Through The Dark

Mackenzie I looked at the shopping cart in front of me, nodding and smiling in content. I shifted my gaze to the line of people waiting in front of the counter. 'Supermarkets like this should have at least three attendants by the counter," I thought to myself, rolling my eyes as I shook my head, looking at the the lady behind the counter. She looked under pressure, trying to type into the computer and pack people's stuff into a bag. Apparently, she was the only one. I ran a hand through my hair, thinking of how long I'll have to stand in the line. At the front of the line, a man tried getting in front of a fat lady. "f**k off!" She screamed and the guy looked like he was going to piss his pants. Everyone laughed and I let out a chuckle as well. The struggle. Very real. I tapped my fingers on the cart, waiting a little impatiently. The guy who stood directly in front of me was way too tall, I couldn't see anything in front of me except I looked to my side. I looked back to the shopping cart, making sure I'd gotten everything on the list dad and I had made for the house. "The tissue box!" I gasped to myself, looking up from the cart. I gently tapped the guy in front of me and he turned back, adjusting his glasses. "I'm sorry, but please, could you keep my space behind you? I want to go grab something." "Yeah. Sure," he nodded. "Thank you," I told him, grateful as I walked back to the rack were tissue boxes were kept. It was a year now. A year since dad came back into mom's life and things got better. A year since the guy I couldn't stand in the beginning became so special to me and generally, just a year since I had my fair share of ups and downs. It was amazing how time flew. It was even more amazing the things that happened in the space of that time. I was still Mackenzie and I still worked at Joyce's Palace. Dad was back now and he was doing an even better job than he did before leaving mom; going out of his way to make sure we were super comfortable. Especially mom. Mom on the other hand, was doing well. She'd gone through a twenty-four hour complication during her surgery, but she got through it and now. Now it was so hard to tell she was battling breast cancer the year before. She still fell sick at times, she still had to wear oversized tops because one breast was way bigger than the other, she still had to wear bandanas and beanies on her hair. Before she had her surgery, she was almost bald, but now, she was eating a lot of fruits and vegetables and using so much castor and olive oil on her hair just so it could grow back. Besides that, she had fresher skin and her normal glow had returned to her face, but the best part of it all was... she seemed to love dad even more. We didn't move to a new house, we didn't even have to. We were so comfortable in that one and mom loved the house very much. Early this year was one of the best moments in my life. In fact, this year was amazing. I did shed tears but that was expected. One can't be happy all the time. This year was going to be great. I could feel it, it wasn't just about the positive vibe thing... I could just tell. I'd spent my New Years eve and day with Tanner. We'd gone to our favorite spot on the eve– a place I'd loved since I was younger. We'd sat on the grass, talking, laughing and waiting for midnight. When midnight came, he lifted me up off the grass, carrying me in his arms, spinning me around before he finally stopped to finally crash his lips against mine. For that moment, it felt like the world stopped. In places all over the world at that time, people were with their loved ones, hugging them and holding them tight, but there I was with Tanner in our own little world, doing our own thing. The next day, we'd spent it eating out and going on rides at a theme park with his little sister, Renée, by our sides. Tanner McCann. We'd come a long way. He'd made me so mad. In fact, I thought the worst of him, and I wanted to hate him, but welp, that didn't happen. Instead, he won me over and I fell for him. Not just because he was as hot as Mercury, but I fell for him. Everything about him. This year was our year. We graduated high school, happy. It was a double celebration as my birthday was a day after our graduation. Bambi and Ryan wouldn't stop teasing me about just becoming a legal adult. Such best friends I had. After graduation, we didn't lose contact. We never could. Bambi and her bad boy, Jesse were still tight as ever. Edward and Ryan were still single and I could tell Edward was loving the single life even after he'd gone through a hard time when he caught his girlfriend cheating. So far, only four out of us had gotten accepted into universities. Bambi got admission into Southview University here in Los Angeles while Edward was accepted into Springfield College for Medicine and Engineering... And finally, remember how Tanner and I planned to apply to the same university and for their scholarship too? Yeah? Yeah! We got accepted into the same university! We got accepted into West Shores University in New York. Not only that, I got a full scholarship, while Tanner got a partial scholarship. It was an awesome day for us, we'd confirmed our acceptance together and then at the end, we'd done a lot of hugging and laughing. Mom still couldn't get over the fact that her "baby" was all grown and she'd spent the days shedding tears, so, yeah.. I guess you can add things up and see she's the one I'm getting tissue for. Just before I walked out the door, dad had called after me to get a box of tissue as well. I didn't know if he meant it or not, but I personally felt she would really need them. I walked back to the line after grabbing a box of tissue before walking back to the line and thankfully, the tall guy who was in front of me was next to be attended to and had equally kept my space. I slid back behind him. "Thank you," I whispered to him, an appreciative smile on my face. ***** "Aw, come on! Is mom still crying?" I half-groaned as I walked through the door of the house. Mom sat on the couch, her eyes red and her arms folded. Dad threw a quick glance at her, then me. "I got the box of tissue," I told him, not sure if I was meant to do that. "Perfect, because she just finished the last box," he nodded. I looked at mom worriedly before sighing and sitting beside her. "Come on, mom." "I just can't believe it. My little girl is going off to university," she sniffed. "I'll be fine, mom. I can take care of myself." "I know, but, it just won't be the same without you here," she said and dad nodded. "Mom," I threw my arms around her. " Promise us you'll call everyday," she said. "E- Everyday?" I looked at her. "That's uh, Isn't that too... Uh—" "Then your dad and I'll call you," she said seriously. "Oh... well," I nodded. "I'm gonna miss you so much," mom said in a whisper. "Come on, mom... I'm not even leaving yet," I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, but you are... next two weeks." "We still have time," I kissed her cheek before walking to dad and kissing his cheek as well. "I'll go drop these in the kitchen," I told them, picking up the bags I'd brought from the supermarket. "And I'll be in my room." After dropping the bags in the kitchen, I skipped to my room and bounced on my bed. My attention was then drawn to my phone which vibrated. It was a text from Bambi. ~ I'm on my way to your house ~