That One Summer

There are miles and miles ahead of me. There is nothing but blue skies and warm summer air. I see nothing but highway roads and yellow lines. The sound of my music on my iPhone makes me sleep for only half of the 16 hour drive. I was long ways away from my home of Miami, Florida. This wasn’t my choice. It was my mom’s. She needed a break away from me and the accident I had caused. So, her plan was to send me away to my grandparents along with my little brother and sister. “Now Mackenzie,” my mom started as we entered the state of Alabama. “When we get there, please be on your best behavior.”

“Mom, you don’t have to worry,” I assured her. “I miss grandma and grandpa. I’m going to be good.” I could see the look in the mirror she didn’t believe me. “It’s a new start, remember?” Right then, I could see a small smile appear on her face. It was a new start; a new summer.

         Alabama was a gorgeous state. There wasn’t any palm trees like I’m used to, but there was still that fresh home-like air. My grandparents lived in a gorgeous, big, yellow house with white fences going all the way around. The front yard had two bird baths and a flower garden just to the left. About 50 yards to the left, stood a red barn with horses running around. I used to spend every summer here when I was a little girl. I stopped when I turned 16. We pulled up in the driveway and you could see my grandparents standing on the front porch waving at us. I turned around to wake up my brother and sister. “Noah, Sarah, we’re here,” I said shaking their legs. Noah, my little brother, was 12 and Sarah, my little sister, was 10. Sarah was the first one out of the car and into my grandma’s arms. I helped my mom unload the suitcases from the back. I gave my grandparents a big hug as soon as I could. “Mackenzie, I am so happy you are here,” my grandma said as I approached the porch. I dropped the suitcases once I got up the steps. “I’m happy to be here grandma.”

         I took my suitcases up to my old room. It was still the same as I left it. My grandma redid the wallpaper because I didn’t like the old one. This one was yellow with orange flowers everywhere. The bedding even matched the orange flowers. I sat my bags on the bed and walked around. I noticed a necklace sitting on the dresser. When I walked over to it, it had a note attached. “Dear Mackenzie, I know you have had a tough couple of years. But hopefully this summer helps you find out what you are missing. Love, grandma.” I smiled as I picked up the necklace. The silver chain has a silver microphone charm hanging to it. I put it on and went downstairs.

         My mom was talking to grandma while the kids were playing with grandpa on the porch. My mom was talking about what time she was leaving the next morning. Grandma suggested I check out downtown. Apparently, there was a new spot downtown that did karaoke. I nodded by head and headed for the door when mom stopped me. “Take my car,” she said tossing me the keys.

         Downtown was about 20 minutes down the road by car. Nothing had really changed since I had been there except they added one or two new clothing stores. The place my grandma was talking about was a new coffee shop on 36th Street. You could feel the relaxation of the place when you walked through the door. The walls were colored a dark aqua color with green chandeliers. To fill up the space, the coffee station was the right stretched about ten feet. To the left, was a small stage where they sang karaoke. And in the middle were about six table with two chairs each and two green sofas that fit three people. It was my lucky night, because it was karaoke night. I grabbed me a coffee and grabbed a seat at a table. The people that got up to sing weren’t half bad. They all picked decent songs to sing, but not all matched the tone of their voice. “Is this seat taken?” I turned around to see a guy standing behind me with a cameral latte pointing to the seat beside me. “No, go ahead.” I tried to fix my hair because after sitting in a cramped car for 16 hours, I knew it looked like a mess. “Are you here to sing,” he asked me. I glanced up to the stage to see it was empty.

“No, not really. I’m new in town. Well, not new but I haven’t been here in a while and came to check the place out.” 

“I see,” he said, swinging his legs my way so he could face me. “Where are you from?”

“Miami, Florida.”

“Well, Miami,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Watch this for me, will you?” He pushed his latte towards me and walked towards to the stage. He picked a number on the screen and adjusted the microphone. I raised my hand to my neck and felt around my microphone charm. The guy began to sing and he had the whole shop hooked in on his performance. He had a soft and gentle voice with a touch of rasp to it. He earned a hand full of claps from the audience. When he walked back down, I pushed his latte towards his seat. “So you sing,” I asked as he sat down.

“A little. I sing here every Friday night.” I nodded and started to get up.

“So, Miami, what’s your name? In case I run into you again.”

“Mackenzie.”

“I’m Toby.” I smiled and walked out of the shop.

         When I got home, it was around eight thirty. I had missed dinner, but grandma saved me a plate of spaghetti. I sat my purse on the counter and heated up my plate. She and mom were sitting at the table with cups of coffee waiting for me to sit down. When I did, I could tell mom was eager to know how the coffee shop went. “This is really good grandma,” I decided to say, trying to break the silence.

“How did it go,” mom asked. I looked up at her to finally see a smile on her face. I whipped my mouth with a paper towel and took a drink of my Mtn. Dew.

“It went fine. It’s a really cute spot.”

“Did you sing?” I shook my head. My mom seemed disappointed.

“This boy did. And he was amazing. He kind of hit on me, but I think he was just being friendly.”

“I did not send you here to have a summer romance Mackenzie.” I knew my mom sent me down here for me to get a better start before I go off to college. But telling me not to have a romance or any fun at all was not okay. I grabbed my plate and my drink and headed upstairs. “Mackenzie,” I heard my mom calling. I sat in my room most of the night eating and watching re-runs of NCIS.

         I woke up around two thirty in the morning. I normally cannot go to sleep early because I wake up in the middle of the night. I changed clothes because I fell asleep in my day clothes. I put on a pair of blue plaid thermal pajama pants and a white tank top. I threw my hair up in a ponytail and went downstairs. Everything was dark. I was assuming everyone was asleep. I went to grab a pop out of the fridge when I saw the barn light come on across the yard. I grabbed a bat from the closet in the hall and went outside. Someone was walking in and out of the barn with bales of hay. When I got over there, they were inside stacking the bales to one side. “Hey,” I said. The person jumped and I raised the bat. “Whoa whoa whoa,” he yelled.  He came into the light where I could see him and I lowered the bat. “Hey Mack.” Toby was standing there in front of me in cowboy boots, pajama pants, no shirt, and a cowboy hat. He laughed at me for still holding the bat so I laid it up against a stall. “What are you doing out here Toby? Especially at my house.”

“You live with Susan?” He was referring to my grandma.

“She’s my grandma. Now answer my question.” He took his gloves off and sat them on a hay bale.

“I work for her. I stack hay, take care of the horses, and mostly just take care of the farm.” He took a seat on the second row of bales so I sat on the first.

“You know,” I started. “Back at the coffee shop, you didn’t seem like a farm boy.”

“And you didn’t look like a singer.” I gave him a strange look as if I didn’t know what he was talking about. “Don’t give me that look Mack.” The fact he called me “Mack” made me smile. “I know you’re a singer. You just have had a few bumps in the road.”

“How did you know that?” He got up and stood in front of me. I couldn’t help myself but to look at his body. He had a nice six pack going on and I assumed it was from all the farm work.

“You have the presence of a singer. The looks, style, face; all cute by the way,” he said giving me a wink. I stood up and walked outside. He followed. “Well I should probley get back to the house. Maybe I’ll see you around tomorrow, or um later today?” He took my hand and smiled.

“You can count on it.” I smiled and nodded. I walked back to the house and Toby returned to work. The thought of my mom not wanting me to have a relationship popped into my mind right when I turned to look back at Toby.  He resumed back to work like nothing happened.

         I walked back in the house as quiet as I could. I tried tiptoeing through the kitchen, but a voice scared me so bad I screamed. “Mackenzie, where have you been,” my grandma asked. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, playing with the teabag. I couldn’t lie to my grandmother. Even if I tried, she would break me down.

“I couldn’t sleep so I took a walk.”

“Where’d you walk to Mackenzie?”

“The barn.” I could see the tension in her eyes.  She didn’t look happy with what I said.

“Did you meet Toby?” I nodded. She shook her head as in she was disappointed. She stood up and poured her tea down the drain. I walked towards her but she walked away.

“Are you going to be like mom and tell me to stay away from boys’ too,” I decided to ask.

“Honey, you just don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. I hired Toby in favor to his mother. He has gotten kicked out of four towns in the past two years for violence.” She started walking out of the kitchen when I followed her.

“Grandma, I’m not going to get involved with him.”

“Good,” she said turning around so fast I could feel wind come off her. “Besides, Tanner is coming by in the morning.” She was already half way up the steps when I finally remembered who Tanner was.

“Wait. Tanner, as in, my old middle school boyfriend Tanner?”

“That’s the one. Get some sleep darling. You’re going to need it.” Tanner was my old middle school boyfriend who was always here for the summers. He was more of a summer boyfriend when I was in middle school. You could say he was my first love but it was nothing serious. “This is not going to go well,” I said to myself. I headed up to my room and got some sleep.

         The next morning I thought of any possible way to get out of seeing Tanner. Nothing good worked in my mind and nothing was good enough to fool my grandmother. I sat up in my bed and stared at my closet. I thought about wearing something awful that he wouldn’t even want to look at me, but then I thought about looking adorable so he would remember what he lost. I figured I would French braid my hair because it was too long to curl and it took too much time. I picked out some black leather pants that went with a blue silk tank top. I put on some mascara and lip-gloss and headed down stairs.

         Tanner was already at the house. He was sitting with my grandparents and my brother at the table. My little sister was still asleep. “Oh Mackenzie,” my grandma said with a huge smile and walked over to me. Tanner’s eyes met mine and I could feel something knot up in my stomach. “Come sit down with us.” Grandma guided me to the table as if I didn’t know how to walk on my own. I sat down across from Tanner and beside my little brother. “Hey Mack,” Tanner said to me.

“Hi.” I felt my head drop without me realizing. Grandma sat out breakfast for everyone. Out on the table were scrambled eggs in a bowl, sausage links on a plate, bacon on a smaller plate, and orange juice in a tea dispenser. I hardly talked at breakfast until Tanner started asking me questions. “So Mack, where are you going to college?”

“I had a scholarship at Julliard, but I have decided to go to Princeton.”

“Julliard? Really?” He seemed surprised. I nodded my head. Tanner was always brilliant in school. He was the smartest person I knew. He planned on going to Yale or Harvard.

“Wow Mack. I knew you’re singing would pay off.” I rolled my eyes and looked down at my plate. “So why did you change your mind?” I threw my fork down and felt my anger boiling up inside me.

“Two years ago, I auditioned for Julliard. My dad was supposed to meet me there to watch me sing. While I was auditioning, he died by getting hit by a drunk driver. That’s why I changed my mind.” I pushed my chair out and walked out of the house. I needed to get away. I walked down to the barn hoping Toby wasn’t there. I could feel the tears pouring from my face. I decided I was going to take my old horse out for a ride when Toby walked in. “Hey Mack,” he said putting down his rope. I didn’t answer. Instead, I wiped the tears from my face and got out my old horse, Thunder. “Mackenzie, are you okay,” he asked as I walked past him. I grabbed a saddle and some rains and walked back to Thunder. Toby grabbed my arm which made me have to look at him. “Mackenzie, what is wrong?”

“I’m fine. Let go of me.” I yanked my arm away and put the saddle on Thunder.

“I don’t count crying as being okay.”

“Yeah well, me and you have different definitions I suppose.” I grabbed the rains of Thunder and led him outside. 

“Is this about that Tanner kid,” Toby asked me following me. I hopped up on Thunder and rode off. I could hear Toby yelling my name about five times.

          I used to ride Thunder all the time when I visited my grandma. He was my whole world. But lately he was been sick and ended up having cancer. I knew he didn’t have much time left on his hands so I thought I’d spend some of my summer with him before he goes. We rode towards the lake down through the woods across the field of the farm. It was one of the secret places I would go when I needed to be alone. The trails through the woods were quiet along with the birds and other forest animals. We reached the forest faster than I expected. The lake had its own private waterfall. Nobody knows about it because hardly anyone comes to this lake. If you’re lucky enough, you can see the waterfall change colors from purple to green back to blue. Sometimes, it even shows the color pink. Nobody understands why it does what it does but that’s the magic of it.

         I tied Thunder to a tree next to the lake along the sand. I sat in the sand just close enough for my feet to reach the water. I tried to let out a huge cry but my body resisted. I heard the sound of branches cracking behind me. “Hello,” I called out into the forest. When no one answered, I turned back around to the lake. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder and swung my arm into someone’s gut. I jumped up real quick with my heart beating so fast it felt like someone was beating a drum. “What the hell Mackenzie!” Toby was to his knees holding his stomach. I knelt down beside him to make sure he was okay. “You scared the shit out of me. Are you okay?’

“Yeah, I think it’s just a bruise.” I smiled and helped him up.

“What are you doing here anyway,” I asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I asked first.” We both laughed and I nodded back to the sand to sit down. Toby sat next me so close I could smell the fresh hay he had been working in. “I used to come here as a kid when I needed to be alone,” I started. “I guess I came down here to get away from Tanner and my grandma.” I looked at Toby and he looked like he wanted to know more so I continued. “Tanner was this guy I used to date. We did everything together. He’s the one who pushed me into a singing career. But then he cheated on me with this girl down the street. Of course, I was only in middle school so I didn’t know better.”

“He’s stupid for doing that to you Mack. You didn’t deserve that.” I shrugged.

“He asked me why I changed my mind about Julliard. I guess I kind of went off telling him about my dad.” I lowered my head and felt Toby’s hand come around my shoulder. I leaned my head into his chest and relaxed.

“So may I say, you look very different today,” he said. I laughed and looked at was I was wearing.

“Yeah, I tried to look different to get Tanner’s attention. Stupid me.” We sat there in silence for a while looking out at the water. He nudged me and said we should get back to the house. We both climbed up on Thunder and rode back to the house.

         Toby said he would put Thunder up for me. Once I got up to the house, everyone was outside. Noah and Sarah were playing outside while grandma was making lunch. I didn’t realize it was already one in the afternoon. Tanner, on the other hand, was waiting for me on the front porch. Once he saw me, he rushed down the steps to meet me. “Mackenzie, I had no idea. I am so sorry.”

“It’s okay Tanner. You didn’t know. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” I slid my hands into my back pockets and stood there awkwardly until Tanner would move so I could go in the house.

“So Mack, do you want to catch a bite later down at the coffee shop? I heard they have the best donuts.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” He moved out of my way so I could go into the house. I could hear footsteps behind me so I figured Tanner would follow. I headed to the laundry room which was right through the kitchen. I couldn’t stand the pants I had on. The only thing bad about the laundry room was it was out in the open without a door. I asked Tanner if he would get me something to drink so he wouldn’t look at me change. I hurried to put basketball shorts and a cut off on before he would turn back around. I untied my French braid and put it up. By the time Tanner turned around, I was already walking back towards him. “Did you change,” he asked holding out a glass of sweet tea. I grabbed it out of his hand and gave him a wink.

“See you in a little bit Tan,” I said walking up the stairs.

         Hours flew by until it reached seven o’clock. I curled my hair and pinned half of it back. I slipped into a silver dress and silver flats. Tanner was waiting by the front door, walking back and forth as if he was nervous. I stopped about half way down the stairs just to watch him freak out. He wore dark blue jeans and a bright orange polo with black tennis shoes. I let out a small laugh and he stopped to look at me. “You’re not nervous, are you Tanner,” I asked, walking down the rest of the stairs and laughing.

“No, I’m no where near nervous.”

“Right.” I had forgotten how green his eyes were, and the shade of his brown hair brought out the color of them just perfectly.

“Shall we get this show on the road? I have reserved seating,” he said snapping me out of my gaze. I nodded as we walked out the door. I saw Toby on the way to Tanner’s car. He was brushing off one of the horses outside of the barn. He didn’t look up at me but I wish he had. I was wishing he would come up here and beg me not to go tonight. But, I knew that was not going to happen.

         The coffee shop was packed because it was karaoke night. Tanner went and found our seats while I went to the bathroom. “I can do this,” I told myself. “He’s just a friend having dinner.” I took a deep breath before I went back out. I walked through all the people to get to our seats. “Pick any coffee you would like. It’s my treat.” I looked over the different kinds of coffee and frappes they had. I decided to go with the sweet caramel frappe. Tanner just got a black coffee. “So do you want to sing tonight,” he asked as the first karaoke volunteer walked up on stage. I looked up at the girl who looked so nervous she could have puked.

“No, I don’t think tonight is a good night. I’m not prepared.”

“Mack, you don’t need to prepare. You could go up there and wing it and sound amazing.” The girl on stage began to sing an old rock song from the 80s. She wasn’t too bad. She was off key most of the time and her high pitch did not fit the song, but in this place, that doesn’t matter. I watch and studied her movements. She liked to dance when she got comfortable and make facial expressions so everyone would see how hard she was trying. I smiled instantly because I thought of myself. “Come on Mack. You can’t be scared anymore.” I looked across the booth at Tanner. When he said that, I knew he was right, but for the past two years, that’s all I’ve known was being scared.

“You’re right.”

“I know… Wait, what?”

“I said you’re right. I’ll sing.” Just like that, Tanner was fighting through the crowd of people to sign me up to sing next. I felt my nerves rising and the memory of my dad flashed to my mind. I closed my eyes and remembered. “No,” I said to myself. “Not this time.”

         The announcer of the karaoke night walked up on stage once the girl was finished and complimented on her singing. “Up next,” he started. “A local who we haven’t heard sing in two years, Mackenzie Whittington!” Just like that, people moved out of the way and opened a path for me to get to the stage. Everyone was clapping and yelling my name. I walked up to the stage and saw Tanner standing next to the steps. “You’re going to do great. Just breathe.” I nodded and walked up on stage. I stood in front of the microphone looking into the crowd before me. “What song would you like to sing Mackenzie,” the announcer asked. I looked at the screen with a list of tracks on it. The song I sang for Julliard was on the list. It was time to face my fear. “Track 11,” I responded.

“Alright, Mackenzie will be singing ‘I Hope You Find It.’ let’s go!” I closed my eyes for three seconds and when I opened them back up, I saw Toby walking into the shop and looking at me. He stopped and watched. The music started to play. I grabbed the stand with on hand and the microphone with the other. Words started flowing out of my mouth and before I knew it, I was lost in the song. For a long time, I felt lost and thought I would never get over the accident. Tonight, everything went away; all my problems, mistakes, and feelings just drifted off. When I finished, the whole shop was cheering and clapping. As I got to the steps, I could see Tanner was thrilled. I jumped off the steps and into his arms. I was unbelievably happy and I wouldn’t be if he didn’t push me to get up there tonight. “You were amazing Mack,” Tanner said spinning me around. He put me on the ground and I just smiled. “I’ll go bring the car around.” I finally did it.

         I started walking to the front door when I felt someone pull on my arm. Toby was behind me with a kind of disappointing look in his eyes. “You were incredible,” he said to me.

“Thanks. I’m a little rusty, but it felt good to sing again.” We stood there for a couple of second before either one of us talked again. “Well,” I started. “I better go. Tanner is probley waiting on me.”

“Are you with him?” He was serious.

“What?”

“Are you together again? Cause just this morning you were upset with him.”

“Toby, we are not together. We are just friends. And yes I was upset, but that was because he didn’t know anything about my father.”

“I don’t trust him.”

“I do.” On that note, I walked away from him. I bumped into everyone trying to get through the door. How can you not trust someone you don’t even know? Tanner was waiting out front but I stopped when I got outside. I looked back at the door of the shop and saw Toby watching me through the glass window. “Mackenzie, are you okay,” I heard Tanner yell.

“Um, yeah, I’m just going to take a walk. You go on back to the house.” I started to walk down the street when Tanner ran to catch me.

“Your grandma will kill me if I come home without you. Come on,” he said grabbing my arm. “Just get in the car.”

“Tanner, you’re squeezing my arm too tight. I said I’m going to take a walk.” Tanner pulled my arm so hard I thought it got dislocated. He pulled me close to him so I couldn’t walk away. I’ve never seen this side of Tanner before and it started to scare me. I kept trying to get him to let go of my arm but he would just grip tighter. We were in public with people around so I stopped in case he tried anything more dangerous.

“Get in the car Mackenzie,” he demanded. I yanked my arm away from him when he finally loosened up. I took a couple steps back before I told him no. The smack to my face was so hard the breath was knocked out of me. I felt myself hit the concrete. “Get your ass in the car,” I heard from the ground. My face was stinging and my ears were ringing. I looked up and saw a bunch of people crowded around us. I heard Toby’s voice through the ringing of my ears. Toby threw a punch a Tanner and knocked him against his car. I got to my feet and saw Tanner drive off. People had their phones out video tapping and taking pictures. “Mackenzie, are you okay,” Toby asked. I put my hand up to my face but it hurt too much to touch it. I couldn’t find words to say so I nodded. “Come on. My house is just down the street.” He picked me up and carried me down the street.

         I’ve never felt so grateful for ice in my life. Although, it wasn’t ice; it was frozen corn but it still helped. Books were every where around the couch I was sitting on. “Do you like to read,” I asked. Toby walked in the living room with drinks and an ice pack. He grabbed the corn out of my hand and replaced it with the ice pack.

“Yeah, reading is mostly what I do when I’m not at the farm.”

“I like your place. It’s comfortable.” He smiled. I tried to smile back but pain shot up my cheek.

“I hate to tell you I told you so, but I told you so. He couldn’t be trusted.”

“I’ve never seen him like that. He’s so different.” When I looked over at Toby, he was starring at me. “What?”

“Even with a bruise on the side of your face, you’re still beautiful.” He leaned in closer to me. I could smell his scent getting stronger when he moved closer. His hands were warm when they touched my face. His fingers carefully glided across my bruise without hurting it at all. He was so close I could feel him breathe. “I hope you don’t mind if I kiss you,” he whispered.  Before I could answer, his lips were locked on mine; so warm and gentle. That kiss made me forget the pain I was currently having. I pulled back and opened my eyes to find his starring at me. “I should get back home.”

         Toby wasn’t going to let me go inside alone. He was concerned Tanner was inside waiting on me. He was right. Only he was wrong, he wasn’t alone. My grandparents and siblings were with him. My grandma rushed over to me as soon as I stepped through the door. “Are you okay sweetie? Tanner said you fell off the stage and blacked out.” I shot a look over at where Tanner was sitting. A smirk came across his face. I felt Toby’s hand squeeze tighter around mine.

“Is that what he told you what happened?” Everyone nodded. I walked over to Tanner with complete anger. “You son of a bitch. You told them I ran into something? Are you kidding me? You hit me. You hit me so hard I fell to the ground. Why? Because I wouldn’t get in the car with you? You’re a sick bastard.” Toby walked up behind me and pulled me away from him.

“He hit you,” my grandma asked. I nodded.

“She’s lying. Why would I do such a thing Mack,” Tanner said walking over to me.

“Why would I lie? I have a huge bruise on the side of my face and everyone at the shop saw you.”

“Nobody saw anything. You blacked out. You don’t remember anything.”

“You’re going to Hell.” Toby stepped in front of me and pulled out his phone.

“So I suppose this picture was her falling off the stage,” Toby said showing my grandparents the picture of him hitting me. My grandpa grabbed Tanner by the arm and led him to the door. “Do not ever come back to this house and you stay away from my granddaughter,” grandpa said to him. I wrapped my arms around Toby and squeezed him tight. He saved my life tonight.

         After Toby left and after I took a shower, I walked down to the living room where grandma was. Noah was in front of the TV watching Batman. I kissed him on the head and sat down beside grandma. “I’m sorry for being so distant this summer grandma.” She put down the book she was reading and hugged me.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. Tanner changed. I had no idea he was like that and neither did you. I’m just thankful Toby was there.”

“He is a good kid.” Hearing her say that made me smile.

“I never thanked you for my necklace. It’s beautiful.”

“Just like you.” She kissed me on the forehead and got up. She turned off the TV and told Noah to get to sleep. I walked up with Noah and tucked him into bed.

“Mackenzie,” he said as I tucked him in. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Get some sleep okay? We’ll go riding tomorrow if you want to.” He nodded and rolled over on his side. I turned out his light and shut his door.

         I walked over to the window in my room and saw Toby’s truck sitting in the driveway. I heard my door shut behind me. The sound of footsteps kept getting closer and closer. A hand moved my wet hair to one side and lips pressed against my neck. I turned around and Toby’s hands went around my waist. “What are you still doing here? I thought you left.” I glanced at the clock which said 11:30.

“I couldn’t leave. I needed to touch you and be with you.” He pulled me closer and kissed me. This time was different. This kiss was more passionate and wanted. I pushed him gently towards my bed. His hands slowly slid up and down on the outline of my spine. His body heat was unbearable but I didn’t care. I ran my hands through his hair and across his back. I fell asleep later on in his arms. After all that had happened that night, this was the first time I felt relieved.

         When I woke up the next morning, Toby was gone. I slipped a big t-shirt on and muddled downstairs. Noah and Sarah were eating breakfast and grandma was cooking some eggs. Grandpa was cleaning his gun set which made me a little scared. “Goodmorning. Are you guys ready to go riding today,” I asked sitting down.

“Yes! I’m so excited!” Sarah’s eyes lit up like stars in the night sky.

“How you feeling sweetheart,” grandma asked putting eggs on my plate.

“I’m alright. Although, grandpa is scaring me by the way he’s cleaning those guns.”

“Hey,” grandpa said so I guess he overheard me. “What you went through will NEVER happened again.” I was lucky to have the family I have. No matter how much I think they don’t want me or will never understand me, they will always protect me till the ends of the Earth.

         I helped Sarah get dressed for riding. She wasn’t sure what she should wear so I went to the closet in the hallway and grabbed an old box. When I brought it back in her room, she jumped over the bed and asked what was inside. “Well, since this is your first time riding, I thought you should look professional.” I pulled out my old horse competing uniform. I wore it when I was about her age so it should fit.

“Oh my gosh,” she said holding it in her hands. “Thank you Mack.” She gave me a hug and ran into the bathroom. I went back to my room to get dressed myself. My curls were still in tact from yesterday so I just threw an old cowgirl hat on that my grandma had lying around. A white tank top, blue jeans, and boots seemed fitted for the occasion. I rounded up the kids and headed down to the barn. Toby was there feeding the horses. Sarah ran off into the barn followed by Noah looking at which horse they wanted to ride. “Hey,” Toby said.

“Hey.” We stood there in awkward silence for a few seconds just starring at each other. “So, we are going to go riding. If you don’t mind, you can help pick out a horse for them.”

“And for you?”

“I’m going to take Thunder.” He nodded and walked over to Sarah and Noah.

“So Sarah, I have a special horse for you,” he said.

“Really, which one?” Toby pointed at the stable at the far end.

“Her name is Angel. Just like you.” He gave her a wink and looked back over at Noah.

“And Noah, you are going to ride old Jack here. He’s one of the nicest horses you’ll ever meet.” Toby helped the kids get saddled up and ready. I walked into Thunders stable. He looked miserable. He looked like he hasn’t eaten in days but he ate all the time. I stood there frozen. I just watched and watched his every move. He hated when anyone besides me touched him. I put my hand against his face and he looked me in the eye. “You’re the strongest horse I know,” I said to him. He knew what I was saying, or at least I thought he always did. “You can’t leave me here alone. You were my first horse. You’re going to get better, I promise.” I could feel the tears filling up in my eyes. Thunder always knew when I was upset. He nudged my shoulder and I laughed.  I put a saddle on him and led him outside of the barn. Toby helped me up on my horse and made sure everything was in place. He checked every little thing. “I do know how to properly prepare a horse you know.”

“I just don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“Maybe you should come with us then.”

         Riding through the open hay fields reminded me how much I used to love riding. It was an every day routine for me. Toby rode up front with Noah while I stayed back and helped Sarah. “He likes you, you know.”

“What?” Sarah was young but she knew what she was talking about when she tried to prove a point.

“Toby, he likes you. A lot, I can tell. And you like him back.” I looked in front of me. Toby was teaching Noah how to hold the rains of the horse.

“Yeah, I do but summers almost over.”

“It doesn’t have to be Mack. I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”

“You know, for a ten year old, you know an awful lot.” She laughed which made me laugh. We stopped by the lake so the horses could have something to drink. Noah and Sarah played in the sand; building castles and pretending little people lived there. As for Toby and I, we sat on a rock near the horses. “Summer’s almost over,” I said.

“I know. Two weeks.”

“What’s going to happen for us?” He bent his head down and I knew the answer. “That’s what I thought.” I got up off the rock and whipped off the dirt on my jeans.

“Mackenzie, you’re going to Julliard. That’s miles away.”

“You don’t think I know that,” I said walking away.

“Then why are you so surprised?” I stopped. Why was I surprised? He made feel alive for five minutes and I was attached. Worse, he got attached to me. I turned around slowly but didn’t look at him.

“I’m not surprised. I’m ashamed. I should have never gotten close to you.” Toby began to walk closer and closer. I could feel my voice shaking and tears filling up in my eyes but I kept them away. “Why couldn’t you have just kept your distance from me? Why did you have to fall for me? It would have saved me from saying goodbye.” He reached out his hand to put on my face but I turned my head.

“It’s not goodbye for good.”

“But it’s a goodbye that will break my heart.” I yelled for Noah and Sarah that it was time to go have lunch. I backed away before I finally turned and ran back to the horses. Noah didn’t notice but Sarah did. She knew something was wrong but she didn’t bother to ask. My summer was coming to an end and I had no control.

         You could smell the grilled cheeses from outside. Noah and Sarah put their horses up and immediately ran to the house. After I put Thunder in his stall, I collapsed in front of it. I was never good at saying goodbye. I normally don’t tell someone I’m leaving and just get up and leave. I couldn’t with this one. I eventually got up on my feet and walked to the house. I had two weeks left here; two weeks to figure out what I’m going to do with my life.

         That night, grandma hosted a huge party. It was more of a fundraiser for a church up the street, but everyone in town came. The house was packed with strange faces and different smells; good and bad. Grandma wanted us kids to dress up so we all went upstairs to change. Noah threw on a pair of kakis and a plaid shirt and he was gone. Sarah, on the other hand, wanted some help. “Can you help me pick out what to wear?”

“Of course, let me get dress real fast and I’ll come help.” She walked into her room and sat on the bed with her iPod. I didn’t know what to wear to these kinds of parties. Winging it, I picked out a pink dress with blue heels. I pulled my hair up because I hated it in my face. It still looked good because of the curls, but just in case, I added a blue flower to the side.

         I knocked on Sarah’s door that was half way closed. “Are you ready?” She nodded her head and sat up. I walked over to her closet and started going through her clothes. “Summer is almost over,” she said. I didn’t hesitate to turn around.

“I know.” I pulled out a black dress and grabbed her white flats. I grabbed her hand and sat her down in the chair in front of her mirror.

“Why are you pushing Toby away? He’s so good to you and you guys are perfect.” I didn’t answer her as I brushed her hair.

“Get dressed, alright?” I put the brush down and walked out. Tanner walked up the stairs as I walked down. I hesitated but walked past him. “Mackenzie, wait,” I heard him say. I pretended as if I didn’t hear him. I was about to walk out the screen door when he got in front of me. “Mackenzie, listen to me. I am so sorry for what happened. I’ve never done that before.”

“I’m surprised you walked on the property without getting shot. My grandpa has been cleaning guns since that night.”

“He should. I was wrong and out of line. Please, give me a second chance. Nothing like that will ever happen again.”

“I have to go. I have to help grandma. I’ll see you around Tanner.”

         When I got down to the party, you could hardly see yard because there was so many people. Most people were dancing to the music playing, but if they weren’t dancing, they were eating and drinking wine. I found my grandma near the punch bowl talking to some of her old friends. She introduced me as her beautiful granddaughter. “You look stunning sweetie,” she said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“What can I do to help?”

“Well, you can start by dancing with Mary’s grandson, Sam.”

“Oh yes,” Mary jumped in. “Please, he’s new in down for a couple of days and having a pretty girl like you dance with him will be the highlight of his stay. Let me go get him.” While she ran off to get her grandson, I turned to grandma and gave her a strange look that read ‘What have you done?’

“Are you trying to hook me up grandma?”

“Oh Mackenzie, just live a little.” Hearing my grandma say ‘Live a little’ made me laugh. She was right though. I do need something to get my mind off everything.

“Okay, Sam,” I heard Mary say sneaking up behind me. “This is Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is my grandson Sam.” I took one look at him and smiled. Sam was tall and mysterious. His brown eyes sparkled in the moon light. He had light brown hair with a hint on black along the edges.

“Hi, Mackenzie,” he said holding out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.” We walked to the center of where everyone was dancing. He placed his hand on my waist and then guided it to the center on my back. He lifted his left hand and I gently put my palm in his. “So where are you going to school,” I asked. He twirled me around and dipped me.

“Julliard, I play piano and guitar.” I was shocked.

“You don’t look like the Julliard type.”

‘Yeah, I’m a little rough around the edges, but aren’t we all?”

“I guess.” I looked around us at everyone having a good time. Through a small crack, I saw my grandma talking to a boy. I tried to get a better picture when we moved to the left a little bit and then I saw it was Toby. Surely, my grandma told him I was dancing with some other boy who I barely know. “Mackenzie?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked where you are going to school.”

“Oh, um Julliard as well.”

“You’re kidding?” I shook my head. “I guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you then.” He dipped me one last time, but this time, he pulled me up slowly and suddenly I was nose to nose with him. He stepped back and bowed at me. Then, just like that, he disappeared. I was about to walk away when Tanner showed up in front of me. “Dance with me, please.” He wouldn’t take no for an answer so I danced. Toby seemed to notice and didn’t look away from me.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve dancing with me,” I said.

“As well as you dancing with me.” He was right. “I didn’t come to start a fight. I want you to forgive me.”

“That won’t happen. You hurt me, literally.”

“I know. I told you it will never happen again. What can I do to change your mind?”

“Nothing.” I stopped dancing and walked away. Tanner grabbed my hand, spun me back into his arms, and kissed me. The memories we had as kids flashed back into my mind. I remembered our first kiss at the waterfall. It was kind of like this. I was mad at him and he knew if he’d kiss me I’d forgive him. But I asked myself, was it enough this time?

         I pushed Tanner off before I got lost in the moment. I didn’t know what to say to him so I just stood there. All of a sudden, Toby stepped in.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing boy,” Toby yelled.

“I was trying to apologize.”

“By kissing Mackenzie? That was your apology? Do everyone a favor and stay the hell away from her.”

“Toby, stop,” I said putting my hand on his shoulder trying to pull him away. Everyone around us was starring and watching. Toby was so close to throwing a punch, I didn’t want it to happen in front of everyone. I pushed him towards the house but he wouldn’t go inside. Instead, we sat on the front porch.

“Why’d you pull me away? I was doing just fine.”

“If I let you stand there another second, Tanner would have been on the ground, again.”

“Why did he have to kiss you though? You’re my girl.”