The Sinclair Brothers ✔️

(60) Resolution

"So I guess I'll just...start." Makennah sighed from the place deep in her chest that ached when she laid down to sleep at night and the weight of the her world's problems shifted to the forefront of her mind. "I always thought that I'd turn eighteen and just embrace the world myself...move out, get my own place, get a job and work hard to make something of myself. I didn't think I would be anything special but I knew that I would be something better than my mom. Eighteen was my freedom pass. Soon as I passed that mark, even though I'd still be in high school, I would be free. I didn't know if I'd be with my mom or with a foster family. It didn't matter because I just...I never cared about anyone before. I didn't care about people or foster families enough to ever want to stay or make connections. I don't think it was selfish. Just...survival." Makennah curled her legs under her body and relived the many months she suppressed the hatred for her mother and her situation just so that she could survive.

"When my social worker dropped me off at the Sinclairs, I didn't think I hit the jack pot. Even though I knew my life would be a whole lot easier because obviously they had money, I still just wanted to get in and get out. A year tops. Another year closer to eighteen. Carolynn was...nice. Endearing. Caring. Everything that most foster moms aren't. Then I met their sons and they were nice and funny. They didn't treat me...like a basket case." She laughed a little. "I was stunned and just stood there in silence. I was just a normal person even though we all knew I wasn't."

Makennah fondly remembered that day she met Matt, Nick, Josh, and Jonah. She loved them all now. Undoubtedly. "The Sinclairs cared about my grades and my schoolwork and my friends and sports. They came to every soccer game. They were the ones that even convinced me to join the team. I made friends that they liked and Carolynn did things like invite them over for homecoming so we can all hang out. Carolynn bought me things...not because I needed them...just because that's who she is. She loved having a girl in the house. She loved having...a daughter. Me."

Me.

"I easily fell into their world. The Sinclairs are magical because they love each other and they love other people. They fight together for one another. No one gets left behind. And I was special enough to be included in that atmosphere, to be included in their unit. From day one, Matt watched out for me. He made sure that I would fit in at school with a group of people I didn't know and didn't understand because of where I came from. And Matt introduced me to Theo who is my...my boyfriend now. But I can't even talk about that right now." Makennah attempted to laugh like it was no big deal because she wasn't mentally stable enough to touch that subject. Her emotions rode a rollercoaster every time she closed her eyes.

"Anyways...I was lucky enough to see what a family is supposed to be like and play a role in that family. It helped me see how messed up my life has been with my mom living in dilapidated house that often didn't have running water or electricity because my mom didn't pay the bills. It gave me the courage to go see her and...and tell her that I didn't need her and didn't want her. But when I tried to do that, she's already moved on and forgotten about me." Her voice cracked and tears collected in her eyes. "She was supposed to be in prison, but she got out early. Didn't tell me. Didn't call me. Didn't do anything!" She put her emotions back in check. "So I hunted her down like I always did. It took me hours. But I found her and I told her that I finally had a family. I told her to rot in hell for all I cared because she didn't care about me at all. Obviously, she only wanted things that could feed her nasty addiction, like how it's been my whole life," she explained.

"I went on living my life. I grew more entwined with the Sinclairs. I fell in love with them, each and every one of them. They're amazing. I constantly wonder how I got so lucky. Mom went back to prison because I put her there." This time, she laughed for real. "Another story for another day though. And then...and then...and then..." She blanked. What happened then? Well her life spiraled a little bit. "Then I won the nomination to homecoming court. I kissed Theo. I got a job, a good job. I set up one of my friends with Nick, my brother. I went to some parties. Then I started smoking because of someone else's ignorance," she admitted which is how she started her fist counselling session. "I was attacked by my ex boyfriend after I got into a fight with this new girlfriend on the soccer field and I was ejected from the game. Theo asked me to be his girlfriend after he told me he was offered a position on a football team in Texas. I said yes, obviously. You would say yes too if you saw him. Then I smoked some more somewhere in between which is a bad sign for me. On top of that, the Sinclair's grandma came to visit me when she wasn't supposed to and asked me to watch out for the Sinclair family at their grandpa's upcoming funeral cause apparently he did something stupid that warrants attention from the FBI. Elizabeth...their grandma...didn't want them to figure it out at the funeral. Maybe later or something. I don't know." She stopped to catch her breath and looked up at the ceiling as if the rest of her thoughts might be up there.