Stevie smiles over at Lindsey, squeezing his hand under the table. Her mother insisted on at least one family dinner while they were visiting, and tonight worked for everyone. Lindsey seems a little on edge, and Stevie has been trying to get him to talk to her all night. So far, she's been unsuccessful, and he's still being short with everyone.
"Daddy," Jade says, leaning across Stevie's lap to talk to him. "Will you play Clue with us after dinner?"
"Sure, Bug," He nods, smiling at her. She beams, sitting upright in her chair. Stevie nudges his leg with her knee, setting her napkin on the table. They've been done eating for a while, just sitting around the table talking.
"Come with me for a second?" She asks, nodding towards the living room. He sighs, excusing himself from the table and trailing after her. She's sitting on the landing of the stairs, waiting for him.
"What?" He asks, sitting beside her.
"Don't snap at me," She hisses, crossing her arms. "Something is up, Linds. You're acting like an asshole to my parents, which you never do. What's wrong?"
He sighs, dropping his head into his hands. "Nothing."
"Fine," She huffs. "Be like that. You're the one who went on that long rant about communication, but if you don't want to talk, we won't talk."
She starts to get up, but his hand shoots out and grabs her wrist. He shakes his head, looking up at her.
"I'm sorry. Sit down."
She rolls her eyes, swatting his hand away and crossing her arms.
"Carol won't leave."
"What do you mean she won't leave?" She asks, eyes narrowing.
"She won't leave. She's refusing to move out, and I don't know what to do."
"Call the cops, Lindsey! She doesn't own the house, you do."
"I know that! She says she won't leave until I go over there and talk to her, and I don't really want to do that," He says, rubbing his temples to ward off the incoming headache. Stevie sighs, her stomach cramping at the mere mention of Carol's name.
"Well, what possible explanation could she need? You broke up with her, moving out is kind of self explanatory, isn't it?"
Lindsey cringes, and Stevie's brows shoot up. "You did break up with her, didn't you?"
"I thought she would get the point when I told her to move out."
"Lindsey! You didn't break up with her? Jesus Christ, no wonder she's not leaving! You can't just assume someone knows you broke up with them!" She rants, shoving his arm away when he tries to reach for her. "You have to go talk to her."
"I know, I know," He sighs. "I just really don't want to deal with her."
"Too bad! She doesn't know you're broken up!"
Lindsey drops his head into his hand, sighing heavily.
"Do it tonight. I don't want to see you again until she's gone," Stevie says, brushing past him on her way down the stairs. He sighs again, rubbing a hand down his face. He has no other choice. He can't even argue with her, because she's right.
"Where's Daddy going?" Jade asks, watching Lindsey storm out the front door.
"He has a meeting," Stevie says, earning a harsh side-eyed look from Lori. "He'll be back later."
Jade shrugs, skipping off to the living room, where Barbara and Christopher are setting up the board game. Lori gives Stevie a look, dragging her into the kitchen.
"What the hell is going on?" She demands, pouring them fresh glasses of wine.
Stevie sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "He never broke up with her."
"What?" Lori gasps. "Bastard."
"He just assumed that she'd get the message by kicking her out."
"Idiot," Lori scoffs, shaking her head. "What did he think would happen?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Stevie says, sitting on a barstool at the kitchen island.
"Are you worried about him going over there?"
"No. It's his house," Stevie shrugs.
"I know it's his house, but are you worried about him going to see her?"
"Should I be?"
"I don't know," Lori shrugs.
"He loves me, Lori. It's serious this time."
"Okay."
"What? Say what you want to say," Stevie says, reading Lori's expression. She braces herself for what's coming next.
"Just... he's said that before," Lori says softly.
"It's whatever," Stevie shrugs, trying not to let her see how devastated that just made her. "I can live without him."
"Oh, honey," Lori frowns, rubbing Stevie's arm. "No, you can't."
Stevie blinks at her, her heart dropping to the pit of her stomach. "Lori, stay out of it."
"Okay," She nods, holding up her hand in surrender. "Alright."
Stevie downs her wine in two gulps, setting the glass down a little more forcefully than she intended. She's only half paying attention to the game, replaying Lori's words over and over. Her mind is racing, thinking over all the possibilities. Would he really leave her? Would she be able to live with it if he chose Carol over her? Would she ever be able to look him in the face again if he did? Could she ever get over that pain?
She's still distracted when she tucks Jade into bed and reads her a story. She's on autopilot as she showers and gets dressed, wandering back downstairs to sit on the couch. She has to know if he's coming back tonight.
It's closing in on midnight when she hears the lock turning on the front door. She sits up, looking towards the entrance hall. Lindsey trudges in, looking like he's just gone ten rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali. And lost.
"Jesus Christ, what happened?" She asks, standing when he steps into the light and she can clearly see the cut on his cheek.
He shrugs, sighing heavily. "She's gone. She was pissed. She threw things and slapped me and screamed in my face, and then she left. I spent a few hours packing up her shit and then left it in the entryway and told Richard not to let her past the kitchen if she came back for it."
He slumps down onto the couch, dropping his head back onto the cushions. She perches on the arm of the couch next to him, cupping his face and stroking her thumb along his jaw.
"What do you need?" She asks. He shrugs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I don't know. I think I'm gonna drive around for a while," He says, fishing his keys out of his pocket.
"Okay. Be careful, please," She says, wrapping her arm around his neck, standing on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. He nods, holding her against him for a moment before stepping back.
"I don't know how late I'll be, so..."
She nods, squeezing his arm. "Come to bed whenever you're ready."
He leans down to kiss her once more before he turns around and leaves. She sighs, dropping her face into her hands and shaking her head. She'll give him whatever time he needs, but she can't shake the anxiety she felt earlier.
Was he telling her the truth?
