Give Me A Chance

Part 5

It was past 1 am, when the doorbell rang again. Stevie knew exactly who it was this time. She wasn't in bed yet, wearing the same clothes still, she got up from the couch, where she had been watching a movie and went to answer the door. A disheveled and tired looking Tom stood in front of her and a part of her hesitated to let him in.

"I'm sorry, I'm so late."

"It's fine. I wasn't sleeping yet." Stevie said plainly, folding her arms over her chest. What am I supposed to do now?!

"Do you mind if I stay for a bit?" He asked timidly, before taking off his coat.

Sighing, she shook her head. "No. You must be starving." It wasn't so much a question as a statement. Tom didn't reply, following after her into the kitchen. "How is George?"

"Considering what happened, he's okay. He won't be going home just yet, but he's expected to fully recover after the heart attack. Mom was probably more worried than Dad himself." Stevie didn't care to keep the conversation going, so Tom spoke up again. "I didn't mean to barge in like that, but I had no other choice. I didn't want to bring Amber with me to the hospital, I had no idea what condition my father was in."

"Well, it was certainly unexpected, but don't worry about it." Stevie said, placing a plateful of reheated leftovers in front of Tom.

"Thank you." He said, gently gripping her wrist, but Stevie pulled away, ignoring it. "How you've been?"

Sitting down, she glared at him, then diverted her eyes. "I was getting better, until I saw you today."

Tom brought the fork to his mouth, saying. "That's honest."

"You wanted me to lie?"

"No, of course not." He then added. "It was you, who broke up with me, Stevie, you don't need to act like it was something I did."

Her eyebrows shot up. "You didn't do anything?"

"Well... prior to our separation, yes. I'm sorry, I even brought it up. We can just sit in silence."

"Yeah, I think that's for the best." She nodded, getting up to retrieve that opened bottle of wine that Lindsey brought. However, she did ask after some time. "Are you planning on staying the night here? Because otherwise, I can't have Amber overnight, I have work in the morning."

"It's up to you." Tom shrugged. "If I'm allowed to sleep here tonight, then I'd appreciate it. Tomorrow morning, I'll take Amber and we'll go to my parents' house."

"That won't be a problem, I suppose." Taking the empty plate, Stevie walked over to the sink to wash it.

Tom was watching her, at some point he stood up and approached Stevie, standing beside her. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"Who said that I do?"

"You're so cold towards me."

"I think, that is to be expected, no? What, you thought I was going to welcome you into my home with open arms and give you a big kiss?"

Sighing, he shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "Well, no, but..."

"But nothing, Tom. You needed someone to watch Amber, while shocked at the moment, but I was okay with that. You came back after a long day, I invited you in, fed you and let you stay the night. What else do you want from me?"

Closing the already small gap between them, Tom said. "I just thought you missed me, like I missed you."

Closing her eyes, Stevie let out a heavy breath, as she then felt Tom slide his arm around her waist. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, looking at him. 

"Because it's not been easy for me, like I know it hasn't been for you. I know our relationship was far from perfect, but we loved each other. Do you know how hard I've tried not to come to you time and time again? Especially, at first, when you left. I was the one who stayed in our home, who had all of our memories staring right into my face. I couldn't eat at our kitchen table, I couldn't sit on our couch and watch a film, I couldn't sleep in our bed... All I could do, was think about you." 

"A little too late for all that, don't you? Why is it you realized how much you love me and need me, when I finally walked out?"

"I thought-"

"You thought that I wouldn't? You just assumed it was one of my threats to do so, right?"

"Honestly, yes. I thought if you did, you'd come back. But you didn't."

"Why didn't you beg me to come back?"

"Because I thought I didn't really have the right to do so. I wasn't good enough for you anymore, I was no good for you anymore."

"Well, you're not wrong." Stevie nodded, pushing at his chest to pull away, but Tom didn't let her, holding onto her tighter. "Tom, please..."

"Maybe there's still a chance for us? Don't you think so?"

"No. No, I don't. I've moved on, I'm over it."

"Are you really?" Tom challenged, but Stevie didn't answer. Bringing his free hand up to her face, he brushed his thumb over her lower lip and she closed her eyes. He then drew her in closer, leaning in to capture her lips. He lingered, waiting for her to make the next move, which she did, only that he didn't expect it to be that. 

Stevie broke their lips apart and pushed him away.

"You can't do that to me. We've made our choices. We're done. There is no more chances left for us." Making some much needed space between them, Stevie added. "I left an extra blanket beside Amber, you can use it." Without another look his way, she said. "Goodnight."