Read Online Shhh...Mack's Side by Jettie Woodruff - Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t. This room was real. It was my room. I could see the pictures of Gia and me all over my mirror. The sounds of my screams were real. The feel of the cold, hardwood floor was real. No. Wait. That wasn’t real. Why was I on the floor? The wind chimes. That was real. I could hear them.
    “What the hell are you doing?” my dad yelled from the door. My mom stood behind him, looking concerned.
    “ I’ve got it. Go to bed, Mark,” she requested. My dad left, shaking his head and she closed the door.
    “McKenzie? What’s wrong?” she asked, running her hand over my hair.
    “I’m scared, ” I cried. I didn’t know what was happening to me. I wanted it to stop. I wanted someone to help me.
    “Oh, baby, come here.” My mom sat on the floor with me and held me. That was the first and only memory I had of my mom being a mom. It took me having a nervous breakdown to get her attention, but for now, she was here and I needed her.
    The first doctor put me on an antidepressant and something to help me sleep. It worked and I transform ed into a happy, healthy, teenage girl. Gia and I were competing somewhere every weekend, traveling all over with our mothers. It was fun. Those years were worthy. Vacations were good. Holidays were awesome, and Gia and I went through a lot of firsts. Bra shopping, monthly periods, virginities and competitions. We were becoming pretty well known around Shayla Harbor. Our names and pictures were constantly in the local paper, holding ginormous trophies, looking too sexy for teen girls in our skimpy tiny outfits.
    It took a few years, but I was finally on an antipsychotic drug that seemed to work. I still had days where I would feel totally strung out, but for the most part, I could handle it.
    Things were good. I was happy and balanced. I didn’t feel the neglect I’d felt for my entire life anymore. Nothing like that bothered me with my new meds. I just had to keep them hidden from Gia. It was easy. My mom never told Melanie I was on medication either. She would never want her to know something like that.
    Everything was awesome. Gia and I started our senior year with a plan. We already knew we had scouts watching us and there were rumors of Milo Slogan, talking to the coach about Gia and me. He wouldn’t be talking about anyone else but us. I carry the bragging rights well. We were the best, and not one person from Monte Academy could argue that fact. We had our hearts set on The Juilliard School in New York, and it just so happened, Milo Slogan was a scout from there. Everyone who was anyone wanted to go there. We had it all planned out. We were going to get an apartment on campus, maybe live in a sorority house.
    Of course , we were planning on following in our mothers’ footsteps, and get our degree in business, too. We’d live in New York City, side by side, or maybe even L.A. We would sell homes worth millions and steal the club dance floors, rendering men and women wanting us both. Gia’s dad always told us we needed a plan. He used strange metaphors to get us to understand the importance of planning our futures.
    “ It’s like getting in a car and heading to Texas without a map,” he would say.
    “We have GPS,” I reminded him.
    He frowned at me. “That’s a plan. You map it out. You know where you’re going before you start out. You don’t start out in life not knowing which direction you’re going.”
    “ Dad. Shut up. That’s so stupid. We’re seventeen. We’re not supposed to have plans,” Gia argued. I took it to heart. I was the one sending out all the scholarships and college applications. I never told Gia, but I was really hoping to get into Michigan State. They had a dance team and an awesome program for business—our long term goal.
    “We’re not going to Michigan State,” Gia complained. She had her heart set on living in New York for whatever reason. I didn’t care. Whatever, it was fine by me. Gia wasn’t thinking long term. She was thinking