The Sinclair Brothers ✔️

(45) Cards to Play

Her head pounded. And pounded. And pounded.

Pieces of her mind shut down that once functioned normally.

When past and present meet in a tumultuous storm, Makennah's brain stopped working. Stopped thinking. Stopped doing anything other than keep her alive.

Breathe.

Heart beat.

Lungs inflate.

Eyes blink.

Pores sweat.

Muscles contract.

But her brain stopped. Her thoughts stopped.

Numbness. Despite all of the functions she knew her body was carrying out - especially with all of the extra hard work it was putting in to begin to heal the wounds of her neck - she only felt. Kind of...invisible. Like she wasn't there. Or more like an out of body experience.

She knew something traumatic happened to her. To her family. To the Sinclair's. But she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything.

Without a game plan, Matt parked the car. Jonah unbuckled his seat belt. And the three crammed in the back piled out of the car. Unexplainably, her legs worked just fine. They carried her to the door and up the steps and into the house.

All five of them trudged through the hallway following the laughter and voices of Will and Carolynn flirting in the kitchen. At the sound of them, her hand briefly lifted and brushed a soft touch against her neck. She hadn't seen a mirror but she knew...knew it was awful.

Makennah hung back while Matt took charge like the best big brother, how he always did.

"Oh my God! Matthew!" Carolynn gasped loudly.

"Son, what's going on?" Will commanded in a deep tone, demanding answers immediately.

"We're fine. I promise we're fine," Matt answered calmly.

"All three of you! Oh my God did get in a fight?!" The initial shock faded into motherly concern.

"No," Makennah spoke up from the back and shouldered through the wall of bits to present herself to Will and Carolynn. "They were protecting me."

Carolynn's eyes instantly clouded with tears when she laid her eyes on Makennah. And still, she only registered numbness.

"What happened?" Will inquired calmly. His eyes trailed over her face and neck. She forgot about the scratch on her cheek. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine," Matt said.

"You don't look fine," Carolynn countered.

"You should see the other guy," Makennah commented.

Will crossed his arms over his chest. "Where is the other guy?"

"Gone," she answered for all of them. "Gone and he's not coming back. There's no need for damage control. Or...legal interaction."

Will made eye contact with her. "Are you sure? 100% positive? Because I need to know that I don't need to involve the authorities. For your protection," Will looked over at all of his sons. "For all of your protection."

Nick, Josh, and Matt stood in solidarity with Makennah. What just happened didn't happen.

It didn't happen.

It's over.

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Before the family commenced their "talk," Carolynn ushered everyone upstairs to clean up. While Carolynn helped clean the boys' wounds and ice their fists, Makennah showered and washed off the grime of the interaction that already felt like a distant memory.