The Line Drive

forty-one

Dane

As I'm laying on Mackenzie's bed, I hear a knock. "Yeah?" I ask.

"Dane?" It's Kate.

"What's up?" I open Mackenzie's door.

"I'm pretty sure Mack is crying in the shower." Kate tells me in a low voice. My stomach drops. "I'm sure she's fine." Kate reassures me, seeing my face. "Just— she can get kind of emotional when she's hungover. It's been a rough couple of weeks for her." Kate gives me a pointed glare. "She needs a hug and then she needs to eat." Kate pats me on the shoulder. "Go get 'em tiger."

"I should go in there while she's in the shower?" I ask, slightly nervous that Kate is going to think I'm a creep.

"You could knock first." Kate suggests like I'm the dumbest person alive.

"Right."

"It's your first test. Don't fail." She adds helpfully. Where did Mackenzie find this woman? 

"Thanks." I mutter as Kate walks away. I step into the hallway and knock on the bathroom door. Kate is right, I can hear her sniffling. "Mack?" I ask. There's no reply. "Mackenzie?" I ask a little louder. I hear a muffled sob. I try the door handle. It's unlocked. "I'm coming in there unless you scream at me to stop." I tell her. 

There's no reply so I crack open the door and stick my head in. Mackenzie is still in the shower, standing behind the rain glass. I can see an outline of her naked form, and I swallow, trying to focus on the task at hand. Comforting her. Not trying to seduce her. 

"I'm sorry." She says in a choked voice. "I'm just--"

"Overwhelmed?" I suggest.

"Yeah." She's resting her head against the tile. There's another sniffle and I watch her shoulders heave as she takes a big breath. "Did Kate tattle on me?"

I debate what to say, but realize that by waiting so long I'm already giving Mackenzie her answer. "Yep." 

"Rude." Mackenzie mutters. 

"I think we should go get something to eat." I say.

"You're not upset that I'm crying?" She asks in a small voice. 

"What? No. Of course not, Mack." I desperately wish that she would come out of the shower so that I could at least hold her and see her face. I feel like I'm flying blind. "Can you-- Can you come out so I can hug you?"

The water turns off, and her arms snakes out of the shower and grabs a towel. When she steps out, I can see how tired she really looks. Her face is still wet, and she looks remarkably small standing there, her shoulders slightly hunched, her eyes downcast. 

Despite her dampness, I wrap my good arm around her, pulling her as close as my sling will allow. She takes a deep breath and I can tell she's trying to steady herself. "Do you ever feel like things change so fast?" She asks. 

"All the time." 

"My head really hurts." She admits. "And I feel really nauseous."

"Let's try eating some breakfast, and if you still feel like shit, we can come back and just take an easy day." 

"Okay." She agrees, to my surprise. I'd expected her to have homework she needed to get done. "You have to leave so I can get dressed."

"I plan on seeing you naked eventually." I tell her.

"I plan on that too." My stomach drops. "But not today." And then she ushers me out of the bathroom. 

I wait for her in her bedroom, this time sitting at her desk, staring at the pictures she has tacked to a cork board. There are several of Elmo, and a lot of her, Kate, and Hannah. There's one of her as a kid with two people who I assume are her parents. Her dad looks very serious, and her mom is looking at someone or something that isn't the photographer or Mack or her dad. The only one smiling is Mack, holding both of her parents' hands, looking carefree. 

"Ready?" Mack's voice surprises me, and I turn around.  

"Yes, ma'am." I give her a wink. "Looking very clothed."

"I'm sure you're disappointed." She starts off down the hallway and then out the door. I follow her, and shut the door behind us. 

As we get into the car, I glance at her face. She looks calmer now, but still tired. I feel awful, knowing that I'm most of the reason she's like this. 

"How has class been going?" Mack asks me, breaking the silence. 

I tell her. I've been struggling to stay afloat for the last week and a half between being in pain, not spending any time with her, and just generally feeling depressed. She nods along to what I'm saying, adding in comments here and there, reminding me of why I always feel so relaxed in her company. She just seems like she really cares. 

We grab a table at the coffee shop with the breakfast burritos. Mackenzie orders a hot chocolate and two breakfast burritos, lets me order, and then pays for all of it before I can whip a credit card out. "Unnecessary." I tell her. 

"Too bad." She gives me a sly smile before sauntering off to a table. I follow her. 

"I thought for sure a hangover would cause you to break and get coffee."

"Caffeine is bad for hangovers. Makes it easier to stay dehydrated." She says. 

"You're something." I reply. Mackenzie smiles and looks at me. I feel very self-conscious, which is weird for me. Usually I'm quite confident, aware that I have a nice face, and a hot body, and that most women find me very attractive. But now, I can feel that I'm beginning to blush under her gaze. I feel as if I'm being looked at for the very first time, and that maybe she's not going to like what she sees. "What?" I ask. 

"You're blushing." Her smile is huge now, and I blush even harder. "Are you nervous around me, Dane Sawyer?"

"I would never admit it if I was." I tell her quickly. 

"You look tired." She decides.

"You should see you." This causes her to roll her eyes. "You still look very pretty." I add, warranting an even bigger eye roll. 

Before Mackenzie can think of a smart-ass reply, they call her name and she motions for me to stay put while she goes and grabs our drinks. It takes her a second trip to get our pile of breakfast burritos. 

"If I ask you something, will you promise not to get mad?" Mackenzie asks as she unwraps her first burrito. 

"Sure." I agree, curious where this is going. 

"Have you talked to your dad since I saw him in the hospital?"

"No." Mackenzie's astuteness is one of her best qualities, but also one that makes me the most uncomfortable. She opens her mouth, and then closes it again, and shakes her head. I look at her, waiting to see if she'll spit it out. 

"Do you ever call him first?"

I look at her in surprise. "No. No--" I think. "He always calls me." 

"Huh." She takes a couple bites of her burrito as my brain tries to think of where this could possibly be going. I'm sure that Mackenzie has a good point, but that she doesn't want to interfere too much. 

"Are you going to make me drag it out of you?" I ask her.

"I was just thinking-- maybe he'd respond positively if you called him. It would make it seem like you wanted to talk to him." 

"But I don't want to talk to him." I tell her. Mackenzie sighs. 

"I know. But he's probably worried about you. You were in the hospital, Dane." 

"Why do you care?" I ask, trying to remain calm and remind myself that she's trying to be helpful. 

"Because he cared enough to come to the hospital." Mackenzie finally meets my gaze again, looking remarkably less tired now that she's eaten half a burrito and drank some hot chocolate.

"He yelled at you though." 

"And wasn't that a party?" Mackenzie laughs. "You don't have to do anything. I was just thinking out loud." 

I ask her about how she and Kate became friends, and we manage to switch topics completely, but her comments are still there in the back of my brain, begging me to think about them. I know Mackenzie has a point, and I know that I probably owe my father a phone call. But sometimes, it's nice to ignore your responsibilities for a bit.