Jefferson Lake (MBBF Spin-Off)

Chap. 16

"So let's play a game," McKenna suggested.

"What kind of game?" I asked.

"Name as many colors as we can without the letter E in it. And then the person that can't has to answer the other person's question. Truthfully."

"Okay," I agreed. "You start."

"Brown," McKenna stated, clearly a previously thought up answer.

"Black."

"Maroon."

"Pink."

"Purple."

"Purple definitely has an E in it," I disagreed.

"Dammit," she cursed. "Okay, your go."

"How did it feel when Elizabeth died?"

She stopped short, staring up at me.

"Sorry," I apologized.

I just wanted an idea of what Parker felt when he'd heard that I tried to commit suicide. Because I knew that he'd never tell me the full truth himself.

"No, that's the point of the game, to get to know each other," McKenna stated, quietly. "But you just sort of jumped right in with the feels."

"I can start with something else."

She shook her head, starting to walk again with her gaze focused on the ground. "Um, it was awful. I loved her so, so much, and I felt like maybe she'd never really loved me. Which of course now I know isn't true, but that's how it felt. I felt that she left all alone in this world, because she was my best friend." She stopped talking, her eyes closed.

"That's good," I said, my throat tight.

I really don't think I could stand to hear any more than she could stand to say.

"Your turn to come up with a game," McKenna said, looking up at me.

"Name something in nature that starts with a T," I suggested. "You can start."

"Tree."

"Toads."

She laughed, swinging our hands between us. "Tigers."

"Tulips."

She stared at me, clearly racking her brain.

"Tobacco," I suggested.

"Shut up, it's my turn."

"Termite," I said, a smile tugging at the ends of my lips. "Tadpole. Tangerine. Tarantula."

"These games aren't fair."

They really aren't.

"My turn again," I said, with a slight laugh.

She let out a frustrated sigh. "Okay."

"Why did you pick Florida for a boarding school?"

"Oh, that's an easy one. I wanted a tan."

I couldn't help but laugh at that one.

We approached Panda Express, and although I really wanted to walk our way through the drive-through, McKenna the goodie-two-shoes forced me to go inside with her to place our orders.

"Okay, so where were we?" I asked, once we left the restaurant with our orders.

"It's my turn to pick a game," she informed me. "Name different kinds of science."

"Oceanography," I stated.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course you would. Biology."

"Chemistry."