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Chapter Four

MACKENZIE

I took full advantage of my day off from work. It was my first day off in about a week, and it felt amazing.

I caught up on some reading and even went to the gym—which, I’m ashamed to admit, was the first time in weeks—before heading to the store.

After I put all my groceries away, I decided to take advantage of the cool weather and go for a walk. It was my favorite time of day—mid-afternoon. The brightness of the day was gone, but the sun hadn’t set yet, casting a yellow-orange tint over the world. I’d been taking these walks at least once a week since I moved into my building two years ago.

On my way back home, I stopped in front of this little bookstore. I’d seen it a dozen times, but there was a flower in the window that caught my eye. On a round wooden table sat a white vase, and inside the vase were two pink dahlias. They were next to a book titled Passionate Petals . It was a queer romance novel. I’d never read it, but my friends seemed to have liked it.

The store was closed, but I wanted to come back to take a look around. I knew it was a queer bookstore—or at least queer-friendly—because of all the equality and various LGBTQIA+ stickers on the windows, but I’d never given it a second glance until today. “ Open Book , clever,” I said aloud as I read the sign.

When I got home, I grabbed my mail before heading to my apartment. The mailboxes were inside the lobby, and mine was filled with mostly junk mail.

I got off the elevator and turned the corner, coming to a halt.

My new neighbor was standing at her door, and as if she sensed I was there, she stopped fidgeting with her keys and turned to me.

I cleared my throat and continued down the hall. I didn’t care that she was there, or what she was doing.

She turned back and unlocked her door, neither of us saying a word. I opened my door and paused as she cleared her throat.

“Hey.” Her tone was light and friendly. I slowly turned and straightened up.

“Hello,” I replied. I wasn’t really in the mood for a conversation, but apparently, she was.

“I wanted to apologize for the other night,” she said softly, playing with her key ring. “I was drunk, and I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I never got the chance to introduce myself. My name is Fallon Bennett, and I just moved here from Portland.” When I didn’t say anything, she spoke again. “Uhh... anyway, I’m really sorry.”

I snorted, and a few beats passed before I answered. “Yeah, I could tell you had been drinking.”

Her brows narrowed. “Look, things got out of hand, I admit. I had a lot to drink, and the whole situation was handled poorly—on both sides of the door.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Both sides?”

She scoffed. “Well, yeah. You were banging on the door like a lunatic, and you were a little rude.”

“You were having a rager in the middle of the night, and I was rude?” I questioned.

“What are you, ninety?” She rolled her eyes. “We didn’t have a rager! It was just a little party. And you didn’t have to insult me, you know. You could’ve just knocked calmly and asked us to turn it down.”

I laughed. “Like you would’ve heard a knock anyway. And just a little party? I’m pretty sure you could’ve heard the music down the street. Also, I didn’t insult you. I was simply stating facts. It was obvious you could barely stand. If you were offended, that’s your problem.”

“Jesus Christ, what is your problem?” She scoffed. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you the concept of human decency?”

I ignored her and turned around, walking into my apartment and shutting the door behind me with a sigh.

“Unbelievable,” I mumbled.

That was only the second time I had spoken to that woman, and I already wanted to bang my head against the door.

I let out a long breath and went into the kitchen to make something to eat. I was so irritated and I needed to relax.

While I waited for my food to heat up, my phone rang, and I quickly answered without seeing who was calling.

“What?!” I snapped at whoever was on the other end.

“Try that again, Mackenzie Isabella Thompson.” My sister’s stern voice—along with the use of my full government name—extinguished my rage, if only slightly.

“Sorry, Harper. Hello.”

“That’s better. Hello, dear sister. Is something bothering you? You sound a little tense.”

“No, it’s just been a day. What’s up?” I let out an exaggerated sigh. My social limit for the day had peaked, and I was not in the mood to talk about anything related to Fallon.

“I just wanted to make sure you were still coming over for dinner next Thursday?”

Dinner at Harper’s had been the only constant family thing in my life for a long time, and I always looked forward to them.

My sister was a few years older than me, and had been married for seven years to her husband, Grant. She had long auburn hair and hazel eyes—I always thought the she was the prettier one out of the two of us.

“Of course, Harp. You know I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

While we talked, I pushed my food around on my plate, no longer interested in eating it.

She went on to tell me about work, and I heard something about Grant, but I couldn’t pay attention. I was too busy thinking about an infuriatingly attractive redhead across the hall, which pissed me off all over again.

Irritation was boiling deep within me at the thought of her. How dare she insert her unwanted opinions into my life, like she had any right, like she had any idea. She knew nothing about my life or how I was raised.

I supposed it could be hard to find “human decency,” as she put it, when the ones who were supposed to guide you in life didn’t display much of it themselves.

“Hello? Are you even listening to me?” Harper’s voice cut through my thoughts.

I blinked and shook my head, bringing myself back to the present. “What? Oh, sorry. Yeah, of course I was listening.”

“Really? What did I say, then?” I swore, Harper could sniff out a lie three days in advance.

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to come up with a reasonable answer she’d believe. “Um... something about Grant?” I took an educated guess. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t too far off, but I doubted she bought it anyway.

“Something about Grant?” She scoffed. “What’s going on with you?”

I sighed. “Nothing, I’m sorry. I’m fine.” I dumped my plate in the trash, no longer feeling hungry. I sat on the couch, massaging the bridge of my nose.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing, Boog. Do you want to talk about it?” she pressed.

I scoffed at the mention of my childhood nickname. You go to school one time with snot on your shirt, and all of a sudden, you’re plagued with the nickname “Boog.” I blame my parents for that. I was ten years old. They could’ve warned me!

“Not really, Harper.” I paused for about three seconds before giving in. “It’s my new neighbor. She’s just so...” I groaned. “She’s infuriating.”

The line was quiet for a minute, and I thought she had hung up. “Okay, Kenzie. What happened?” she asked cautiously.

“I’ve only seen her twice, but… she just moved here, and she’s already driving me crazy.” I paused with a sigh before continuing. “The other night, after I came home from a shitty day, I was relaxing with a book and a glass of wine.”

She hissed. “Oh, sweetie. Did you get drunk and get into a fight with your new neighbor?” Lucky guess, Harper…

“Not a physical fight. She was having a loud ass party, and I asked her to turn it down.” I paused again, raking my hands through my hair. “I may have insinuated that she looked too drunk to be capable of anything.”

“Jesus, Mackenzie!” Harper yelled. “What is wrong with you?”

“I was drinking, okay, and so was she!” I closed my eyes. I wanted to forget that night ever happened.

I knew I shouldn’t have insulted her. I guess it was a little harsh, but I wasn’t thinking clearly.

“Kenzie, you need to apologize. Tell her you were drunk and weren’t thinking. Even if she doesn’t know you, she should have no problem believing it. She’s new and doesn’t need your bitchy ass making things difficult. She probably could use a friend. Do you even know her name?”

I exhaled, trying to release the tension building in my chest. “Her name is Fallon. She tried to apologize earlier—well, she did, but?—”

“You didn’t accept it, did you? You are such a stubborn ass!”

“Could you stop, Harper? Honestly, why do you keep doing that?!”

She laughed. “No, I can’t. I’m your sister, I know you! So why the hell not?”

“I don’t know. She started saying how it was partly my fault, too?—”

“Which it was, since you started it.”

“I just asked her to turn it down, Harper,” I defended myself.

“Yeah, and I bet you didn’t say please before you insulted her, did you?”

My only response was a groan.

“Exactly. Mackenzie, you need to apologize. Try to be nice for once—it’ll do you some good. Listen, I have to go make dinner, but I love you, okay? Shall we see you on Thursday?”

I closed my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, love you, too. See you Thursday.”

I hated it when my sister was right.