Mackenzie | √

Chapter 54

Is there a place you want to visit? Where?

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Tanner

The silence between us filled the air. It was a comfortable one and the only thing I could hear was the rhythmic pattern of Mackenzie's breathing as she stayed in my arms, eyes closed.

I had no idea what was happening. To me and my rules. They were all meant to be guarded, well​ at least they had been guarded for literally my whole life. These days, I felt like a whole new person. I felt extremely different from who I was months ago. In the beginning, she was going to be one of the million girls I'd treat like trash, but something about her persistence and the way she'd finally given up on me made me beat myself up mentally.

I looked at her, my hand running up and down her arm, as I took my time to study her features. The way her face was framed with her long black hair, the way her eyelids covered those beautiful brown eyes and her lips...

"Stop staring at me," she said, smiling as she opened her eyes.

"Sorry, I... I just couldn't help it," I rolled my eyes, a little nervous.

God, she even made me nervous.

I saw something flicker in her eyes at what I'd just said, but she just smiled, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. She was adorable when she blushed, so I pulled her cheek and she was sure to slap my hand away, smiling. She let out a breath, still relaxed in my arms, "I have to go now."

I felt a surge of disappointment run through me as I heard those words.
"Oh? How about your mom?"

"She was asleep before I left the house. I don't know how long she'll be asleep for, but I have to go to work today, especially since I didn't go yesterday."

"For how long have you been working there?"

"Uh, well,  it's gonna be a full month tomorrow," she nodded.

"Right. Meaning you get paid tomorrow?"

"Exactly," she smiled widely and my heart faltered.

I pulled my arms away from around her and we both got up from the rock.
"Well, what do you say we, uh.. meet here tomorrow?"

She looked at me, an eyebrow raised, "Why?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, I mean, we could just talk and you know, just chill or something."

"Uh, okay," she nodded.

"Great. I'll be here​ 4:30."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," she said, turning to walk away.

"Wait. I'll take you to work." I told her, my eyes not leaving hers.

"Well, first off, I have to head home because I have to see Mom and then, I really, really want to walk home."

"Are you sure?" I looked at her, not knowing what exactly to say.

"Yeah. I told you, walking is fun." She chuckled.

"Well, okay. But I should give you my phone number, so you text me when you get to work." I felt like ensuring she was safe was my responsibility.

She shook her head, before saying, "My phone isn't here with me, in fact, it's dead, but give it to me anyway, I'd text you as soon as I charge it at work," she said, stretching out an arm and giving me a pen. I looked at her before taking the pen from her and writing my number down on her arm.

"There," I said, looking over the numbers to be sure I'd written my phone number correctly. In as much as I'd love to know if she's safe, just her having my phone number seemed like a good thing.