The break was over. Stevie was dreading seeing Lindsey again. The rest of the tour was going to be terrible if he continued acting as if she didn't exist. She could accept how their situation changed if only he opened up, what was the reason for it. Getting over him once again wouldn't be easy and she would never do it completely, but at least she could move on the best she could. And if she was honest with herself, she had started doing it already. In only a few short weeks, Stevie spent at least three or four nights a week with Hank. She had no idea what was it exactly he was telling his wife and explaining his absence, but she didn't care about it that much. Hank was a phone call away and he was standing at her doorstep shortly if she made that call. When they were together, Lindsey didn't cross Stevie's mind once, but as soon as Hank would leave, then all of a sudden, she remembered him again and it was driving her mad. She was seeing someone, who wanted to be with her. Married, yes, but at least she had never seen Hank's wife and she didn't picture her flawless figure and pretty face and then compare herself to her and end up crying. All Stevie knew was that her name was Lacy and that was it, she could easily block the woman out and pretend she didn't exist. What also helped was that Hank, like promised, treated her like Stevie was the only one, as if he only had eyes for her, which was both amazing and worrying. What if he was falling for her?
It was the day of their show and Stevie followed Karen into the venue, where they would be playing that night, with a professional attitude, already reminding herself to set all the differences with Lindsey aside. She just wasn’t going to talk to him, look at him, acknowledge his presence in any way and somehow they would get through it.
The band was gathering one by one for the soundcheck and when Stevie came out on stage, she was surprised not to see Kristen. Mick and John came to greet her, while Lindsey was strumming his guitar, not looking her way. She sighed and stood by her mic stand.
Still a few hours before the show, Stevie was passing Lindsey's dressing room to get to hers and the door wasn't completely closed. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he was obviously talking on the phone, sounding agitated.
"Of course I've seen her, Kristen, we're in the same band... No, I didn't even say hello... I promised you I was going to ignore her, didn't I?... She didn't try to talk to me, no and maybe that's because I've been a complete jerk to her for no reason? Because you're forcing me to?... No need to remind me of that fucking agreement, Kristen, I remember it too well... Yeah, I'll see you in a couple of weeks... You too, bye..."
What agreement? Why was Kristen making Lindsey act like that? Was it all her fault? Stevie was lost, trying to figure out what she just heard. She quickly walked back to her dressing room, locking the door behind her. She was confused and conflicted as it was, but hearing that phone conversation made the whole thing even worse.
The show took forever to end for Stevie that night. She wasn't concentrated much on doing her job, she kept replaying what she heard and she wanted answers. As soon as they were taken back to the hotel, she was going to pay Lindsey a visit.
A lot later that night, Stevie was softly knocking on Lindsey's room door. He opened it after a couple of minutes, looking tired and she guessed he might have been in bed already. Suddenly, she was at a loss of words and he didn't start a conversation either.
"May I come in?" She asked at last.
"I don't think that's a very good idea. Besides, I was already sleeping."
"We need to talk, Lindsey. This is getting beyond ridiculous."
"What is?"
"Us!"
He sighed heavily and opened the door wider, letting her in, but only because he didn't want her to wake up half the floor. "There is no us, Stevie."
"I can accept that, but tell me why." Her voice sounded pleading and it was breaking his heart.
"It just is. I finally understood how wrong I was treating Kristen, she's my wife, she's the mother of my children and I've been cheating on her almost our whole marriage."
"Why now? Why is it that only now you began to see things clearly?"
"I can't answer you that."
Her eyes started filling up with tears again and she wasn't sure for how much longer she could cope. "I overheard you talking to Kristen earlier, on the phone. You didn't sound like you were smitten with her, you said she was forcing you to treat me badly and you mentioned some sort of deal you two made." Lindsey's eyes got big and he had no idea what to say now. "If you still love me at least a little bit... please, tell me the truth."
~
Sorry for a shorter update, but I'm busy at the moment. Thanks for reading!
