It has been four months since Skylar has found her friend, McKenzie. She has tried her best to support McKenzie's PTSD, but their friendship hasn't been the same. McKenzie is distant, she's not invited to sleepovers, and McKenzie can't sleep inside her own house. Nevertheless, Skylar is looking forward to the summer; no school, no pressure, free at last. That is, until Skylar answers another knock on her door. It's the FBI again, it turns out, Skylar didn't find the leader of the SHAP. McKenzie and Skylar have to go into witness protection, for how long? They don't know.
Skylar eagerly waited for the bell to ring in her eight period class. Why couldn't history go by any faster? They didn't do anything at the last day anyway.
"Mr. W?" Someone asked.
"We have five minutes, can we please leave early?"
The elderly teacher, looked in the sky thinking as he leaned back in his office chair.
"Sure, just be quiet."
Skylar practically bolted out of her seat and to her locker. She grabbed all her things and frantically stuffed them her backpack. She took off running out of school. She bolted to her car and threw her backpack in her trunk. Skylar turned on the ignition and texted her brother that she was waiting in the parking lot and she was growing impatient. When her brother Peter finally showed up to her car, she picked up Sophie, and Simon.
"It took you guys long enough, I waited for fifteen minutes."
"Why are you in such a big hurry?" Peter asked.
"It's summer," Skylar said annoyed. "It's one of the last few months I can spend my time being myself before I become an adult and pay taxes and be boring."
"That sounds horrible."
"And maybe I want to celebrate with Max and McKenzie." Skylar shrugged, "you never know."
Skylar drove her siblings home and made a bee-line for McKenzie's house.
"Hello, Skylar." Kristen said. "How are you today."
"I'm great Kristen! How are you?"
"I'm better, McKenzie is in the tree-house."
"Thank you Kristen."
Skylar made her way to the backyard, she saw her new dog a small puppy. A beagle. Skylar petted the dog and made her way to the top of the tree house. McKenzie sat there in one of the corners, leaning back, she had jeans and a t-shirt, with her boots.
"Hi." Skylar said, "how are you?"
"I'm tired." McKenzie said. "I didn't get any sleep."
"You want to have lunch?" Skylar asked. "My treat. Who knows, it might help."
"Alright," McKenzie said softly. She stood up and stretched in the crammed tree house, "where?"
"How about our best friend Chick-fil-A?"
McKenzie chuckled. "Alright, sure."
"Great I can call Max, do you want to call Mark?"
"We..." McKenzie stopped, looking at her hands. "We broke up."
Skylar felt her heart sink. "I'm so sorry." Skylar said softly.
McKenzie nodded as she started climbing down the tree-house.
"Everyone is sorry. Mark said he couldn't deal with someone who could read his thoughts, and he didn't know how to deal with the PTSD."
Skylar hugged her friend when both of them were on the ground.
"I'm sorry for your break up." Skylar said.
McKenzie nodded. "I'm pretty hungry, are you going to call him?"
"Are you sure you want me to invite him?"
McKenzie nodded. "Please, I don't leave the house much now and I would love to see him."
"Alright." Skylar said. "Let me text him."
Skylar texted Max on the way to Skylar's car.
McKenzie sat in the passenger's seat and sighed.
"Do you have your phone?" Skylar asked.
McKenzie nodded.
"Do you?"
Skylar nodded.
"Let's get some food." Skylar sat down in the driver's seat and felt her phone vibrate she took it out and sighed of disappointment. "Max's school dismisses later than Calhoun's, so he can't come."
"Oh, that sucks." McKenzie said.
"Yeah..." Skylar said.
"Are you guys dating?"
Skylar chuckled as she turned on the ignition.
"No... we just hang out a couple times."
"How much is a couple times?"
Skylar felt her face grew hot.
"About once a week."
"McKenzie leaned back in her seat.
"Yoou like him don't you?"
"He's a friend," Skylar said, she didn't know why her voice was so high. "I hang out with you all the time, can't I hang out with Max?"
"You didn't answer the question."
Skylar pulled out of the driveway and sighed.
"I don't know." Skylar said. "Max is a good person, he's nice, and kind, anyone would be lucky to have him. But if we are dating, I didn't know we were. To tell the truth, I did like being single, and I don't know if I want to give that up yet."
McKenzie grinned.
"What?" Skylar asked. "I haven't seen you this happy in a long time what's up?"
"You said you did like being single. Did. Like past tense. You're totally dating him."
Skylar smiled shaking her head thinking to herself; how did that slip out?
"Don't lie to me Sky. I can smell a liar from a mile away now."
"I'm not lying to you; What reason would I have to lie?"
McKenzie smiled staring at the mediocre town as they drove to lunch.
