Stevie reached for her gym bag, which she'd tossed on the backseat, she then took the key out of ignition and opened the car door. She made her way to the front door of her home, taking her sunglasses off, she rested them on top of her head. Before she could unlock the door, it opened for her and her now 19-year-old son came out, rushing past her.
"Hey!" Stevie called out. "Not even a hello?"
"I'm sorry." Dylan stopped and ran back up to his mother. "Hello." He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye!"
"Where are you rushing off to?" Stevie asked, watching her son jog to his car.
"I'm meeting a couple of friends." Dylan replied impatiently. "Mom, I'm running late."
"Fine." She sighed. "Don't get into any trouble!" She warned as he shut the driver's side door.
Entering the house, Stevie noticed that it was quiet, which likely meant that her older daughter was nowhere around either. She dropped her things by the door for the time being and kicked off her shoes.
"Hey, Shelly." Stevie smiled at the babysitter, who was descending the stairs.
"Hi." The young girl smiled back. "Lily's napping. I just checked up on her."
"Good." Stevie nodded and pulled out her wallet from her purse. "I don't expect to be leaving again today, so you're free to go. How much trouble was that tiny devil today?"
Shelly laughed lightly, shaking her head. "She was an angel."
"She seems to be with everyone except me." Stevie handed her a couple of bills.
"Oh, your husb- Mr. Horne came by." Shelly corrected herself.
"What the hell for?" Stevie's demeanor changed at the mention of his name. "Was he looking for me?"
"Yes. He said, he'll call." Shelly shrugged.
"Yeah, well, I wish he wouldn't." Stevie sighed, opening the door for the babysitter, who seemed to have become rather uncomfortable. "Thanks again."
"No problem." Shelly waved it off with a smile. "Call me anytime."
With a nod of her head and a slightly forced smile, Stevie shut the door, once the girl was out. Her smile faded and she breathed out heavily. Mr. Horne came by, well, she didn't want to see or talk to him. Mr. Horne had made his choices and Stevie wished he would just let her be.
Before Stevie could move on with her day, her phone started ringing and she gritted her teeth. She didn't want to answer, but knowing Michael, he was going to try until she'd eventually pick up.
"What?"
"Hello to you, too."
"Hi." Stevie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What do you want?"
"You don't have to be so hostile." Michael said, she didn't respond. "I had some boxes left unpacked and I've found a couple of things that belong to you."
"Why didn't you bring them over, when you came by today?" Stevie asked, rolling her eyes.
"Clearly I should have. I didn't think this was going to be such a huge deal." Michael no longer sounded all that pleasant. "You weren't there, Stevie, I didn't want to leave your things with a stranger."
"She's not a stranger. Besides, Dylan was here, too."
"Yeah, well, he didn't seem to care enough to leave his room for a hello."
Completely over with their conversation, Stevie said. "I'll be home for the rest of the day."
"I'll see you later then." Michael replied. He didn't get to say, goodbye, before Stevie hung up on him.
