Mum's The Word (Sequel To Just Say The Word)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Pic's from the Honda Civic Tour Grouplove and Portugal the Man concert I went to. It was pretty awesome.

Lance's P.O.V.

Mackenzie looked downright terrified. "Find him," she ordered.

I sighed, wiping my face with the palm of my hand. "Mack, I can't just-"

She banged the bed with her fist. "Damn it, Lance just find him!"

I reeled back slightly and she immediately apologized. "Just please," she added. "Stop him from making a mistake. You of all people should know that the path he's trying to take is never going to end well."

"Me of all people? Never going to end well? Thanks Mack, for all your support. Nice to know where we stand as of right now."

Her eyes softened. "Lance that's not what I meant. Please don't take it that way."

"It's always gonna be him isn't it?"

"What? Why does everything come down to that with you two? I don't want anyone to sacrifice their life over scum like him. Is that so hard to believe? This isn't me choosing for God's sake. I'm genuinely concerned about something other than who's gonna write my next love note. How shallow do you think I am?"

"Makayla..."

"I'm not her."

I realized the mistake I made slightly too late. "I'm-"

She cut me off half heartedly. "It's fine. I get it. She's been here. I haven't." We were thrown into a brief awkward silence before she broke it. "Do you love her now?"

"What?"

It looked like it pained her to speak. "Please just tell me. I need to know. I don't deserve to know, but I need to."

I was confused as to whether she was talking about Makayla or Luca. "I love you Mack," I answered instead.

She smiled, but tears found their way down her cheeks. Suddenly she was all out bawling.

I rushed to her side and pulled her into an embrace. "Hey. What's wrong? Talk to me."

She laughed. "I'm happy, I promise. I'm just emotional."

I gave her a look of pity. "That time of month?"

She used one hand to wipe her eye and the other to push me away from her. "Shut up, you ass."

I smiled as I pulled away from her. I didn't know where this confession would leave us, but I did know I wasn't going to stop trying to make Mack happy. Never.

And so I found myself on a hunt for Liam Alexander. Obviously I checked Mack's house first. If I knew where they kept the spare key I had no doubt he did too. At first glance, the place looked empty and normal. I didn't know where else to search after this, so I wandered up the stairs and into Makayla's room. It wasn't like Mack's anymore. She would hate having to redecorate.

Makayla had moved her bookshelves down to the basement and taken down her band posters to replace them with hanging lights, flower stickers, and assorted candles. There were a few of Mack's old pictures still hanging around. One of the two of us at our park, a few of her and Liam at different places, and a few of her post makeover.

Sighing, I wandered out into the hall. Liam hadn't come through here. Why would he? Miguel wasn't stupid enough to come back so soon and we all knew it. I was never going to find Liam. I wasn't freaking Sherlock Holmes.

As I went to head out from the back door downstairs, I passed Lina's room. I would've just kept walking except the door was slightly cracked. As long as I've been here, I've never once seen Lina's room door be open. She was very secretive about her bedroom. I think it was because of the memories that must come from it. Mack's dad used to sleep in there with her before things went sour between the two. Lina wasn't fooling anyone. She never got over that.

Slowly, I entered the room. It looked normal enough; pretty tidy except for the desk against the wall. It was littered with papers. Taking a glance at the first paper I knew exactly where Liam was.

About half an hour later I pulled up behind Liam's car. He wasn't in it. That wasn't a good sign. How late was I?

Hurriedly, I rushed to the door, which was already busted open. Damn it. Almost immediately, I could hear the yelling and scruffling. It was coming from downstairs in the basement. When I got down there, Liam had Miguel in a choke hold.

"Stop," Miguel wheezed, weakly swatting at Liam's arms.

Liam's eyes were raged. He was sweating, his muscles tense. "Did you stop when Mackenzie told you to?"

At this point I thought it'd be best to step in. "Come on Liam, let the cops handle him."

He didn't look up at me. "No. He deserves to die."

I folded my arms and leaned up against the door frame. "I'm not saying he doesn't. I'm just saying you don't need to ruin your life for him."

"He ruined Mackenzie's!"

"Have you properly talked to her about the incident? Her life isn't ruined, Liam. It's damaged but she's so strong. She's already moving on from it."

He finally made eye contact with me and I realized just how broken he was. "I let him do this to her." And then the tears began to fall.

Quickly, I walked up to them and punched Miguel in the nose. Immediately, Liam's arms fell away from him and he collapsed.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault. We all want to blame ourselves."

The poor guy wasn't dealing. He wouldn't stop crying. "I told her to trust him."

I shook my head. "She trusted him because she wanted to. Mackenzie doesn't listen to anybody she doesn't want to listen to. And that's not to say it's her fault either. He's a terrible excuse for a man. This is all on him. All of it."

Liam nodded, but I don't think he was ready to forgive himself quite yet. We called the cops anonymously and let them know Miguel was at his brother's house. Then I escorted Liam back to the hospital, watching his every move behind the wheel in front of me. This was not a suicide mission.

When we got into Mack's room, she almost cried out in joy. "Thank God!" Liam went around to her bed and they embraced. I could tell he was still crying as she rubbed his back and he muttered "I'm sorry" repeatedly.

I was about to exit and leave them alone when Mack made eye contact with me. She mouthed "Thank you" to me. I gave her a half smile as if to say that's what I'm here for.