"Stevie...Stevie, please!" The man called after her. She could hear his shoes hitting the floor behind her.  His steps were heavy and she could tell he was getting close. She reached a dead end and turned around.

"Why did it have to be you?" she said under her breath, turning around to face him. She wiped her tears, he didn't deserve to see her cry.

"What?"

"Let me guess, you're the hard to work with but incredible guitarist, right?"

"Uh...I guess so." His blue eyes looked down at her, as if right through her soul and it made her terribly uncomfortable.

"I can't believe this! I wonder if Robin knew."

"You're still friends with her?" he asked.

"Yeah, of course. She's my best friend. We live together...I don't know why I'm telling you."

"Even though she and I butt heads, I know she always has your best interest at heart. If she has anything to do with you being here..."

"She knows Alex...dammit" She kept catching herself telling him things. It frustrated her.

"She wouldn't have suggested you come if she knew I was here. I can tell you that much."

He was right and she hated it. "Well, I won't be coming back."

"And why not?"

"Do you really have to ask, Lindsey? Are you really that stupid?" She gave him an awful look and he made a space for her to walk back up the hallway. She needed time to think, to make peace with the way she felt. She went back into the rehearsal space and grabbed her bag and book.

"Hey, where are you going?" Alex asked.

"I met your guitarist."

"I know he's hard to like but--"

"Hard to like? He's the reason I left California to begin with!"

"Stevie..." His eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief. "If I had known--"

"Don't worry. I know it's not your fault. Never in a million years did I think I would see him again." Stevie moved toward the door.

"I'll hire a new guitarist. I'll keep him away from you." he called out.

She pushed past Lindsey who had followed her back. "Stevie, don't go."

"What motivation do I have to stay, Lindsey? Why the fuck would I want to be near you after all you've done?"

"I was an idiot"

She scoffed. "You can say that again."

"I was wrong. I was young and--"

"You seem to forget, so was I."

"You're a better person than I am."

Stevie turned to face him, even more angry than before. "Let's not start this 'woe is me' bullshit. I'm not going to pity you. I worked my ass off to support us while you worked on your music. I cooked for you, mended your clothes, did your laundry, loved you..."

"I know."

"No, you don't know. We could have had everything but instead you fucked me over by finding some cheap wannabe fucking groupie and touring without me. You left me, Lindsey, you left us, without a second thought! I trusted you, I thought you'd tour a little and we would have more money to raise our baby, then we could make another record, just the two of us."

"I..."

"For once this isn't about you! Never once did you call me or try to come to Phoenix. Almost five years, Lindsey! Five fucking years! I was stupid enough to wait for you for a while. I had no money but I tried my best to hold onto that apartment, work those jobs because I thought when you came back, you'd know where to go. When, When you came back!" she said, shaking her head, a filthy look twisting her beautiful features. Lindsey could only imagine what she was saying about him in her head that she kept to herself. "I was such a fool! You never wanted any of it, did you Lindsey? A home, a family, it was all a lie. You just wanted a puppet, someone you could order around, someone to boost your self esteem. It's bullshit, Lindsey! And I fell for it!" Lindsey listened to her tirade, crossing his arms after several long minutes of yelling. The moment she paused to take a breath, he interjected.

"Are you done?" He raised his eyebrow and her eyes flashed with anger making him back up slowly.

Stevie made her way out the front door. She had all the things she came with...except the car she arrived in. The realization hit her that she had no way of leaving. She sat on the pavement, biting her lip to stop herself from crying. She looked up and there was her curly haired ghost from the past, standing beside her. "Can I sit?"

"Free country" she said with a sniffle.

"Listen, I know I've made a lot of mistakes and I know you're mad at me. You have every right to be. You have every right to never want to talk to me or see me again." Silence followed and he continued to sit there, knowing no words would come. "I know it doesn't make up for anything but can I at least give you a ride home so you don't have to stare at me until a car magically appears?" He smiled but it faded as she stood up. "Is that a yes?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm tired and I want to get out of here. What choice do I have?"

Lindsey led her to his car and she gave him directions to the house. She got out on her own, not waiting for him to open the door like he wanted. She rushed to the front door and Lindsey watched from the driver's seat. The door swung open and a little girl with curly blonde hair ran out to meet her. Stevie knelt down and stroked her face. The little girl crushed her in a hug and a smile spread across Stevie's face. Lindsey smiled softly, starting off down the road, his eyes fixed on the two figures growing smaller in the rear view mirror.