, Makennah cried over the events of last night twice. And that was more than once. Her rule was that she was allowed to cry over an event for as long as she needed the first time...and then it was over.

"Matt knows...that I like you." She lifted her teary eyes to his. "And he knows you probably like me too."

After a second, Theo's lips spread into a full blown happy grin. The kind that made her heart joyful. The smile that made her weak in the knees. "Does that mean I can kiss you in this kitchen right now?" He asked. His free hand cupped her jaw, fingertips gliding through her hair.

Makennah leaned her head in his hand. "It means you can sneak a kiss in the kitchen."

Theo lowered his head, hovering above her lips. "What's that mean?"

"I don't think Will or Carolynn would enjoy finding us making out in the kitchen," she whispered.

His soft lips brushed against hers, a hint of a kiss. "I better make it fast then," he said with a smile before he interlocked their lips in a sweet afternoon kiss with the sun shining on their faces and the smell of breakfast lingering in the air.

She wanted to do this forever with Theo. Kissing in the kitchen. Holding hands after tragedies. She yearned for all of the things that he wanted too. Makennah was over the hiding and the sneaking around.

Maybe a life existed for them beyond secret meetings. Maybe Matt could accept them as they were. Together. Maybe Theo would be her boyfriend. Maybe Makennah deserved more than what life had dished to her and her good karma was Theo.

So she kissed him in the kitchen and irresponsibly lost track of time. Somehow his lips helped to heal the internal wounds, the cruddy stuff that people didn't see but hurt just as much as the external. His strong hands created a safe place for her to relax, to breathe for the first time since the accident.

Damn him for making her lose her heart. Damn him for making her fall for him. But it was so easy. So simple to fall in love with Theo. Matt was right. Theo was the best guy he knew. The best guy she knew.

The best thing for her.

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Sadly I tell you all that this story is coming to an end shortly. I have several more chapters but we are definitely near the finish line!!

Xoxo

W. Carolina