Start Again

Part 7

"And that's it? No reaction?" Mary, one of the best Stevie's friends, asked as they shared a bottle of wine a couple of weeks later. Stevie hadn't told anyone besides Mary about Lindsey's impending divorce and needless to say, Mary was quite shocked.

"Nope." Stevie shook her head, placing down her empty glass on the coffee table. She picked up Lily and placed the dog on her lap, stroking its fur mindlessly. "I gave him all the hints I could possibly give him. I said, I love him, I told him, Kristen doesn't know what she's letting go, that she's making a huge mistake. Lindsey just kind of stared at me for a moment, then went back to repeating himself, how he doesn't know why she wants to get divorced." Stevie sighed. "It's not that I expect him to run back into my open arms, I just... I want him to know, I miss him and I- I'm open to- you know... trying for the hundredth time, I guess." 

Mary smiled at her friend sympathetically and reached out to take her hand. "Maybe he's just got a lot on his mind right now. I'm sure, knowing Lindsey, he heard what you said, he's just not ready to do anything about it yet."

"Then when, Mary!" Stevie exclaimed, scaring Lily, who jumped off her lap. "We're not getting any younger. I'm probably living in some fantasy world, anyway, where Lindsey and I still have a chance, while in reality - we simply don't. We've had too many opportunities to make it work."

"Hey..." Mary frowned. "Since when are you so negative, huh? Give him time, Stevie. It doesn't matter if Lindsey married Kristen out of love or not, they spent many years together, they have children together. They shared a lot together. You can't just make it disappear, you know. I'm sur-" Mary began, but she was cut off by the doorbell. "Expecting anyone?"

Stevie shook her head, shrugging her shoulders. "No one except for you." Getting up on her feet, Stevie followed after Lily to the front door. She looked through the peephole and then took a step back. "What is he doing here?" She asked aloud nobody in particular.

Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, Stevie unsure opened the door slowly. "Lindsey, hi."

"Hey, I hope I'm not intruding." He asked, scratching the back of his head - a giveaway that he was nervous.

"No, not at all." Stevie opened the door wider and let him come in. "It's just the two of us, Mary and I, we're having some wine."

"Oh, so you're not alone..." Lindsey stated the obvious, sounding disappointed. 

"I was just leaving actually." Mary appeared out of nowhere, hurrying to put on her boots, swinging her handbag onto her shoulder. "Bye, Stevie! I'll see you soon."

"Ma- wait, what?" Stevie was taken aback, staring at her friend, rushing out of her house. "Could she have made that more obvious?" Stevie then turned to Lindsey, who laughed lightly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I'm glad it's just you and I now. I wanted to talk to you, well, ask you something."

"Can I get you anything first?" Lindsey shook his head and asked if they could sit down. "I'm listening."

"Feel free to say no." Lindsey began. "I came back a couple of days ago, Chris and I are on a break until the 10th of October. I know you've got shows coming up too, but not for some time still, right?"

"I do, but if you expect me to know the exact dates..." Stevie trailed off, making him laugh. 

"Look, I'll just come out with it." Lindsey took in a deep breath. "I need somewhere to stay. Just for a short while. I'm so sick of hotels and the other properties I own... there are too many memories. Every place has Kristen written all over and I simply can't deal with that yet." Stevie's mouth went dry and when she wanted to speak, she couldn't. "I now I'm asking a lot, besides, it was probably a stupid idea anyway-"

"You want to stay with me." Stevie stated rather than asked.

"Well, yeah. Kind of. If only you feel comfortable with that. I swear, you won't even notice I'm around if you don't want it."

Stevie realized that it was a bad idea, most likely, but she couldn't make herself say no to him. So, she nodded her head, then gave him a small smile. "Okay. You can stay with me if you like."

~

More of a filler, but I wanted to give you something :) Merry Christmas ♥