Start Again

Part 37

Stevie desperately needed to get away from Eliot. As she made her way back downstairs, she took in a couple deep breaths to calm herself down. She wondered if anyone heard them fighting and if they did, she'd be embarrassed on top of everything else she was currently feeling.

The house seemed empty, so Stevie assumed that everyone was still in the backyard. The closer she was to the party, which had migrated to the patio, the louder the voices grew and she stopped, sure she'd heard her name.

"That was so dramatic." Diane said to someone. "I told you, didn't I? I knew she'd disrupt our peaceful lives."

"Well, it's not really Stevie's fault, mom." Lawrence replied. "It was Eliot, who kept a pretty big secret to himself. Honestly, I just assumed she knew. I wouldn't have invited Samantha."

"Samantha has nothing to do with this." Diane sounded stern. "She loved your brother, she worshiped the ground he walked on. Eliot should have tried harder to make their marriage work. I'm sure they could still make it work if he really wanted to."

"They've been divorced for three years." Lawrence sighed. "They clearly had issues, you don't know half of them."

"Oh, and you do?" Diane scoffed. "You're such a smart man, Lawrence, you should have talked some sense into your brother."

"What was I supposed to say!" His voice grew louder. "I couldn't force him to fall back in love with Samantha. Seriously, mom, this is none of our business. Eliot has found someone else. You can tell by just looking at them that he cares about Stevie a lot. Why can't you let them be happy?"

"I don't like her, not one bit." Diane added and Lawrence exhaled heavily. "What life are they going to have together? She's an artist." Diane emphasized as if mocking Stevie. "And you know how they are. She still works with two of her ex-boyfriend's, you know that? How can-"

Stevie couldn't handle listening to much more, but she wasn't going to pretend that she wasn't close by either. She cleared her throat loudly as she stepped outside and paid absolutely no attention to Eliot's brother and mother. She spotted Luke and went straight to her son.

"Hi, baby." Stevie forced a smile. "Are you having fun?"

"Not really." Luke shrugged, shaking his head. "I was, when Eliza was here, but she had to leave."

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart." Stevie hugged the boy around the shoulders and pressed a kiss to his curls. "Mommy's not having a lot of fun either." She whispered.

Luke's ears instantly perked up. "Do we have to stay? Can we go home?" Stevie thought about it for a moment and her mind went straight to Lindsey. She could call him... "Maybe dad could come pick us up?" Luke asked as if knowing exactly what she was thinking.