Through The Dark

7.

Tanner.

"Wake the f**k up!" I shouted in Jesse and Edward's ears.

"What the f**k, man," Jesse groaned.

"Get your lazy asses up. It's morning," I said.

"What? We packed your f*****g bags," Jesse said, his eyes closed.

"Hey, easy with the f***s," Ed said from sleep.

"Shut the f**k up," Jesse hit him with a pillow.

"Asshole," Ed shot.

"Wankerward," Jesse smiled slyly.

"What the..." Ed looked at Jesse in confusion and I raised an eyebrow at him as well.

"Oh, that's wanker and Edward," Jesse smiled proudly and I facepalmed.

"That's how I know you're f****d up," Ed said.

"You mean, that's how we know he's f****d up," I chuckled lightly.

"Exactly," Ed looked back to Jesse. "You're a blockhead."

Jesse simply rolled his eyes and I said, "One can't even live with you guys for a day with the ears being polluted," I shook my head.

"What? That's a lie!" Jesse said and Ed put his hand over his chest.

"Oh yeah? Renée asked me what a b***r was," I raised an eyebrow.

"Holy s**t," Ed put a hand over his mouth, laughing.

"It was Ed who started it. We were all in the kitchen and he was having a b***r when the nanny came around," Jesse shrugged.

"f**k, no," I groaned, put a hand over my face.

"I didn't start it!" Ed said in defense.

I rubbed my temples, closing my eyes as I groaned again, "What the f**k, Ed. You didn't get a b***r, did you?"

"Can't lie, the nanny's pretty attractive, but, I didn't get a b***r," he said the last words glaring at Jesse who put his hands up.

"She's twenty-one," I told them.

"Oh wow. She looks eighteen," Jesse said and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm hungry," Edward groaned.

"Thank you," I let out a breath, putting my hands up in the air. "And I'm sure breakfast is ready so, can we?" I motioned to the door.

We left the room and I walked behind them, sliding into Renée's room while Ed and Jesse went downstairs to the kitchen.

Renée sat by the edge of her bed, rubbing her eyes

"Cutie pants," I grinned as I walked to her.

"Hello, big brother," she smiled.

"Hey there," I chuckled as she wrapped her arms around my neck and I kissed her forehead, "How did you sleep?"

"Good," she smiled, then it faltered, "You're leaving today."

"Yep," I pressed my lips together. "Think you can handle it now?" I asked, uncertain and I was relieved when she nodded.

"You'll still be calling, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, cutie pants," I nodded.

"Right," she smiled, trying to ruffle my hair, and I laughed before saying, "Hungry?"

"Really hungry," she nodded.

"Let's head downstairs then."

"Piggyback ride?" She asked the same time she jumped on my back.

We got to the kitchen where Jesse and Ed sat by the island table, pushing waffles into their mouths.

"Hey Nae Nae!" Jesse grinned widely at Renée.

"He still calls her that?" Ed facepalmed.

"Apparently," I rolled my eyes.

"Hi Jesse! Hi Edward!" Renée giggled behind me.

"Hey smartass," Ed waved.

"Can I have waffles?" Renée asked and I grabbed two plates, taking waffles from the large plates in the middle and putting them in our plates.

Jesse pushed the carton of milk to me which I poured into two glasses and just then, Tori walked in.

"Morning, Tori," Renée greeted

"Hi Renée," she smiled brightly. "How are you today?"

"Fine."

She turned to Ed and Jesse, greeting them as well.

"Hi," I said as she faced me.

"Morning," she smiled. "I thought about doing some grocery shopping. I'll be heading out now."

"Oh, right," I nodded.

"I was wondering if there was anything you might want me to get."

"Uh... Not at all," I shook my head.

She nodded before walking out of the kitchen.

"She's hot," Ed whispered.

"Shut up," I groaned.

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Do your parents know you're leaving today?" He asked.

"Nope," I shook my head before looking over to where Renée sat, into her breakfast.

"That's insane," Jesse chuckled.

"It is," I shrugged.

"Man, what time is your flight?" Ed asked.

"Uh, 9pm."

"Right. So we're stuck with your ass for hours."

"You should feel lucky," I told him and he rolled his eyes before looking at Jesse,

"What's up? Bambi?"

Jesse let out a breath, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know. She doesn't want a long distance relationship."

"Well, what do you feel?" I asked.

"You know what I feel, man," he looked at me. "I feel like for the first time I can't be with a girl I really want to be with. It sucks a while f*****g lot."

Mackenzie

"Are you set?" Dad asked immediately he pushed my bags into the trunk.

"Yep," I let out a breath.

"Where's your mom?" He asked.

"Mom!" I called from outside.

"Coming, coming!" She said, coming from inside and closing the door behind her.

"Let's go. She wouldn't want to miss this flight," dad said.

We got into the car, mom sitting with me at the back as she pulled me closer to her.

"Thank your stars your windows are tinted. I'll rather people think I'm driving alone than thinking I'm your hired driver," mom and I laughed.

"I never even thought of it that way," I chuckled.

The journey to the airport was quite okay and Tanner had already sent a text, telling me he had arrived at the airport already.

Dad pulled up in the parking lot of the airport and we got down instantly.

Something about the atmosphere in the airport seemed to be the different. It felt really warm and the amount of people going in and out is the airport amazed me.

I couldn't believe it even while I was here.

*

"I can't believe this is it. Like, we're actually saying goodbye to your ass," Ryan said, pulling me into a tight hug.

Mom and Bambi stood beside us, eyes red.

"I'll miss you, i***t," I told Ryan, burying my head into his chest.

"Me too," he said, kissing my cheek before pulling away.

We all stood by the check-in point and I looked over to mom and Bambi, then I hugged them, tears falling from my eyes. We didn't say anything to each other. We just let our tears talk.

At the corner of my eyes, I saw Tanner standing with dad, while Jesse and Ryan talked, and Edward talked to Renée who was in his arms.

"Mom, can you do something for me?" I tore my gaze away from Renée.

"Yeah. Anything. What?" She sniffed.

"Can you help make sure Renée's okay?" I looked at her.

"Sure, I can do that. Give me the house address and I can check on her when I can."

"Thanks mom," I hugged her.

Just then, I felt little hands wrap around my waist and I knew it was Renée. I looked at her, smiling before lifting her up.

"Aw, look at her," mom said, smiling.

"Hi, Callie," Renée waved.

"Hello, Renée. How are you?" Mom kissed her forehead.

She shrugged, "I'll miss Zee and Tanner."

"We all will," mom said softly, tucking stray strands of Renee's hair behind her ear. "I'll let you and Zee talk, okay?" She said before walking away and by this time, Bambi and Jesse stood together.

"I like your mom," Renée said quietly.

"She likes you too," I smiled at her.

"I'll miss you so much, Zee," she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'll miss you too, Renée. A lot."

"You and Tanner will call, right?"

"Yes, we will. We'll call you, and whenever you want to talk to us, call us, okay? Use the home line or ask Tori for her phone, alright?"

"Okay," she nodded.

"Do you like Tori?" I asked her.

"She's nice," Renée simply answered.

"Would you like it if my mom comes to see you from time to time?"

"Yes. I'll love it a lot," she nodded even as her voice was cracked already.

"If you cry, I'll cry," I told her quietly, but the truth was, I was about to cry. She was big in age but so small in size I could hug her all day.

"I-I wish I could just come with you."

"We'll come see you, okay?"

She nodded and I kissed her cheek.

"Will you and Tanner live together?" She asked me.

"No, but we'll see everyday," I told her.

"Okay," she said, her voice still quiet, then Tanner walked to us, placing an arm on Renee's back as she got to us.

"Are you leaving now?" Renée asked.

"No, not yet," he shook his head.

Her eyes were filled with water and fresh drops of tears landed on my neck.

"C'mon now," Tanner wiped her tears.

"I want to come," she sniffed.

"Hey," Tanner said softly, "We talked about this, remember. You got this. You can try to do without me around. You can," he rubbed a thumb over her cheek and tears welled in my eyes. The girl had gotten so attached to her brother it was so, so hard for her to let go, and I knew it wasn't just hard for her. It was also very hard for Tanner.

"I- I talked to Tori already," he swallowed. "And even if I'm not here, I'll make sure you're okay. Everytime."

She nodded and hugged both of us, "Maybe it's time for you guys to get married?"

Tanner and I burst out laughing and then, Edward and Ryan walked up to us. Shortly, it was just us kids talking and laughing, trying to make the most of our few minutes together.

It was almost an hour when our flight was announced and after a million hugs, 'goodluck in uni's', and even a few years, Tanner and I were off to the departure gate.

*

"Are you comfortable?" Tanner asked me as we got seated in our seats in the plane.

The plane was extremely comfortable and luxurious for people flying the economy class. We had Tv's, food and even Wi-Fi!

"Yep," I nodded, moving a little in the seat. "Are you?"

He nodded as well then added, "I'm excited."

"Me too," I let out a breathy chuckle. "But I feel like I'll be falling asleep soon."

"Don't even try it," he said, a smile playing on his lips.

"May I know why?" I smirked.

"Because I don't sleep when flying and I don't want to stay awake alone."

"Why don't you sleep when flying?" I asked curiously.

He shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I'm just not comfortable with it."

"Are you scared the plane might crash?" I teased.

"Shut up," he laughed.

"Tell me," I urged, chuckling as I tugged on his jacket.

"No," he replied stubbornly. "Hey, are you hungry?"

"Don't even change to topic, McCann," I glared at him. "Just tell me why. There's got to be a reason. Everyone I know likes to sleep on the plane."

He sighed, rubbing his temples, "Fine. I'll tell you."

"Yay!" I clapped my hands excitedly, grinning like a child and Tanner rolled his eyes at me.

"I've just always felt it's my responsibility to watch over the people I care about so, yeah."

My heart melted, "That's sweet," I said softly and he smiled shyly.

"What's so bad in that? Why do you seem shy about it?" I asked him and he shrugged, saying, "I don't know. I guess I don't just want you to think I'm crazy or anything. I mean, who stays awake throughout a journey all in the name of watching over the one they care about?"

"I think it's adorable," I laced my fingers through his and he kissed the back of my hand.

After almost two hours of talking, laughing, watching TV a little and being too playful, I sat back in the seat.

"Sleepy?" Tanner looked at me.

"Yeah, but I don't want to leave you awake."

"It's fine. You need to sleep actually," he rubbed a thumb over my cheek.

"Are you sure?" I yawned.

"That yawn? I'm sure," he smirked.

"Stupid," I chuckled, laughing.

"You  should sleep. I'll be good. I brought my iPod, besides maybe I can sit still to actually see this movie," he looked at the screen in front of him.

"Right then, old man," I yawned again, closing my eyes.

"Last time I checked, I'm just months older," he said, inching his face from mine as he kissed my forehead.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I smiled before I could finally feel myself falling asleep.

*

Tanner

"Hey," I tapped Mackenzie's arm gently but she only stirred and made a soft sound, and I chuckled at how cute she was. There wasn't exactly time for that though, the plane was landing in ten minutes and she just couldn't sleep through it.

"Mackenzie," I called again and when she didn't budge, an idea hit me. Maybe if I kissed the tip of her ears or her neck she'll wake up.

'Oh, please. You're just looking for an excuse to kiss her!' My subconscious screamed.

Exactly. Anytime I had the chance to kiss Mackenzie, I'll take it.

I leaned into her, kissing the tip of her ear and let my lips linger there a little, and just then, I heard her chuckle

"Go away," she pushed my face away and I laughed.

"You need to wake up. The plane's going to land soon," I told her.

"Oh, right," she yawned and sat up in my seat. "Why does it feel like I was asleep for only thirty minutes? The journey is short."

"Yep," I nodded. "Just four hours and few minutes. We already spent two hours awake."

"So, what did you do while I was asleep?" She asked. "Did you stare at me?"

"You bet I did," I chuckled. "That way I was able to catch you talking about how you planned to take over the world."

My eyes widened, "Shut up," she whacked my arm and I placed a hand over my mouth, laughing.

"What? We both know you sleep talk. I think it's cute," I kissed her cheek and she wiped her cheek with a playful scowl on her face.

"And a little creepy too," I laughed, kissing her cheek again.

In less than five minutes, we were out of the plane. The instructions called to us on what to do were hard for Mackenzie to do. She couldn't try to force a yawn and she couldn't also inhale deeply and even when we got down from the plane, she still held her ears.

It was 3am when we arrived in New York and since I'd spent some years of my life here, I was used to the immediate change in time due to the time difference.

Mackenzie

We walked out of the airport after few minutes, and as students, a cab was ready for us. The journey wasn't exactly long, but it sure had Tanner and I talking about how surreal it was that we were going to be seeing our school in minutes.

"That reminds me, you don't have a car here!" I looked at him.

"I got that covered," he said, relaxed and, I thought he was getting another one until he said, "I got in contact with these shipping company and hopefully, I'll get my car in about a week or so."

"Right," I nodded, amazed at the level of his independence.

Soon, the sight of lights caught my eyes. Beautiful lights. Street lights and lights from buildings. So many buildings with lots of space between them. The buildings were big and some were just normal sized. There was a large field of mowed grass and the lights by their sides were colored.

"Fancy, huh?" The driver looked from me to Tanner through the rear view mirror.

I looked at Tanner who equally looked fascinated before nodding, "Yeah. It's beautiful."

"You haven't seen anything yet, kids. You guys must be exceptionally smart to get into this school. It's a good school," he smiled. "One of you is getting into the dorms."

"Yeah, that's me," I nodded, licking my lip.

"Great. They've been awaiting your arrival. Just go straight into that building," he pointed at the biggest building I'd seen so far.

"It's the main entrance and something like the headquarter of the university. As soon as you get in, you'll be given everything you need to have."

"Okay," I nodded. "Thank you."

I looked at Tanner who took my hand then pulled me into a hug before kissing my forehead.

"Text me when you get to your apartment and text me the address as well," I told him softly.

"Sure," he ran his hand through my hair and kissed my forehead again.

Then I got down, took my bags out of the trunk, waved at Tanner and walked into the big building with bright lights.

Authors Note:

I'm sorry I have to do this, but I wont be putting up my works here for a while.

The reason for this is because just like what had happened the last time with Mackenzie, I'm experiencing difficulty using this app.

The next chapter marks the beginning of their adventure in university so if you really want to know what will be going on with them, please feel free to read the book on w*****d! Plus, it's completed on w*****d! Double plus, as soon as you're done reading it, you could immediately move to reading Renee's book titled 'Renee's River' all on w*****d.

Also, reach out to me through any of my social media platforms if you have any questions or comments or you just want to say hi!

I love you all!