(50) 859 miles, 12 Hours 19 Minutes

As much as her thriving independence told her not to, Makennah texted Carolynn early that morning and informed her that Theo and she were going to breakfast. Considering all of the events that inevitably made Carolynn and Will mad at her, she figured it best not to continue down that path.

Carolynn responded with a simple text telling her to have fun and be safe. Overall, she couldn't complain about the Sinclair's parenting or their rules. Still, Makennah was able to basically do what she wanted within the confines of their morals.

Although she never applied makeup on a Saturday, Makennah woke up a few minutes early to put on some foundation, blush, and mascara. Her hair was still wavy from the day before, so she just brushed it and freshened it up.

With the impending cold weather, Makennah dressed warmly in skinny jeans, wool socks, a sweater, and Sperry boots. She hurried downstairs before Theo arrived to grab her coat, cream hat with a Pom Pom on top, and black gloves.

What she wasn't expecting was Theo to already be standing at the bottom of the stairs chatting with Will who casually sipped his morning tea and assessed Theo through his glasses. More surprising than that was the fact that Theo was wearing his prescription glasses too instead of his contacts. Ig was so adorable that she paused on the steps to just drink in the sight of him.

"Good morning," Will greeted. She didn't even know Will knew about their breakfast date.

"Hey," she said to both of them.

"Ready?" Theo asked.

"Breakfast?" Will asked. "Where?"

"Rosie's Diner," Theo answered.

Makennah dressed in her winter gear hastily. She felt supremely uncomfortable having both of these men in the same room together as if it were a super important date that Will needed to supervise.

"Nice place," Will said. "Drive safe, okay?"

Straightening her hat, Makennah opened the door and tried to rush Theo outside. "We will be. See ya!"

She was so close to slamming the door behind them but Will stopped her with a hand on the door. He tugged it wide open. Both of them stood on the porch steps glancing back at Will to see what he had to say. "Theo."

"Yes, sir?" He asked with raised eyebrows, unsure what to suspect.

Will frowned deeply. "No funny business. Keep your hands to yourself," he commanded sternly.

Theo saluted Will in all seriousness. "Yes, sir."

"Will!" Makennah slapped her hands over her face to cover her eyes. She was mortified. That did not need to happen!!

"Hey I'm your...that's my job. See ya, kids!" Will closed the door suddenly and left them alone.

Theo cracked up laughing and trudged through inches of pristine white snow to his Lexus in the driveway.

"Not funny!" At the same time that she fought off the nerves of uncomfortableness, her heart warmed at Will's protectiveness. She knew what he was about to say...Will was her protector. Her watchmen. The person who was supposed to keep her safe.

Like a father.

She was embarrassed.

But she kind of liked it.

"He's just playing the dad role. He's never had a girl in the house before."

"It's no different than a guy! There shouldn't be different standards!"

Theo circled the Lexus and opened the door for her. He smiled sweetly and helped her inside. "But there are. Because he knows I'll try to get in your pants."

When Theo hopped in on his side and started the car, Makennah said, "Well how does he know that you dont need protecting from me?" She asked. "Maybe I'll be the one trying to get in your pants."

Theo laughed and backed out of the driveway, coasting down the street into winter wonderland. Overnight, the sky rained down snow and blanketed everything in fluffy white sparkling snow. "God, I hope so," Theo answered.

"Theo," she said sternly as if it were no laughing matter. "Plus there's just no reason for him to say that because we aren't together and he knows that. In fact, he doesn't know anything."

"Right," Theo stated shortly without saying anything else. Instead, he cranked up the radio and hummed along to familiar tunes while they finished the drive to the diner.

His answer confused her. Normally he had more to say about their secret...relationship? Secret like? Secret flirtations? She wasn't even sure what to label it. Did it have a label? The whole situation made her head hurt.

The sole relief she found was from the fact that Matt now knew that she liked Theo. She didn't have to hide her feelings from him anymore. On top of that, he wasn't even mad about her attraction to Theo. He took it in stride and maybe even encouraged her to like Theo? She wasn't totally sure.

Maybe Matt's answer gave her more confusion that clearance. Who ever said girls were more confusing than guys?

"Alright let's go, Queen."

"That nickname doesn't apply anymore," she said with a roll of her eyes. "It never did actually."

"Yes it did and it still does. Because you're my queen." Theo grinned that charming smile of his and offered her a steady hand out of the car and closed the passenger door behind her. She recognized that look from a mile away. The cheesy smirk. The brilliant white teeth. The tilt of his chin. The sparkle in his laughing eyes. He was purposefully trying to woo her.

"Come on, Prince Charming. I'm hungry." She avoided that statement that made her feel more important than she was and hastened into the diner. When he said things like that, Makennah thought of herself like his girlfriend. And she wasn't. He wasn't her boyfriend. So it wasn't fair to her heart to think those thoughts.

They just occasionally made out. And texted a lot. And flirted over breakfast foods.

"Prince Charming? I like it," Theo whispered behind her right ear, breathing hot air over the little bare skin that stuck out from her hat. A child raced down her spine immediately, sensing his nearness right behind her.

"Don't let that go to your head."

"Playing hard to get? I like it," he joked, whispering in her ear again. "Grab a seat. I'll meet you there."

Makennah nodded and did as instructed. It struck her as a little weird that he had something to do but whatever. She obliged, picked a booth, and removed her hat. She fluffed her hair before he returned, praying she didn't appear to be a total mess with hat hair.

Cringe. Ugh.

Her eyes followed Theo who leaned across the counter with his charming smirk and flirted it up with the old lady waitress who stood behind the cash register. She giggled and swatted him away, blushing a deep red. Gosh, Theo was ruthless.

They talked for a few minutes and the waitress wrote something down on her pad of paper. Theo nodded his head in approval.

When he made his way over to the table, Makennah pretended that she hadn't been watching him or checking him out. Like the way his powerful strides easily carried himself over to the table and slid into the booth with the ease and suave of a panther. Or the way his long fingers unzipped his jacket which he tossed into the corner of the booth before he sat down. Now she could notice the way his muscles bunched underneath his long sleeve black shirt. He was too hot for his own good.

"I ordered for us," he said casually.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"I ordered us breakfast."

She quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over his chest. "How do you know what I like?"

Theo smirked. "Just trust me. You'll like it." He quickly changed the subject. "So I have something to tell you."

Her heart thumped in her chest. "Well...what is it?"

Theo's smile softened. His eyes considered her with careful cautiousness. A certain gentleness that she noticed whenever he looked at her transformed his features. And she was lucky enough to be the girl on the receiving end of that special look. "I went to some summer camps for football and that's when schools started scouting me. Well throughout this season, those schools kept reaching out to me."

Okay she wasn't expecting this but it sounded good... "okay, and?" She urged. She just wanted to know!

Theo cleared his throat and waited for the server to drop off their coffee cups full of steaming black coffee before he continued. "Yesterday after the game, Baylor University scouts met up with me and offered me a position on the team as a running back."

Her hands flew to her mouth. "Theo! Theo! Are you kidding?!"

He grinned from ear to ear and dumped a packet of a sugar into his coffee. "Nope." He was playing it cool but she could see his hands shaking.

"Theo! That's amazing!" Out of nowhere, tears sprung to her eyes. She was so proud of him. She went to every game and watched him play, knowing he was destined for greatness. Theo loved football, and he was dang good at it. His humbleness did how much he loved it. If anyone deserved this, it was Theo.

Finally, he made eye contact and that same intimate look crossed his face. He looked at her like he adored her. "You...you're one of the only ones that knows. You and my parents. And my coaches of course."

She started to laugh. She didn't know why. But she couldn't help herself. "Theo I'm so proud of you. Thank you for telling me. I assume you're going to accept?"

He nodded his head. "Oh yeah. Duh. Division 1? This is better than I could have ever asked for. I won't see the field for years as a freshman but I can work hard to show them what I'm made of."

Already, Makennah started calculating the distance from Colorado to Texas. She didn't know exactly but it sounded far. "Of course you can!" Undoubtedly, she knew she needed to say more. This was BIG news. The best news. Truly, she was so happy. Ecstatic. But she was also sad. She had never considered Theo leaving. It never occurred to her at all.

To distract herself, Makennah mimicked Theo and doctored up her coffee with some cream and sugar. She liked the coffee at this diner - she remembered from the last time they were there - but it was pretty strong for her personal tastes.

"But I have something else really important to tell you," he said quietly.

"More news?" She inquired. It was possible her heart couldn't take it. She was still digesting his previous announcement.

Theo nodded. But he didn't say anything. So she lifted her head.

Several servers carrying different plates of food approached their table. She was thankful for their intrusion.

"Baylor University is 859 miles away from the Sinclair's house exactly," Theo said as the first woman laid down a plate of food on Makennah's far left. "That's twelve hours and nineteen minutes car drive." Makennah quirked an eyebrow as another server laid down another plate of pancakes right beside the other one.

The first pancake had written on it in chocolate syrup will. The second had written on it you.

The plates kept coming and Theo kept talking. "That's really far away. And I don't want to be that far away from you not knowing for sure that you're all mine. Officially. In public. The whole world knows it."

The last three servers giggled like little girls as they laid the remaining plates of pancakes on the table in front of Makennah like a wonderful display of breakfast food. The last three plates of pancakes read be, my, and girlfriend?

Will you be my girlfriend?

In chocolate syrup. On pancakes. In Rosie's Diner with Theo, the most wonderful handsome guy in the whole world, sitting across from her.

She gasped as if hit her. Theo was asking her to be his girlfriend.

"Before you answer," Theo continued. "I already asked Matt for permission to officially date you. And he agrees all the way. I did not ever expect to like you this much, but I do. And I'm tired of hiding from

Everyone. I'm tired of having to pretend that we aren't together. And you deserve more than privacy and secrecy. I want everyone to know you're my girl. So...." he cleared his throat. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Makennah bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling as bright as the sun. She felt like her heart might explode inside her chest from happiness. Never in a million years did she think she deserved this or that it would ever happen to her.

She looked down at the pancakes and grabbed a fork. She tore off a huge piece of the girlfriend? pancake and shoved it in her mouth.

Theo started laughing. Maybe a little nervously. "Is that a yes?"

She nodded enthusiastically and munched in her pancakes. "Duh," she mumbled around her food. "I can't ever tell you no," she admitted quietly after she swallowed her humongous bite.

"Wait! No more eating!" Theo held up his hand to halt her. "I need a picture for Instagram."

"Wow Instagram too? That's official."

"I told you." He held up his phone and angled it towards her. "All of you. All for me. In front of the whole world."

Again she felt the tears pressing behind her eyes. So she looked down and just smiled at the plates. If he kept talking to her like that she was going to leap across the table and kiss him full on the mouth.

He snapped the picture and her eyes flew up. "Hey I wasn't looking!"

He shrugged and tucked his phone in his pocket. He slid a plate of pancakes over to his side of the table. "Doesn't matter. You looked beautiful. Like always."

She giggled and covered her mouth. He completely unnerved her. How did he always do that?

For the rest of their first official date as boyfriend and girlfriend, Makennah and Theo quietly flirted in their booth while chowing down on so many pancakes that she thought she might explode. The servers congratulated her as if it were some

Huge special ordeal. And it kind of was. For her anyways. She didn't get nice things or nice friends. She didn't get good opportunities or worthy boyfriends. The fact that her luck was turning around stunned her.

Theo held her hand all the way home. He told her that she could tell the Sinclair's and everyone else about their relationship before he posted he picture on Instagram. She desperately wanted to text her friends to inform them first but she kind of enjoyed living in their secluded bubble as just the two of them who held the knowledge of their brand new relationship.

"Do you wanna come in?" Makennah asked when they arrived at the house. Now that they were together she guessed it was time she get used to having him around the house hanging out with her. Not just Matt.

"Sure," he said, unbuckling.

What greeted her inside scared her to her core.

Carolynn was screaming and crying somewhere in the depths of the house.

Josh sat on the stairs with his head in his hands.

Makennah jumped clear out of her skin when the door slammed shut behind her. The cold air and the shrilling screaming caused goosebumps to run up her arms and legs.

In the living room, Jonah perched on the arm of the couch, clutching his arms and rocking back and forth.

Will talked on the phone in the kitchen. He was yelling at someone. Matt was nowhere to be seen.

Upstairs, she heard something drop heavily on the floor and shake the whole house. The chandelier in the foyer jingled and trembled.

"What...what's going on?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Makennah!" Jonah leapt off of the couch and jolted over to her side, throwing his arms around her midriff.

Instinctually, her arms wrapped around her, holding him tightly. Makennah closed her eyes and steadied herself. Her body sensed the turmoil surging through the Sinclair household. It felt too soon. Too much, too soon. Makennah barely recovered from the previous happenings in her life. Whatever this was...it was too soon. "Buddy, what's going on?"

Jonah started sobbing. Josh lifted his head slowly and just looked at Makennah and Theo standing in the foyer, dripping snow onto the hardwood floor. Jonah choked on his tears as he spoke. "Grandpa died."

Josh filled in for Makennah what Jonah left out. "Grandpa Rothhair. Carolynn's dad. A stroke."

Makennah sucked in a breath. She patted Jonah's back. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay," she repeated over and over again. "It's okay."

Theo laid his hand on her back. His touch jolted her into the present. The screaming, the yelling, the crying. It all sucked her into the past. A past of death. A past of tears. A past of loss.

"It's okay, buddy. It's okay."

Her heart ran like a racehorse inside her chest. The Sinclair's didn't deserve this. Maybe she did. But not them.

Did she bring this upon them? Did she bring destruction everywhere she went?

They didn't deserve this.

"It's okay, Jonah." It's okay. It's okay.

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Chapter 50!! We made it!! Thanks for sticking with me!!

Xoxo

W. Carolina