𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐚 ⊰ gmw

s i x

  When Mackenzie walked into her kitchen on Saturday morning, the last thing she expected to see was her father wearing a cooking apron, dancing around to Cher's Dancing Queen as he cooked something she couldn't see on the stove. 

  Her hazel eyes were shining with amusement as she watched him, the corners of her mouth lifting up slightly. He had no idea she was there probably due to the fact that he was so into the music. He turned around then, frying pan filled with eggs in hand. He paused mid-hip shake as he saw his daughter standing there. His mouth was open as he had been mouthing along to the lyrics.

  "How long have you been standing there?" He asked. Mackenzie shrugged her shoulders, moving to sit at the kitchen table.

  "I saw everything." 

  Cory scrunched his face up in embarrassment, grabbing a plate from the cabinet and placing it in front of Mackenzie before scraping some eggs onto it. He did the same to his own plate, adding a piece of toast with jam as well. 

  Mackenzie was already digging in by the time he had taken his apron off and sat down in the seat across from her. The two ate in silence as Mackenzie looked around the apartment, not seeing any of her other family members around.

  "Where is everyone?" She turned to face her father. Cory looked up from his plate at her question, his dark brown eyes looking at a mini-version of his wife. 

  "Your mother is at work, Riley is out with her friends and Auggie is at a playdate. Don't you have any plans today?" 

  "Nope." Mackenzie shook her head, taking a bite out of her toast. Mackenzie had always found things to be more comfortable around her father. Even though he was like her mother, in the way he put Riley above all else, something about him just made him easier to talk to. 

  Mackenzie remembered a time when she and Cory would spend hours upon hours together. The times she would cling tightly onto his leg whenever he got home from work, or the times when Cory was the only one allowed to carry her. The times she remembered the most vividly, however, were the times she would fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. It was the only thing that comforted her between the ages of four and five. 

  But as Riley grew older, her needs started taking priority over Mackenzie's. Cory and Topanga started becoming much more preoccupied with Riley and Mackenzie and Auggie were kind of pushed to the side.  

  The sound of fingers snapping yanked Mackenzie out of her thoughts, her eyes immediately turning to the source of the sound. They landed on her father, who was staring at her with a confused and slightly worried expression. 

  "Mackenzie? Are you okay?" His eyebrows were furrowed slightly and Mackenzie gave him a small smile, nodding her head in reassurance. 

  "Yeah, sorry. What were we talking about?"

  "I asked if you wanted to go out today? It's been a while since we had a day to ourselves!" Cory replied, standing up and grabbing both of their empty plates. Mackenzie nodded her head. 

  "Sure. Sounds fun." It's really has been a while since she and Cory hung out together. Although she didn't know exactly what they were going to do today, she hoped it didn't involve a lot of talking. 

♡♡♡

  A park. Her father had brought her to a park. When Mackenzie had given him a look of confusion when they got out of the car, he had explained that they were going to take a walk around the park and talk about how their lives were going. 

  Mackenzie should've known he was going to do something like this, especially with how much he encouraged Riley and her friends to talk about their feelings and discover themselves and whatnot. 

  They now walked down the stone pathway that wound through the park, large oak trees lining the path on both sides along with a bench every few steps. Things were quiet as they walked and admired the scenery. 

  "So how's fifth grade treating you?" Cory questioned. Mackenzie shrugged.

  "Pretty well. I made a new friend this year. Not that I really had any before." She responded. Cory nodded his head, looking down at her. 

  "You know you're only one year away from having me as your teacher? That's going to be the best year of your life!" 

  "Eh." She lifted her shoulders before dropping them in an indifferent manner. Cory gaped in offense before playfully shoving her away. 

  "But on a more serious note, how have you been feeling?" 

  How has she been feeling? That was something Mackenzie didn't really know how to answer. Her feelings were...complicated, to say the least. She knew she had a lot to be grateful for; She had a roof over her head, food on the table, and clothes on her back. She had the privilege of free education, something she knew wasn't available everywhere. She knew she should've been happy and yet, she was sad. 

  That was the thing though, her sadness only came when she was alone in her room, her thoughts her only companion. Whenever she was with Lana or Auggie or one of her parents, she didn't feel it as much. She didn't know why. The only thing she knew is that she started feeling like this when she was in second grade.

  Mackenzie held onto her Topanga's hand tightly as they walked to the car, Riley holding the other one.

  "I heard they gave you guys your report cards today! Can mommy see them when we get in the car?" Topanga questioned, opening the back door to the car for them. 

  "Yes, mommy!" Riley and Mackenzie chimed in sync, situating themselves in their seats. The two sisters already had their report cards out and ready for their mother to see as she climbed into the front seat of the car. She had taken Riley's report card first, quickly scanning it over.

  "Wow sweetie all A's? You did such a great job!" Riley only giggled happily in response. Mackenzie quickly handed her report card over as well, wanting to hear the words of praise directed towards her as well. Topanga looked it over and gave Mackenzie a small smile.

  "You did well too, honey! But next time try to get all A's like your sister okay?" 

  Mackenzie had nodded her head and sunk back into her seat, crumpling her report card up as soon as her mother had turned away from her. She didn't know why those words had made her feel so upset. She tried her hardest throughout the year to get the best grades she could and yet Riley still managed to do it better. 

  Mackenzie turned to look at her father who was still patiently waiting for her answer. She gave him a small reassuring smile.

  "I'm fine."