Mirage
~
Nobody had seen her for two days straight. It wasn't that unusual of Stevie to disappear, but she'd be gone for hours not days. The last time any member of Fleetwood Mac had seen her, was when they left the venue in Arizona after the show. While the Brits were worried, Lindsey just waved it off, saying, she was likely with her newest boyfriend, doing God knows what. He didn't care much for her behavior as of late. They disagreed on everything, they fought constantly and it was nice, not having to listen to her yelling it him for a change.
When Lindsey woke up on the third day of Stevie missing, even he started getting slightly worried. It wasn't because he thought that something bad had happened to her, no, it was because they had a show to do that night. No matter in what shape he was and it usually was pretty bad, Lindsey never missed a show. He was definitely not going to disappoint the fans because Stevie was going through some bullshit yet again.
"You're already awake." Carol Ann yawned, stretching beside Lindsey. She propped herself up on her elbow and a lazy smile spread across her face. "Happy birthday, baby."
"Thanks." Lindsey said and before she could lean in for a kiss, he pushed the covers down and got out of the bed.
"Where are you going?" She pouted, her exposed chest did not interest him. "We've still got some time, before we have to leave right?"
"I'm afraid, not." Lindsey shook his head and pulled a clean T-shirt down over his curls, which he let grow out once again. "I'm going to see Mick, ask if he's seen Stevie."
"For fuck's sake, Lindsey." Carol Ann sighed, rolling her eyes. "Who cares!"
"I do!" He yelled back. "We've got a show tonight. She's a part of the band, whether you like it or not." He knew, she didn't.
Without waiting for another word from his increasingly more annoying girlfriend, Lindsey walked out of his hotel room and marched down the hallway to bang on the door of Mick's. He had to wait for a minute, before his lanky bandmate bothered to let him in.
"Happy birthday, mate!" Mick grinned widely, seemingly a lot more excited than Lindsey was. "What brings you here so early?"
"Have you heard from Stevie?" Lindsey asked, entering the room. He eyed the mess before he focused on Mick.
"Well, she's not here if that's what you're thinking. Haven't done that in a long time." Lindsey guessed that Mick was still hungover from the night before, the stupid grin on his face gave it away.
"I wasn't." Lindsey replied through gritted teeth. "Does anyone have a clue, where she is? We've got a show just hours away. She's so fucking irresponsible, so self-centered! It's as if no one else exists on this whole fucking planet!"
"Hey, slow down, Lindsey." Mick placed his hand on the guitarist's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I don't believe anyone's heard from her. Not even Christine." He added, shaking his head. "And if she doesn't know, I'm a bit worried. Something had to have happened. I'm afraid she's got herself into trouble."
"Yeah, the only trouble she manages to get herself into lately is getting knocked up by-"
"Lindsey." Mick silenced him again. "I know, you don't have the warmest feelings towards Stevie, but you don't have to be so goddamn mean about her either." He could tell that Lindsey was boiling inside, the tension in his jaw was usually a pretty good giveaway. "I'm sure, she'll show up. We've never had to cancel because of her yet."
"Yet." Lindsey repeated. "If she calls or if you see her, let her know that I want to have a word with her."
"Will absolutely do." Mick nodded, following Lindsey to the door. He had no intension of keeping his promise.
Hours passed by and Stevie was still nowhere to be found. The fact that she was missing got out from within the inner circle of the band and as Lindsey walked the hallways of that night's venue, he wanted to knock every single person's teeth out, who was currently whispering about it to someone else.
Soundcheck was done with just the four members of Fleetwood Mac. By now Mick had snorted several lines, John kept knocking back gin and tonics, Christine opened her second bottle of wine and Lindsey was rolling another joint. There was less than half an hour left before show time. At this point, the band had decided to go on without Stevie. The setlist was rearranged, the fans were going to have to be satisfied with hearing only Lindsey and Christine's songs tonight.
"There she is!" Mick's voice boomed around the green room and everyone's eyes settled on the small figure in the doorway. "See, I told you, she wouldn't let us down!"
Lindsey stood up and approached Stevie before anyone else could. The room went silent, except for Lindsey. "Where the fuck have you been? You're not the center of the goddamn universe, Stevie! What you do on your free time is your business, but when your actions affect the band-"
She barely registered his words. Her eyes red and puffy settled on his, making him stop. Without opening her mouth, she closed the small gap between them and leaned against him, resting her forehead on his collarbone. Lindsey frowned, he hadn't expected her to react this way. Glancing at everyone around him, worried expressions on their faces, Lindsey slowly lifted his arms up and wrapped them around her.
