Levy was as quiet as a mouse, watching his mother out of the corner of his eye... Trying hard not to stare too much, but finding it nearly impossible.
She had a sponge in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, scrubbing at the counter top so viciously, he was surprised the granite was even still intact.
"Did Cathy not make it this morning...?" He asked, referring to their housekeeper, who usually kept everything perfect, so Stevie didn't have to.
Glancing up, her brown eyes immediately melted right into his. "She was here." She replied with a faint shrug of her shoulders. "But there's something on this counter that's driving me crazy." She had been sitting at the island that morning, trying to focus on writing in her journal but was too distracted by something sticky on the surface.
She could hardly sit still after that.
Creasing a brow, Levy sucked in his bottom lip as he took a moment to think. "Maybe we can hang out? I'll take you to lunch?" He offered, a soft smile dancing across his face as he tried to be as reassuring as possible.
He really felt like she needed to get out of the house... Do something other than work, hang out with her circle of friends and scrub those fucking counter tops all day. And though he wasn't sure what was going on, he could tell there was something bothering her- immensely.
She paused, one hand falling on the counter with a thud. "I would love to, but I have a nail appointment this afternoon..." she lingered with a faint frown.
He nodded, shrugging lightly as he pushed himself off the barstool. "We'll go to lunch and then I'll wait for you to get them done." Levy was patient- more so than any of the other boys, including Lindsey.
When he was younger, he'd follow her around the mall for hours- eating cookies that she'd bought at the bakery and carrying her bags. And not because she asked him to tag along, but because he liked to hang out with her... He felt lucky to have her as his mom.
She couldn't help but chuckle, finally tossing that dirty sponge into the trash can. "I'll get ready." She assured in the most thankful, appreciative way as she pushed herself away from the island to hurry upstairs.
The other two boys were gone for the weekend- Kash spending the night at his friends, and Crosby in LA for a two day concert with his high school friends before graduation. So things were pretty quiet around the house, which was exactly what she needed at the time.
Usually, she kind of liked the chaos- she thought having a house full of kids was fun, but she really hadn't been feeling all that great in the couple of days leading up to that weekend... She didn't really feel herself.
"Good morning, baby." Lindsey gave her a smile when she came into the master bathroom, where he'd been standing in front of his sink, shaving his face.
"Morning." She mumbled, slipping around him to grab her comb. "I'm going with Levy for the afternoon, so I'll be back later." Stevie let out a sigh, finding herself in front of the mirror on her side.
He nodded lightly, looking at her through the glass as he tried to read her mind.
Since he had told her that he didn't think another baby was in their cards, she'd been a little stand-off ish... She didn't handle the word no very well- not in any situation, but that one was a little bit different. And she wasn't mad that he didn't agree that they should expand their family, but she was a little sad.
"That sounds like fun." He raised a brow lightly, still letting off a soft smile in hopes she'd return it.
"Mhm," she leaned forward, opening her eyes wide to put in her contacts as she continued to talk. "I figured you'd be working anyway." Stevie added, never even glancing over at him.
Falling back on his heels, he carefully set his razor down on the counter before he used a wash cloth to dry his hands. "I don't have to work today..." he lingered.
"It's fine." She shook her head with a nonchalant shrug. "You have a tour to get ready for, so don't be silly." She added, letting out this soft, almost fake laugh.
Biting down on in the inside of his cheek, Lindsey turned around to lean back into the counter and really stare at her.
By then, she was putting on some makeup, dabbing her foundation into her skin as she looked at herself in the mirror... not even acknowledging his eyes burning into her side profile.
"Hey..." he carefully reached out, tugging at the hem of her nightgown.
"Hmm?" She finally looked over, showing off her tired eyes and mundane expression.
She had been like that for days... just really not in the mood for much of anything, especially not conversation with him.
"I love you..." he told her, feeling awfully bad for the way things had been going recently.
She didn't mean to let out such a heavy sigh, but she did. "I love you, too." She repeated as her attention drifted back towards her reflection. "But maybe some time out of this house and apart will do us good." Stevie believed that the longer they spent cramped up in that home, the more annoyed she had become with his presence... First time ever.
His eyes fell to the floor, nodding in agreement. "I'll see you when you get home, alright?" Lindsey patted the small of her back, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Have fun." He added before he disappeared through the doorway, leaving her to get ready for the day.
And just to ensure that she could actually enjoy the afternoon with their son, Lindsey headed downstairs to give Levy his debit card for lunch, her nails and whatever else they wanted to do while they were out....
Anything to hopefully make her feel a little bit better.
