XV

                                    

                                          
Taking Lori's words into consideration, the following day Stevie was out of her room, not feelings as miserable as she had been for too long. Realizing she was truly wasting her time which she could be spending with Lindsey, she decided to see him. First though, she called him, as if to check on him, being very coy. He wasn't that talkative either of course, just saying he was fine and that he was by himself, since Kristen wanted to have the kids over at her new home for the weekend. 
                          
Knowing there was a very slim chance of Lindsey leaving the house, Stevie dressed up and put on make up, all ready to see him. Grabbing a bag that Karen left earlier, she went outside and got into a car she called for herself and soon was on the way to Lindsey's. She understood this could backfire, Lindsey was never a big fan of surprises, especially if he was in a bad mood. But she had to start somewhere.
                          
Walking up to the front door, Stevie was taking in deep breaths to calm herself down and be ready for whatever reaction she might be met with, telling herself that she couldn't get upset, hurt or angry. It would only make matters worse.
                          
Ringing the bell, she waited a couple of minutes. The light in the house was on, so maybe Lindsey saw it was her and decided not to let her in. No, it couldn't be, they weren't on such bad terms. Finally, the door was opened and her eyes instantly locked with Lindsey's. They were silent for a moment, taking each other's appearance in. While Lindsey thought how absolutely beautiful Stevie looked, which she always did to him, Stevie couldn't give his look more than thinking he looked better since the last time they'd seen each other. 
                          
"Are you going to let me in?" She asked at last and he stepped aside, opening the door wider. "Thanks."
                          
"What are you doing here?" He didn't sound mad, he just sounded tired.
                          
"I came to see you. I've missed you. Did you miss me?"
                          
Sighing... "You know the answer to that."
                          
"Then why haven't you called me or came to see me?"
                          
"You know why, too. Seriously, Stevie, if this is why you've come here for, then-"
                          
"No. I came here to spend time with you. I brought a bottle of wine with me, so, whether you like it or not - we're doing this. Get the corkscrew, please?"
                          
Seeing his jaw clench, she thought this was going to go downhill very quickly, but then... "Fine." And he went to the kitchen, after telling her to go to the living room and he'd be right there.
                          
Sitting down together, they didn't start talking right away, sipping their wine, until Stevie had had enough of the silence. "Seriously, you've got nothing to say to me? This feels like a really bad blind date."
                          
She wasn't expecting for him to laugh at that, but was glad she got something out of him. 
                          
 "It's not that I don't have anything to say anything to you, I don't want to talk to anybody." He said shrugging. "I'm just so fucking tired of my life lately that I don't want anything."
                          
"But it's not right, Linds. I know you're not having it easy right now, but you still have people who love you and care for you. It's sad seeing you fade away like this."
                          
"I'm not fading away, I'm only going through a shitty period of time."
                          
"Really? So, us being apart is just that? It's nothing to do with you fucking up my relationship with Mick, then you finding out about me and Dean?"
                          
"I don't want to talk about that." Having quickly downed his glass, he poured himself another one, seeing as Stevie's was only halfway empty. 
                          
"When are we going to talk about it? Because I hate being away from you. Lindsey, I love you so much and nothing is stopping us from being together now but us."
                          
"Aren't you sick of talking? I know I am."
                          
"But how else are we going to sort out our mess, Linds? Or are we just going to... to leave it like it is and move on, from each other?" It pained her to say that, but she wanted to get through to him. She had to before it seriously was too late.
                          
"I don't want to move on from you, I know that. I just..." He trailed off, turning to look at her. He reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. "I missed you, too." She realized he was changing the subject, but she didn't mind really, needing his touch after so long. "And I love you too, so much."
                          
"I understand you definitely do not want to talk right now about all of it, but please, just promise me this, okay? Promise me that we will be alright."
                          
"I promise." Lindsey said, pulling her closer. "I know what you're doing and thank you. One of us had to step up."
                          
"Maybe we should start from scratch." Stevie thought out loud.
                          
"What do you mean by that?"
                          
"Well, forget what our relationship has been up to this point and start again. Like, not just jump back into bed, you know, show each other how much we care, something we've clearly forgotten about altogether."
                          
"You want us to start from the first date as well?" Lindsey asked jokingly.
                          
"Why not?" 
                          
"Seriously?"
                          
"Yeah." Nodding, she looked up as he looked down at her. "I want to at least try and do this right for once." 
                          
Laughing lightly, Lindsey then asked. "So, what are you doing tomorrow night then?"