Love You Enough

Starshine

Stevie sat on the floor with the microphone hitched low. She sang softly, too softly and Lindsey stood staring down at her. His gaze shot through her rather than meeting hers and it gave her the oddest feeling. She rips her headphones off her head violently.

"Can you knock it off?" She yells hoarsely as almost no sound escaped her lips.

"Well you're singing it all wrong"

"I really don't have much of a voice. I'm doing the best that I can" She looks up at him, hoping for sympathy and she receives none.

He huffs loudly, hands on hips banging his platform clad foot down onto the floor. It made an awful sound, causing Stevie to wince. He yanked her up from the floor by the arm and shoved her to the door.

"Why don't you just go home? We don't need you today anyway" he said, malice in his words. "It's not like you play anything really, not well enough. You're practically useless. I guess, aside from the writing" He was trying for tears but no such luck, he thought.

She bit her bottom lip, willing herself not to cry. "Tomorrow then? I can come back tomorrow?" She asks, her voice fluttering ever so slightly. It was almost as if she was begging for another chance and he watched her carefully.

"Do what you want" he finally said. She picked up her fringed bag, tossing it over her shoulder before she swished out of the room. Her long chiffon and velvet duster flowed behind her as she rushed past everyone without saying goodbye or even a single word. She needed to get out of there as fast as she could. She hopped into her car, trying hard to put the key in the ignition but her hands were shaking so much. The tears finally came and they took her by surprise.

"Fuck" she cursed, wiping her eyes.

"Stevie" The voice of her tall blonde English friend made her look up. "Ahh love, what has he done now?" she asks through the open window of Stevie's car.

"Nothing"

"Then why are you crying?"

"I was trying really hard on that song...he said I was useless" she wept.

"Stevie, you know that's not true" Christine stuck her hand inside the car to touch Stevie's shoulder to comfort her the best she could.

"He's so mean, anymore. What did I do? Am I that hard to be around?"

"Lindsey is an asshole. We all know that" Christine says with a chuckle that causes Stevie to smile through her tears. "Go home, re-collect and I will be over with a bottle of wine round 7 alright?"

"See you then, Chris" she says with a nod. "And thank you"

"You're welcome, love. I'll go sort out Buckingham and if you don't see him tomorrow, it's because he wouldn't listen to reason and I've killed him" Stevie looks up at Christine's very serious expression and suddenly bursts out into giggles. Christine shrugs, a slight smile playing on her lips and turns to go back inside. She waves from the top of the steps, Stevie waves back and drives off.

Christine makes her way inside to confront Lindsey.

"Lindsey, a word?" She suggests. Her tone is sugary sweet so he knows he's in trouble. He gets up from where he was laughing with the guys and follows her to another room. "What the hell do you think you're doing to her?"

"To who?"

"Who do you think?" She folds her arms over her chest.

"Did she cry?" Lindsey can't help but smile a little.

"Wipe that look off your face. You're truly disgusting, you know that?" His face loses expression quickly when she reprimands him.

"So what do you want me to do then?"

"The poor girl only wants to make you happy. Why do you treat her so badly? She was crying in her car, couldn't even start it. She was shaking like a leaf"

Lindsey's shoulders slump. He really did feel bad even though he tried to conceal it. "She broke my fucking heart, Chris"

"So you stomp all over hers just because you can?! You know why she left you, don't you?"

"Said I was jealous, vicious..."

"And have you tried to change, if in fact you do want her back? Have you stopped parading around your little tart in front of her? Have you even said a kind word to her and meant it recently?" He averted his gaze. "Didn't think so"

"So what do I do?"

"You could at least acknowledge she's a person and treat her like one. I see how rough you are with her, tossing the little thing around like a rag doll. It's not right. Deep down inside of you, Lindsey, you're a good man."

"Thanks. I think I'll give her a call tonight" he says and Christine nods. She goes back out to join the others, leaving Lindsey with a lot of soul searching to do.

He loved Stevie and he wanted her so badly and he knew in the back of his mind, if he really thought about it, she would never come back if he acted that way for another minute. Maybe it was time to be the man she would be proud to call hers, he thought. Lindsey went back into the studio and wrapped the day's session. He gathered his things and drove back to his house. He would need a plan. He couldn't go in full steam ahead and not take no for an answer like he usually did. He had to make her fall in love with him again. But how?

A/N: photo courtesy of crystallineknowledge.tumblr.com