Tennessee Line to LA Lights (A Matthew Gray Gubler FanFiction)

Chapter 3

Stephanie watched as the desert landscape zoomed past her. She was on her way home, back to Las Vegas. She hadn't been back in over 15 years, but now that she'd been in LA for a few months, it was time to go back and see her mother. When she had left home all those years ago, she had left on bad terms with her mom but over the last several weeks, their relationship had started to be repaired. Stephanie was going the extra mile and taking a long weekend to go and visit. As she exited the freeway and started to weave her way through her old neighborhood, she passed by Matthew's childhood home. She knew that his parents had moved towards the outskirts of the city, settling near the border of California. What she hadn't known, or even expected to see, was the tan Mercedes station wagon that she had seen him leave in that night at the improv club. Her heart beat against her rib cage and she had to take several steadying breaths so she wouldn't black out.

After that night, she had racked her brain trying to figure out why he had given her the cold shoulder. Not just the cold shoulder, but he had gone out of his way to make sure that she knew he didn't want to talk to her, or see her for that matter. She couldn't pinpoint what she had done wrong, but there had to be something, there just had to be. The answer to that was one of the many reasons why she was going to see her mother. She rounded the corner and pulled into her mom's driveway. She sat in the car for a few moments, staring up at the two story dwelling. She'd spent her entire childhood in this home, running around these streets, and growing up in the soft glow of the Las Vegas strip. She reached into the back seat and grabbed a hold of her bag, dragging it from the car with her. She let the door close with a quiet thud and moved her feet along the cracked front path to the stark red door. She knocked twice and waited. The handle turned and the door creaked open, her mother's face appearing on the other side.

"Mom," Stephanie tentatively spoke but a large oof was pushed from her lungs as her mother's arms wrapped around her torso tightly.

"Baby, I've missed you so much." Lauren McKenzie held her daughter out at arm's length so she could get a good look at her. "Sweetie, you are beautiful."

Stephanie blushed and reached in to give her mother another hug. "I've missed you so much."

Lauren held the door open wider and allowed her daughter to move past her into the living room. "I've got your old room all ready, you can put your stuff in there." She pointed towards the stairs and watched her daughter disappear up them and around the corner. She smiled and shuffled back into the kitchen, the smell of dinner permeating the house.

"It smells so good." Stephanie reappeared, hopping up onto one of the many stools tucked in under the counter. "Nothing smells as good as a home cooked 'mom' meal."

"I hope you're hungry then because I've prepared a feast for you." Lauren opened the oven and Stephanie's eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the many dishes bubbling away.

Stephanie leaned back, clutching at her stomach. "Oh my god, that was so good. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to move."

Lauren chuckled and started to clear away the used dishes. "Well, there is a very comfy sofa in the other room. You should go and lie down."

"Mom," Stephanie quietly called out.

Lauren popped her head back into the room, "Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Stephanie watched as her mother nodded, "It's about Matthew Gubler."

Lauren was quiet and Stephanie wasn't quite sure that she's heard her.

"You remember him, right? He lived right around the corner."

"I know who you're talking about Stephie but what is your question?" Lauren wiped her hands on her apron and pulled the chair, next to her daughter, out.