Unconditionally

Chapter Thirty-two

"Lauren: 'Can I ask you a question?' Angie: 'Generally that's a question one should say no to. Often hell no.'"

I get home close to seven. I actually almost forgot about the dinner I promised Aunt Sill I'd be at. When Haze asked Carter the time, it hit me that I was going to late. I then jumped up, gave Ashton a shocking kiss, and waved good-bye to my best friends as I rushed to my vehicle. Fortunately, we don't have crazy cops that stick to the side of the road, waiting for you to fly by them. If that would happen then I would have many speeding tickets.

I unlock the front door and cautiously close it. Let's hope Sill got distracted and didn't check the time, but knowing her, she was probably waiting for me to get home the whole day.

My stomach drops as I walk to the dining room. The food is already set on the table but my aunt is nowhere to be found. I look at the dishes to see what she has fixed. Homemade pizza with a side salad. I lick my lips and smile gently.

The thought of eating a slice right at this moment is tempting, so I head to the kitchen to see if Sill is there. Sill is putting away all the pizza ingredients when I walk into the kitchen.

"Do you need help?" I ask her.

Sill turns around to face me, smiling and holding a jar of pizza sauce. "I wouldn't mind." I smile back and wrap up the cheese she used.

"You were gone for the whole day, Mackenzie." Sill says, trying to sound casual.

I cringe and tighten my hold on the cheese as I was squatting to put it in the drawer in the refrigerator. Why did I know she was going to ask a question like that?

"I was out with Ashton and everybody after work." I reply.

I close the refrigerator. Sill watches me, leaning against the granite countertop with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyebrows rising to her hairline.

"You've been spending a lot of time with them this summer."

Already feeling fed up with this conversation, I sigh and try to end it before it becomes even more embarrassing as each second passes.

"I've made new friends, Sill. They're going to college; I'm not. We've been trying to spend time with each other as much as possible before the summer ends."

Sill chuckles, shaking her head.

"How come it seems as if you only implied that to your situation with Ashton and not Haze and Carter?" She asks.

My cheeks flame as I realize it's true. With each day flying by, this summer is getting closer to the finish line. I dread the day when Ashton goes off to California. Everything needs to slow down and take a breather.

"How come you seem to know everything that's going on when I don't tell you?"

Sill walks over to me and kisses my cheek. "That's for me to know, and you to figure out," She then squeezes my shoulder in a motherly way. "Come on, let's go eat some dinner."

At the dinner table, Sill sits across from me as I eat my slice of pizza. When I finish off my second slice, the front door slams shut and the familiar, heavy footsteps of Uncle Henry approaches the dining room. Sill smiles brightly as Henry bends down to kiss her lips gently.

"You look beautiful." Henry says.

Sill rolls her eyes still smiling and hits his shoulder with her napkin.

"Stop trying to charm me, Henry, and eat your dinner."

Uncle Henry then laughs and sits down at the head of the table. He places his napkin on his leg before reaching over to the pizza pan in front of me for a slice. Uncle Henry takes a hearty bite out of his pizza.