Part 10

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Stevie didn't spend the previous night at Christine and John's. When she and Rick were done with her song, it was late, well past midnight, so she stayed. Instead of going to the studio with Rick the following morning, Stevie went home. It was time she and Lindsey had a talk.Sliding the key into the lock, Stevie was surprised her key still worked. A part of her thought Lindsey would have changed the locks by now.

Nothing had changed apparently, Stevie was met by the sound of Lindsey's acoustic guitar, when she entered their flat. Putting down her bag, she unzipped her boots and took them off. Following the melody, she went to the bedroom and stopped, lingering in the doorway, her eyes on Lindsey. He had to have heard her, but he didn't acknowledge her. 

Sighing, Stevie took a few more steps forward and sat down on the mattress on the floor. Lindsey opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His fingers stilled on the strings, when he slowly faced Stevie.

"You left with him last night."

"How do you know?" Stevie asked.

"I saw you with my own two eyes. I wanted to talk, to catch you leaving the studio, but..." He shrugged. "When I saw you with him, I didn't bother." Stevie sat not saying a word. "So, you're not going to deny it?"

"Well, you saw us. What's the point?"

Lindsey was taken aback that she didn't even attempt to defend herself. He would have been hurt less if she had made an effort to lie about it. 

"You've slept with him, haven't you? You're having an affair."

Running a hand through her hair, Stevie bit on her lower lip and nodded her head. "Once. Last night."

"Oh my God..." Lindsey sat up abruptly, facing away from her. "I can't believe this. I can't believe you just admitted that!"

"I don't see a reason to lie to you, Lindsey. We both know our relationship is..." She sighed. "I don't even know if you can call this a relationship. I haven't stayed home with you for the past couple of weeks, we've been fighting constantly. I just..."

"You don't love me anymore?" The vulnerability took over his anger and Lindsey's voice cracked. 

"I love you. Linds, I will always love you, but... We're hurting. Being together is hurting us both. I don't want us to get to the point where we hate each other."

"You cheated on me, Stevie. I knew things were bad, I didn't know they were that bad..." He rose to his feet and walked over to the window, leaning his forehead against the glass. He closed his eyes and a tear fell. "I was going to say I'm sorry, I was going to beg you to come back."

"It's too late."

"Now it definitely is." Lindsey agreed, wiping under his eyes. 

"Even before anything between Rick and I happened, it was already too late. We drifted apart. Neither one of us truly understood what it meant to be in a band, in a band that's as big as Fleetwood Mac. We didn't realize the baggage that came along with it."

"You didn't have to agree to any of it!"

"And I agreed to nothing until you started resenting me for joining that stupid band! You pushed me away, Lindsey. You called me names, I wasn't a member of Fleetwood Mac for two weeks, when you started accusing me of sleeping with other men. You've always been jealous, but it got worse when it was me, who was asked to become a member of a band, who got a real chance at becoming somebody."

"So, it's my fault?" Lindsey laughed harshly, swiftly turning around. He crossed his arms and stared at Stevie. "I'm to blame that you fucked someone else? It's always me, isn't it?"

"I didn't say that. Your actions drove me away. If anything, it should be me asking you if you don't love me anymore. You were never like this, Lindsey. When you and I were working on Buckingham Nicks, you weren't like this. We fought, but we always made up. You... you were never mean to me. The things you said to me lately, they hurt."

"Well, guess what? Knowing you chose another man instead of me hurts too." He hated how emotional he was, it had to be the lack of sleep, the amount of alcohol and pot in his system. Casting his eyes down so she didn't see tears in them, Lindsey asked. "Why did you come here anyway? Rick kicked you out?"

Shaking her head, Stevie replied. "No. I came here to... to say that this is over. It's not easy, Linds. Because I do still love you. But I can't go on this way any longer."

He took in a sharp breath, his heart almost physically aching. "Are you... are you breaking up with me?"

Swallowing the lump of tears, Stevie looked away and gave a nod of her head. "I am."

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