Sat in the surf club cleaning the last surfboard, Mckenna put it back in its place and packed away her stuff as John emerged from the office.
"I heard about what you did for young Xavier yesterday," he said as he opened the till, "Not everyone would have acted the way you did."
"It wasn't anything special, he was in trouble and I knew that I could help... so I did."
"You may see it like that, but it shows me that you have a natural reaction to help others and that's something I look for in my lifeguards," John told her, "Also, Romeo said that you picked up everything really fast today and those surfboards are immaculate."
"Thank you."
"You can head out," John added with a smile after a short silence, "Well done today."
With a smile in response, Mckenna grabbed her things from her locker and made her way home to Mangrove River. Cheryl was already passed out drunk by the time she walked through the front door and Mckenna covered her with a blanket, before collapsing on her bed.
The silence was deafening, but her head was pounding and she felt exhausted. She soon fell asleep and woke up the next morning to her phone ringing, groaning as she answered it.
"Hello?"
'Hey' came Brax's voice from the other end, 'Come to the house, I have something to talk to you about...'
Before Mckenna could even open her mouth to reply, the line went dead and she sighed in frustration. Not feeling all that hungry, she skipped breakfast and made her way over to the house.
Brax was sitting at the kitchen table when she arrived, closing the door behind her and greeting her older brother with a smile.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked as she sat down.
"Yeah," Brax answered, glancing up and frowning, "Are you feeling okay?"
"My head still hurts and I'm tired, but the doctor said that might be the case," Mckenna reassured. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"So Heath has finally taken the step to move in with Bianca, which means that we will have a spare room that is yours if you want it," Brax told her.
"Really?"
"Really."
Mckenna had grown up with her mom's drinking and Brax had always been there to shield her from the side effects it had, but it wasn't as easy dealing with it alone. After a year away, she couldn't handle it anymore and just the thought of moving out released a little of the tension she felt.
"Have you spoken to mom about it?"
"This is your choice, it has nothing to do with her," Brax replied seriously, "I know that you're struggling since you got home and I really think that a fresh start away from mom... away from Mangrove will help, but it is your decision at the end of the day."
"I want to move in," Mckenna agreed without hesitation.