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18

* Thanksgiving*

the table is set and johnny stands in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches to his thanksgiving spread that he spent hours perfecting. mackenzie greets their guests that have just arrived, she quickly takes their coats and starts to pour them some wine. she also helps herself to a large glass, hoping to be a little tipsy by the end of the night.

"the food smells amazing!" annie exclaims, taking her seat next to hayden at the table. he nods in agreement, picking at the snacks mackenzie left out for them to enjoy.

"wait till you taste it" johnny smirks, taking a sip of his water. he's driving later so no alcohol for him.

nadia and darius join them, mackenzie following close behind. she takes her seat, pouring everyone some more wine while they wait for the food to be ready.

"so how's school for everyone? i'm so happy we got to come home for thanksgiving" nadia sighs happily, resting her head on darius' shoulder.

everyone hums in response, agreeing with her. ever since school started, they've all been doing their separate things. johnny and hayden were joined at UCLA by mackenzie and annie who insisted that they didn't care where they went for school, they just wanted to be with the boys. it was sweet and a very risky move to make but they made it work. and they're happy now. darius and nadia went to NYU after nadia decided that she wanted to major in fashion and darius vowed that he'd follow her to the ends of the earth or whatever.

         "how are you guys though? everything okay?" darius questions. he and nadia were concerned about leaving johnny and mackenzie so soon after losing maisy in the custody trial but they seem to be dealing with it better than expected.

       johnny reaches for mackenzies hand which she holds on tight to. the feelings are still raw when it comes to maisy but everyday it gets better and they're just thankful that they got to know her. carson took maisy back to vegas with him and he hasn't been in contact since. mackenzie wishes she took him up on his offer when she had the chance.

        "we are getting there" she smiles softly, excusing herself from the table to go check on the food.

      when she's out of earshot, annie turns to johnny, a questionable look on her face.

        "how is she really doing?" the brunette questions.

        johnny smiles sadly, shrugging his shoulders.

  "most nights i wake up and she's downstairs or in maisys nursery. usually she's holding her penguin that we never got to give her and crying her eyes out. she tries to put on a brave face but i know it's killing her inside. i just wish there was something i could do to take the pain away from her" he mumbles, earning sympathetic looks from his friends.

         "and what about you?" hayden asks.

   "yeah, how are you?" nadia questions, bringing her glass to her lips and sipping slowly.

         unsure of how to answer, johnny shrugs once again. mackenzie isn't the only one that's finding it hard. johnny's taking it on the chin and dealing with it the best he can but maisy was everything to him but he never truly showed her just how much she meant to him. he wishes more than anything for them to go back to the way things were when they first brought her home. johnny can't imagine life before maisy anymore. mackenzie's parents decided to retire and move back to pittsburgh which meant mackenzie was given the house. she asked johnny to move in and he said yes. their main focus now is moving on with their lives and starting fresh.

    "i'll be okay. i just can't believe that she's gone".

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the end 🧸