"We run together, they're my family"
[Family - Chainsmokers & Kygo]
The sun peaking through the curtains woke Mack from her slumber, making her yawn and roll over to face the clock. 10:28am. She turned over to she Jo still sleeping, looking peaceful and beautiful as always. Mack carefully stood up and out the covers back over Jo, creeping out the room and walking downstairs. She quietly walked into the empty kitchen and got some water. She new the house was empty because Jo's parents were taking the other kids out to some park so Mack and Jo had opted to stay home.
"Morning." Someone breathed behind her and Mack dropped her glass the sink, cringing as it smashed loudly when it hit the metal basin. "Woah, calm down. It's just me." Kai said in a jokey tone, gently pushing Mack out the way and staring to clear up the broken glass.
"You terrified me!" Mack said with her hand on her heart, her blood pumping way to fast as she tried to get her breathing back to normal.
"Sorry, I thought you new I was still home." Is all Kai said before cursing and dropping the glass he had gather.
"Hey are you okay?" Mack said slightly worried as she saw the crimson liquid dripping down Kai's palm as he shoo it from pain and frantically looked for a towel. He finally found one in a draw and held it over his wound, wincing in pain. Mack rolled her eyes and walked over to him, grabbing the towel from him.
"Sit down, I'll help you." She said and Kai chuckled.
"That sounded like you care about me." Kai laughed and pulled out a dining chair from the table with his good hand before sitting down. Mack scoffed and sat opposite him, pulling his hand into her lap and dabbing what she could see if the cut with the now-damp towel. Kai winced and Mack apologised, before chucking the cloth to the table and trying to tug up the sleeve of Kai's jacket. When that didn't work, she pushed the fabric off his shoulders before tugging it down his arms. She hung the black jacket over the back of Kai's chair before resuming her last position and grabbing his hand again.
"Careful, I might think you want to see me naked." Kai said with a smirk and a flirtatious wink and Mack shook her head while holding back laughter.
"In your dreams, Parker." She scoffed and he leant forward smirking.
"Oh, trust me, it is." He whispered before pulling away and winking. They both jumped slightly when they heard the phone ring and Kai stood up, walking over to answer it, holing the towel to his arm.
"Parker household." He answered, following with various sounds of "mhmm" and "yeah" and "uhuh" before holding the phone out to Mack, who stood up and took it from him.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Mack." Her father's voice came.
"Oh, uh, hi dad."
"I need you to come home now, we need to talk." Mack's heart sped up at his words.
"Um, o-okay. I'll head home now I-I guess."
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just really need to tell you something. In person." Her father reassured her and Mack let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Bye."
"Bye." Mack hung up and gave the phone back to Kai before going over to the table and cleaning up the stuff from earlier.
"I have to go." Mack said to Kai before walking up to Jo's room to grab her things.
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Mack walked through the door and instantly stopped in her tracks, seeing Mim and her
dad sat on the sofa, who both looked up when they heard her come in.
"Come sit." Her father said, motioning to the arm chair. Mack swallowed thickly sat down, nervous. "We need to talk." Mack nodded slowly and her gaze flickered from her dad to her sister every few seconds. Her sister took a deep breath before beginning.
"Well, y-you see, mum, she uh wasn't, h-human." Kim stuttered out, not exactly sure how to say it. Mack frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean not human?"
"W-well she was, a uh-" Kim was interjected by their dad.
"She was a werewolf." He said quickly and bluntly. Mack's eyes widened and her mouth hung open.
"B-but h-how?! Werewolves aren't real!"
"They are. I don't know how, but I fell in love with one." Her dad said calmly.
"H-how does it effect me? She's dead." Mack said with a tear in her eye. Mack's mum had passed out in a car crash when Mack was 14.
"Well, werewolves pass on their, um, gene, to any children they have." Kim said shakily. Mack tilted her head in a questioning way.
"I'm not a werewolf though, surely I'd like 'turn' on a full moon or something if I was."
"You have to trigger the curse." Her dad deadpanned.
"Curse? It's a bad thing?" Mack was genuinely confused.
"Y-yes. To turned you h-have to break every b-bone in your body first." Her Kim almost whispered.
"And you have to kill someone to trigger it." Her dad chimed in grimly.
"W-why do you know so much about this already?" Mack's question was directed at Kim.
"B-because I've already triggered it. Recently. We thought you should know so you might be able to avoid the same fate." Kim said softly, still worried they were scaring Mack and unable to read her sister's expression. After that Mack pieced it together. Kim being distant, not going to college despite being smart enough to get a scholarship, her always picking up an extra shift once a month. It all made sense.
"I-I need some air." Is all Mack said before storming out the door and pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and fore finger.
I'm a freaking werewolf, she thought. It made no sense, yet in every way made sense. She needed to distract herself, she needed someone to shout at or to hit something or-
It wasn't until she got to the end of the road that Mack realised she'd been sprinting. She doubled over, out of breath and rested her hands on her knees. Mack hated running, or just sports in general. Her heavily breathing masked the sound of his footsteps and when Ben put a hand on her shoulder Mack jumped in shock and spun around ready to scream. When she realised who it was she calmed down.
"Hey, I saw you running and got worried - you never run." Ben stated before pulling her into a kiss. Mack squirmed and pulled away.
"I'm fine, I just needed some air and didn't really realise I was running..." she trailed off seeing a group of Ben's friends stood a little bit behind him.
"Where have you been? I checked your house yesterday but your dad said you were out." Ben's voice was slightly angry.
"I was at Jo's. I thought I told you." Mack frowned and crossed her arms. Ben nodded and looped his arm around her waist before turning them around and walking them towards his friends.
"We're gonna go cliff diving, wanna join?" He said in a hopeful voice, gesturing to the mixed group of guys and girls looking at them.
"I-I really shouldn't..."
"Awww, c'mon Mack. You're always so boring, all you ever do is try to get a scholarship with those shitty drawings... come have some fun, real fun." He begged, kissing her cheek before placing his lips at her ear. "And maybe we can sneak off and have some fun on our own." He whispered before pulling away and jogging over to the others. Mack stood still for a moment, scared at what might happen if she went and scared of what would happen if she didn't.
She stiffly jogged over time the group of popular girls and boys, nerves coursing through her like waves. She chewed on her nails and Ben threw his arm around her shoulder, his obnoxious laughter ringing in Mack's ear. Her heart jumped when she looked up and her eyes instantly locked on Kai, who fist-bumped another guy - Matthew - with a genuine smile and a melodic laugh. She gulped and Kai looked over at her, sending Mack a wink and a smirk, causing her to look away as fast as she could and focus on the conversation Ben was having with the girl stood by them called Nicole.
Mack took the time to study the girl. She had thick, dark hair made in messy waves that complimented her caramel skin and honey eyes. Her lashes were long and luscious and her lips were plump and full, turned into an innocent smile. She was average height - 5"5 maybe? Her body was gorgeous, with curves in all the right places and not an ounce of fat where it shouldn't be. Like everyone else, she was already in her swimming stuff - with her wetsuit done up to the waist and a slightly revealing, navy blue bikini top which was accented by a silver chain around her neck that supported a simple charm. Mack mentally huffed, knowing she could never compare to a girl as beautiful as Nicole. Mack's look was average (or at least she thought so), with light brown hair that fell just below her shoulders and soft doe eyes that were a common baby blue. She was short and had an average body - no flat stomachs or thigh gap, but still enough curves.
Mack was snapped out of her thoughts when Ben pulled her towards his car.
"We'll pop by Mack's so she can change, we'll catch up to you guys later." He called with a wave, opening the car door and letting her climb inside.
Once they got to Mack's she ran up to her room, swiftly changing into a covering bikini and pulling her wetsuit up to her waist. She quickly chucked her hair up into a high ponytail - leaving it messy with sections falling out at the front to frame her face - and went back downstairs. As she walked into the living room Ben pouted and gestured to her top.
"Babe you know I like the other one better..." he trailed off with a smirk that made Mack sick. He was referring to a bikini Kim had bought her for her birthday that left little to the imagination and was way too easy to take off. Mack rolled her eyes and Ben held out his hand, which Mack took reluctantly and they left to meet the others.
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When they arrived, all the others were already stood at the top the the cliff waiting for Mack and Ben to get there. The couple walked hand in hand from Ben's car to the clifftop to meet the group of about 10 seniors. This is a great way to spend senior year, Mack thought, rolling her eyes at the thought of spending her time messing around with a boyfriend she didn't even like instead of studying and getting good grades and getting into college.
Nicole waved to them and Ben jogged over, leaving Mack to walk the last part on her own. As they reached the top the first three people jumped of the edge, shouting in excitement and fear as they broke the water's surface. Mack's heart sank again, remembering how much she had grown to hate adrenaline activities. She used to love them, when she was popular. She'd do crazy things with her friends every weekend but then her mum died and she figured out her priorities and eating her life was not one of them. A few more people jumped and her nerves got worse, and Mack almost shot 3ft in the air when Kai sneaked up behind her.
"Hey." His smirk was evident in his tone. Mack spun around and slapped his arm.
"You scared the shit out of me!" She complained with wide eyes, huffing as he laughed at her.
"Hey, chill, there's no need to run off, its only me." Mack rolled her eyes as she started to walk off.
"That's kinda the point, dick."
"Ouch.." Kai muttered before catching up to her, walking by her side. "I don't know this was your thing, you know...jumping off cliffs, having fun, spending time with your boyfriend." He teased, poking her in the stomach. Mack sighed frustratedly before walking faster, leaving a grinning Kai behind.
"I'm scared." Mack heard Nicole whine from the edge, standing facing a way from Ben who stood behind her.
"Oh you'll be fine, just jump." Ben waves off, zipping up his wetsuit. Mack headed over to them and stood next to Ben. "Hey baby." He creates and kissed her cheek, before turning his attention back to Nicole.
"I don't think I can do it." She was clearly close to tears. I guess she isn't perfect, Mack thought. Just as she was about to leave Ben grabbed her wrist, making Mack stand behind Nicole.
"Push her babe, trust me, she'll love it." He whispered in her ear. Mack shook her head.
"No, that might work. Push me." Nicole offered, holing her arms out as if to say she was open. Mack gulped and placed her hands on Nicole's back, but her she could retract them Ben 'accidentally' shoved Mack causing Nicole to fall of the cliff screaming. But they never heard a splash. Mack screamed.
"NICOLE!" She shouted, catching the attention of the others.
"Where's Nicole?" Matthew asked, jogging over to the edge. He learned over and backed away with a sound of horror, causing Mack to peak from behind her fingers which covered her pale face. The second she saw what looked like Nicole's lifeless body sprawled on a ledge half way down she shrieked and turned straight back to Ben.
"How could you? You made me push her! You asshole!" Mack screeched, hitting his chest with her fists as tears ran down her eyes. She killed someone. Then it hit her - she killed someone. The curse. "It's all your fault!" She cried and Ben frappes her wrists, dragging her away from the edge.
"Listen here, bitch, you pushed her. It's your fault. And if you ever lay a hand on me again-" Ben's rage was cut off by a unusually welcome voice.
"You'll what, dick?" Kai said with balled fists and a clenched jaw. Ben pushes Mavknto the ground and closed the space between himself and Kai in a few short steps.
"What's it to you? You're just some freak who hides behind snarky comments and sarcasm, I doubt you could do much." Ben spat, standing inches from Kai. Before anyone could stop him Kai's fist collided with Ben's jaw and he wore an expression of pure anger. Ben rubbed where he had been hit but before he could hit Kai back they were interrupted.
"She's moving! I saw her moving!" Matthew shouted, pointing down towards Nicole. Mack's head instantly shit up from where she was cursed into a ball and her tears seems to stop. She was alive? Mack rushed over the the edge just as Nicole let out a groan and her hand twitched.
"She's alive! Someone get help!" Mack screamed.