"Stevie!" His hand met the bedroom door hard, banging on it repeatedly. "Unlock the door now!" He was shouting so loud, everyone downstairs could hear the fear in his voice. "Unlock it, or I'll break it down." He demanded as he jiggled the knob for the tenth time.
But still there was nothing but silence on the other end- the same sound that had come from her in the last four days... Nothing.
"Damnit!" Lindsey's hand hit it once more right before a very deep sigh escaped him. "Steph..." his voice grew softer, suddenly feeling incredibly bad for her.
He wasn't mad at her, he just wanted to know that she was okay on the other side of that door.
"Baby girl..." his head met the wood lightly. "Just tell me that you're alright..." he nearly begged, creasing a brow as he closed his eyes. "The kids need you." His voice was low, but she could still hear him. "I need you..." he felt like he was talking to himself, and maybe he was, in a sense.
~
Letting out a deep gasp, Stevie jumped up in bed, heart beating a million miles a minute as she stared around the room. "Oh my gosh." She brought a hand up to her forehead, pushing her bangs out of her eyes as she glanced over at the alarm clock.
When she saw that it was only four in the morning, she leaned back, head hitting the headboard to catch her breath.
It had been a lot of years since she'd had a nightmare like that... she couldn't even remember the last time, actually.
But before bed all she thought about was her argument with Lola. She couldn't stop replaying those words over and over in her mind.
How could Vivian be a replacement for their daughter? It was impossible, and so unfair for her to say.
But then she couldn't help but wonder if that's what it really seemed like... would the other two believe that as well? She didn't know, and she couldn't stop thinking about it.
"You're fine." She whispered to herself as she slowly tossed her legs over the edge of the bed. "You're okay." She repeated, only because the person that usually reassured her of those things had left.
And maybe that was another issue- the fact that she didn't have Lindsey and he hadn't even called to check in on them...
~~~
"Did you pick a color?" Stevie trailed back outside, having left Vivian on the patio a moment earlier.
She was sitting at the outside table, staring aimlessly at the water as she waited, patiently. "I like the purple." She assured with a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"That's a good choice." She chuckled, carrying her cup of coffee in one hand and Vivian's tea in the other.
It was only a little after eight the morning- everyone else was still hiding out in the comfort of their rooms, while the other two ladies met in the kitchen at sunrise.
Stevie couldn't get back to sleep at all- instead she decided to call Lindsey once the sun started to rise. She had decided not to mention anything to him about her conversation with Lola, even though she knew he'd probably be the only one to ease her mind... She didn't want to ruin their time in the city- that weekend was about Clancy.
"Have you been to New York?" Stevie carefully set the cup and saucer down in front of the younger woman.
"No, never." Vivian mentioned as she watched the blonde take a seat in the chair next to her.
Stevie was still in her pajamas, hair twisted into a clip with no makeup and small bags under her eyes.... She looked real, like really real that way.
She didn't look like the leading lady of a rock band... She looked like a mom, a wife, and even a grandma. She was humbled, really.
"You're going to totally love it." Stevie noted, cracking open the bottle of nail polish carefully. "And if there's anything you would really like to do while we're there, don't hesitate to mention it... please." She wanted her to have fun, too.
It was about their family and she was part of their family now.
Shaking her head, her eyes stayed focused on the brush grazing over her nail. "Please, don't feel like you have to go out of your way, Stevie." She replied. "I've just had such a great time being with you and everyone else..." she added with a soft shrug of her shoulders.
Stevie cracked a smile, heart melting almost instantly as she pulled her gaze from Vivian's hand to look into those blue eyes. "I'm very thankful that you're here with us." She admitted. "You're a piece of this family that I think we've been missing for a long time." She meant that when she said it- she meant everything she said, but she really felt that way.
It happened so sudden- the tingle in Vivian's nose and the wrinkle of her forehead that always meant tears were sneaking up on her. "And I think you're the mom that I've been missing my entire life." That took a lot for her to say, it was obvious.
Stevie quickly wrapped her arm around Vivian's shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. "I'll always be here for you now."
~~~
Standing in front of the mirror, Vivian kicked up a heel, trying to decide if the shoes she'd brought were appropriate for the art gallery. She had gotten a few outfits when they had gone shopping, but she almost didn't think any of them would fit into what everyone else was going to wear.
She was nervous... so nervous that she was going to stand out in their crowd and that was the very last thing she wanted.
Sighing softly, she slowly pulled off her converse- the same pair she'd had forever and ever.
"What size shoe are you?" Her voice caused Vivian to flinch. "I didn't mean to startle you..." Lola was standing in the open doorway with her arms crossed over her chest.
She was a unique person... She was herself in a weird way. There was no resemblance to either of her parents- she was just her.
"Uh..." Vivian carefully bent down to pick up some of her things that were scattered around the room. "I'm a seven..." she announced in a very shy, very weak tone of voice.
With a soft smile, Lola nodded. "Me, too." She shrugged. "I packed lots of heels, you're more than welcome to look through them." She motioned with her head for Vivian to follow her.
"Oh," she gently set her things back on the bed before she trailed out of the room as well. "That's so sweet of you." Vivian was shocked, really, but so thankful at the same time.
"I also have a lot of dresses, too." She added. "Whatever you want."
