Torn

Part 14

A week into the break from the tour and Lindsey was absolutely miserable. He had barely spent any time outside of his studio, which he did feel guilty about. Of course he'd missed his kids and being with them always brought him joy. However, things were different this time. All he could do was think about Stevie, not that that was out of the ordinary, but they had a massive fight and then his wife showed up out of nowhere, he didn't get a chance to apologize, he didn't get a chance to assure her that he was serious about them in spite of the argument. On top of that, he was hurt. He came to a conclusion that it was better guessing why she was acting weird instead of knowing that she'd cheated on him. He scoffed, rolling another joint, listen to yourself. It didn't matter what he wanted or believed, after all, they weren't a couple, she was free to do whatever she wanted. Or whoever. In some twisted way, it would have been easier to deal with if she'd told him, she'd slept with the likes of Don Henley. That was old news. But no, now he had to compete with someone much younger, possibly better looking and..., no, don't go there. Was that how Stevie had been feeling for the past 15 years or so?

Lindsey frowned, hearing a knock on the door. He glanced at the clock on the wall. "Yeah?"

"Do you ever plan on coming to bed?" Kristen asked, after she'd opened the door. "Lindsey, do you know what time it is?"

"I do in fact." He nodded, looking for his lighter. "I'm not planning on coming to bed, don't wait up."

Kristen sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Nothing that I can think of." Lindsey shrugged and took a long drag, he moved to lie down on the couch. "I've got stuff to do here."

"It's something to do with her, isn't it?" Kristen said, arms crossed over her chest. At this point she knew that if Lindsey was in a bad mood, it always had something to do with Stevie.

"I'd really appreciate it if you left me alone. Thanks." Lindsey added, indicating that the conversation was over.

"Are you still in love with her? Do you want to be with her?" Kristen paused and then another question came, which he didn't expect. "Do you want a divorce? Because I'm not keeping you. If you think that I'm not tired of this bullshit, well, think again." She waited for a short moment, but when Lindsey didn't respond, he heard her sigh then the door slammed shut.

Divorce. Lindsey had never brought it up himself and now Kristen did it first. He wasn't stupid, he knew, his wife wasn't very happy either. All of a sudden, she was giving him an out. Why the hell didn't he just yell out that yes, divorce was exactly what he wanted? Divorce would mean that he could finally be with Stevie. But... They'd tried so many times before and their relationship never worked. There had to be a reason behind that, right? So, did Lindsey stay quiet because he was scared of him and Stevie not working out yet again? Very likely. If his marriage was over and he didn't get to be with her either, then what?

Another lonely hour passed by and once the effect of the joint he'd smoked had almost wore off, Lindsey made a decision. Stevie would certainly ignore his calls if he tried reaching out to her, but she would be too embarrassed not to let him into her house if he kept yelling out her name for her neighbors to hear. He grabbed his car keys and marched outside. 

Meanwhile, an unsuspecting Stevie was enjoying the attention of her new unexpected lover. She didn't exactly know why, but Dave was giving her all that she'd been craving for years. Yes, she loved Lindsey more than anyone else in the whole world, but they'd been together for a better part of her life. Even if behind closed doors, they were just like any other old married couple. There was none of that with Dave. Their affair was fun and carefree, and it probably had a lot to do with the fact they didn't also work together. She thought it sounded stupid, but he made her feel young again.