Never Break the Chain

Hour 10

"I think we should get everything out in the open."

Stevie lifted her head from his bare chest, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Lindsey held her tight against him, his thumb soothing over her bare shoulder. "Everything bad we've ever done to one another, we need to tell each other."

"Lindsey I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Stevie if we want to make this, us, work; we have to start completely clean with one another, or else we'll just end up like we always do."

Stevie sighed, her fingertips drawing patterns across his bare skin. "Where do we start?"

Lindsey shrugged. "Did you ever cheat on me?"

"Other than the one time, no. Never. Did you, other than Kristen?"

He shook his head. "I never dreamed of it. Why did you break up with me?"

"Which time?"

"The first."

Stevie sighed, burying her face in his shoulder, hiding her emotions. "We weren't working well Linds, you were becoming nasty and I was being spiteful. We weren't healthy for one another."

      "We could have made it work Stevie."

    "No we couldn't have Lindsey, we were becoming hateful, disgusting towards one another. For god's sakes we beat the shit out of each other."

   "I never laid a hand on you."

     "Lindsey." Her tone was knowing, and he knew he couldn't hide from her.

   His throats closed up, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "It was one time Stevie, I was drunk."

"One time was all it took Lindsey."

Lindsey felt his throat tightening , tugging his hand that was locked against hers. "I'm calling Mick, I want these fucking cuffs off now."

He had stood from the bed, Stevie trying to pull him back down. "Lindsey!"

"FUCK!" He reached for the vase that rested on his nightstand, throwing it at the wall.

Stevie gasped as the glass shattered, closing her eyes as shards flew every which way. She opened her eyes, her mouth wide open as she looked up at Lindsey. His chest was heaving up and down, a crazed look in his eyes.

She expected him to throw something else, to start screaming at her, falling her every name under the sun. What she did not expect was for him to cry, watching wordlessly as he collapsed to his knees, crawling the short distance back to her and resting his head atop of her thighs. His hand that was chained to hers grasped her fingers with his, interlocking them. His other hand resting on her hip as he cried in to her lap.

"Stevie I am so sorry."

"It's ok Lindsey, it's just a vase."

"No," he lifted his head, looking up at her with tears rolling down his face. "For everything."

Her throat closed up, biting down on her lips. "Lindsey it's ok."

"It's not ok Stevie, the way I treated you, the way I acted."

"You're not that person anymore." She ran her free hand through his grey curls, trying to soothe him.

"I still did it, I hurt you, emotionally and physically."

She couldn't stop it, no matter how hard she tried, but the tears involuntarily spilled from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. "What do you want me to say Linds? That it doesn't matter anymore? That it didn't hurt me? It did, immensely. But I've moved on from that, I don't want to live in the past."