𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚 ⊰ gmw

f i v e

  Mackenzie climbed out of her mother's car as soon as they had parked in front of the brightly-lit diner. She followed Topanga inside and the two were seated right away. Topanga opened up one of the plastic menus that were already placed on the table while Mackenzie looked around the diner. The interior was mostly white with light blue detailing along the walls, tables, and counters. A blue cat with wings, which served as the diner's mascot, could be seen on the front page of all the menus and the uniform shirts the employees were forced to wear. 

  "Do you want the Lūʻau Supreme Burger or the Texas Steakhouse Burger?" Topanga questioned, lowering down the menu to peer at Mackenzie's face.

  "Neither. Can I just have mozzarella sticks please?" Mackenzie asked softly, fiddling with her fingers while avoiding her mother's eyes. Topanga smiled softly before nodding.

  "Of course, honey. Milkshake?" 

  "Chocolate please," Mackenzie responded. Topanga called a waitress over and repeated Mackenzie's order before ordering for herself as well. She turned back to her youngest daughter who was now messing around with a napkin she had grabbed from the metal napkin holder. Topanga put her hand over Mackenzie's to stop their fiddling and Mackenzie looked up at her mother on instinct.

  "How was the shopping trip?" Topanga questioned. Mackenzie shrugged.

  "It was fun." Topanga hummed in response and nodded, silence quickly enveloping them. Mackenzie knew that her mom was trying to spark up a conversation, but she had shut down for the night. Emotionally, she had no motivation to please anybody right now. The waitress that had taken their order came back with their food, carefully but quickly setting the plates and drinks down in front of them before scurrying off to the next table.

  Mackenzie immediately began eating her mozzarella sticks, not realizing just how hungry she really was until food was set down in front of her. She kept her head bowed as she ate, eyes going from the sticks of fried cheesy goodness to the small bowl of marinara sauce she was dipping them in. She could faintly see Topanga eating the burger she had ordered across from her.

  "You look like me." 

  Mackenzie looked up when she heard her mother's voice, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she chewed slowly. Topanga's eyes traveled over Mackenzie's hair and down to her face, taking a sip of her soda.

  "Riley and Auggie look more like Cory, but you...you look like me." Topanga continued. Mackenzie swallowed, eyes going back down to the mozzarella stick in between her index finger and her thumb.

  "Really?" Mackenzie asked. Topanga nodded. 

  "Yes really. My eyes were the same color as yours when I was your age. They'll get lighter as you get older." Topanga responded and while she couldn't see it, Mackenzie's eyes lit up at the thought.

  "So I'll have pretty green eyes like yours?" 

  Topanga's eyes softened at the pureness in her daughter's voice, a fond smile growing on her face. 

  "Yeah, but they'll be unique in their own Mackenzie way." 

  A small smile made its way onto Mackenzie's face as she continued to fill her tummy up.

♡♡♡

  Mackenzie laid in her bed that night, thoughts floating around as they always did. Her mother's words from the diner still rang in her ears. She hated that her mother made it so difficult for Mackenzie to remain angry at her. Mackenzie hated that despite how much she denied it, she absolutely adored Topanga. And hearing her mother say that she resembled her had made her body fill up with joy, knowing that she looked like someone that she thought was beautiful beyond compare. 

  But despite how happy she was, the winds of negativity never failed to blow away the happiness that clouded her mind. It wasn't long before tears filled her eyes and she was clutching onto her pillow tightly. 

  I love her so much, so why does she reject me whenever Riley comes around? 

  No matter how hard she tried to make this night different, it always ended the same as the rest. With her sobbing into her pillow.