In The Between

✧･Chapter 39 Ours

The rest of Mae's birthday dinner went better than I could have hoped.

After everything that happened with her father, the tension slowly faded and the night became what it was supposed to be.

The girls had far too much cake, as expected, and everyone gave Mae something to open.

August gave her a ridiculous mug covered in paintbrushes and some terrible painting joke that Mae pretended to hate but I caught her smiling at later.

Lucas gave her a small wooden box for her painting supplies, while June and Helena had somehow managed to find her an incredibly expensive set of professional brushes that Mae immediately complained cost too much.

The girls' gift was a handmade card covered in Faye's colorful doodles and Lucia's handwriting, and Mae looked like she might cry when she opened it. Her father's gift was a delicate silver necklace, and watching him put it around her neck was probably the most emotional part of the entire night.

Eventually, everyone said their goodbyes and headed home. Mae stayed behind with her father for a little while, telling me she wanted to talk to him more now that things between them had finally started to shift.

"I'll come over after," she'd told me before we parted.

So I went home and immediately made my way to the bathroom, shedding my work clothes along the way. I stepped into the shower and let the hot water wash away the last of my makeup, the exhaustion of the day finally beginning to settle over me.

By the time I was done, I had changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and an oversized shirt, and I sent Mae a quick text.

Door is unlocked, just come in.

I don't bother telling her to knock. At this point, she knows she's welcome wherever I am. She doesn't need permission to walk through my front door anymore.

I continue with my usual nighttime routine, drying most of my hair before standing at the bathroom sink and brushing my teeth. I'm halfway through when I hear the bedroom door open.

I glance up at the mirror, and there she is. She's traded her dress for sweatpants and a simple shirt, her makeup is long gone, and her hair has been pulled into a messy bun.

She catches me watching her through the mirror and slowly makes her way toward the bathroom, leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed.

"You look cute brushing your teeth," she teases.

I roll my eyes, finishing up before rinsing my mouth and grabbing a towel to dry my lips. "Weirdo."

I turn toward her, but I can't stop the smile spreading across my face. I walk over and stop in front of her, leaning in to press a small kiss to her lips.

"How did it go with your dad?"

Her arms immediately wrap around my waist, pulling me a little closer.

"It went... a lot better than I could've ever imagined," she admits, looking down at me.

There's a softness in her expression that wasn't there when she first arrived, and I can tell just how much the conversation meant to her.

"How did you even find out where he was?" She asks.

A laugh slips out of me. "Mae, honey, I can find out where anyone lives."

Her eyebrows rise. "That is... kind of terrifying."

I laugh again, shaking my head. "When you have the resources we have at work and Helena's influence, very little is impossible. Besides, I texted June, and she gave me the address."

I pause, remembering the conversation. "She did advise me not to go, though. She didn't think it was a very good idea."

"I would've told you the same thing," Mae says softly.

"I know."

I reach for her hand and gently pull her away from the bathroom doorway, leading her toward the bed. She sits down first, and I follow beside her, our shoulders brushing.

"I know it wasn't necessarily the best idea," I admit, looking down at our hands. "But I also knew how much you were hurting with your parents not being in your life anymore. And then your birthday was coming up, and I knew how much you were pretending that didn't bother you."

Mae looks at me quietly.

"I had to try something."

Her fingers tighten around mine. "You didn't have to."

"I know."

I turn toward her, meeting her eyes. "I wanted to."

For a moment, she doesn't say anything. She just looks at me, and something in her expression makes my chest ache.

"He told me my mom said some... pretty mean things to you," Mae finally whispers, guilt flashing across her face.

I shake my head. "Yeah, she wasn't exactly thrilled when I showed up at her house, confessing my undying love for her daughter."

The joke falls a little flat, but I still manage a small smile.

"She just needs time to come around," I add quietly.

Mae doesn't respond right away. Her eyes drop to our hands, and I feel her fingers tighten around mine.

"Your dad, though..." I continue. "He loves you so much. I could tell how much he was hurting over everything. When I was leaving, he chased me outside and asked me to wait while he got ready so he could follow me."

A soft laugh escapes me at the memory, and Mae's lips curve into a small smile.

"I can see how much your mom loves you too," I say. "She's just struggling with something she never expected to have to understand. That doesn't excuse what she has done and said, but... I don't think her anger means she stopped loving you."

Mae slowly nods. "That's what my dad said too."

She looks up at me, offering me a small, almost fragile smile. "You could never understand how much it meant to me that you went to talk to them."

Her voice catches slightly, and when I look at her, I can see tears beginning to gather in her eyes. I reach up, brushing my thumb gently beneath one of them before it can fall.

"I would do anything for you, Mae."

"I know you would," she whispers.

She takes a shaky breath, her eyes never leaving mine. "I love you so much."

My chest tightens, because no matter how many times I hear those words from her, I don't think I'll ever get used to them. Not when there was a time when I genuinely believed I'd never hear them at all.

"I love you too."

I lean forward and press a soft kiss against her lips, lingering for just a moment before pulling back.

Then I remember the little box sitting on my nightstand.

"There's something else," I say.

Mae tilts her head, her eyebrows pulling together slightly. "What?"

"One last gift for the birthday girl."

She lets out a soft groan, shaking her head. "Claire, you've already done so much for me today. I don't need more gifts."

I roll my eyes as I push myself off the bed. "Good thing I didn't ask whether you needed one."

She laughs quietly as I walk over to the nightstand and pick up the small box I'd left there earlier. Suddenly, it feels much heavier in my hand than it did when I'd put it there.

I turn back toward her and walk over, sitting beside her again before holding the box out.

"Open it."

Mae looks at me, then down at the box. "You're being suspicious."

"Just open it."

She gives me one last skeptical look before taking the box from my hand. Her fingers slowly lift the lid, and the moment she sees what's inside, her entire expression changes.

"A... key?"

"Yeah," I say, my heart suddenly pounding hard enough that I'm convinced she can hear it.

She carefully lifts it from the box, holding it between her fingers. "To what?"

I give her a sheepish smile. "My house."

She freezes. For several seconds, she doesn't say anything. Her eyes move from the key to me and then back to the key again, as if she's trying to figure out whether I'm joking.

"Claire..."

I swallow.

"You're here most of the time anyway," I say, suddenly finding the carpet far more interesting than her face. "You have clothes here. Half your things are scattered around my bathroom and you've already claimed an entire drawer."

A tiny smile appears on her lips.

"And I don't want you to have to ask me if you can come over anymore. I don't want you standing outside waiting for me to answer the door. I want you to just... come in."

I glance back at her. "It's your key."

Her expression softens.

"And if you want to stay here more, then stay. If you want to wake up here, wake up here. If you want to leave your things here, leave them here."

I take a breath. "I just want you to know that you have a place here."

Her lips part slightly.

"Are you... asking me to move in?"

The question comes out barely above a whisper. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out because suddenly, with the question sitting between us, all of the confidence I'd had when I bought the damn key disappears.

Maybe it was too soon. Maybe I hadn't thought it through enough. Maybe giving someone a key to your house was a much bigger thing than I'd allowed myself to realize.

My heart starts racing, and I look away. "I mean, if you don't want to-"

Her hand slips beneath my chin before I can finish, gently turning my face back toward hers, and I meet her eyes.

There's no fear there, no hesitation.

"I'm just surprised," she whispers, setting the little box down beside her on the bed.

I study her face. "Surprised in a bad way?"

Her lips immediately curve into a soft smile.

"No."

I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"No?"

She shakes her head, her thumb brushing gently along my jaw.

"Surprised because... Claire, this is a really big thing."

"I know."

"You're giving me a key to your home."

"I know."

"And you're asking me to move in with you."

I smile nervously. "Technically, I think I'm asking you to stop pretending you don't already live here."

She laughs, shaking her head. "You're ridiculous."

"I know."

Her eyes drop toward the key again. Then she reaches for it, closing her fingers around it. "I want this."

My chest tightens. "You do?"

She looks back at me. "I want you. I want this. And if this is you asking me to move in..."

She pauses, her smile growing softer.

"Then yes."

I don't realize I'm smiling until she reaches up and touches my cheek.

"Yes," she repeats. "I'd love to."

For a few seconds, I can only stare at her.

"Yes?" I finally manage.

"Yes," she repeats, smiling now. "I want to move in with you."

Something in my chest loosens so suddenly that I let out a quiet laugh, dropping my head for a moment.

"Okay."

Mae laughs softly. "Okay?"

"I'm trying not to look like I was absolutely terrified you were going to say no."

"You were terrified?"

"Completely."

She smiles wider, lifting the key between us. "You didn't have to be."

She looks down at it again, turning it slowly between her fingers before closing her hand around it. "I can't believe you did this."

I reach over, gently brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face. "I wanted to."

She looks at me. "I've spent so much time thinking about what I thought my life was supposed to look like," she says quietly. "The house. The marriage. The family. All of it."

I listen without interrupting.

"And now I look at this..." She lifts the key slightly. "And somehow it feels better than what I imagined."

My heart aches. "Because it's ours?"

She smiles. "Because it's you."

I lean closer, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead.

"Ours," I correct quietly.

Her eyes meet mine.

"Ours."