Off Limits

04 | And they say chivalry is dead

❝She loves him more than he'll ever know, and he loves her more than he'll ever show. What a tragedy❞

- pragnya rishi

Mackenzie Thompson

I wake up and find myself tangled in several blankets. Unraveling myself from them, I get up, despite my pounding headache. I make my way towards Aaron's bedroom door, but stop when I pass his mirror.

Wasn't the hangover enough?

My mascara is smeared all over my face, and my hair looks like a rat's nest. Groaning, I run my fingers through my hair in hope of making it look decent, or, at the very least, tamed.

Fixing my hair turns out to be a lost cause, so I give up and just head to the bathroom. I scoop water into my cupped hands and rinse my face, trying to cleanse it of the leftover makeup I didn't think of taking off last night.

I grab a nearby towel and pat my face dry, sighing as I glance at my reflection yet again.

"Kenz?" Aaron calls out my name as I exit his bathroom. "Here's some aspirin and water. It will help with the hangover."

"Thanks," I mutter, grabbing both items from his hand and popping the pill into my mouth, then taking a long sip of the water. "What time is it?"

"It's twelve," Aaron responds nonchalantly and my eyes widen in shock.

That's half of the day gone already!

"I should go. Thanks for, you know, taking care of me," I say, giving him a small smile.

"No problem. We can grab something to eat too and I'll drop you off at your house after," he offers.

"That sounds great, but I don't have any money."

"I'll pay," Aaron says, shooting me his signature smile. I shake my head.

"No, I can't make you do that," I state, hoping he'll just let it go.

"My treat," he insists. I sigh and throw my hands up in the air, giving in. He smiles triumphantly. "Do you want a new pair of clothes?" he asks, looking at my alcohol-stained outfit.

Ugh, I smell like vomit.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," I admit, averting his gaze. He rummages through his closet and throws me a pair of gray heathered sweatpants and his black football hoodie.

He looks away as I strip out of my clothes and change into his new ones. Obviously the pants don't fit perfectly due to him being double my size, but I manage to make it work by rolling the waist band up. Once I'm done, he takes my dirty clothes from me and throws them in his hamper to get washed.

We go downstairs, where his mom is dusting the coffee table. Rebecca, Aaron's mom, is genuinely sweet but isn't afraid to call anyone out on their bullshit, especially Aaron. It's a weird combination because she's the type of mom that would bake cookies everyday you come home from school and greet you with a warm smile, but that can instantly change because she also has the scariest eyes that look like they can see right through your soul. However, she's mostly happy going even after her husband passed away.