''Landing''

Write To Him

Bella storms into Mackenzie's room, the younger woman looking up from the papers in her hand at the sound of Bella's stomping footsteps. One look at her and Mackenzie can already guess what got her in such a mood.

-"Alexander?" - Mackenzie comes to stand near her friend.

-"Alexander."

-"What happened?"

-"Believe it or not, he actually had the audacity to tell me I needed to 'make time for the man that freed me from the Devil' and yes, he used those exact words, before you ask. Oh, and if that wasn't enough to piss me off, he grabbed my arm and forced me to stand there hearing him tell me how I will eventually agree to marry him."

-"I think maybe it's time for Alexander to return to his estate and leave you alone." - Mackenzie is mad that Alexander would go that far, wishing she had done more damage than just a scar on his face.

-"To be honest, I've been avoiding getting Josh involved in this, but you're right, Alexander has to go. Maybe it is time to tell Josh."

-"Definitely. We should've done it a lot sooner. Alexander acts like he has done nothing wrong and he is a certifiable prick for what he did to you and Henry."

Bella watches Mackenzie pace the room in front of her, fidgeting with one of her rings and there's an anger in her voice that Bella can't really pinpoint the cause of.

-"Why do I get the feeling I'm missing something here?" - Bella looks at her, an eyebrow raised, seeing her friend look back at her and sighing.

-"I might have done something a few days ago that I probably shouldn't but that I definitely don't regret."

-"Mackenzie, what did you do?"

-"I ran into him in one of the corridors and we exchanged a few words. I was pretty pissed off at him already and when he started being his usual asshole self, I warned him that either he left me alone or I might do something I wouldn't regret. He had the unfortunate idea to ask what that was, so I..."

-"So you... What? What did you do?"

-"I slapped him as hard as I could."

-"That's it? You slapped him?"

-"Well... I might've turned one of my rings upside down right before I did it."

-"Oh. OOOOH!!! Well, that explains the new scar on his face." - Bella chuckles.

-"He is telling anyone who might ask that it was a low branch that hit him when he was out riding." - Mackenzie smirks back at her.

-"Very few people will believe that. It is well known that he just doesn't go out riding."

-"Alexander is actually stupid enough to think that people are believing his explanation." - A chuckle leaves Bella's lips at her friend's response, before she goes silent.

Mackenzie looks at Bella, who's now sitting on a couch and looking out the window next to which Mackenzie is standing, a look so sad on her face that breaks Mackenzie's heart.

-"You miss him, don't you?"

-"I do."

-"Maybe you can write to him and see if he is open to talk to you in person?"

-"He made it very clear that he wants distance from me." - She lowers her eyes to the floor, not wanting Mackenzie to see the hurt in them.

-"I don't believe that. You really should write him, Bella. I'm sure he would like to hear from you."

-"I'll think about it. What's on the agenda for today?"

Mackenzie doesn't push, she knows better than to do so. But, as she walks over to her desk to grab a list of all they have to do today, she thinks that she needs to write to Henry and see what she can do to help them, in whatever way she can.