Chapter 9 Mackenzie
“Huh, maybe the rumors about Ransom were right.”
I jumped at the sound of my brother’s voice, turning to find him standing behind me. He was frowning as he watched Parker’s naked figure strutting out the door.
“Max?” I gasped before quickly recovering and giving him a tight hug. “What are you doing here?”
He laughed as he hugged me back. “Came to watch Dad’s first game. Thought I’d surprise you both.”
“Well, I’m definitely surprised. You shouldn’t sneak up on people.”
For a moment, I almost forgot about my run-in with Parker. Almost, but not quite. It was a little hard when I was still holding the pink scarf he’d given me. I thought stealing his clothes would even the score. But with one bold move, Parker had stolen my victory.
“I was hardly sneaking.” Max smiled. “You were a little distracted.”
Who wouldn’t be? Parker was distracting with his clothes on, let alone without them. But I wasn’t going to get into that with my brother.
Max scrunched his nose as he carefully plucked the scarf from my hand and tossed it in the closest bin. “Just how many guys in this town are stripping for you, Kenz? Do I need to have a word with anyone?”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “He was only naked because I stole his clothes.”
Max raised an eyebrow as though he needed a little more information. “Did he deserve it?”
“Definitely,” I replied. “Not that it seemed to bother Parker all that much.”
“Parker?” Max asked. “As in, Parker Darling?” He nodded toward the front doors. “Your naked friend is Reed and Grayson’s brother?”
“Uh, yeah.” I shrugged. “Though I wouldn’t call him my friend.”
“You know I play with his brothers at Ryker, right?”
“Yeah, I’m aware. It’s all anyone talks about around here. It’s almost like being a college hockey star is a big deal or something.” I nudged him playfully, and he lifted his eyes to the ceiling.
“Well, they were my ride here,” he explained. “This should make for an interesting journey back to Ryker. Remind me again why you stole Parker’s clothes?”
“If you knew him, you wouldn’t need to ask.”
He gave me an expectant look, waiting for me to elaborate, but I folded my arms and stayed silent.
“Fine, keep your secrets,” he eventually said, laughing again. “It’s good to see you, Kenz.”
“You too.” I smiled back at him. “Does Dad know you’re here?”
“Not yet. It was a kind of a last-minute thing. Reed and Grayson decided to drive back and asked if I wanted a ride. We were late, though. Missed the first period.”
“I think Dad would have preferred you to miss the entire game.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t great. He won’t be happy.”
“When is Dad happy?”
“True.” Max stole the soda from my hand and took a sip before passing it back to me. “So, what’s Ransom like? How was your first week at school?”
He was the only person in our family to ask like he actually wanted to hear my answer. It wasn’t that my parents didn’t care, but Tessa was busy with my little sisters, and my dad had his new job to focus on. I just wasn’t their top priority. “School was fine.”
“Wow, interesting. You’ve really painted a picture for me.”
I probably should have resented my brother.
He was the superstar hockey-playing child my dad had always dreamed of having.
I would have done just about anything to trade places with Max, but no matter how jealous I was of him, it was impossible to dislike him.
He was the best person I knew. Being closer to him was the one positive thing about our move to Ransom.
“Come on, Kenzie,” he continued. “You’ve been here less than a week and you’re already stealing a boy’s clothes. You must have a little more to share than fine.”
Max had always been persistent, so I knew I was going to have to give him something. “I guess school’s been a bit of an adjustment, but I’ve made a couple of friends and I’m not too far behind with classes. I’m just finding my feet still.”
His expression softened. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m still finding my feet at Ryker too.”
“I find that hard to believe.” My brother could fit in anywhere. He got voted prom king at his girlfriend’s school last year—he didn’t even go there.
“Seriously,” he replied. “The expectations are so high, and it feels like they’re trying to kill us with practice and games. It’s going to be tough keeping up with schoolwork on top of that, and I’m still getting to know everyone.”
“So, things are fine for you too then?” I replied.
“Pretty much,” he agreed with a grin.
My brother stiffened as he caught sight of something over my shoulder.
I turned to see my dad walking toward us.
Dad’s face was stoic and unreadable. When he wasn’t pleased with the way his team had played, you could always count on him either being visibly angry or repressing his emotions altogether. I guessed tonight it was the latter.
Tessa and my sisters were all delighted to see Max when we arrived back at the house. My stepmom pulled him in for a warm hug while Daisy and Skye eagerly introduced him to their dolls and stuffed toys.
“It’s lucky I made extra pasta,” Tessa said as she led Max into the living room. “Are you hungry?”
“Always,” he replied.
It felt good to have everyone back together, although my dad didn’t last long at dinner, quickly excusing himself to head to his office and work. We all knew what he was like after a bad game; we’d only been graced with his presence at dinner because Max was here.
Eventually, Tessa took the girls to get ready for bed, Max switched a game on the TV, and I snuck off to my room before I got recruited to help with Daisy and Skye’s bath. It usually ended in an all-out war between the two of them.
My room was sparse; just a bed and the suitcase I’d arrived here with.
I was still waiting for all my moving boxes to get here.
The only color in the room was on the wall opposite my bed where I was painting my mural.
It was going to be a wintry lake scene once it was done, with a thick pine forest and snow-capped mountains beyond.
So far I’d done the background and big color blocks, and I was hoping to build up the shadows and midtones this weekend. Maybe even add some linework.
My cat Mitts hissed at me from her position on my bed as I entered the room. It was her standard greeting. She hated everyone—even me.
“I’ve been thinking we should get a dog,” I told her.
Mitts gave me a judgmental glare before she repositioned herself so all I could see was her fluffy black back and curling tail. She then proceeded to calmly lick her bright white paws.
Just then the door behind me burst open. Daisy stood in the entrance, holding a Barbie in her tiny hands. Her eyes were big and filling with tears.
“Skye. Cut. All. Barbie’s. Hair. Off,” she blubbered, before darting into the room and throwing herself into my arms.
I instinctively pulled her in close. “I’m sorry, Daisy,” I murmured. “You know Skye’s only little. She doesn’t understand.”
“That’s. What. Mom. Said.”
Apparently, it was also the last thing my sister wanted to hear right now.
I gently took the doll from her hands and inspected the damage. This was the end of the world for my sister; I wished my problems were as simple as a broken doll.
“I actually kind of like her new haircut,” I said.
“You—you do?” Daisy blinked her big tear-stained eyes up at me.
“Yeah. She looks so cool. Like she’s about to join a punk-rock band.”
“A band?”
“Yeah. You know what, I might have a blue marker in my pencil case somewhere. We could color her hair, if you want?”
She blinked at me several more times as she thought it over. “Could we dress her up like she’s in a band too?”
“Yeah.” I laughed. “We can do that.”
The two of us spent the next twenty minutes fixing Barbie.
I loved spending time with my sister, but it also made me a little sad.
When I was her age, there hadn’t been anyone to color a Barbie’s hair with me.
My mom was gone, and my dad hadn’t really been present.
It often felt like it was just Max and me.
And Max would be more likely to test how far a doll could fly than try to do its hair.
But our lives changed for the better when Tessa started dating my dad. And then when Daisy and then Skye were born. The love and joy they brought into the house felt like it filled a hole inside me.
When we were done with Daisy’s doll, I was actually quite pleased with the result.
“Thanks, Kenzie!” Daisy beamed, hugging her doll tightly to her chest. “I love her.”
“She looks great, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, she does. I’m going to go put on a concert in my bed.” Daisy hurried from the room, happy once more. Although I’m sure it wouldn’t be long until Skye fixed that.
I changed into my pajamas, crawled into bed, and succumbed to the urge to check my phone one last time. Then immediately wished I hadn’t.
The algorithm must have been laughing at me—I only followed a few people from Ransom on social media, yet the first thing in my feed was a picture of Parker in all his naked glory.
I almost dropped my phone. Thankfully the image had been captured from behind, and had been edited to cover Parker’s butt with a large peach emoji.
I should have felt victorious. But instead, my act of vengeance only seemed to have inflated the guy’s ego further.
There wasn’t one negative comment on the post. Just floods of heart and fire emojis, some skull emojis too, and countless flattering compliments from desperate admirers.
It was like witnessing a digital standing ovation.
Even Parker had commented with a winky face of his own.
He wasn’t just unaffected by what I’d done; he was enjoying the attention.
Parker walked through life as easily as he’d strolled across that foyer today. The rules the rest of us mere mortals had to abide by just didn’t apply to him.
I threw my phone down on my bed, narrowly missing Mitts, who hissed at me again. Our classmates could worship him all they wanted. I was committed to doing the exact opposite.