"Mckensie!" he said, in a surprised voice.

"Hey Hunter," she said quietly. Hunter hurried to sit in the chair that wasn't already occupied by his grandmother or Mckensie.

"Man… where have you been?"

"Oh, around. I just needed some time to think," she said, ducking her head.

"For five days?" Hunter eyed her sharply.

"You don't understand, Hunter. You just… don't understand."

"Try me!" Hunter fairly yelled. Mckensie looked on the verge of tears.

"Hunter, Hunter. Calm down. Mckensie has had a rough few days. Now, dear, calm yourself. Let's go lay down upstairs." Hunter's grandmother led Mckensie by the shoulders out of the kitchen. Hunter stood to follow. "Sit, Hunter." His grandmother eyed him harshly. "Let her get some rest." Hunter sat complacently and watched them exit. He blew his bangs off his forehead. After a few minutes, he thought he should go get Mckensie's schoolbooks. So he quietly wandered upstairs. On the way to his room, he passed the guestroom. He took a peek in. His grandmother was no where to be seen, and Mckensie was sitting in the window seat looking out over Manhattan.

Hunter stood in the door and softly cleared his throat.

"Hi Hunter," she said, without turning around.

"Hey. Sorry I, uh, yelled at you."

"S'all right. I forgive you." After a few minutes of silence, Hunter turned and continued down the hall to his room. He found Mckensie's books under a pile of clothes. He carried them back down the hall to the guestroom. Mckensie was still sitting in the window seat. But she had in her hand a tattered and torn leather bound book with a dark green cover and gold embossing.

"Here's your school books. You kinda left them behind." Hunter put the bookbag and the English 11 folder down on the bed.

"Thanks," she said, still not turning to look at him.

"Whacha got there?" Hunter said, nodding towards the book. But she couldn't see him because her back was to him. After a few more minutes of silence, Hunter turned to go again. When he was almost at the door, she spoke up.

"Remember that day, at lunch under the tree?" she asked.

"How could I forget?" he asked, still facing the door.

"Well, you said that I could…" she paused, as if hesitant. "You said 'What's wrong with cheerleader types?'. I guess I missed that you liked Cindy. I'm sorry." She sounded as if that wasn't what she wanted to say.

"Oh, Cindy… I thought you were going to say… Yeah, Cindy. Well, I don't really like her anymore." Hunter shrugged and turned to face Mckensie.

"So, what did you think I was going to say?" Mckensie pushed.

"What were you going to say?" Hunter countered. Mckensie turned to look at him and laughed.

"I don't know. Stop playing mind games!"

"You were going to say something!" Hunter insisted.

"Do you remember the last thing you said to me before I ran off?"

"Uhhh…" Hunter's mind reeled. "Oh, that you could stay with me."

"Yeah. That. So, uh, could I?" asked Mckensie, timidly.

"Stay with me?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah… It'd be fun…" She tried to laugh nonchantaly, but it came off sounding nervous.

"I offered didn't I? What makes you think I'd say no?"

"Oh, thanks, Hunter. I was so nervous that you'd say no and that I'd have to go live with Frank." Mckensie had stopped calling her dad Dad when she was ten.

"Of course, Kensie. This can be your room," Hunter said.

"You're so good to me, Hunter." She smiled at him.

"What can I say. I must be your guardian angel." Hunter's brown eyes flashed.

That night, at around one AM, when most everyone was asleep, Mckensie knocked on Hunter's bedroom door. She tugged nervously at the hem of her shirt as she waited for him to open the door. Light spilled under the door at her feet, as he turned his lamp on. He groggily opened the door and tried to smooth down his hair.

"Mckensie… when I said you could live with me, I didn't mean you also could wake me up in the middle of the night," he muttered.

"This is important," she said stepping into his room and closing the door behind her. She went and sat on his bed. "If I'm going to stay here, I'm going to need some things from home. Mainly clothes."

Hunter sat next to her on the bed and rubbed his eyes. "You can just wear my clothes," he said, collapsing on the bed.

"Ha, ha," she said, wryly. "No, I mean, Mom's at work and Frank's probably really drunk, so if we went over there now, no one would notice."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hunter said, his voice muffled from the bed sheets.

"Yes, I am." Mckensie crossed her arms in front of her.

Hunter sat up and nudged Mckensie with his foot. "Why don't we go over there tomorrow when your dad's at work and explain to your mom that you can't live there anymore?"

"Because she'd cry and try to make me stay. She'd put a big guilt trip on me and I'd have to stay."

"Oh, I see, your mom is the one to avoid in this situation." Hunter rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up and get your shoes." Mckensie left his room, giving him no time to protest.

In ten minutes, Mckensie returned to Hunter's room to find him face up on the bed, asleep. She sighed and said aloud, "Oh, OK, we'll go tomorrow night." She smoothed back his blonde hair, like an older sister would and sat down on the bed, next to him. Then she went back to her room, and fell asleep quickly, for the first time in her life feeling safe and content.

The next morning, Hunter knocked on Mckensie's door.

"We're going to be late for school, if we don't hurry," he said, through the door.

"What am I going to wear!?" stressed Mckensie.

"Calm down, chicky. You can wear some of my stuff. I'm a little taller than you, so the shorts will be a little long." Hunter walked back to his room. In a few moments he was back, with a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. "Hope this will suffice," he said.

Mckensie opened the door and took the clothes from Hunter. She opened the door again a few minutes later. The clothes were slightly big, but they looked OK.

"See? You look fine," Hunter said. Mckensie shot him a black look.

"Let's go," she said.

Hunter and Mckensie grabbed their books from their rooms and went downstairs. Hunter's grandmother and mom were at the breakfast table.

"Hello, you two," said Hunter's mom.

"Hi, Mom," said Hunter.

"Good morning Ms. Elaine. Hey Ms. Clara," said Mckensie as she grabbed an apple off the counter. Hunter and Mckensie had been friends so long that she felt like home at his house.

"Ready to go?" asked Hunter, through a mouthful of bagel. Mckensie rolled her eyes.

"Boys," Mckensie said to Elaine and Clara in an exasperated tone. "Yeah, let's go," she said as she walked out onto the porch.

"Bye, Mom and Grandma!" called Hunter as he ran out the front door after Mckensie.

As Hunter and Mckensie walked through the hot streets of Manhattan, Mckensie tried to walk in the shade as much as she could, running from under tree to tree. Hunter walked along the sidewalk, eating his bagel.

When they got to school, they said good-bye and went to homeroom. School passed uneventfully and at the end of the day, Mckensie and Hunter met at Hunter's locker. As Mckensie waited for Hunter to get his books out of his locker, she saw a friend of her's named Sherry walking with Cindy.

"Sherry!" she called. Sherry stopped, said something to Cindy and came over. Cindy followed her.

"Hi Mckensie. I didn't see you in Trig for a few days. Where were you?" Sherry tipped her head to the side.

"I was sick," smiled Mckensie.

"Oh, well I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks, Sherry. You remember Hunter right?" Mckensie kicked Hunter.

"Owww," he said, turning around. He saw Sherry and Cindy standing in front of him.

"Hey Sherry. Hey, ah, I'm sorry I didn't catch your name…" he gestured towards Cindy. Mckensie stifled a laugh.

"Cindy," Cindy said looking into Hunter's eyes. "And you're Hunter Burr. Coach Barns is always talking about you when we cheer down at the Y. He said he saw you in there with your, ah, girlfriend." Cindy nodded towards Mckensie.

"Oh, she's not my girlfriend," Hunter said, taking a step away from Mckensie and a step towards Cindy.

"Oh," said Cindy. Hunter took a step back. There was an awkward silence.

"Well," said Sherry, "I'd guess we'd better go."

"Yeah," nodded Cindy, looking at Hunter. "Hey, Hunter, I know you just learned my name and all, but do you think maybe you could come watch me cheer at the Y sometime?" Cindy shifted nervously.

"That'd be cool," said Hunter, smiling gently.

"Great," Cindy gushed in relief.

"Ok, see you guys later," said Sherry, yanking Cindy away.

"Ohmigod," said Hunter, imitating a gushy valley girl, "Did you seeeee that? She threw herself at me."

"Ha," said Mckensie, slamming Hunter's locker. "You wish."

You're just jealous," said Hunter sticking his tongue out.

"Brat," taunted Mckensie.

"Hey… what grade are we in?" Hunter joked as he put his hat on and hitched his bookbag onto his back.

"Second," laughed Mckensie as she grabbed his hat and dashed down the hall.

Hunter chased Mckensie all the way home. They ran into the living room and collapsed on the couch laughing. Hunter snatched his hat out of her hand, and she didn't put up a fight, as she was too tired.

After Mckensie and Hunter lay on the couch for a while, Mckensie decided to go up to her room. As she walked up the stairs, she ran her hands along the light wooden rails. She reached the top and walked on the cream carpet to her room. When she got to the door, she stopped and took in the sight. The guestroom may have been plainly furnished, but at least she felt safe sleeping in it. Mckensie walked in across the light green carpet and sat on the edge of the white bed. The gold headboard at the top of the bed framed two lace shams. She lay back against the pillows as lace rustled around her ears. She kicked off her shoes and buried her toes under the blanket at the bottom of the bed. The windows were open and a light breeze blew across her legs. Her bookbag sat on the dresser, opposite the bed. It seemed that the only things she owned were in that bookbag. But she knew that all of her belongings and memories were at her house down the street. Mckensie thought of all the events that had taken place in that house. She had lived there ever since she was born, so the house had seen sixteen birthdays come and go. Some memories were happy, some sad, some hurtful. Some were better off not being remembered. Mckensie thought about that. A memory to not be remembered. She knew in the bottom of her heart that she had to go over to her house sooner or later and face whatever was inside. 'Is it better to be honest and tell Mom and Frank that I'm moving out?' She thought. 'Or is it better to sneak in at night and disappear without a trace?' She thought about the consequences of each one for about half an hour, then decided to go over to her house.

She got up and put on her shoes, which had landed somewhere near the window when she kicked them off. Then she went downstairs. Hunter was at the kitchen table, doing his homework. After making a joke about how she never thought she'd see him doing homework, and then telling him she was going for a walk, she left.

Mckensie quickly walked down the street and calculated in her head. 'It's about 4:30, so Mom will be there and Frank won't,' she thought. She figured she had a better chance of convincing her mom then convincing her dad. As she walked, she rehearsed what she was going to say.

"Mom, you know I love you…" she said aloud, as she stood at the base of the stairs leading to her house.

She gathered her courage and walked up the stairs of the porch. She pushed open the door and went into the kitchen quietly. Her mother was cooking. Mckensie stopped in the doorway.

"Mom?" she said softly. Mrs. Randolph spun on her heels at the sound of her daughter's voice and gasped.

"Mckensie!" she cried, rushing to hug her. "Where have you been!?" Relief turned to anger as she said, "How could you do this to us!?"

"Oh, Mom, don't start. I don't have time for this," Mckensie said, waving her hand dissmissivly.

"Don't have time for this? What, do you have a hot date with a city bum??" Jane cried.

"Mom, I came here for a reason, and it wasn't to start an argument. I came to say that I love you. And I'm moving out." Mckensie turned and went up the stairs to her room to start to pack. Her mother's anguished cried followed her. She heard her mother coming up the stairs.

"Here we go," muttered Mckensie.

"You're moving out!?" said a distraught Mrs. Randolph, as she came into Mckensie's room.

"Yep," said Mckensie, putting her suitcase onto her bed.

"Where are you moving to??" Mrs. Jane asked.

"I plead the fifth," Mckensie said as she threw clothes into the suitcase.

"Well, how will I get in touch with you!?" cried Jane.

You won't until you leave Frank. I've had it with him," she said turning to face her mother. "And it's about time one of us had the guts to do something about it." She resumed packing.

After Mckensie had finished packing and dodging the barrage of questions that her mother was firing at her, she went downstairs. Mrs. Randolph followed her. In the kitchen, Mckensie turned to follow her.

"I'll call you every once in a while and see if you've decided to leave Frank," Mckensie said. After a pause, she added, "And Mom, I love you, and I'm safe. Please don't worry about me. I hate to do this to you."

"Then, don't," said Jane, on the verge of tears.

"I have to Mom. It's for your own good." Mckensie hugged her mom. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, sweetie," her mom said, wiping away tears.

"Bye," said Mckensie, breaking the hug and turning towards the door.

"Bye, honey," said Mrs. Randolph, sadly.

Mckensie left, and on the porch she smiled sadly at the house she had grown up in. She wished she wasn't in this situation and didn't have to hurt her mom like this, but there was nothing she could do.

Mckensie walked slowly back to Hunter's. He had finished his homework and was sitting on the swing on the porch. When he saw her suitcase, he assumed that she had gone to her house."

"How'd it go?" he asked.

"Fine," she said, setting her suitcase down on the porch and joining him on the swing. "Sad, but fine."

Hunter put his arm around her and rocked the swing slowly. Sometimes it was best just to be quiet and let people talk.

Mckensie recounted the events to Hunter. Then she was quiet as she stared out over the city.

Hunter and Mckensie watched the sun go down, then they went inside for dinner.

As they joined Hunter's grandma and mom at the table, his mom said, "We need to talk with you two."

Hunter looked at Mckensie, who looked at her placemat.

"About what?" he asked.

"Well," said Hunter's mom, Elaine, unfolding her napkin and looking at Hunter's grandmother, Clara.

"Well, it's about Mckensie living here," said Clara.

"I mean, we love you to death," said Elaine. "But, we have to have consent from your parents. Legal reasons and all that."

"We know you're going through a hard time with your family, but we can't just house you without permission," Clara said. "And we don' t mean to be inhospitable or mean."

There was a pause, the Mckensie said, "I know. I didn't mean to impose on you like this. I'll be gone after dinner." Mckensie pushed back her chair and went upstairs.

"Oh dear," said Clara. "I didn't mean to upset her."

"Should I go after her?" asked Hunter.

"No," said Elaine. "Let her be by herself for a moment."

"OK," said Hunter, sadly. "I just feel bad."

"You didn't do anything, honey," said Clara, putting a hand on his arm. "It's a circumstance that can't be helped."

"I know, Grandma. I know,"

After dinner, Hunter went up to Mckensie's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she called from inside. Hunter opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hi," said Hunter, as he shut the door behind him.

"Hi," said Mckensie. She was sitting in the window looking out over the city lights.

"The city sure is pretty at night," said Hunter, coming to look out the window too.

"Yeah," said Mckensie, wistfully.

There was a pause and Hunter asked, "What's that book you have there?" He gestured towards the small green book with gold embossing on the cover.

Mckensie turned to him and held it up.

"It's a book of poems. When I was born and Mom and Frank fixed up the nursery for me to come home, they had a little book case in there with lots of baby books on it. And this book of poems was on it too. Frank put it there. Well, then he wasn't Frank. He was Dad." After a pause, she added, "Dad put it there."

"What kinds of poems?" asked Hunter.

"Nice ones. Ones about happy days, love, spring, fathers and daughters, squirrels. Things like that. Some are really good. Sometimes, when I miss having a dad, I read these and think of the days when Frank was Dad."

"Wow," said Hunter. "I guess it means a lot to you then."

"Yep," said Mckensie, simply.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Hunter asked.

"I guess I have no other choice but to leave. I know that you guys aren't trying to be mean. But, your mom and grandma said it themselves. I have to go.""That's not what they said," Hunter said, imploringly.

"But that's what they meant, and you know it."

"Do I?" said Hunter, looking into Mckensie's blue-green eyes.

"Yes, you do," said Mckensie, staring back at him.

"All right, you got me. Those eyes will make me do anything," Hunter grinned, trying to lighten the situation. Mckensie blushed and drew into herself. She turned back towards the window.

After a few minutes of silence, Hunter turned to go. When he had almost reached the door, Mckensie said, "I won't be here when you get home from school tomorrow."

"Aren't you going to school?" said Hunter, turning back towards her.

She shook her head. "I'm going to go home during the day when Frank isn't there."

Hunter was silent for a few minutes before he said, "Wait. You can't go home. Frank will beat you senseless when he sees that you've been gone for a week."

"I know. But it's a chance I have to take. I can't stay here and impose on your family," Mckensie said, shaking her head.

Hunter stood, torn between the decision of disobeying his family and protecting his friend. He shook his head slowly and turned to leave.

"Good night," he said.

"Good night. Thank you, Hunter. I love you," Mckensie said.

Hunter walked downstairs and into the living room. His grandmother was sitting in the deep blue chair. She had on her bifocals and was reading a book.

"Hi Grandma," he said, sitting down on the footstool in front of her. He folded his long legs under him.

"What can I do for you?" asked his grandma.

"You know what we talked about at dinner with Mckensie?" he asked.

"How could I forget?" countered Clara.

"Well, Mckensie has decided to go home. But her dad will beat her up if she goes home. What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Oh, I can see what a dilemma we've put you two in," said his grandma, shaking her head. "I don't want to do this without consulting Elaine, but I guess she could stay here for a little while longer. I don't know what else to do. We can't put her in a foster home. And if her mom won't leave Frank, then there's not much else we can do."

"Oh, thank you grandma. I'll go tell her now." Hunter got up and ran upstairs. He knocked on Mckensie's door. "Mckensie?" he called. She didn't answer. "Mckensie?" he called again. He tried the door handle, and it was open. Mckensie was laying on her bed.

Hunter figured she was asleep and went over to her. "Kensie?" he said. He touched her cheek, then recoiled in shock. Her cheek was cold and clammy. "Mckensie?" he cried urgently. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Then he saw on the floor a bottle of pills. "No," he said, softly. He crouched down and looked at the pills. Heart medicine. But Mckensie didn't have heart problems. He stood up again. He tilted his head and felt her breath on his cheek. She was still alive. Maybe there was hope. "Grandma!" Hunter screamed as he ran down the stairs. "Grandma!" he gasped, as he ran into the living room. "Mckensie overdosed on heart medication, but she doesn't need heart medication. And she's still alive, and she needs to go to a hospital now!!"

"Oh my gosh!" His grandmother jumped to her feet. "Hurry! Call 911!" Clara ran up the stairs to Mckensie's room. She sat on the edge of the bed and held Mckensie's hand. "It's OK, Mckensie. If you can hear me, it's OK. Hunter's calling 911, the medics will be here soon. Honey, why would you do this to yourself?" Tears ran down Clara's cheeks. "I can't but help feel responsible. Oh God," she said as she rocked back and forth, crying.

Hunter came upstairs in a few minutes. "I called the paramedics," he said. "They said to have some of the medicine for them to take to the hospital with her. I'm going to go look for them on the porch." Hunter left the room, not looking at Mckensie.

The ambulance finally arrived, and paramedics ran up the stairs, with a stretcher. They bustled back down with Mckensie on the stretcher, then they went out to the ambulance with her. Hunter and Clara hurried to their car, so they could follow the ambulance to the hospital. Hunter sat in shocked silence on the way to the hospital. They hurried into the ER waiting room. The desk clerk told them to have a seat, and that she would pass along whatever news she heard about Mckensie.

Clara and Hunter sat, nervously, in the waiting room for a half an hour. Clara called home until she reached Elaine, who had been at the store while this tragic event happened. Elaine came down to the hospital as soon as Clara called her.

"Oh Hunter," she said, as she came into the ER.

"Hi Mom," he said. Elaine stood nervously in front of Hunter's chair. "Mom," she said to Clara. "What are we going to do?"

"There's not much we can do, but wait," said Clara, shaking her head. Hunter stood and walked to the window. The city continued as usual. Past the parking lot he could see the cars on the street rushing by, as everyone hurried to their destinations. A few blocks away was his school and he could almost see the lights of it. The lights of the cars, buildings and the parking lot became a blur as tears rolled down Hunter's cheeks. He wiped them away quickly and shook his head. He only cried once when his dad died. His mom said it wasn't healthy to not cry or grieve, but Hunter felt so empty inside when it came to his dad, that there was nothing to cry for. But Mckensie was his best friend. He had known her since she moved into the neighborhood. She was five, and he was almost five. But Mckensie didn't have to die. This was something she did to herself. It was so ironic that in this very hospital, there were people fighting for their lives, and Mckensie was throwing her life away. Hunter turned away from the window and looked back at his mom and grandmom. His grandmom was starting to look old and haggard to him, and he hoped she was ok. His mom stood over her, staring off into the distance at some point off to the left.

The desk clerk stood and walked over to his mom and grandmom. Hunter watched the silent exchange between the three women. Then the clerk shook both women's hands then went back to her desk. Clara and Elaine looked at each other, then waved Hunter over. Neither one of them looked happy.

Hunter walked, calmly, over to them.

"What'd she say?" he asked.

"Hunter, this isn't easy to say, but Mckensie, ah…" Clara faltered and looked at Elaine.

"Sweetie, Mckensie didn't make it." Elaine shook her head. "The doctors did their best, but she took so many pills that…" Elaine trailed off.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page