flowers and showers and stuff || h.s, z.m, l.t au || on hiatus

20.

Two months later.

Clarke's was busier than Mae had ever seen it. Granted, it was a Saturday night, but it was loaded with people...young and old. Mae wasn't working, but she had decided to come visit Zayn while he worked. Louis was off with his soccer friends, somewhere in Brooklyn, so he wouldn't be home tonight. Mae sat in the stool with a glass of Pinot Noir in front of her, well, it only had a drop or so left, but still. She was bored. She had been feeling more and more so lately. Like, she couldn't find ways to occupy her time. Her blog was still thriving, her writing was coming along...she had even taken up running. She had a healthy, maybe even more than healthy sex life. She should have been on top of the world. It was Spring. She liked Spring, so why wasn't she happy? Why did she have a hard time, like, really smiling? His eyes popped into her head, followed by his curls and his tattoo puns and his smile. Mae felt a horrible, searing ache in the pit of her stomach, like everything was hollow and her heart was alone. She wasn't necessarily alone, but her heart sure felt like it. Like something was entirely missing, a piece of her was missing. She glanced at her watch and mentally groaned. 8:30, it was still so early. "Want another glass, love?" Zayn was standing in front of her when she glanced up.

"Um...actually, I'm going to run to my mom's really quick." This wasn't a lie, she kind of definitely needed to talk to her mom, plus she lived close by, so like, it made sense.

"Oh...okay."

"Is that okay?" Zayn scoffed.

"Lovely, you don't need to ask for my permission. Of course it's okay."

"I feel bad, cause Lou isn't here." Zayn leaned across the counter and kissed her softly.

"M'a big boy, I can handle getting home alright. Thank you though."

"Your welcome." Mae stood up and he took her glass. "I love you."

"Will you be home tonight?" She wasn't sure.

"It depends, I may just stay over. I miss my mom, maybe we'll go to breakfast or something."

"That'll be nice." She leaned across the bar and gave him one more quick kiss. "Be safe, yeah? And text me when you get there, so I know you're safe?"

"I will. Love you."

"I love you too, Mae." She waved and walked out.

****

The air was only slightly chilly, so Mae decided against a cab. Instead, she sauntered down the sidewalk, taking her time. It was Saturday night so even if her mother was in bed, she'd force her out. The pots of periwinkle hydrangeas on each of the stoop's columns caught her eye, and she smiled because she knew how much the woman loved them. Mae made her way up the steps and rang the doorbell. It was less than half a minute before it opened and Scott smiled down at her. "Mae! Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi Scott..." He waved her in.

"Come in, come in."

"How are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?" Mae smiled and shrugged.

"I'm good, yeah." She looked around. "Is mom here?"

"She's in the living room." The two of them made there way through the middle floor of the house and Amanda smiled brightly at the sight of her daughter."

"Mae, honey, what're you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood, missed you...thought I'd stop by." She sat down next to her mom on the couch and snuggled up against her side.

"That makes my night, I hope you know."

"I know." Mae smirked at the woman beside her.

"Amanda, I'm going to run..." Scott moved from the doorway and bent down, kissing his fiancée on the cheek.