Where I Belong

Part 11

Lindsey entered his home early the next morning, prepared for a massive fight. Things were already bad, but he didn't come home. Kristen knew where he was the night before and he didn't come home. On their wedding anniversary. He was already convinced that whatever he had to say, Kristen wasn't going to listen, much less believe him.

Hearing the voices of his children, Lindsey followed the sound into the family room. His three younger kids were all there; Will was watching TV, while Leelee and Stella were both drawing at very different skill levels. At least they were happy to see him. Lindsey was greeted warmly with hugs and several loud 'Daddy's back!' It felt like someone had stabbed a knife right into his heart. No, he hadn't stayed that long because of Kristen. He'd stayed that long because of his children. He was away just for one night and was dearly missed. How much pain would he cause if he never fully returned and only visited?

"You came back." 

Lindsey stood up straight and turned to face his wife, who actually seemed surprised to see him. "This is my home, of course I came back."

"Well, I thought-"

"Not here." Lindsey said and moved to leave the room. 

Lindsey led the way into one of the nearest rooms, where he could close the door. Kristen didn't speak up right away. She looked him up and down, trying to find any signs of infidelity. She didn't catch a whiff of a woman's perfume as he passed by her. She couldn't spot any lipstick marks or torn clothing either, so if he did indeed sleep with another woman, at least he was careful about it. 

"So, where were you?" Kristen asked, arms crossed over her chest.

"You already know." Lindsey shrugged, looking right back at her. He thought that if he shifted his gaze, he would immediately seem guilty of something.

"I already know? You're not even going to pretend?" 

Lindsey sighed, cocking his head back, he stared up at the ceiling for a second before facing her again. "Would you believe me if I told you, I stayed somewhere else?"

"Was it good?" Her next question confused him. "Was it worth it?"

"What-"

"Don't tell me you didn't fuck her." Kristen scoffed, trying to appear unfazed. "What else could you have been doing with her the whole night?"

"I didn't." Lindsey replied, shaking his head. "It was a party, Kristen. I got a little carried away, had a few too many. Stevie suggested I stay."

"Of course she did." Kristen laughed harshly. "You had too much to drink and she wanted you to stay. Why? So you wouldn't resist?"

"We did not sleep together!" Lindsey exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. "And we weren't alone. Callie and Jack stayed over as well." That was a lie and even though Kristen definitely wasn't going to reach out to either Stevie or Callie, he knew that they would both say it was true.

"I don't believe you." Kristen said, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't believe you got so wasted that you couldn't come home and I don't believe that anyone else was there. I can smell her on you from over here."

Now that Lindsey knew was Kristen trying to get him to slip. Maybe a faint scent of Stevie's perfume lingered on his clothes, but he took a shower before leaving to wash her off his body. After they called it a night, they didn't fall asleep right away... However, what Lindsey said, it was the truth - they didn't have sex.

"Oh, you can?" Lindsey grabbed a fistful of his T-shirt and pulled it up to his nose. He was safe. "Maybe you'd like to-" He began approaching Kristen, but she stepped back.

"I don't want you anywhere near me." She held up her hands to stop him. Dammit. "Even if you didn't crawl into her bed, you still spent the night with another woman on our wedding anniversary." She emphasized and Lindsey noticed tears in her eyes. Were they of anger or hurt, he wasn't sure, but it did make him feel like an asshole. "You can go back to her for all I care."

"Wait!" Lindsey reached out to grab Kristen's hand when she turned around to walk out. "I'm not lying to you, nothing happened." He swore, holding her by her shoulders. It had always been easy to lie when it came to covering up whatever was going on between him and Stevie.

Kristen shrugged his hands off. "I don't believe you." She repeated. "But I'm willing to forgive this one time." She said, jabbing a finger into his chest. "But I swear to you, Lindsey, if anything like this ever happens again-"

"It won't." Lindsey promised before she could finish. 

Did he mean that? Or was he just trying to stop her from threatening him with divorce and forbidding him from seeing his children?

 ~

AN: For how long do you think Lindsey will feel bad? Or maybe he'll realize his mistake and try to become a better husband? Thank you all so much for reading and for your lovely comments ♥