McKenzie was back in the kitchen, staring at the unmoved plate of untouched pancakes across from her. Jeff could be heard going back and forth between the limo and the front hall with the chauffeur carrying luggage into the house. McKenzie rolled her eyes as he rudely commanded the driver yet again then sighed as she focused back on the plate. In her inner eye, she kept flashing images of Tom sitting there not two hours ago with plans to stay for another week; not even an intention of going home yet. But when she had gone upstairs to check on him when he hadn't come down, she had seen him packing his bags through the crack in the door. She wondered if he had found another ticket on his phone at this point or if he would just show up at the airport and hope for the best. Maybe he wasn't actually going home - maybe he was just moving out of the house. McKenzie hoped more than anything that it was that option. At least that way they could still visit for the next week.
The sound of a suitcase banging down the stairs made McKenzie look up slowly. She waited to see which guy showed up and she felt her heart flutter a bit when she saw Tom. He stopped and leaned the luggage against a pillar so he didn't have to put the handle down on the suitcase before walking fully into the room. McKenzie had been so quiet he hadn't even noticed her until that moment.
"Just getting a water bottle before I head out."
He said it so nonchalantly. McKenzie swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded.
The room had an almost eerie silence to it, the only period sounds coming from the unpacking outside. McKenzie wanted to run out there and throw everything back into the limo, chair Jeff to the back seat, and tell the driver to take him back to the airport so he could return to China for the week. Tom wished the same exact thing.
"You don't need to go yet, you know. You can stay here until it's actually time for you to leave."
"It is actually time for me to leave," Tom muttered. "The purpose of my stay was to keep you company while your husband was in China and you were pregnant."
"I'm still pregnant."
"But your husband is back in town."
McKenzie got up from her chair and walked over to Tom. "Please, Tom, I'm begging you not to go. I don't think I'll be able to handle seeing you walk out those doors. Who knows when the next time we'll see each other will be? Sure, it could be months, but it could also be years. What if we lose contact again just because we haven't seen each other in so long that we think it's pointless to try and keep our friendship going? I don't want that to happen again. We're finally back where we left off..." Her voice cracked with the last sentence.
"McKenzie, please don't cry. Jeff will question it and we might get found out." Tom took a sip of his water.
"Is that why you're leaving? You don't want to be found out? Ha! What happened to the guy at the movie premiere who didn't care who saw us? The one who was too in love to give a damn about anyone else?"
"Why are you saying 'in love' like that?"
"Because, Tom, a guy who says that he's in love with a girl in a situation like my own doesn't just say it then up and leave."
"I have to leave! What don't you understand about that, McKenzie? I don't live here! I don't live with you! We aren't actually together! You have Jeff and I have Jade. We need to get back to our normal lives and just forget about this, okay? We can stay friends, but nothing more than that. Friends can love each other."
"Based off of the events that happened two hours ago, I'd say we're a bit more than friends, Thomas."
"That is what we need to forget. That never happened."
"You're unbelievable," McKenzie spat, absolutely disgusted at what Tom was saying to her. "You can forget about it, but I never will."
"That's your choice."
Tom turned his back on McKenzie and walked back over to his suitcase, water bottle in hand. Unfortunately, the cap wasn't securely fastened and the whole thing dropped to the ground, splattering and making a huge puddle. He cursed under his breath and shook his head. McKenzie, despite not really wanting to help right now, walked over to the paper towel holder next to the sink and got enough to soak up the mess. She and Tom mopped up the puddle in silence, skillfully avoiding contact with each other. The only noise came from Jeff now dragging his bags up the stairs and clambering into his and McKenzie's bedroom. For an instant she wondered if the bed was made of it was still left in a mess from earlier.
The spill wasn't big enough to take more than a few seconds to be completely cleaned up. McKenzie got up and walked over to the sink, throwing away the sopping towel and putting the rest of the roll back in its spot by the sink. She stayed there, her back turned to Tom's movements behind her, and placed her hands on the edge of the counter. She was leaning there when she felt two arms wrap around her waist. Instinctively, she leaned her head back to rest on Tom's shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you more than you can imagine. I just want you to know that."
"Please don't go," McKenzie whispered one more time.
Tom didn't start the argument again, instead he just kissed the top of McKenzie's head and released her from his grip. She refused to turn around to see him grabbing the suitcase, preparing to leave. She stayed there, looking down at the sink. There wasn't any sound of wheels rolling on the wood floor yet.
"Did you mean it when you said you loved me?" she asked, testing if Tom had left yet.
There was a brief silence. "More than anything." The wheels began to roll.
