Some Things Never Change

Outside the rain

It took him less than two minutes to get out of his apartment. The adrenaline in his blood had kicked in! Sara's words had been the wake-up call he had needed! Why had he stopped fighting for Stevie?!

You should have spent every fucking hour in front of her house, he thought to himself, and got quickly into his car.

Tonight, she would open up. And if she didn't, he would break that fucking door down.

She needs me, she loves me, she misses me, he repeated over and over in his head as he drove through the rain. The clear night of four hours ago had transformed into a stormy nightmare.

Fifteen minutes later, his car pulled into her driveway. He looked up and saw light burning in one of the upper rooms. She is still awake, he mumbled to himself, and got out of the car.

She had spent the whole night sitting on her bed and flipping through TV-channels. Watching TV and writing in her journal seemed to be the only things she was capable of – and crying her eyes out, of course!

It was 3 am when she shut the TV off and lay in the darkness, listening to the rain pouring down outside and immediatley a song came up her mind...

There's rain on my window
And I can count the drops
But I can't help feeling lonely
There's no way, no way that I could stop

She sang Christine's song quietly.. These lines had never been more true.

I wish you were here holding me tight
If I had you near, you'd make it alright
I wish you were here
'Cause I feel like a child tonight

Each moment is a memory
Time's so unkind
Every hour filled with an emptiness
I can't hide

Oh, this distance between us
Can't get you off of my mind
As I lay here in the darkness
I can find no peace inside....

She had no power to push through the last few lines. Her crying and sobbing had become so heavy again, that it was impossible for her to finish the song.

She knew she couldn't sleep - wouldn't sleep. So, she got up again and walked into the bathroom. She lighted some candles and five minutes later she took a hot bath. She had put her hair up in a bun, closed her eyes and let her tears fly freely down her cheeks.

She had never thought that it was possible to cry so many tears. Can you ever run out of tears, she asked herself? If so, I might be the first one to do so.

She had no idea how long she had been lying in the bathtub as she heard the doorbell rang.

Who the hell would show up at that time?!

Since Lindsey had stopped coming by two months ago, she assumed it had to be Sara. Quickly, she got out of the bathtub, wrapped her black silk robe around her naked, still hot and wet body and ran barefooted down the stairs.

The ringing didn't stop - endless ringing and knocking at her door.

In that moment, she cursed herself for not installing a spyhole in her front door.

She turned the keys and opened up the door...

He had been ringing her bell for almost five minutes non-stop until he saw light flashing up in the hallway.

His clothes had been drenched within a few seconds as soon as he had stepped out of the car, soaking wet from the falling rain. He didn't care, at all.

He heard the cracking of the door and his heart skipped a beat as he saw her for the very first time in four months. She had no make-up on, her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her hair in a messy bun and she only wrapped in a black robe, barefooted. Some people might have said that she looked awful, that she looked tired and fragile, to him she looked as beautiful as ever as she stood there, her eyes going wide as she saw his face.

NO! It was him! It couldn't be him! For a brief moment she just looked at him in horror, then she tried to crash the door in front of his face.

He stopped the door with his hand and she had no power to finish her plan.

“No, Steph! You won't shut that door again!”, he screamed at her, so she could hear his voice properly through the pouring rain.

He still looked so handsome. He was completely wet and rain and tears were running down his cheeks as he stood there. She felt tears forming in her eyes – again! Was that ever going to stop?!

“Listen to me”, he begged, “I want you back, Steph! I cannot live without you! These last four months have been hell for me. It felt like dying every single day!”

“Linds.. Go, please, go.....” He didn't want to hear it.

“You can't do that to me, Steph! I love you, I love you so much! Being without you hurts – it physically hurts to be apart from you!”

She stood there and listened to his words as more rain fell down on him.

“Don't you understand that you are the one, Steph?! You have always been the one. You've been the one for me since I'm 16 fucking years old! I fell in love with you the very day I saw you. How can I ever raise a family with someone else when all I desire, all I truly want, with all my heart and soul, is you!”

She looked into his eyes, into those beautiful piercing blue eyes, and saw all the pain she had caused him, all those tears, all those sleepless nights...

“I'm not lying to you, Steph! Being with you doesn't mean sacrificing a family. You are my family! You and Sara are my family!”– and in that moment she knew that he was telling her the truth. She felt all her defenses breaking down as she pushed the door open and ran outside into his arms. He grabbed her, held her small, warm body close to his, and kissed her hard while the cold rain was falling down on both of them.