Thread: Relaxing 3-6-2010(att:anyone)

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of footsteps can be heard making their way further down the dock. A.J. had been walking aimlessly since he had arrived at the lake. There were a great many things on his mind and he just felt the need to either clear his head or make sense of some of the things or he figured he might explode, metaphorically.

His mind was so preoccupied that he didn't even notice Mackenzie sitting at the edge of the dock. It wasn't until he was just a few steps from the edge that he had noticed her sitting there, only because he stepped on her shoe. He says quietly to her, in a tone that isn't unfriendly, but a tone that one would take if there was a lot on their mind, "Hello, Mackenzie."

Mackenzie turns her head at the sound of A.J.'s voice. Her hair contains a small single braid on the left side of her head, that is visible when she turns. She was a bit preoccupied as well and hadn't noticed his approach. She mentally chastises herself for being so careless. She smiles at him, but notes he is not in his normal mood.

Patting the spot next to her on the dock, she says, "Nice to see you again, A.J. You look like something's wrong. I have a listening ear or two if you want."

A.J. takes a seat on the dock and then takes off his shows and socks. Once he sets them to the side, he rolls up his pants legs and scoots forward so he can let his feet and lower legs soak in the water. He then takes a deep breath and sighs as he looks over at Mackenzie and says, "Have you ever done something you aren't proud of, but you did it for the right reasons?"

Mackenzie nods. "Sometimes doing the right thing is the most difficult things anyone has to do." She pats his shoulder. "It sounds as if this was more difficult than most."

A.J. nods as he sits there thinking about it. It was extremely hard for him to do what he had done. The truth was, he had made no promises that he wouldn't say anything to anyone about what he had heard. He felt more guilt because of the pain that it had caused Corin. He looks at Mackenzie and says, "I was faced with a situation where I had to do something, that I didn't want to, but it was the only way to prove to someone they could trust me. It was extremely difficult to have to do and still difficult to deal with. In the process of gaining this person's trust, I may have lost the trust of others, but I never made any promises to anyone that I'd keep their secret."

Mackenzie smiles. "Does this have to do with Corin and Horacio?" She shakes her head. "I'm sorry that things with our family are getting so complicated. What happened?"

A.J. sighs as she hits the nail on the head with her guesses as usual. He stares out over the water for a long pause. He takes a deep breath and sighs before speaking, "Corin and I were coming to terms with our past. We got ourselves to the point of being able to relax and be comfortable with each other. Things were going good and then she asked about the tension she sensed from you after you talked to Horacio."

He pauses right there to collect his thoughts on things. He takes a moment as the guilt of what he had done washes over his face. He steels himself against the guilt of what he had done and continues, "I told her it was something she should discuss with you or Horacio. It wasn't good enough for her as she pressed the matter. After trying to dance around it, she called my integrity into question, so I told her if, I said anything it would horrify her. She didn't believe me and it continued. Finally with no other option left, I asked her who Meg was. From there, she was horrified and collapsed onto the floor. It made her understand and she allowed me to comfort her, and she did understand then why I didn't want to say anything. We did part that night on good terms and she does trust me and we are friends now, but I still feel horrible that I got put in that situation in the first place. Even worse that I had to do what I did. I'm not a liar and I'm not going to lie for people."

Mackenzie shakes her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, A.J. Horacio put us in a bad situation and personally I'm very pissed off about it. I'm glad you and Corin came out on good terms."

A.J. nods but there is still something else that seems to be on his mind but isn't very forthcoming with it. He looks at Mackenzie, choosing to stick with the same topic as he speaks, "It was horrible to see her go through what's been put into her head. I for one, don't plan to say that name again around Corin."