Stacy Hunter -BMW

Ch. 35: Get Up

"Come on, Shawn! If you want to ride with me, hurry up!"

I call up the stairs, finishing up the eggs and bacon that I whipped up for everyone. Mrs. Matthews walks in, dressed for her job with a surprised look. Mr. Matthews is right behind her, eyeing the platters of more than enough food for all of us.

"What is all of this?"

"A thank you..." I offer a small smile, transferring the freshly cooked bacon onto the plate with the rest. "I couldn't sleep well last night, so I got up early..went and got all of this and..."

"You didn't have to do that..."

Mrs. Matthews steps closer, eyeing the spread of food. Mr. Matthews does the same as he rests an arm over his wife's shoulders.

"She's right. It was completely unnecessar-" his vison fall on the waffles and fresh fruit, his eyes widening. "Oooo! Waffles!"

He goes to take one before Mrs. Matthews smacks his hand away. She gives him a look as he pulls his hand away. I hold back my laugh as she turns back towards me.

"I'm serious, Stacy..you didn't need to do any of this-"

"And you both didn't need to take my brother and I in. This is me doing my best to show my appreciation. Please. Just accept it."

I smile, holding up two plates with the full spread for them both. They both thank me before moving towards the table. I grab two glasses from behind me before pouring some of the fresh orange juice. Mr. Matthews makes two cups of coffee as I step over to set the glasses down.

"Thank you, Sweetie..." Mrs. Matthews takes a sip of the juice before glancing up towards me. "What do you have to do this morning?"

"Huh?"

"You yelled at Shawn to hurry. I figured you have somewhere to go.."

"Oh! Uh...sorry for yelling, but if I don't make those threats, Shawn will wait until the very last second to get out of bed."

"It's alright."

Mr. Matthews smiles towards me as he sits down with the two mugs in hand. He passes one to his wife, who kisses his cheek as a thank you. Morgan rushes down the stairs next with her own school bag already on her back. She's dressed in a cute pair of pink overalls with a rainbow sweater underneath. Her hair is in perfect double Dutch braids with matching pink ribbons tying them off.

"Morgan? When did you get up?"

"She's usually still sleeping...."

Mr. and Mrs. Matthews glances towards the young girl. The mother looks at her watch, a confused look on her face. I clear my throat, tossing on a smile before moving to make a plate for the little princess.

"Oh..uh..she woke up when I was leaving for the grocery store, so I helped her get dressed and took her with me. I hope that's okay."

Both Matthew parents clear their throats, sharing a look. They swallow simultaneously as my smile slowly drops. Morgan walks up, holding out her hands for the other glass of orange juice I started pouring. She doesn't say anything as she walks into the living room. Within a few seconds, the sound of Barney fills the house.

"It's not okay, is it?"

"Well..." Mrs. Matthews clears her throat, reaching for her coffee before looking back up towards me. "It definitely wasn't the best option."

"What if something happened to the two of you? We wouldn't know where you went or where to go to find you."

Mr. Matthews finishes his wife's thoughts before taking a bite of his waffles. His eyes widen before looking down at the Belgium waffles I prepared. His head snaps back up to look at me with a childlike gleam shining through his warm orbs.