Page 52 of The Penalty

The reception is held at my family home, so a big group of guests follow us back to the house.

I wander around the house aimlessly until I spot Kylie and Tyler in the kitchen talking to one of our neighbors. Kylie excuses herself from the conversation and barrels into me with a hug.

“I’m so so sorry, McKenzie.”

“Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I haven’t been answering your texts.”

“You can ignore me all you want. You’ll never be rid of me. And you have a free pass right now.”

I give her a sad smile as she swipes under my eye where a rogue tear has dropped.

“So, this is your house?” she asks, looking around the kitchen. Part of me wants to be embarrassed. This house is pretty small, especially when all seven of us were living here. But it gave me some of the best memories of my life and I’m choosing to be proud of that.

“This is it.”

“It’s so cute. And this town is adorable. We drove through Main Street on our way in this morning, and it looks like it’s straight out of a movie or something.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it kinda does.”

“But seriously, how are you holding up? I’ve been so worried about you.”

I nod. “I’m ok, I guess. I don’t know. It doesn’t feel real.”

“I can’t imagine, McKenzie.”

I walk her down the short hallway and show her my bedroom. Since I was the only girl, I never had to share a room with anyone.

She asks me questions about my pictures and looks around at all the silly knickknacks I have: a medal from a spelling bee, a stuffed frog I won at the fair one year, and a small glass angel that my grandmother gave me. I barely took anything with me when I left for college, and Mom left everything how I had it.

There’s a soft knock on my door, and I turn to see Tyler leaning against the doorframe. He’s in black slacks and a black button-down shirt. Black is certainly his color.

“Thought I saw you two come back here,” he says.

“Yeah, I’m just snooping through McKenzie’s old room. Actually, I need to run to the bathroom. Do you mind?” she asks me.

“No, it’s right down the hall.”

She walks out, and Tyler and I are left alone for the first time in weeks.

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Kenz. I know nothing I can say will make it better, but it sounds like your dad was an incredible man.”

“He was. Thank you for coming. I didn’t expect you to.”

“I wanted to,” he tells me. He doesn’t shrug it off or make light of making the trip all the way out here. I know it’s a big deal for him to miss a day of coaching during the season and before a big game.

“Why?” I ask quietly. We both know he shouldn’t be here. If I were any other student or another friend of Kylie’s, he wouldn’t have come. But I can’t stop myself from asking anyway.

“You know why, McKenzie.”

I do, but apparently, I’m a glutton for punishment and want him to say it. I want him to admit that he cares about me.

A moment later, Kylie bounces back into my room, breaking up a moment she didn’t know was happening. “McKenzie, introduce me to your mom. I want to give her a big hug.”

I chuckle because that’s one hundred percent on-brand for Kylie. They follow me back to the main room, where I find my mom keeping herself busy making sure the table of snacks is all filled. She’s trying to distract herself, and I can’t blame her one bit. Maybe meeting my friends will help with that.

“Mom, I want to introduce you to my friend Kylie and her dad, Tyler.”

My mom gives them the nicest smile she can muster, even though I don’t think anyone is expecting her to attempt to be friendly right now.