Chapter 2
Mackenzie took time off work to help me sort through endless paperwork and property transfers.[]
I never actually met this River guy–he had his lawyers handle everything in the divorce settlement.]
After nearly a month of bureaucratic hell, Mackenzie helped me list all my properties as rentals.[]
She did the math and told me I’d be pulling in about one–twenty thousand a month just in rent.[]
That day, staring at my bank account with more zeros than I could count, I looked up at the mirror. The reflection showed a perfectly put–together twenty–eight–year–old version of myself.[]
I scratched my head. Wow. Not bad at all.[]
I had nothing but time on my hands while Mackenzie went back to work, so I basically lived at her place playing video games all day.[]
She’d order food for both of us during lunch breaks.
Mackenzie worked insane hours and would come home looking like death warmed over, collapsing on the couch like a zombie.[]
I’d put down my controller and give her shoulder rubs. Apparently muscle memory was still intact because I was surprisingly good at
it.l
Once she’d recovered enough to form sentences, she’d start ranting: “River is such a piece of shit. Right after you graduated, you were basically his unpaid intern. And when his mom got sick, you’d come home from work just to give her massages and take care of her.“]]
Mackenzie kept going, then suddenly grabbed my head and flicked my forehead. “Willa, you were such a pushover! The second I wasn’t around, you let them walk all over you. That whole family treated you like garbage because they knew you didn’t have anyone else.”
I rubbed my forehead, feeling genuinely hurt. “Hey, I don’t remember any of that stuff! All I remember is you.“]
Mackenzie stopped mid–rant, then broke into a huge grin. “You’re right! You don’t remember, and that’s perfect. Just remember me–I’d never treat you like that.“[]
I believed her completely, because Mackenzie and I grew up together.[]
We were both foster kids.]
When we were little, I basically followed Mackenzie around everywhere. She’d fight other kids for snacks and help me with laundry.[]
As we got older, she’d help me with homework. She was a year ahead of me, so when I was a senior, she was already in college, calling me every single day to keep me motivated.]
She wanted us to go to the same university, but Mackenzie was way too smart. Even when I studied my ass off, I couldn’t get into Harvard like she did.
The day our test scores came out, I just hugged her and cried.]
Mackenzie flicked my forehead again. “What are you crying for? You got a 1480 on your SATs–that’s amazing!“]
She ruffled my hair. “You did great.”
I ended up crying all the way to Boston for college.[]
