(61) Mere Strangers

Thanksgiving came and went. Makennah's feelings weren't hurt that the Sinclair's weren't able to celebrate due to Carolynn's father's passing. In fact, she was quite accustomed to lounging around all day and avoiding her mother. She couldn't remember the last time she gorged on a thanksgiving feast. She felt bad for the boys though who moped about, expecting Carolynn to throw something together last minute but it just didn't happen.

Plus, Grandpa Rothair's funeral and burial were planned for Friday. The family decided not to bury him on Thursday and infringe on friend's and family's holiday time.

After her appointment with Janine, Makennah wandered around the house, always keeping the papers in a sealed envelope nearby her so that she could hand them off when she was ready. Carolynn progressed from crying in bed to watching tv in bed which everyone considered a big stepping stone. The boys mostly kept to themselves and that left Makennah alone to entertain herself.

After her session with Janine, Makennah figured out she rather enjoyed the alone time because every time she thought about interacting with any Sinclair family member, she wanted to cry. She didn't understand. She couldn't comprehend it. She thought she got all of the tears out while in Janine's office.

It's not that she was sad. Just...content. Finally, she made up her mind and it was wonderfully freeing to come to terms with this new sense of stability inside the homey warming walls of the Sinclair household.

Makennah texted Grace, Penny, and Meredith right away to tell them about her decision. Each of them congratulated her and wished her well. Her heart warmed at their genuine responses. She learned she wasn't just adopting the Sinclair's as her permanent-ish family but also her friends.

When she got home, she laid around in her room for a little while and contemplated why she was so gun-shy about Theo and their commitment to a relationship. Both of them posted pictures on social media to announce their loyalty to one another, but that still didn't seem to seal the deal in her mind. She didn't regret saying yes to his achingly sweet girlfriend proposal, but a piece of her heart held back from giving him everything. Sadly, Makennah knew that he knew it.

Worst of all, Theo said that he loved her. That alone made her want to run for the hills. What if she never loved him back? What if their relationship was already doomed because of unrequited feelings? Obviously, she liked him. But she was afraid that she didn't even know what Love was.

The overthinking started to cause a headache deep inside her skull. It was her body's way of telling her that she had reached the end of the emotional rope for one day and couldn't ponder any other life altering revelations about herself.

To distract herself, Makennah gathered up her notebook, school books, laptop, and fuzzy blanket and took those things downstairs to sit at the kitchen island and work on some schoolwork that was assigned to her in her absence because of the funeral proceedings. Her room felt cold and alone. Somehow the kitchen offered something she couldn't quite name, but it comforted her.

Plugging herself into her work, Makennah lost herself in mindless tasks that evolved into a paper due in a week. Checking off each item on the list of things to do before school on Monday reassured her that she could still do somethings right. All the while, her eyes fleetingly dropped to the sealed envelope on the counter. When would she give it to Will or Carolynn? She didn't know.

"Hey, Kiddo."

As if she had been caught doing something wrong, Makennah's cheeks warmed with subtle heat from the fact she had been thinking about the legal guardianship and Will didn't even know the papers were signed.

"Hi," she said back, breaking focus with her paper on her laptop.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked, automatically going over to the stove and filling the tea kettle with water to heat up for his personal beverage.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks though," she said.

He glanced over his shoulder at her while he dug his favorite large mug out of the cabinet. "What are you working on?"

She paused her fingers over the keyboard. "Just a paper for English class due next week."

"Working ahead? If only my boys had such ambition," he joked with a small smile. His glasses did wonders to hide the dark circles under his eyes but Makennah personally knew he wasn't sleeping well. She knew he was thankful to finally put to rest Carolynn's father and help her cope to move on.

Makennah rolled her eyes. "They do. They just hide it."

"Nooo," Will drew out, shaking his head.

Makennah smiled. "Matt does his homework as soon as he gets home from school even though he's tired, and he aces every test he takes without really studying. Nick excels in math and science but he hides it because he doesn't want to sound like a nerd. Josh is exactly like Matt except he doesn't apply himself. I think he's just bored in school. Not challenging enough for him. And we all know Jonah is a little boy genius who will probably cure cancer or something."

Will stood on the other side of the island while his water started boiling and scratched his chin. "I guess you're right. You know more about them than I do," he teased.

She shrugged. "We're just together all the time. At school and stuff."

Will grinned at her. "Orrrr you're just a part of this family now and you don't even realize it."

Makennah's gaze dropped to the envelope. She really was part of the family. It was actually Will who didn't know it. "I suppose." Her heart thumped erratically in her chest. She wanted to speak up, but she didn't have the courage yet.

"Thanks for all you did at the funeral by the way. And for helping Carolynn."

Makennah dropped her hands into her lap and blinked at Will like she didn't believe him. "I fell out of a closet with Matt and some random girl and broke a timeless artifact." No pun intended.

Will just shook his head and laughed while he removed the screaming kettle from the hot stovetop and poured the boiling water over the tea bag in his mug. The steam rose to the ceiling in sweeping circles. "Comic relief. We all needed it."

"Are you not yelling at me because you know Carolynn already did?" She inquired cautiously. She didn't want another berating. Carolynn's face reddened like a tomato when she careened around the corner and found the triplet standing in a pool of glass shards.

"No, because you may think you fooled Carolynn, but I know you were in that closet to stop Matt from doing something stupid that he would later regret. So I really should be thanking you." Eyeing her over the rim of his mug, Will sipped from his tea to taste the sweetness. Deciding it wasn't to his liking, he adding another half teaspoon of honey and put the ingredients away.

She blushed again. Gosh dangit. "Crises averted."

"He gonna be okay?" Will asked quietly as if Matt might be hiding around the corner listening in on their conversation.

"Long term relationship. She broke his heart. She cheated on him. He denied it for awhile," she started. "He'll be fine. Just not yet," Makennah concluded. She cleared her throat. "In other news," she picked up the envelope. "These are for the judge."

His brows knit together in confusion further aging Will beyond his years. The poor man needed some serious R&R. "What's this?" He took the envelope.

Makennah looked down at her computer and refocused her mind on the paper she had to finish. Otherwise, she would break down in an emotional flurry. "The legal guardianship papers. My mother signed them."

Immediately, Will ripped open the envelope and tore the contents out, flipping open the pages and scanning each section for signatures. "How...w-w-when?" He stuttered.

She shrugged. "Before calling hours. I called an old attorney my mom used to use. Got them signed while she's in prison. Ready for a judge to sign off on them."

"Makennah..." Will started and then realized she wasn't really as emotionally into this as he was. He folded up the papers neatly and tucked them back into the envelope. "You are...you are a gift. You're smart. And you're sneaky. Use that to your advantage someday."

Will circled the counter and twisted her seat to force her attention on him. He tapped her nose with the end of the envelope. "This is wonderful news. Just what Carolynn needs. We love you, kid."

Tears welled in her eyes so she nudged away from Will and returned to her computer screen. She loved them too. But she couldn't say it yet. "It is good news. Thanks."

Luckily, Will didn't take it personally that she wasn't as invested as him and marched off to their bedroom presumably to share the good news with Carolynn.

Less than a minute later, a loud obnoxious knock sounded from the front door. No one else was around so Makennah unwrapped herself from her fuzzy blanket and padded in socked feet to the front door. She unlocked the top lock and swung the door open to a very skinny, very tearful, and familiarly bruised teenage girl with damp long hair, cowering inside of her winter jacket which shrouded her little body.

Maisie Green cried harder when Makennah got a good look at her and realized who she was. A cut on her lip oozed with puss and blood as her salty tears cascaded down her cheeks and over the wound. "I....I....I...." She stuttered and stuttered over again while attempting to compose herself. But she failed.

Makennah opened the door wider and stepped aside.

Maisie accepted the unspoken invitation and waddled inside. She stood on the mat while Makennah closed the door behind her and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you okay?" was the first thing she asked.

Maisie nodded and dried her tears on the back of her hand. In the light of the foyer, Makennah further inspected Maisie and found a few bruises on her wrists when she removed her jacket and a faded yellow-ish bruise around her neck. "I just can't do it anymore," she gasped around her tears.

Makennah saw a broken shell of what once used to be a striking young woman, an excellent soccer player, and a regular intelligent student destined for success at a large college or university funded by daddy, the mayor's, money. A vile repugnant man with flaring temper tantrums and unconstrained strength beat the life out of Maisie and whatever future she imagined for herself.

More importantly, Makennah recognized that Maisie turned to Makennah in her time of crises for answers to her deepest questions about abusive men and for a sense of safety in her otherwise turbulent world. Mere strangers bonded together by terrible consequences. By one man who had hurt Makennah in all of the awful ways Maisie was now experiencing.

"Are you ever going to see him again?" Makennah asked rather abruptly, previously lost in her thoughts.

Maisie looked at Makennah a little confusingly. "No. Why?"

Makennah hugged her arms around her body. Her issues and stumbling blocks in her life didn't matter right now. She had to tuck her own pondering thoughts away in order to help Maisie. "Because I can't help you if you're just going to go running back to him."

Maisie started to cry again. "I'm not. I swear. Lucas almost killed me."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Maisie closed her eyes and tugged her long sleeves down over her wrists and hands. "I'm trying my hardest. I want to move on. He needs help. He's crazy."

Sadly, we need as much help just from knowing the dude.

This wasn't her journey so Makennah pivoted on her heel and wound her way back into the kitchen. In the wake of her silence, Maisie treated carefully into the Sinclair's house where Makennah led. If Maisie wanted to talk, she would have to open up on her own. After all, Makennah didn't ask for this. And while she still wasn't totally fond of the girl that got her ejected from an important soccer game, she didn't wish her ill. And after the pep talk she gave Maisie at her house after Lucas strangled her, she could at least hear her out.

While Maisie sat down in one of the kitchen stools, Makennah located all of her favorite comfort food. What else was she good at? She wasn't sure. She knew how to silently comfort people though. Her mother? Alcohol or drugs. Carolynn? Shots of tequila. Theo? Kisses. It just came naturally when she didn't open her mouth and try to complicate things.

"So what now?" Maisie asked as Makennah withdrew two tubs of ice cream from the freezer.

Makennah shrugged. Unfortunately, she really didn't know. Again, not her journey. Makennah would be there for her but it was up to Maisie to take the baby steps into full leaps.

Food. She gave Maisie food and let her talk.

"He claimed I tried to cheat on him," she said. "Which I didn't."

Makennah nodded and popped open the lids on the ice cream tubs.

"Went through my phone and didn't find anything except some DMs from guys on my twitter and Instagram but I never responded to them. Of course, it was still my fault and be blamed me."

She nodded again. Been there and done that.

Maisie accepted a spoon and a tub of ice cream to herself.

"I just...I don't know what to do."

Makennah located a bag of Doritos from the pantry. She opened the bag and smelled the sweet enticing scent of cheesy chips - her favorite. "Well you do actually."

Maisie swallowed her first bite and gingerly licked her lips, avoiding the cut on her upper lip. Her lip swelled but the cold ice cream might help with that. "What do you mean?"

"You know what you have to do. You just don't want to do it because it will bring ridicule and opinions and blame. There will be questions and digging and prying. Your parents will cry and beg for it not to be true. The public will learn and they'll look at you differently. They'll blame your bruises on yourself because you stayed. The police will want to know every nitty gritty detail and that can be both painful and embarrassing. It's a great sacrifice....when you've already sacrificed enough."

Maisie still and listened to Makennah.

"I know an excellent lawyer," she explained, thinking of Will. "I can help you. But I'm not here to hold your hand and listen to you cry. You came to me because you think I can help you because I understand. And I do understand. But now is the time to act, not sit around and lick your wounds." She pointed to her neck and her lip. Maisie looked down at her own hands, torn and bruised from fighting off a demon.

Lifting her head, Maisie looked at Makennah more clearly, envisioning a goal and a future. "Where do we start?"

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Sorry for the wait! This chapter is mostly edited but sorry for any mistakes!

Xoxo

W. Carolina