When I See You Again

Part 20

Lindsey had expected his short exchange with Stevie to go pretty much the way it did. Once he walked out of Stevie's room, what Lindsey wanted was a strong drink, but he couldn't give in to temptation to drown his failure the way he used to. He reached inside his pocket and retrieved a small piece of paper, on which he had written down Stevie's and Mick's hotel room numbers. He was actually surprised, when Mick agreed to help out.

Moments later, Lindsey found himself banging on another door, hoping that seeing Mick wouldn't result in another fight. He had to wait to be let in as well, but he guessed that Mick, unlike Stevie, did party after the show the previous night and he was possibly hungover.

"What?" The door opened with force, but a smile quickly crossed Mick's face. "I wasn't expecting to see you! Come on in."

"Thanks." Lindsey smiled back weakly, holding out his hand for Mick, but he was pulled into a hug instead. "I'm sorry, I'm here so early."

"Understandable. You don't want to disturb Stevie just yet." When Lindsey didn't answer, Mick gave him a look. "You've already seen her, haven't you?"

"Yeah." Lindsey sighed, scratching the back of his head.

"How did it go?" Mick asked, tidying the room up a bit, so they could sit down.

"Not great."

"Did she at least let you enter the room?"

"She did, when I told her, she didn't want the whole floor to hear us arguing." Another heavy exhale as Lindsey sat down.

"Can I get you anything?" Mick looked over his shoulder, headed for the minibar. "I'm sure, I've got something left in here."

"Thanks." Lindsey shook his head. "I, uh... I'm not drinking anymore."

"Seriously?" Surprise showed on Mick's face. "Did you tell Stevie that?"

"I did, but it doesn't seem like she cares." Making himself more comfortable, Lindsey leaned against the back of the couch, arms crossed. "I told her about Cheri, too."

"And?"

Lindsey shrugged. "She's happy for me, happy that I'm trying to change my life back to normal, but that's all. She wants nothing to do with me, Mick."

With a freshly mixed drink in hand, Mick joined Lindsey. "Well, what did you expect? With the way you left..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "You chose the worst possible time to do so. I don't actually think it's the fact you left the band, but you questioned her, when she told you about the baby."

"I was shocked!" Lindsey exclaimed. "There I was, trying to explain to everyone that this is a change I need in my life right now, that I need to go away for a while. It was really difficult. It was." He emphasized. "Then when I'm already out the door, I find out that Stevie's pregnant! I-I didn't know, what to say, how to react..."

"I understand, but Lindsey, you could have called her the next day, the next week, whatever." Mick took a sip from his glass. "But you just... disappeared. More than that, you told the whole world, you had no idea about any pregnancy. Of course, it hurt her. And you know Stevie better than anyone, you knew that she wasn't going to forgive you just because you showed up months later."

"But it's a start, isn't it? I did finally show up."

"Exactly, it's something. You must be discouraged right now, but don't be. If you want her, you have to fight for her, mate." Mick shrugged his shoulders and took another sip. "It's great that you're sober now, but you've got a lot of other issues." Seeing Lindsey opening his mouth, Mick continued. "You do. You're controlling, impulsive and extremely jealous. if you remain that way, Stevie's not coming back."

"Do you think that it's even possible for me to get her back?" Lindsey asked, highly doubtful. "I mean, she's got Rick now."

"Please, tell me you didn't throw that in her face?" Mick sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I... might have."

"See, this is exactly, what I'm talking about. They're friends, Lindsey. Rick, unlike myself or Chris, he's not up until early morning hours, drinking until he passes out. He's easy going. I'm sorry to say this, but I believe, he's exactly the kind of person Stevie needs right now. She's strong enough to take care of herself, but she also has to care for that baby now, while touring. She just needs someone there for her."

It made sense, what Mick said, but it didn't mean that Lindsey was a very sensible man. "Stevie needs a friend, but what if Rick needs more than just friendship from her?"

"Listen. I don't know, what's going on between them, that's none of my business. Personally, I don't believe that there's anything going on, but I can't say that there isn't either." Mick saw Lindsey's face grow sour, but he continued. "Let her have this. It's a tough situation even without you getting involved."

"But I want to be involved! That's my son or daughter she's carrying, Mick!"

"I swear to God, you're a child yourself." Mick sighed. "You should have been there from the start then. But you chose not to. So, grow up, get your act together and keep trying. Show her that you're changing, show her that you love her, that you can't live without her. Do everything you can on your part first."

Thinking for a minute, Lindsey cocked his head back, he stared up at the ceiling. "You're not helping."

"Because I can't help you, Lindsey." Mick gave a shrug of his shoulders. "This is entirely up to you."