Karen and Stevie sat in silence almost the entire car ride through the city. Now, it really wasn't an uncomfortable or awkward kind of silence, but it was definitely a thick, almost heavy type of quiet that had engulfed them from the moment they had pulled out of the driveway.
There was so much going on and they were both consumed with thought.
"Are you sure about this?" The younger woman finally asked.
She was a little apprehensive as it was about taking Stevie to the coffee shop in Santa Monica, but she also didn't want him to come over to the house either, so she agreed to sit out in the parking lot to wait... She wasn't sure what Stevie's plans were and honestly, she was pretty afraid to even ask.
She wanted things to get better for her two bosses, not worse and going out with another man didn't seem like a step in the right direction.
Nodding her head, she stared out the passenger window as she took a moment to think. "All I want is for my husband to come home to me." She whispered, tears lingering in her eyes as she turned her head back to look over at her assistant. "This is the worst mistake I have ever made and if he even considers forgiving me, I'll be lucky." She admitted, knowing already that he owed her absolutely nothing.
If there's one thing Stevie wasn't it would have been in denial... She had never been in denial, not even at the start of her affair. She always knew it was wrong, but for whatever reason, even though her heart had always remained with Lindsey, there was a pull.
She would regret it until the end of time, she was sure of it.
"How can I ever expect Lindsey to even speak to me again if I still have another man, lurking in the shadows of my life?" She shrugged a shoulder softly, shaking her head as she brought her hand up to her face to hide her tears.
Karen let out a sigh, reaching over to take her free hand in hers, wanting to comfort her and knowing that she needed it. "You're a good woman." She admitted, suddenly feeling a whole lot lighter about the entire situation...
"I have to fight for him." Stevie's head fell back against the seat, heart beating fast as she tried her best to calm herself down. "He's the best thing that's ever been mine and I've been so selfish to our family." She gave Karen's hand a gentle squeeze as she closed her eyes for a moment. "I still want to share a life with Lindsey just as much as I did when we first got married." She added as her voice cracked lightly.
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, the brunette could feel herself grow a little more emotional as well. "Are you sure you're okay alone...?" She wondered, heart nearly sinking when they pulled into the parking lot.
It was late- almost midnight, but since Stevie was a coffee lover and a night owl, she knew exactly where to find a good cappuccino at a crazy hour... Besides, it was always almost totally empty at that time, which is the only reason she would even consider meeting him in public.
"I'll be okay." Stevie patted the top of her hand before she let it go. "I have to do this." She added, unbuckling her seat belt the moment the car came to a stop right outside the door.
"I'll be right out here the entire time." She assured as she half heartedly watched the older woman slip out onto the concrete... She wanted to go in too, just to make sure, but she knew better.
Chuckling lightly, she wrapped her sweater around herself a little tighter as she wiggled her fingers to wave. "I love you." She announced, closing the door behind her before the other woman even got the chance to assure her that she loved her just as much...
Karen was always in Stevie's corner, no matter how wrong she was at times, but that just wasn't one of those moments... She was finally doing the right thing.
"Be careful." Karen whispered to herself, watching until the blonde trailed through the front door.
Letting out a small sigh, Stevie slowly ventured in, glancing around the shop and then frowning when her eyes caught his from across the room.
He was sitting in the back booth with two cups of coffee on the table and a sad look on his face. "Hey," Drew pushed himself up to stand as soon as his eyes met hers from across the room.
She was in a pair of leggings, an old sweater, her hair was pulled up and she didn't have an ounce of makeup on... She looked more casual than he had ever seen her, except for that morning at her home when she wasn't expecting company.
"You have a lot of fucking nerve calling me like that." Stevie couldn't even hide how annoyed she was- it was obvious by the look on her face.
"Come on..." He creased a brow, holding up a hand to quiet her down as he motioned for her to slip into the leather seat on the other side.
Stevie's jaw settled, giving him the look for a moment before she slouched down, even though she really didn't want to. "How'd you know he left me?" She asked, hating the sound of that sentence but wanting to know anyway...
He would have never, ever offered to come pick her up at her house if he knew Lindsey was at home...
"He called me the other day to tell me that his new condominium was hiring some part time maintenance guys..." he admitted, shifting awkwardly. "He thought I would be-"
"You took advantage of him." She raised a brow, totally disgusted with everything. "And I thought that I had told you to stay away from me and my family." She reminded him, brown eyes stone cold and face almost totally emotionless.
She just wanted it to end- all of it.
"I've missed-"
"Stop saying that to me." She cut him off, not wanting to hear that sort of bullshit again. "This is my goddamn life here." Stevie's voice was a tad bit harsh- not necessarily yelling, but definitely not talking very calmly either. "And I've fucked it up enough as it is, so I'm begging you..." she paused for a second, heart beginning to beat a little faster than before as she pushed the coffee he'd gotten her to the side. "I'm begging you to leave me and my husband alone." She didn't sound totally desperate, but she definitely sounded completely serious.
She could be a mean woman and usually, at that point in her life, she only got incredibly upset when it came to her family... Those three humans were hers to protect and she hadn't done a good job of doing that in the last few years.
"Please-" he was going to ask her to just chill out for a second, but she didn't give him the chance to.
"This is the end." She told him, shaking her head as she got ready to slide back out of the booth.
But to her surprise, just as she was getting ready to stand up, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. There was no thoughts that came next- no logical ones, at least, so without any warning and without actually meaning to, he yanked her hand far harder than he had anticipated.
"Drew!" She let out a gasp, stumbling over her own two feet and hitting the hardwood floor of the coffee shop.
