＊ 𝐏𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ——
❪ chapter three ❫ !

     "Officers, thank you. It won't happen again, I can promise you that much." Laurel spoke with both of the officers. "Tell Mr. Fisher the chief wants to set up tea time when he gets back in town." One of the cops spoke.

     Mackenzie sat next to Conrad on the cushioned bench. When she looked at him all that came into mind was when he placed his hand on her thigh.

     She stared at him for some time until he looked back at her causing her to turn the other way.

     "How could you guys be so irresponsible?" Laurel raised her brows. "Mom, it wasn't a big deal. All right? Seriously. The cops were just looking to break up the bonfire." Steven tried defending the rest of the group.

"Not a big deal?"

"Yes."

Mackenzie kept her hand near her mouth to hide the bump on her lip. She winced every time her fingers grazed over the swollen part. Although it wasn't hurting before, it did now.

"I would say getting picked up by the cops for underage drinking is a pretty big deal, Steven." Laurel raised her brows.

Steven didn't reply, instead, he began to sniff the air, "Were you guys smoking tonight?"

Laurel acted as if she didn't know what Steven was saying, "What?" She paused, "Keep your voice down. Susannah's asleep on the couch."

"Well, I wasn't yelling. Well, you-you-you were."

Jeremiah jumped in, "Just so you know, Laurel, I-I didn't drink tonight. I was the DD, I swear."

Laurel looked at Conrad, "You're the oldest. What the hell's gotten into you?" She then began to speak to both Mackenzie and Belly, "And when did you girls leave the house without telling anybody."

Mackenzie tried to respond but Laurel began to go off.

"And what in the world are you wearing?" She asked Belly.

"It's Taylor's. And why are we the only ones who are not allowed to go out?" Belly asked.

"It's not that y'all are not allowed, it's that you girls should have told us you were going. How did you even get there?"

Mackenzie and Belly looked at each other as they spoke in unison, "We walked."

"Jesus. You girls know better than to walk that far down the beach alone late at night."

"Can you stop treating us like a kid?" Belly spoke up.

"If you wanted to be treated like an adult, you need to act like one."

Mackenzie barely spoke, she was scared of what the outcome would be so she simply watched and listened.

The dirty blonde next to her began to speak, "Then maybe you guys should, too."

Laurel looked at him, "What does that mean?" She paused waiting for a response, but didn't receive one. "I hope you realize this night could have ended a lot differently if your family wasn't your family."

"Sorry." Mackenzie let out.

Laurel sighed, "Just... go to bed, guys."

Mackenzie was the first one to leave, heading straight to her bedroom.

𓆉

Mackenzie looked at her lip through her phone camera, it wasn't as bad but it would definitely get worse. While she did that Conrad slowly opened the door.

"Need this?" He asked, holding a bag of frozen peas in his hands. Mackenzie smiled, motioning Conrad to sit down beside her.

Mackenzie laid her head awkwardly against Conrad's shoulder. She was still thinking about him putting her hand on her thigh. That was all that was on her mind.

"I'm sorry."

     "When you put your hand on my thigh..."

     They both spoke at the same time, saying two completely different things.

     "Oh." Mackenzie lifted her head from off his shoulder, now facing him.

    "Sorry. Sorry for punching you in the face, sorry for touching your thigh—" Words began to spew out of Conrad's mouth in a sluggish way.

     "Connie, it's okay." She hugged him. It wasn't one of those thought out hugs, it just happened.

The hug lasted for a few seconds before they both let go. Conrad looked into Mackenzie's eyes, "You know if you really want to do it, you should." He spoke, looking over to the envelope that was still on Mackenzie's bedside table. "You think so?" She laughed.

"Yes."

     AUTHORS NOTE ! [ 765 words ]
rewritten !!
—— vote and comment ❪ don't be a ghost reader ❫
this chapter is very short, i'm so sorry and also not
much happened because it's literally the last few minutes
of the first episode but i hope you enjoyed it!

—— ignore any grammar mistakes they will be fixed !
feedback on this chapter would be amazing <3