Page 150 of That First Flight

Oliver slowly walks across the room before he takes a seat on the edge of his bed. He places a hand on my thigh over the covers and even that contact feels like everything I need.

“Whenever you’re ready. Today, tomorrow, or next year. I’m not going anywhere, Macey.” He presses a quick kiss to my lips before he walks back to the living room.

I love him with everything in me.

I’m just plating the last pancake when Mackenzie comes strolling out of the hallway that leads to her room. She’s rubbing her sleepy eyes and I can’t help but chuckle on the inside because when we first moved here, she was totally a morning bird.

Now, she has completely switched to being a full on night owl.

While I cooked breakfast, Oliver filled me in on leaving her with Emiline before picking her up while I fell asleep in the car. My mind and body were so physically exhausted by the time he picked me up from work that I barely noticed at the time.

“Good morning, babe.” I say to Mackenzie.

“Morning, mom. Did you sleep okay in Ollie's room last night?” she asks.

“I, uh—”

“She woke up around three in the morning with a bad dream,” Oliver cuts in. “I heard her and tucked her back into bed. She watches too much of that Harry Potter stuff.” He laughs.

“I do not,” she scoffs.

My chest constricts with pain all over again that I wasn’t there for my girl. Oliver's room is too far away in this massive apartment for me to have even heard it. She doesn’t have bad dreams often, but when she does it’s from whatever show she was watching.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“It’s okay. I know you had a bad night.”

“About that…” I turn off the stove top and bring the pile of pancakes to the kitchen table.

Oliver poured three glasses of orange juice and helped cook the bacon which already sits in the middle of the table. Mackenzie takes a seat next to me, tucking her small leg under her butt as she sits.

“It definitely wasn’t the best night,” I finish.

She picks up two pancakes and two pieces of bacon, waiting for me to continue.

“Grandma and Grandpa showed up at my work last night.”

Mackenzie stills, snapping her head in my direction.

“And they weren’t very nice to me.”

“They…” She pauses, something that resembles fear crosses her little features and I notice her shoulders go stiff. “They aren’t going to try to get us to go home, are they?”

I shake my head but before I can say anything, Oliver cuts in.

“Over my dead body, Kenzie.”

Her gaze lands on him. “So we can stay here? We don’t have to leave? They won’t make us? What if they try?” She turns to look at me again. “I don’t want to, Mom. I really don’t want to. Please, can I stay here?”

I swallow. Every muscle in my body is filled with tension and pain. Mackenzie rattles off each question with so much worry in her tone and I hate that for such a small girl, she’s so concerned about things like this.

But she’s old enough to know what she wants and I’ve grown enough through my own shit that I know what I want as well.

I reach my hand out to cover hers. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Mackenzie’s shoulders relax as I reassure her but she remains silent.

I can only imagine what goes on in her mind and what damage her past has already caused. I wish more than anything I was smart enough to leave when she was smaller. But everything we’ve been through has made both of us who we are today.

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