Unconditionally

Chapter Forty-nine

"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses." -Ann Landers

I wake up the next day to the smell of bacon being cooked. My stomach growls loudly while I check the time on my phone. The bright light hits my face, making me squint my eyes to see the screen more clearly. It's a few minutes past eight, and I groan, wanting to eat bacon but not wanting to get up. I lie in my warm bed for a few minutes, but then I remember what all happened last night at Roadside.

Grimacing, I get out of bed and walk out of my bed room to head to the kitchen. Amy is in the kitchen, humming a song under her breath as she cooks strips of bacon.

"Should I be wondering why you're cooking breakfast?" I ask.

Amy squeals and snaps the kitchen tongs in my direction. "Don't scare me like that, Mackenzie!"

I chuckle. "Were you planning on killing me with greased tongs?" Amy rolls her eyes dramatically before going back the skillet.

"I'm making breakfast because I want to." She says simply, shrugging her shoulders and turning the back to the stove again.

Her voice sounds off, as if she's keeping a secret. I step into the kitchen. Crossing my arms over my t-shirt covered chest, I watch Amy closely.

She's not humming in more, but keeps on repeatedly turning the bacon, not giving it enough time to fully cook. Oh, she's definitely not telling me something. After being roommates with her for all these months, I'm now able to pick up on things. Her keeping a secret is one of the things.

"You're not telling me something." Amy cringes. "Is Tyson in your bed or something?" I ask.

Amy turns off the stove and picks up the pieces of bacon to place them on a paper towel. She glances at me quickly.

"You should get ready. I'm taking you somewhere after breakfast." She ignores my question.

Not in the mood to decline her plans, I walk back inside my room and change out of my pajamas. Now wearing skinny jeans, a cream sweater, and some socks, I head to my bath room to brush my hair out. I finish quickly and head back into the kitchen.

Amy has two plates filled with eggs, bacon, and strawberry jammed toast in her hands. She sets them on our small dining room table.

"Breakfast is served!" She exclaims.

I cautiously sit down in a seat, not knowing if I should be preparing myself for a surprise. Amy walks into the kitchen to grab the carton box of orange juice. She sits down across from me and digs into her food. Sighing softly, I lift my fork and stab the pieces of scrambled eggs.

"Now tell me what happened last night." Amy commands.

Knew this was coming. Lifting the fork to my mouth, I take a bite out of the eggs and chew slowly, just bug her. I pour some orange juice into my cup and take a sip of it.

"Any time would be nice!"

Internally laughing, I set the cup down beside my plate.

"It was awkward, Amy. I'm not kidding. It was strange not being, us. You know?"

Amy shakes her head. "No, not really, but continue." She says with a quick gesture of her hands.

Eye roll. "I served him dinner, and he waited for me outside. We talked inside my car, and turns out he left UCLA for University of Arkansas, Amy. Can you believe that?"