"Shh..." Stevie's hand met her husbands chest as soon as he came through the front door of their home.
She had called him a couple of hours earlier- shortly after Evee had locked herself in her room, Crosby got sick all over the foyer floor, and Kara and Elise started to argue... It was insane, and the only person that Stevie felt would even remotely understand was Lindsey.
So with tears steaming down her cheeks and a shaky, sad voice, she tried her best to explain what had happened word for word... Everything.
It was one of those moments in life that would be engraved in her memory forever. It was the look on Everleighs face- the look of pure devastation and betrayal that really destroyed Stevie.
"Everyone's finally settled down." Her eyes melted right into those blue orbs as she held onto his jacket.
It felt like an eternity waiting for him to get home. She had tried talking to Evee, but once she was in her room, there was no getting through to her. And the girls were so enraged with one another- the only thing Stevie could do was split them up and hope for the best.
It was a nightmare... It was a day she had hoped would never come.
"Are you okay?" He slipped his hand around her waist as he pulled her into her arms for a hug.
Her head met his chest instantly, a light sigh escaping her as she closed her eyes contently. "No..." Her voice was so soft and low. "It was horrible, Lindsey." She added as this lump formed in her throat.
His hand met her cheek, thumb running back and forth on her jawline as he pressed a couple of soft kisses to the top of her head. "It's going to be okay." He was trying to assure her, but deep down, he was really trying to assure himself as well.
With tears in her eyes, she wrapped her arm around his neck to get as close as possible. "We have to tell her the truth..." she mumbled as her heart sank in her stomach.
"Or we can just tell Ev that Crosby doesn't know what he's talking." Lindsey knew that wasn't really an option- it wasn't believable, but telling the truth just seemed terrible to him.
"I'm scared." She admitted as she sank into him a little more. "I'm so scared we're going to lose what we have." When she said that- what we have, she truly meant the life they had built.
They had worked so hard to create the dynamic they had. Stevie had shifted back into that motherly role- the one she had kind of given up as an empty nester and Lindsey was just the absolute best... The best family man ever.
"She knows I'm not her mother." At that point, the tears had started a river down her puffy cheeks as her lower lip began to tremble.
Giving her a soft squeeze, he let out a heavy sigh. "You're her mom." He said that with as much confidence as possible, because it was true...
"She's so mad at me, I can tell." Stevie actually felt weak in the knees and sick to her stomach- that's how upset it all made her. "The look on her face was so horrible, Lindsey." She added with a crack in her voice.
"She has no reason to be mad at you. You've always been the best mother to those kids, all of them." He slowly pulled away- keeping her in his arms, but wanting to look at her face. "Let's go to bed, Steph." He patted her back lightly, still holding her until she was ready to let go. "We can worry about this in the morning."
"Promise me one thing, Lindsey." She stared up at him with puppy dog eyes and red cheeks. "No matter how difficult this gets for us, we won't turn on each other... We won't do that."
Lindsey cracked a really faint smile as he leaned in to capture her lips with his. "You and me, baby." He repeated the same thing he had a million times in their marriage... It was them against the world- always had been.
~~~
Lindsey ended up laying in bed all night, eyes glued on the ceiling fan spinning in circles as the sound of his wife's soft, steady snoring filled their room.
She was exhausted, especially after all the crying she had done... really wore her out, but he was the exact opposite.
Of course, he was upset but the truth was, Lindsey was more mad than he was sad.
Stevie didn't deserve that- she was too good of a woman to have to fight battles that were just pathetic and useless. They could have gone the rest of their lives living just as they had been, but no... wasn't good enough for Crosby and that's what really ticked him off.
"Honey?" Picking her head up off the pillow, Stevie's sleepy voice called out for him only a second after he'd slipped out of bed.
Pulling his hoodie over his head, he gave her foot a soft squeeze. "I'm gonna grab a glass of water, do you need anything?" He whispered through the dark room.
Her head fell back, eyes closing instantly as she waved a hand lazily. "No, Linds." She mumbled.
With a gentle sigh, he trailed through their room, pulling open the wood door to head into the dark hallway.
There was the soft sound of the television floating through the house, but other than that- it was quiet and if he didn't know any better, he would have thought things were peaceful.
"Lindsey?" Elise's voice caught him as soon as he walked into the kitchen.
"Up already?" He chuckled as he flipped on the big light.
She had already made coffee and was sitting at the breakfast nook with just a dim light lingering in the room. "I couldn't sleep." She admitted as she motioned towards the coffee pot on the counter. "I got into an argument with Kara..." she added with a bit of embarrassment in her voice.
Lindsey nodded his head lightly as he grabbed a cup out of the cabinet. "I heard that." He poured himself some coffee as a faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
He didn't think it was funny- not in the slightest, but he did like that Elise stood up for Stevie.
"Is she okay?" She wondered as she watched her father- in- law bringing his cup to his lips for a drink.
He shook his head- he didn't sugar coat much with them. "I think this is going to be very hard for her." He announced with a shrug.
Elise had tears on the brims of her eyes as she slowly sank back in the chair.
"But she'll be okay, Elise." He didn't want to worry her- there was nothing to actually worry about. "It's life and we both knew, at some point, Everleigh would know the truth."
Lindsey always knew that eventually, the older she got, the more Evee would question everything. After-all, they had always been the oldest parents at every school event and even in kindergarten, Everleigh kind of knew something was different.
It had never been the matter of if she found out, it had always been when she found out.
"I'm gonna go downstairs for awhile." He said once a silence had filled the air around them. "Don't worry." He carried his coffee in one hand as he ventured down to the studio for a while.
And as soon as he stepped inside, he tossed the cushions off the couch to pull out a bottle of scotch that he had wrapped up in an old blanket.
