Just Over A Year Later

Rosalie was awoken suddenly, a hand grasping at her wrist. As a reflex the girl shot up, searching her dimly lit room for any danger, but all she saw was the face of her five year old sister. Mackenzie had suffered nightmares since that night and regularly snuck into bed with her sister, but even then, Rosalie never felt comfortable with people grabbing her wrists when she wasn’t expecting it, the memory of that day always coming to the forefront of her mind, the image of Christopher digging his nails into her wrist as he threatened her. Her wrist was vacant of scars, yet to her, it felt like her body and mind were covered with scars from that day.

‘Mack, you scared me’ Rosalie rubbed her eyes.

‘Sorry’ the little girl looked down at her feet, dark waves falling over her the shoulders of her bright pink pyjamas.

Rosalie moved over on the bed, patting the space next to her. Mackenzie saw the movement and smiled slightly, moving to the spot.

‘What are we going to do tomorrow Rose?’ Mackenzie asked her sister, clinging gently to her side.

‘How about we go to the park with the puppy?’ Rosalie asked, knowing that her sister would love to spend the day with the dog that she had gotten for her fifth birthday.

‘Will Ben be there?’ Mackenzie asked quietly.

‘Do you want Ben to come?’

‘Yes’ The girl said and Rosalie was pleased at how much her sister approved of her boyfriend. After the death of their parents, Mackenzie had become quiet and reserved, after she saw a children’s therapist things had gotten better and Mackenzie had gotten mostly back to her old self, but she still had a deep distrust for people, often hiding behind her sister when meeting new people and sometimes even with people that she had known, all that was needed was some reminder of Christopher, a black hood or a gun, fake or real, that would send her into a fit of tears.

Benjamin seemed to get along great with Mackenzie and he was one of the few people she trusted.  

Benjamin had been friends with Rosalie for years, but they had gotten closer after the death of her parents. Christopher and Benjamin had been best friends, and Benjamin had been devastated by what had happened, leading him and Rosalie to find comfort in each other.

It had taken Rosalie a long time to be able to trust anyone, let alone another boyfriend, but Benjamin was nothing like Christopher. He had never shown any anger, towards her or anyone else, and he understood her situation, always accommodating Mackenzie into whatever they did.

Rosalie and Mackenzie had never had much family outside their immediate family, only two aunts and a cousin. One of their aunts and her daughter lived in Atlanta, but the other Aunt, their Aunt Lani, thank-fully lived in Jacksonville as well. The two were placed in their Aunt Lani's custody shortly after their parents demise. Their Aunt had never had kids, so she had no idea what to do with Mackenzie, leaving Rosalie to care for her sister. Rosalie had become her sister’s unofficial mother, and she didn’t mind, she would do anything for her sister.  

‘Close your eyes Mack’ Rosalie told the girl next to her, but the girls eyes stayed open in defiance.

‘I don’t want to’ she shook her head, brunette strands flying around at the force of it.

‘Why not?’ Rosalie asked gently.

‘I have bad dreams’

Rosalie wrapped her arms around Mackenzie and held her close, trying to comfort the young girl.

‘I do too Mack, I do too’

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Rosalie had just gotten dressed, jeans and a black jacket covering her thin frame as she walked down the stairs of her aunt’s home, only to be ambushed at the last stair.

‘Don’t forget to take some water’ Lani handed a bottle to her, appearing out of nowhere.

‘Rose! Rose! Aunt Lani let me wear my new dress!’ Mackenzie was twirling around, the bright blue dress fanning out as she did.

‘Thanks Aunt Lani’ Rosalie put the water into her backpack.

‘I have work, see you guys tonight’ her aunt grabbed her handbag and went, kissing Mackenzie on the head as she passed the twirling girl.

‘You’re going to get dizzy and hurt yourself’ Rosalie warned. Mackenzie opened her mouth with a retort ready, but she was suddenly falling.

Rosalie’s hand shot out, catching the girl just before she hit the floor. Mackenzie smiled apologetically at her sister, who just gave her an I-told-you-so look.

‘Don’t you love my dress?’ Mackenzie smiled, her hands caressing the colourful fabric.

Rosalie bent down to her sister’s level, ‘It is beautiful but we are going to the park, you will get it dirty’

Realising what she was saying, Mackenzie’s smile turned into a pout, ‘But Aunt Lani said..’

‘I know Mack, but do you trust me?’

The little girl huffed, ‘Yes’

‘You will get it dirty, I’ve laid out some jeans and a blue shirt on your bed, how about you go get changed into that’

The little girl’s pout remained as she stomped up the stairs at her sister’s request.

Rosalie whistled and a small Labrador puppy came running towards her, stopping at her feet, tongue half falling out of its mouth as it jumped up and down in excitement. She attached a leash to the dog’s collar and waited for her sister to join them.

Mackenzie came running down the stairs within a few minutes, dressed in the clothes Rosalie had set out for her.

‘Ready Mack?’

‘Yes Mom!’ Mackenzie smiled, running towards the door.

For a few seconds Rosalie stood still, shocked at the notion of her sister calling her ‘Mom’, but when the puppy pulled on the lead, anxious to get closer to Mackenzie, Rosalie opened the door, leading her sister and dog to the car.

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When they arrived at the park Benjamin and Deon were already there, standing next to a table near the playground. The area they were in was all fenced off, so Rosalie let the puppy off of the leash, seeing as there were no other dogs in the park at the time.

Mackenzie pulled on her hand, a smile on her face as she tried to get to Benjamin quicker. Rosalie let go of her hand as they approached the table, and Mackenzie ran towards Benjamin.

‘Benny!’

‘Mack!’ Benjamin laughed, picking her up for a hug.

Mackenzie was the only one who could get away with calling Benjamin ‘Benny’.

He placed her on the ground, ‘Look how tall you are getting!’ he cooed.

‘I will be taller than you some day!’ Mackenzie said happily, making Benjamin and Deon laugh.

‘What’s up little lady?’ Deon ruffled Mackenzie’s hair fondly, making the girl laugh.

‘The sky’ Mackenzie said proudly and Deon laughed, giving her a hi-five for her joke.

‘Can I go play?’ Mackenzie asked her sister.

‘Go have fun’

Mackenzie didn’t need telling twice, seeing no other people in the park, she ran towards the playground.

‘Hey Babe’ Benjamin smiled fondly at his girlfriend, gently bringing her in for a kiss.

‘Hey Ben, Hey Deon’ she greeted the man next to Benjamin who grinned at her.

They all sat down at the table and Rosalie couldn’t help but admire her boyfriend. Benjamin had a thin body, but it suited him. His shaggy hair was almost blonde in the right light and his bright eyes were like endless pools of deep blue.

The man sitting opposite them was handsome as well, his dark skin covered some serious muscles. His hair was short and it made him look older than his eighteen years.

They had just finished high school and Rosalie knew that she had to cherish days like this, knowing that most of her friends would be going off to college in the fall, leaving Mackenzie and her in their small town.

The day was beautiful and the sun shone through the clouds, lightly bathing Rosalie in its gentle light.

Looking around she saw Mackenzie and her dog, of which Mackenzie had named Snowy, playing in the playground.

‘So I broke it off then and there’

‘You broke up with another girl?’ Rosalie laughed, realising that she was missing another one of Deon’s break-up stories, Deon went through girls faster than Mackenzie’s shoe size changed, and that seemed to be every other week at the moment.

‘She was “annoying and too loud” apparently’ Benjamin mocked Dion’s endless reasons for breaking up with people.  

‘That’s a real reason’ Deon defended himself.

‘Yeah, your reasons are always so solid, remember the time you broke up with Lindsay because she, and I quote, ‘she thought that terminator two was better than the original’’

Benjamin laughed, ‘Or the time you broke up with Claire because ‘she owned a black cat’’

‘Hey! Black cats are bad luck and terminator two? Was she crazy? I think so’

Rosalie and Benjamin laughed so hard that they didn’t hear the people coming up behind them.

‘Are we missing all the fun? It looks like your teasing Deon, let me join, have you seen his tattoo, it’s a tribal tattoo, so outdated’

‘That’s just mean!’ Deon pretended to sulk at Parkers comments as Parker and Sadie sat down.

‘Dion broke up with ANOTHER girl’ Rosalie informed her friends who laughed.

‘Was her hair ‘too many different colours’ again?’ Sadie teased. Her blonde hair flying around her in the breeze. Rosalie wondered if she was cold, her short skirt could pass for underwear, but she wasn’t judging, Sadie was her best friend. 

‘Nah, I bet she tried to make him watch the notebook’ Parked laughed.

‘Ok, enough about me!’ Dion threw his hands up in submission.

A cute guy walked past them at that moment, sending a wink in Sadie’s direction. The girl was no newcomer to being the centre of attention, so she smiled and winked back. The second he was out of earshot she nodded, ‘I’d hit that’

‘I’d hit that too’ Parker smirked.

‘I’d hit you’ Deon laughed at Parker.

‘I am going to take that as a compliment’ Parker laughed.

‘No, I mean I am going to hit you. You have a boyfriend’

‘I can still look!’ Parker defended.

‘Come on Rose! Your dating Ben and you’d hit that right?’ Sadie turned the attention to Rosalie.

‘Yeah Rose, would you?’ Benjamin teased, nudging his girlfriend.

‘Yeah he was hot, I would’ Rosalie smirked, kissing the pouty look of off her boyfriend’s lips.

‘Mom! Mom! Look!’ The voice was familiar but the words were unknown. The group at the table turned around to see Mackenzie, who was standing next to Snowy.

‘Look!’ she said, doing some action that seemed confusing to the dog who just sat there watching his owner with curiosity.

‘See! I am teaching him to ‘stay’!’ the girl said happily and Rosalie smiled.

‘Good Job Mack’

Mackenzie seemed content with that, running away again, the snowy white dog right on her heels.

The whole table seemed to be looking at Rosalie, ‘What?’ she said.

‘Was it just me’ Benjamin started, ‘Or did Mackenzie just call you Mom?’

‘I’ve never heard her call you mom before’ Sadie said, confusion in her tone.

Rosalie shrugged, ‘Eh, she did it this morning too, I don’t know what it means’

‘You have been a mother to her for the past year, you can’t blame her for calling it how she sees it’ Parker commented, pushing his dark hair away from his face.

‘What if she doesn’t remember our Mom? Should I have shown her more photos?’ Rosalie started freaking out a little bit, she wasn’t Mackenzie’s mother, she needed to know that Mackenzie remembered their parents.

‘Shh’ Benjamin put an arm around her shoulders, ‘You are doing a great job at raising her’

‘You are the best sister she could ask for’ Deon grabbed her arm comfortingly, but the movement shocked Rosalie and the flashback to the doorway a year ago echoed through her mind within a millisecond, causing her to yelp and back out of both men’s holds.

‘Shit Rose, I’m sorry’ Deon apologised.

‘It’s ok’ Rosalie said shakily, ‘I think I’m going to go on a walk, can you guys watch Mackenzie for me?’

She looked into Benjamin’s eyes as she asked, and even though they all said yes, because it was Benjamin’s yes that gave her the most piece of mind.

‘I’ll be right back’ she called out to her sister, who nodded absentmindedly.

Rosalie took a walk around the park, venturing further out into the wooded area. She knew that the only person who would hurt her was locked up in a mental institution in a whole other state, yet every time she closed her eyes, every time someone touched her wrist, she saw the face of a boy. The boy wasn’t wielding a gun or a knife, he wasn’t out to get her, he was gone. He was so happy and innocent back then, yes he had a bad childhood, but they were so happy, weren’t they? She remembered movies where he held her hand so nervously that the sweat between his palm gave him no grip at all. She remembered when he first kissed her, how red his cheeks had gotten and how surprised he was when she kissed him back with more fierceness and passion then he had ever seen her display. She remembered the dead look in his eyes when she broke it off and finally she remembered the moment she watched him killer parents, the moment she saw him raise the gun towards her mother’s head and pull the trigger.

She remembered it in sequence, which is what made it harder, the loss so much more profound and made the guilt weigh more profoundly on her already broken heart.

She lost her parents and her boyfriend that day, but she had Mackenzie and she had Benjamin and her friends.

Benjamin wasn’t the love of her life, but after Christopher, she wondered whether she was really meant for love, someone as broken as her.

Realising that she had been walking for quite some time she made her way back to the park.

From the distance she could see her friends at the table, laughing about something. The sight caused her to smile. As she got closer she noticed that she couldn’t see Mackenzie in the playground.

Opening the gate, she walked past her friends table to stand closer to the playground, fear surging through her veins.

She whistled and saw Snowy, but the dog was on the other side of the fence.

‘What is it?’ Sadie asked.

‘Where is Mackenzie!?’ Rosalie asked, fear leaking into her voice at the question which was aimed at Benjamin.

‘What?’ they all looked around, no-one seeing the brunette child.

‘There’s Snowy!’ Parker pointed, but Rosalie was already walking towards that side, opening the gate before running to where Snowy was.

Within seconds her friends were with her, and Rosalie picked up the tiny dog.

‘Mackenzie!’ She called out, but the girl was no-where to be seen.

This side was thick forest, trees and shrubs covering the terrain.

‘Spread out! Deon and Sadie go that way, Parker go that way, Rose, you can come with me’ Benjamin told everyone where to go and they all set off, calling out for the girl.

After a minute or two Rosalie remembered that there was a small lake around where they were, ‘Mackenzie loves to feed the ducks at the lake!’ she told Benjamin who followed her.

Soon enough they reached the lake, the murky water was unnerving and she peered down at the liquid.

‘Mackenzie!’ she called out, hoping that she was around here somewhere.

The tiny dog in her arms started barking at something to her left and when Rosalie looked she saw Mackenzie, the girl was standing next to a duck, a huge smile on her little face.

‘Thank-god’ Benjamin sighed beside her, and Rosalie hastily gave him the dog before running over to her sister.

‘Mackenzie!’ she grabbed the girl, throwing her into a hug and holding the girl as close to her as she could.

‘Rose! You scared the ducky away!’ Mackenzie struggled against her hold, trying to reach for the duck.

‘Mack’ Rosalie met her eyes, ‘What were you thinking, running away like that?’

‘I came to find you, I thought you might be with the duckies, Benjamin said I could’

Rosalie looked over at Benjamin who was balancing a dog in one hand and his phone in his other, probably alerting the group where they were.   

Rosalie carried Mackenzie over to Benjamin, ‘you told her she could come find me?!’ She accused and Benjamin’s face froze in shock.

‘W-What?’

‘You told Mackenzie that she could come find me with the ducks?’

‘What?’ Recognition hit his face and he turned his gaze to Mackenzie, ‘Oh Mack, I told you that once your sister came back we could go see the ducks, I didn’t mean right then’

‘Oh’ the girl sighed in Rosalie’s arms before her green eyes went wide and teary, ‘Am I in trouble?’

‘No Mack, just never do that again’ Rosalie pressed a kiss to her forehead.

‘There you are!’ Sadie appeared next to them, Deon and Parker close behind.

Rosalie handed the girl to Sadie, who cooed over her while Deon and Parker looked at her, assuring themselves that she was fine.

‘I am so sorry Rose, It’s all my fa-’ Benjamin apologised but Rosalie smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist, hugging him with one hand and patting the dog in his arms with the other.

‘When she was three I lost her in a toy store’

‘What?’

‘It was my first time babysitting her overnight and I took her to a toy store and got distracted, and she wondered off. The worst ten minutes of my life. It’s bound to happen, it’s ok, I’ll just need to keep a firmer eye on that girl’ she said and Benjamin visibly relaxed.

Rosalie knew that kids wondered off, but that was the first time since her parents were gone, and she had to keep reminding herself that Mackenzie was safe every few seconds until the fear finally wore off. She wasn’t ever going to let that happen again, she needed to keep Mackenzie safe, if it was all she did in her life.

‘Let’s go home’ she said, taking Mackenzie’s hand and walking back towards her car.