"You know I'll be proud of you either way right?" she asked, shuffling her feet back and fourth as she took a heady drag off her cigarette.
Mac nodded silently, oddly calm while she was a bundle of anxious, optimistic, energy. Krystal was a nervous mess, the night she'd been dreading had finally arrived. She didn't want to see the crushing look of disappointment on his face if he didn't pass. What it would do to his self confidence. How discouraged he would be to try again if he failed.
The fact that they'd missed class the night before last was weighing heavy on her conscience as well. But of course Mac had gotten his spoiled little way. Not that she'd been conscious to fight him on the subject anyway, the lack of sleep had finally caught up with her, making her sleep through the night with her Mac-blanket nestled atop her.
What she'd woken up to the next morning was downright bizarre. An empty bed and the smell of something burning.
"Ya aint sposta be up." he'd huffed when she entered the freezing kitchen to find smoke billowing out the open windows and a smashed smoke detector scattered in pieces around the floor.
"How can I not be, I thought the house was on fire." she shivered, wrapping her arms around her naked body as she stepped forward to inspect the disaster that covered her stove and counter.
"How 'm I sposta serve ya breakfast in bed if ya aint in bed. Git!" he snapped, shoving her away from the blackened contents of a frying pan that may have once been scrambled eggs.
Kristy went without hesitation, layering on several articles of clothing in hopes of stopping her teeth from chattering before she slipped back underneath the covers. She wasn't going to yell or nag despite the mess that would surely be waiting for her. Cringing when she remembered the sight of a broken egg on the floor and butter smeared on a cabinet. It was the first time he'd gone out of his way to do something nice for her so she knew she would have to grin and bear it as far as the catastrophe he'd turned her kitchen into went.
She pictured his destruction of the beeping smoke unit with a laugh and a small smile. Imagining the panicked look on his face as the shrill noise threatened to wake her and the origin of the smoke burnt further while he smashed the poor detector to bits made her giggle further.
When he entered the bedroom he looked a mess, flour coloring his hair which prompted her to wonder what the hell he was trying to make that involved the white powdery substance. The tray he carried was piled high with black food, the orange juice sloshing over the rim of the glass at his quick nervous movements.
She knew the pain of countless parents who were forced to eat the concoctions of their well meaning children when she saw the look of utter disappointment on his face when he glanced down at the tray's contents.
"Come on hurry up, I didn't eat lunch or dinner yesterday and I'm starving." she insisted when he hesitated half way to the bed, surely wanting to just dump the failure of a breakfast into the trash and bury his head in the sand figuratively.
Kristy kept her composure as he reluctantly placed the tray in her lap and she got a good look at what she was about to force herself to ingest for Mac's sake. The bacon actually didn't look that bad, just extra extra extra crispy. The rest of it made her worry for her digestive system until she spotted a tiny wild flower next to the fork. From then on she didn't give a shit if consuming that much charred food made her sick. It was the sweetest thing he'd ever done.
"Ya don' gotta eat it." he murmured at what he saw as hesitation when she looked her breakfast over, casting his eyes downward in embarrassment.
'At least I don't have to worry about salmonella poisoning.' she thought as she shoveled a large amount of dark brown eggs into her mouth with a smile on her face that didn't waver.
Even when the unmistakable crunch of eggshells was felt as she chewed.
"It's good really good, I ah… I like my toast well done." she lied after she struggled to bite a piece of the rock hard bread off.
Mac gave her a flat look that plainly called bullshit on her white lie.
"Jus stop. Can't cook worth a damn, I know it's fuckin' nasty." he asserted, moving to take the half eaten charcoal away.
"I'll teach you one day." she offered, giving up the ruse and spitting a black mushy bready substance out.
She made sure to snatch the flower up before he removed the mess from her lap.
When he came back she had it against her nose, inhaling the faint sweet scent.
"Thank you for making me breakfast." she cooed, pulling him down into the black crumbs scattered about the bed spread.
"Ya mean tryina-" he began, getting cut off by her lips as she bent down and stopped his self-degrading words.
"Ugh!" he'd gagged, pulling away after sampling the horrible leftover taste on her tongue.
Mac stubbing his cigarette out on the side of the building got her out of her mind and back in the present situation.
"Alright let's do this." she cheered, trying to keep in high spirits as she flicked her butt off into the bushes.
She could practically tasted the charred food as the memory left her and they entered the community center.
Krystal had taken to accompanying Mac to work every day since she'd quit her job at la Mesa. She was one of those people who couldn't stand just doing nothing all day, unless Mac was there doing nothing with her.
She really hadn't given Richie any choice in the matter of hiring her. In just her first day there she'd organized the office, balanced the books, ordered all the supplies they were soon to be out of, and did an oil change without batting an eyelash.
"She know anythin' else 'bout cars?" he asked Mac, trying not to get caught looking at Krystal's ass as she leaned over to pour fresh motor oil in.
"Aint no tellin', seems like she knows jus 'bout everythin'." he muttered, smacking his oily rag into Richie's face when he followed his line of sight.
It was there at the auto shop while playing secretary that she got the results for their final exams. After seeing her own unsurprising 4.0 she typed the password to Mac's email in slowly, almost dreading what she might see.
An ear piercing screech came from the front office, making Mac smack his head on the car hood as he jumped at the sound.
"Krys?….Krystal!" he bellowed, gripping the wrench he'd been using in case she was screaming due to an attacker.
He'd made it half way across the garage with Richie hot on his heels when she burst through the door with a huge smile on her face.
"You did it, you passed!" she yelled as she ran forward, jumping up to wrap her legs around his waist and kiss him, not caring about the grease from his suit sullying her clothes.
Mac barely had a moment to process his accomplishment before she was unwrapping herself from around him, scurrying away with the mention of having something to do before she turned right around and came back again.
"I am so so proud of you Mac." she squealed, kissing him once more and making him beam with pride before she snatched the keys to the Denali and took off.
"Oh shit, she's back." Devon announced, spotting Krystal's suv pulling into the lot.
Walter looked up to see her speed walking towards the door, the unexpected happy expression on her face making him wonder what was up.
"Uh-uh get over here Walter, I need to talk to both of you." she called out when he tired slinking away to the safety of his lockable office door.
They gathered at the end of the bar, watching her expectantly side by side, wondering what the hell could have put her in such a good mood.
"Mac has been taking night classes and he finished high school." she began, seating herself at the bar before she got into what was sure to be the lesser of her two battles. "And the graduation ceremony is on Wednesday at the Freemont county community center."
"So?" Devon asked, puzzled as to why she was telling them this.
"So you're both going to be there to support him. Because you're his family." she scoffed, her tone becoming much darker at their indifference to Mac's success.
"An what makes you think we're going to show up?" Walter replied, raising a bushy gray brow at her.
"Because if you don't then you have to deal with me." she threatened with a low growl, remembering just how little they cared about the man that was the center of her world.
For some reason in the midst of her excitement she'd somehow forgotten about what kind of people they really were.
"Dress clothes. Six p.m. Don't be late and bring Regina too, you know how much she likes to clap at shit." she snapped, staring them down until they both nodded in understanding while mentally steeling herself for what she was about to ask next.
"Is…she still in town?" Kristy inquired, half hoping the answer was no.
"Room four." Walter bit out, walking away to return to his work and leave her to her business.
"I can't fucking believe I'm doing this." she grumbled to herself as she crossed over into the dirt section that had not been paved towards the mostly out of order motel rooms.
Kristy stood in front of the door with a crooked number four nailed next to it, taking a long deep breath before she knocked with her un-injured hand. If she hadn't stuck her foot in the doorway it would have been slammed shut right in her face.
"I just want to talk." she assured the coward behind the door, thankful when the pressure let up on her throbbing foot.
The door opened wide after an uncertain minute, revealing the very fucked up face of Arlene.
'It was already pretty messed up to begin with.' Kristy thought to herself, hesitating for half a second at what she was about to do.
"Your son is graduating high school in two days and you should be there to see it." she blurted out, not sure how else to put it.
"High school? Shouldna his stupid ass done that years ago?" Arlene speculated, her words coming out a little off due to a missing tooth and a most likely dislocated jaw.
The ragged woman flinched when Krystal's useable hand clenched into a fist at the insult to Mac.
"Walter pulled him out of school in his early teens and he never got to finish until now. He worked hard for this and he deserves to have his family there when he walks across that stage." she proclaimed through gritted teeth, fighting to keep her temper in check.
"I don't give a shit, I'm not going." she declared around a hacking cough, attempting to push the door closed on her.
"I'll pay you." Kristy growled, slamming the door back open with one hand and forcing her way into the dingy room, eyeing the needle and spoon lying on a table.
"How much until you act like a proud loving mother?" she snapped when a fifty wasn't enough to even get her to attend.
"Proud and loving will cost you a grand. If you just want me there that'll be two hundred." Arlene delegated, holding out her hand for the cash.
"I'll give you two fifty if you show up on time, sober, looking presentable, and are nice to him." Kristy offered, absolutely hating herself for stooping to bribery.
"Three hundred." she countered as she sat down and proceeded to pull out a crack pipe.
Krystal lost her composure, grabbing the glass bowl and hurling it at the wall full force. The sound of it shattering proved extremely satisfying. Now that she had Arlene's full attention she was ready to continue.
"It's a deal. But if you fall through on any of those term I will bust my other hand on your face, you hear me?" she promised, handing over a fifty dollar bill.
"Do I look like a fucking idiot? You'll get the rest once you show up and play your part." Kristy growled in frustration when the older woman still held out her hand expectantly.
"Great, now kindly get the fuck out." Arlene hissed, pocketing the money before she lit up a cigarette.
"I'm not done yet. I've got one more question and I'm only asking you because you're probably the only person who knows." she theorized, thinking how sad that was and fighting the urge to cut the bitch when she extended her hand for more money.
"What day was Mac born?" she strained, clenching her teeth once more as she slapped a twenty into her open palm.
"You're fucking scum." she bellowed when Arlene waved her hand forward for more money, doing so until she had three more twenties in her palm.
"It's coming up in a few weeks. December twelfth. Or eleventh. No the thirteenth." she finally remembered, stuffing the bills away in her bra.
After leaving directions to the community center Kristy couldn't get away fast enough, the overwhelming urge to slap the shit out of Mac's mother coursing through her in waves. She was in her own thoughts of what she was going to wear and what she was going to dress Mac in when a thud to her right made her jump.
"Jesus Regina." she muttered as she waved back to the girl in the window, thankful for the outside padlock Devon had installed so she didn't have to deal with a little shadow the rest of the day.