Half Past Five.

Chapter Sixteen: The Confrontation

Steve's leaning against the wall when she enters into the house. She's just dropped Billy off, and was now returning home after their day off. But when she sees the expression on Steve's face, she immediately knows something is wrong.

“Where were you?” He counters, his arms folded and an angry demeanor portraying in his body language. Elijah's thinking of excuses, when all of a sudden, “Did you enjoy your day off with Billy?”

Elijah fumbles over her words, completely taken aback by him. How on earth does Steve know?

“What do you mean, I—”

“Cut the bullshit.” He rolls his eyes, scoffing at her audacity to try and excuse herself from the situation she wound up in. “How goddamn stupid do you think I am, Elijah? Am I a joke to you?”

“Steve, come on. It's not like that! I don't think that at all—”

“Oh really? You expect me to believe that, when you've been lying to me for over a month?” She closes her gaping mouth, having nothing to counter him with. Because Steve wasn't wrong. She hasn't been truthful with him. “Sneaking behind my back, driving Max and Billy anywhere they please, on my account? Getting my girlfriend to cover for you? Involving Eddie in this all, when you know damn well how he feels about you, how he's always felt!” Steve recoils, Elijah stopping dead in her tracks.

She get where Steve's coming from, she understands his frustration. Hell, she's frustrated with herself even, she can just imagine how Steve's feeling.

But literally where did he get all of this from?

“So what? You're going to say nothing? I literally trust you with everything that I do, never have I done anything without considering you. And what do you do? You lie to me, like it's a second nature. Force of habit. God, I don't even want to know what else you're keeping from me.”

“Steve it's not like that—”

“Then what's it like? Tell me what it is like. Because you obviously don't trust me enough to involve me in your life, Elijah. You made that very clear.” He stares at her, Elijah feeling very small under his gaze. His words hit with force and velocity, repeatedly. She feels a prickly sensation in her cheeks and in her eyes, almost like she wants to start crying.

“I was scared, Steve. You've never approved of Billy, and I was afraid of how you'd react. I was afraid of this!” She exclaims, referring to the case they've wound up in.

“No, you know you're lying now. Because I'm not mad about Billy, Elijah. I'm mad that you kept it from me. That you'd rather tell Eddie what was happening, instead of telling me. I'm mad that you asked Nancy to cover for you, time after time again. I'm mad that you don't trust me!” Steve yells at her, his voice at an octave which she's never heard before, not directed at her at least.

This was Steve's 'Miranda-voice'. The voice he'd use when he yelled at their mother for abandoning them, for leaving them to roam for months on end, whilst she was busy working. Because that's what it always came down to, work.

“I wanted to tell you—”

“But you didn't, did you? You lied, time and time again.” He takes a breather, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he tries to regain his spiraling temper. “You know who called today? The goddamn autoshop. They asked if I could please inform a Ms Harrington that her ignition cable was delivered this morning, and that she could pick it up. I warned you about Billy, I warned you that you were gonna have to clean up this mess, but once again, you do not listen!”

And all of a sudden, everything came together.

That's how Steve found out about it all, because this was the catalyst. This was their own ignition cable, setting everything aflame, starting this whole argument. The fucking phone call Steve got, that she absent-mindedly placed right in front of him on a pedestal. She can't believe she was so stupid.