"I need to talk to you." His voice was low as he watched her trail into the kitchen.
The house was empty- Crew and Lola were out with their friends, Clancy was at a ballet class with Karen and Stevie was sitting in the backyard, writing in her journal... It was the only time he would be able to get a moment alone with her.
Raising a brow, Carrie set her coffee cup down on the counter. "What if I don't want to talk to you?" She had been cold for a couple of days, which was perfectly fine- he could care less, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten about what she'd done.
In fact, Lindsey thought about what Stevie had said for a couple of days, while he totally ignored Carries presence entirely. He couldn't get over it, not in the slightest.
Mad was probably an understatement... he was actually furious.
"Why would you say that to Stevie?" His voice held a tone of annoyance that was totally unmistakable.
"Say what to Stevie?" She didn't look up- she didn't want to see those blue storms.
Rolling his eyes, Lindsey's jaw settled as he leaned back into the counter. "Why would you go to my wife and talk to her about dating a married man?" He was trying not to raise his voice since Stevie was just on the other side of the sliding glass door.
With a soft shrug of her shoulders, Carrie couldn't help but scoff. "She asked, so I shared." She sounded so cold- so mean. "I wasn't lying, was I?" Titling her head to one side, she finally made eye contact with him, just to prove that she didn't feel like she was in the wrong.
"Don't talk to her about it anymore, Carrie..." he shook his head as he stared at her with a blank, dull expression written across his face. "You're trying to embarrass her by allowing her to feel sympathy for you." Lindsey was almost certain that was her goal... the dramatic irony was surreal.
"You're the only one that has embarrassed her, Lindsey." She stated in a blunt manner. "You were the one that was unfaithful, not me..." she added with a soft, sarcastic laugh. "I didn't make vows to her, so I'm not in the wrong here." Carrie wasn't necessarily trying to make him angry... she was being honest about how she felt.
Sure, she knew that he was married when their affair started, but it wasn't her responsibility to make sure he didn't cross lines he wasn't supposed to. That was all on him.
"Don't say anything to my wife again..." he lingered. "Or you'll be on the hunt for a new job." Lindsey warned as he grabbed his mug off the counter. "Oh, and Lola needs to be picked up at the mall at four." He added before he stepped out onto the back patio, where the mid- day sun was beating down.
~~~
Sitting in the passenger seat, Carrie stared at herself through the mirror on the visor. "Did you have fun with your friends?" She asked, flipping it closed to pay attention to the road ahead.
Nodding lightly, Lola's eyes stayed locked on the busy LA traffic that surrounded them as she gripped the steering wheel. She had never driven in anything quite like that before and even she was worried about their safety.
"Can I ask you something?" Shifting in the seat, Carrie turned to give her all of her attention.
Creasing a brow, Lola nodded her head once more. "What's up?" She thought it was a little odd... Carrie hardly ever sounded that serious.
"What happened to your sister?" She said it so mundane, almost like it was a normal topic of conversation and it definitely wasn't, not in their house. "I mean, it seems like a traumatic event for everyone and I'm just curious." That wasn't necessarily the right wording... curious?
"Umm," Lola swallowed hard as this feeling of pure panic raced through her entire body. "Why do you want to know?" She didn't ask to be mean, she asked because she thought it was such a weird thing to bring up so randomly.
With a deep sigh, Carrie tried not to roll her eyes. "Your mother is always so upset about it and I think it would be easier for me to sympathize with her if I knew what had happened." She wasn't lying, not totally.
Carrie had seen Stevie through some pretty rough days and nights... She knew that she struggled and while the older woman spoke about it occasionally, she had never actually shared what had happened that day. And neither had Lindsey, but that was because he never even mentioned it.
Lola went silent for a long moment as her mind drifted back in time.
She was only eleven and even though that day was one that would be etched in her mind forever, the test of time had faded some of the memory.
"My mom was trying to get us all in the car to leave for ballet..." she recalled as a thick coat of tears started to blur her vision instantly. "There was so many of us, ya know?" Her voice cracked as she thought about that November morning. "There was four of us and the woman only has two eyes, it wasn't fair." She brought one hand up to her face to wipe some of the tears.
The truth was, Lola adored her mom... She had since the moment she was able to understand how magical Stevie was. She was the ideal mother- she was fun, loving, had an imagination and so much patience. She was perfect, but when their life seemed to fall apart in the matter of just minutes, it was easier for Lola to distance herself. It made it less stressful if she pretended like she didn't care at all.
Carrie's heart sank as she bit down on the inside of her cheek. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to upset you." She whispered.
Shaking her head, Lola pushed some of her loose curls back. "I don't want to talk about it, Carrie." She mumbled. "And don't ask my mom about it either, she's doing so much better." She had noticed the change in the last couple of weeks too and she was proud, even though she wouldn't have admitted that aloud. "She deserves to be happy again."
