But Tomorrow I'll Be Coming Back To You

Ch. 2 - Balderdash

Poppy didn't text or call me back, which only meant she had fallen asleep. As I returned home, my Mom questioned how the rest of my night went, but I had no time to talk. I went straight up to my room, and right into the bath. My apple cider colored hair fell from the ponytail I had in. Granted, my hair was barely put together at this point. I checked myself over in the mirror. My face had drooped some from the hardship of the day. My eyeliner had been smeared in a couple of places, my mascara had danced upon my top eyelids a few times. I looked like a damn catastrophe. I didn't even want to know what Calum and Michael thought while they were around me.

After showering, I went back downstairs to see that my Mom and Dad had gone to bed. My relationship with them was tiring, and down right pathetic. In Louisiana, we were the happiest family. In London, we were almost like complete strangers living under one roof. My Dad was either always gone on business, or he was asleep. I knew he worked a lot, but he did have a daughter to tend to. My Mom, since opening the cafe, was either working too hard, worrying too much, or trying to perfect everything, including me. She was always bitching at me about the clothes I wore, so I ended up selling all of my "gothic" attire, and basically bought out all of Anthropologie, & putting it in my wardrobe. She bitched about my hair color, because it wasn't natural for me. She continuously bitched about my weight, and how I was "thicker than mud" or that "no one will love you until you're skinny." She was critiquing me with every breath I drew in, and judging me with every breath I let out. I would never, ever be good enough for Lorraine Montgomery.

After fixing a bite to eat, I went back up to my room where my phone was blowing up like mad. It was Poppy. Finally.

"What the FUCK do you mean you got us in to the show? Did Niall come when I left?! What happened?!" She was going mad, as I expected. "Okay, Poppy. Breathe. I was about to close out tonight, when two guys walked in. Niall had sent them. Michael and Calum? From One Dir-"

I was cut off by a shriek.

"MICHAEL AND CALUM?! MAEVE. FROM 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER?!" I assumed so. All Michael had told me about their band name was the number five, before Kenny had interrupted us.

"Yeah. Michael's getting us in tomorrow. You're welcome." She shrieked again, the ear piercing sound lodging into the deepest parts of my brain.

"Poppy! Keep screaming, and I'll go alone." I knew what face she must've made when I said that.

"Do you think Lorraine is going to let us off?"

That was the only tricky part. My Mom was strict with work and who got off when. Only in the case of an emergency was she ever lenient.

"I don't know. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Get some sleep, Poppy. We have a long day tomorrow."

Arriving at the cafe the next morning, there was a good number of people already inside for the breakfast push. Lorraine's had a breakfast menu, a brunch menu, and a lunch and dinner menu. My Mom was behind the counter, probably going over someone's order as I went beside her, fetching my apron.

"Maeve? Why was there an order so close to closing last night?" My jaws tightened, "uhm. These... Actually. If I may. I need to talk to you." I swear her eyes twitched. "Maeve. We were closing. Do you know how much Kenny probably had to do, not to mention clean up? Answer the question." Now my throat tightened.

"Mom. Two guys came in last night. I told them to make it quick. They were friends of Niall's from One Direction. I couldn't turn them away. Niall has done so much, by publicizing us. Which... Brings me to my question. The two guys that were here, they're in the band that's opening for One Direction, and they asked me to come to the show tonight. Can... Poppy and I go?"

Her face looked like I had just betrayed her. "Maeve. You know right now all I have is you and Poppy. Not until Jo comes back from maternity leave, and Marah is out on vacation. I can't pull the janitorial staff to do your job, or the cafeteria staff, and I can't do this on my own. It's Saturday. Our biggest day of the week. No. Absolutely not."

Crushing. That's what my chest felt like. It felt as if someone had reached into my chest and was squeezing my heart. The ache in my bones was spreading from my ribcage. I had stayed up all night watching videos on YouTube of those 5 Seconds of Summer boys, but most importantly, ones of Michael. I couldn't get him out of my head, and I was ready to see him again tonight.

"Mom! You're being completely ridiculous." Wrong choice of words, Maeve. "Don't make me do this in front of all of these people, Maeve. Don't even try." I didn't care.

"What? What are you going to do? Fucking ground me? I don't go anywhere, I don't fucking do anything. I slave away for you, and that's still not enough. What else are you going to do? Fucking fire me? I'm scared, Mom. Real scared. But you know what? For you to be able to do anything, it would require you to step up and act like my mother fucking Mom for once since we moved to this balderdash bullshit city."

Her face was strictly pissed. Strictly pissed. Strictly fucking pissed. The fact that I could feel that my blood pressure had risen, and the fact that it was so quiet in the cafe now, I knew I had just blown everything out of proportion. I also knew that I hadn't lied. Was I being selfish? Maybe. Not entirely, though. I was always bending over backwards for her. It was time that I did something for myself.

Through gritted teeth, she finally formed some words. Two words to be exact. "Kitchen. Now."

Kenny was slaving away in the kitchen, and I'll admit that I did feel bad about the rush he had to do last night, but. I also didn't regret it. I couldn't have turned them away. I just couldn't.

The fire in my Mom's eyes was deathly piercing. She crossed her arms, the space between her brows was bunching up.

"Maeve. Do you care to explain what the hell has gotten into you?" Kenny was watching us. "Is this about last night, Lorraine?" Her eyes darted to him, "you shouldn't have had to of done a last minute order like that, Kenny. I found the receipt this morning. Maeve is forbidden from making decisions like that." Kenny wiped his hands on a towel, the chicken he was cutting was being taken over by a fellow cook.

"Lorraine, it was fine. Besides, Maeve looked like she was enjoying talking to them. Do you know how long it's been since I've seen a genuine smile come out of her? Give her a break, Lor. She's nineteen. Nineteen year olds don't have it easy, and from what I've heard, you're never easy on her."

My Mom's face was still tense, but she kept her gaze on Kenny and I both. He was usually always coming through as the voice of reason. He knew how she was.

"Fine. Go tonight. But you're never, ever going to speak like that to me ever again. Do you understand, Maeve?"

Rolling my eyes, I brushed past her, but texted Poppy really fast, telling her that we were going. Sure, I was still pissed at my Mom. Sure, I'd have to deal with her bitching about it all day tomorrow. But tonight, I was actually doing something for myself, and I couldn't have been more excited.