"So..." Lucy lingered for a moment, having spent the last two hours thinking about it, but not bringing it up. "Does she drink often?" She wondered as she trailed next to Everleigh down the sidewalk.
"My mom?" She clarified, creasing a brow. "No, not at all." She chuckled softly as she shook her head.
With a gentle shrug, Lucy raised a brow causally. "Well, it's just that you seemed pretty annoyed with her last night.... " She stated. "And I'm sure she wasn't very pleasant this morning, either." She was starting to get ahead of herself... maybe even overstepping, a little.
"I wasn't annoyed with my mother." Evee mumbled, not sure that she totally liked the assumptions that were being made.
"I mean, she was just acting a little foolish last night." The older woman let out a little laugh. "After all, she is like-" just as she was getting ready to mention Stevie's age, Evee cut her off.
"She's allowed to have fun, she's an adult." She came to a holt right in the middle of the sidewalk. "And yeah, sometimes I worry about them, that's all." She wasn't making up excuses- she was being honest. "But that doesn't mean I get annoyed, or think they're acting foolish." She repeated, a subtle scoff escaping her.
She was almost certain that Lucy had underestimated just how far Everleigh would go to defend her mom, and after hearing how upset Stevie was about feeling older the day before, she wasn't going to allow anyone to bring it up... No one.
"I didn't mean it like that." Lucy did "mean it like that," and Everleigh knew it... She wasn't dumb.
"Fine..." That was her way of saying that their conversation was over- she wasn't going to entertain the discussion any further.
But of course, since Lucy didn't know Evee, she didn't know how uncomfortable and upset she'd become.
"I was just surprised that it was Stevie that was so trashed last night." She announced with another faint laugh... that laugh was what was really getting under Ev's skin. "After all, Lindsey's always been the one with the drinking pro-"
"I said, fine." Everleigh's tone shifted so fast, it was almost startling. "So stop, please." She softened a tad, hoping she didn't come off as mean sounding as she felt like being. "My parents are all I've ever had..." she lingered after a moment of silence had washed over them.
She wasn't necessarily throwing shade at Lucy, but still trying to get her point across, and she wasn't lying, not in the slightest. She'd always had Stevie and Lindsey- that's all she had ever known. Of course, there was Kash, Elise, Levy, and Janie, but they didn't compare to her mom and dad.
They hung the moon and the stars for her and it didn't go unnoticed, or unappreciated, even if it felt that way on the occasion.
"And they aren't perfect, but they're still mine..." she shrugged lightly, suddenly missing them a lot more than normal.
Sighing softly, Lucy brought a hand up to her chest to defend herself. "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean it like that." She was grasping for straws at that point.
Evee's eyes fell to the ground for a moment as she collected her thoughts. "I'm going to say this as nice as I possibly can." She stated in a soft tone of voice. "If I wanted your input on my mom, or my dad, I would ask you." She was more intelligent than Lucy was giving her credit for... She was only fourteen but she stood up for herself better than most adults. "And I haven't asked you anything, at all... So don't try to enlighten me." She concluded, plastering a very fake smile to her face as she began walking once more.
And that was it- that was the end of that conversation.
~~~
"I'm ready to go home." Stevie whispered, head resting on his chest as he kept her tucked under his arm.
They were sitting outside on the balcony, curled up on the outdoor sofa with a throw blanket Stevie had packed in her carry on.
That's what they'd done most of the afternoon- nothing. It had been a long time since they'd had a whole day alone, without any interruptions, so they spent it in bed, sleeping.
The tips of his fingers danced down her bare arm, giving her the chills. "Me, too." He had been counting down the hours since they had landed... the whole trip just felt never ending.
"Hopefully we still have a home." She chuckled as she started to slowly push herself up. "I'm going to order coffee, do you want anything?" Stevie's eyes met his right as she was getting ready to stand. "What?" She smirked lightly, just realizing how intently he'd been staring at her.
"Nothing..." he lingered, shaking his head.
Creasing a brow, her smile instantly faded. "I know something's on your mind..." she could read him better than he thought.. She'd been doing it forever.
He cracked a smile as he let out a little laugh. "Steph, nothing's wrong." Lindsey pushed himself up off the couch, only to lean back down and press a kiss to her forehead. "You don't have to order it, I'll run and grab you something." He was starting to get a little antsy sitting around... They didn't do that very often and the more he thought about everything, the more he needed a drink to take the edge off.
Pursing her lips to one side, she sank back into the cushions a little further. "Thank you, honey." She knew something was wrong- she knew him too well, but she wasn't going to pry.... She knew that never worked. "Actually, I'll just go with you." Stevie waved a hand lightly, slipping off the couch with the blanket in hand.
"You don't have to." He leaned back against the railing, watching her readjust her silk blouse.
"Maybe I want to." She shrugged lightly, suddenly aware that he was the one that was hiding something.
"Maybe I just need a couple of minutes alone." The way he said that caused her heart to sink into the pit of her stomach... He sounded so fed up with her.
She nodded her head, eyes growing incredibly soft, but also kind of sad. "Okay..."
He felt guilty as soon as she sat back down on the sofa, face a little red from embarrassment.
No one wants their husband, of all people, to literally beg them not to tag along, because they were sick of being around them. That was awkward.
"I didn't mean it like that." He shook his head as he let a sigh fill the air around them.
With a light scoff, she shifted on the couch to get a little more comfortable. "Bye, Lindsey."
