stars and terrain (zayn malik)

Chapter 52

Zayn

Families are hard. I know plenty of people have met my mother and found her to be quite lovely, but I have some other things to say.

So I know, despite finding Charlie's mum to be pretty nice, that there is plenty beneath the surface that I don't know or understand. Like the way she judged Charlie's order, or the peppered in comments about modeling and keeping her figure.

I almost said something, wanting to stand up for the actually perfect girl beside me, but I held my tongue.

I needed Karen to like me.

Charlie already told me she usually ordered two of those sandwiches for lunch, so I knew when she only ordered one it was probably her mother's influence.

And no one was going to spoil what Charlie deemed the best thing in all of Seattle, so I secretly ordered more to go.

"I'm so glad I got to see you two while you were in town. Wish you were here longer, but I suppose that wouldn't be the rock and roll lifestyle."

Karen chuckles at her own joke and Charlie looks mortified, scanning the street for our car as we stand awkwardly under the overhang of the coffee shop to avoid the drizzle.

As soon as our car rolls up to the curb Charlie can't get away fast enough.

"Alright, this is us. Bye mom. Good to see you." She's so short with her, it's more like she's talking to a business acquaintance. I almost want to apologize on her behalf, but Karen doesn't seem affected.

"Bye dear! I'll try to visit soon," she plants a kiss on her daughter's cheek and Charlie hugs her back loosely before leaving us on the sidewalk and hopping into the car.

"Thank you for lunch. It was so lovely to meet you," Karen pulls me into a hug and I'm happy we're out of her daughter's earshot.

"Don't mention it." I hold the hug a second longer to lower my voice. "Would it be all right if we met for coffee later? Got some questions for you, if you have time."

I pull back, knowing Charlie will get curious and nosy in another ten seconds.

Karen looks delighted. "Why, I'd love to!"

"Perfect. Got your number from Charlie's cell, so I'll call and let you know details later. Lovely to meet you, Karen!"

I say the last sentence a full octave higher and then slide into the car next to my girlfriend who has morphed into a petulant teenager.

"What was that about?" She asks, scowl firmly in place.

"Oh, just ensuring I get an invite to Christmas." I grin and stick my tongue out at her, but she keeps sulking.

"Guarantee anything we said right then will be in a magazine next week. It'd probably be on a blog in a few hours if she knew how to work a computer."

Her voice is acidic, completely unlike what I'm used to. Her eyes are narrowed and she's already angrily biting into one of the sandwiches from the bag.

"She's not so bad, Charlie," I offer lamely. I don't really know how to handle this mad little girl beside me.

"Oh, yeah!" Her voice is filled with sarcasm. "That's because you are a multimillionaire with a penis."

I don't really know what to say to that. So I keep my mouth shut and I let her steam for the rest of the ride, angrily eating her sandwich.

~*~

I feel like I have electricity coursing through me a few hours later, after my secret meeting with Karen.

I'll never say it to Charlie again, but she's really not that bad. And I'm grateful because she's a great source of my very favorite topic: her daughter.

I learned her birthday (the first day of spring), another one of her favorite restaurants in Seattle (which I instantly made a dinner reservation at), what she was like as a kid (tall, inquisitive, and not all that social), and that if she could go anywhere in the world she would go to Paris (which I already knew but it was cute to find how long that's been her answer).

I'd had all of my questions answered, and I was ready to spend the rest of Valentine's Day with that beautiful, still tall, still inquisitive and slightly more social brunette.

But she's nowhere to be found.

"Charlie?" I check every nook of the bus before venturing back outside. I stop the first guy I see to ask if he's seen her.

"I think she's with Holly," he offers, pointing me in the direction of the bus Holly and some of the other crew sleep on. I thank him and head that direction, hearing that perfect laugh the second I climb the first step.

"Oh, hey Zayn!" Holly chirps, as the girls come into view. They're sitting like it's a proper slumber party, snack food and candy littering the tables, Mean Girls playing on the TV.

"Well doesn't this look like a blast."

"We're having an Anti-Valentine's party," Charlie offers. "Holly just got dumped."

"Oh, fuck, I'm sorry Hols. That's heavy." I mean it. She's been with this guy for a year, and I know she was mad about him.

"Oh, it's fine," Holly waves me off. "I knew it was coming. It actually helps that he picked today of all days. Makes me realize what a true dick he was."

"Yeah!" Charlie echoes this and I notice there are also two empty bottles of wine on the table.

Holly doesn't look drunk enough to have polished off two bottles, but Charlie hates wine so she couldn't have... But then she giggles and I know she finished it.

"Charlotte Emily Ray drinking wine?" I feign shock, and wave an empty bottle in the air.

"Moral support!" Charlie offers, giggling again.

"You don't drink wine?" Holly asks, rather surprised. That's all Holly drinks. I unfortunately remember that from the month of sleeping with her when she first started working for me.

Fuck I hope Charlie doesn't find that out.

"Never really liked it. But this... this one is delicious!" She grabs it from me and then narrows her eyes to read the label. "Buy me more of this, please."

I laugh at the command and nod. "Alright, I will. And I'll leave you guys to it."

I motion to the girly antics of the room and assume Charlie will call after me to stay. Or follow me out.

I'd made that reservation at the place Karen told me Charlie loved for half an hour from now and wanted to get changed.

But when I get to my bus I realize she didn't follow.