Destiny

Part 14

The next few days were tough. Stevie was lost and confused by everything that happened just a couple of nights ago. Lindsey had asked her to call him when she could, but she hadn't yet, unsure if he truly meant that. Even if she was a little worried about how their date, no, dinner between two friends, ended, she felt like she needed to give him some time and if she were honest, herself as well. Michael was a different story. He was the one, who hadn't said one word to her, since he spent that night in the guest room. The tension was unpleasant, but Stevie wondered, why didn't she feel much worse about it.

Three days had passed to be exact and when Stevie entered the kitchen that morning, Michael had apparently decided that he'd given her the silent treatment for long enough. He said, good morning, as she walked in and she couldn't be sure if she'd actually heard him speak to her.

"Good morning." Stevie replied, on her way for a cup of coffee. "Have you eaten already?" She asked, when Michael remained quiet. 

"I have." He responded with a nod after a short moment. Words didn't come as easy to him as he had thought they would.

Stevie decided to skip breakfast as she watched out the kitchen window, waiting for the water to boil. Michael wanted to talk, at least he was trying to, but she had no idea what to say to him.

"What's happening to us, Stevie?" Michael then asked. She didn't expect him to jump to that question so quickly, given the fact he could barely answer her in two words a minute ago.

"You're mad at me." Stevie shrugged weakly, bringing her cup to the kitchen table, she took a seat on the opposite side from him.

"I'm not- I'm frustrated." Michael clenched his fist, running a hand through his greying hair with the other hand. "I'm afraid, I'm going to drive myself crazy, trying to figure out, what keeps bringing you back to him. You say that there's nothing going on between you, that you're just friends..." He sighed, looking away. Stevie swallowed uneasily. If she told him that now, she would be lying. "Why do you need him?"

Stevie shifted in her seat only to prolong the pause, she took a sip of her coffee. "Lindsey is my oldest friend. We've gone through so much together, you have no idea. Whether you like it or not, he knows me better than anyone." Stevie spoke calmly, choosing her words carefully and staying honest at the same time. "I wish, I didn't have to sneak around and lie to you, but I see that you're not taking this well."

"Because I don't trust him." Michael said through gritted teeth.

You should trust him more than me, Stevie thought. "What do you want from me, Michael? Do you want me to cut Lindsey out of my life again, when he's finally doing better after everything that happened with Kristen?"

Michael looked confused, his eyebrow raised. Stevie's eyes grew wider and she realized that she hadn't told him anything about it before. As far as Michael knew, Lindsey was still in a relationship, he still lived with the mother of his child under the same roof. 

"What happened with Kristen exactly?" Michael's breathing grew heavier, now he was becoming angry. "And just how many times have you seen him behind my back?"

Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to avoid an argument, Stevie chose to tell him the truth. Well, partly. She wanted to avoid the latter question if she could. "They broke up. She, uh... she left a few months ago."

"Oh, so when I thought that at least she was there, you two were actually alone?" Michael did no longer care about the tone or volume of his voice. "You didn't think that was an important detail you kept from me?"

"I kept everything from you!" Stevie yelled out. "I said nothing, because you cannot handle it! You've convinced yourself that if I'm with Lindsey, I'm cheating on you!"

"Tell me you're not?" Michael scoffed, pushing his chair back, he began pacing around the kitchen. "Tell me, you haven't fu-"

"I haven't slept with him." Stevie interrupted. "I can't do this again." She shook her hand, standing up as well. "I can't be in another relationship like this. You're allowed to be jealous, you might even be allowed to question me to some extent, but you don't own me." She jabbed a finger in his chest as she came to stand in front of him. "You knew coming into this. You knew, what my life is like." She turned to walk away, but Michael grabbed her by the hand and spun her around to face him again. 

"Don't walk away from me." Michael shook his head. His voice didn't sound threatening. If anything, he sounded as if he was pleading. "Clearly, there are issues that haven't come up before, but we can work on them together."

Stevie pulled her hand away from his hold. "If you can't get over the fact that Lindsey is in my life and he's not going anywhere, then there's nothing for us to work on." She said and left him with that.