𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒐 ~ 𝐞. 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧

PROLOGUE

"A story is about a day, life, or a moment after which nothing is ever the same."

~ Alice McDermott

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Prologue

Summer 2006

FRIZZLY BROWN LOCKS ALMOST entirely blocked her view. Not that there would have been much she could have seen in this cramped place anyway. People crowded all over, entering or leaving the bar that seemed a hotspot of sorts judging by the mass of people that flooded this place.

It surprised Mackenzie really, she hadn't thought it possible to spot so many people in one place in a town as quiet and quaint as Suffolk. But then again, it seemed she had a lot to learn about her new home.

"I have a got a really bad feeling about this." She mumbled for what must have been the tenth time in the last fifteen minutes only as she chanced yet another glance at the noticeably older people that stepped into the pub before them.

"Then maybe you should stop being such a statto!" She ignored his comment. There was just no way she would get into that argument again. Not her fault if he missed out on the experience of his life because he thought he had some half-assed excuses why, he would not watch Star Wars, the best franchise of all the time and she had to go to lengths to explain her references. His loss.

"Fuck you, Jack." It was only then that she raised her head from where it had bowed to carefully muster her black Converse over and over again in the hopes of not attracting any attention to herself. She met the gaze of the considerably taller boy.

"There is no way, we can get in there, you tosser!" She almost shouted, aggressively pointing at the half-opened bar door. They wouldn't even have to bother checking their IDs to kick them out. Maybe Jack with his height and stronger build would pass as 'overage' but there was no way in hell that she was.

Fourteen years old and 5'3-foot Mackenzie was of average height (and still growing, she insisted) but you could tell, quite clearly, from all her other body parts that she hadn't fully developed yet. Hence, nobody in their right mind would let her into the bar. She was positive of that and could spare herself the humiliation of getting a new reputation to her 'New Girl' stamp. Even though she hadn't ever lived in a small town before she knew how they worked. She read books.

But it seemed like she was fighting a lost battle. The blonde boy from her History class only grinned at her, obviously already having the time of his life by milking her misery alone.

Mackenzie found herself wondering if somehow this all was a ploy to make fun of the new girl. A welcoming ritual of sorts, perhaps. Quite late though if it was, seeing as it had now been almost two full months since she had started living here. But she wouldn't exactly put it past her new friend to pull of something like that. It was just like the spontaneous, totally goofy and always up-to-no-good die-heart Manchester United fan to do something like that.

Clearly, she had picked the wrong type of friends.

"Just trust me, Macks. You're gonna be fine, mate." Well, he wasn't reassuring her at all.

She didn't trust him, not after he had gotten her in detention the second he had convinced her to sneak out of class with him not even two weeks after she had been introduced as the new pupil. Another fool-proof plan of his that she had reluctantly gone along with because she really didn't fancy another round of recounting Henry VIII countless wives, even though she totally liked history. And well, Jack had come across as super chill and cool. The kind of guy, you assumed was a pro at sneaking out of class and skipping because he was so damn confident and convincing and just knew to play it off.