Straight Back

There is no us

Stevie was nervous when the car pulled up in front of Kim's house. Things hadn't been ideal when they had talked on the phone. Yes, she understood why he was angry. What she couldn't was that he didn't seem to understand that the idea of them marrying had been a bad one. The moment she had heard Lindsey telling her that he still loved her, not even expecting her to run back to him, she had known that Kim and she weren't destined to be. Or if they had been destined to be something, then it would have been destined to fail. Stevie knew now that there was never going to be a man who would ever be able to take Lindsey's place. And she was so tired of trying.

Good thing was that she didn't need to try and find some replacement anymore. She was very happy to have the original thing back. This thought in mind, just as the one that he had called her just before she had left the studio, telling her he would wait for her, she smiled, got out of the car, and made her way to the front door.

"Wow. You seem to plan on staying long."

Kim wasn't even greeting her when seeing that the car was still in his driveway. Stevie had told the driver to wait, not knowing how long this might take. Nevertheless he invited her in, leading her into the living room where they settled down. Stevie making sure to leave some space between them.

"Kim, please... I'm not here to fight." Stevie reassured him. "I had quite a long day in the studio and tomorrow will be worse, since I was absolutely no use today."

"I can't believe you're already back to recording."

He couldn't understand that. Not when she had wanted to marry him four months ago and be a mother to his son.

"Do you think that this would have changed?" She asked.

"Didn't you tell me that you wanted to take care of Matthew as if he was your own child?"

"I would have. And if you still let me be in his life, I will take care of him. I didn't only promise this to you and Matt, but also to Robin." Stevie told him softly. "But this is my job. I am a singer and songwriter. If I was a teacher I would be working now as well. It's just a different kind of job."

"A job in which you can just take off as much time as you want to." He said.

"You see, I don't want to take off time. I need this right now. I need to work, I know that I will just go insane if I don't." She explained. "Kim, if Lindsey and I will have kids, they won..."

"You and Buckingham are back together?"

"I don't think that it matters right now, but yes." Stevie nodded. "Lindsey and I are back together. For about a month."

"Ever since you ran away from us."

"I didn't run from us. There is no us. And honestly, what did you expect? That we live happily ever after? That you actually love me?"

She saw him frown, and knowing him for quite some time now, she knew that she was asking the right questions to make him see. Only that he didn't want to hear them.

"Kim, did you think that I would ever be able to replace Robin?"

"I never thought..."

"You did. But there's no one that can replace her. Not even I." Stevie interrupted him, screaming at him. "You have to accept that she's not coming back. As much as it sucks, but she's gone."

He broke down, after her words had hit. Stevie had spoken about what he had tried to ignore for the longest time. His wife was gone. And no matter how much Robin and Stevie had been alike, Stevie had been right. She wasn't Robin, and neither could she replace her.

She went to him, trying to sooth him. But it didn't really work. She was still grieving too much as well as that she would have been able to. So they just held onto each other, crying.

It was late when Stevie made her way back to Lindsey. But she had achieved what she had wanted from this talk. They had talked about how they would go on from now. She was still see them, but she had also told him that maybe it would be wiser if he moved back to his hometown and family. She couldn't be what he had wanted her to be.