He wasn't sorry.
As he replayed his harsh words over in his head two days later Stevie has a moment's regret for the pain that he caused Mercedes but he still wasn't sorry that he did it. None of this was her fault—she was nothing more than collateral damage. He saw the way she looked at his brother and he saw the way Sam looked at her back. They were in love and he hated it. Why did The Golden Boy get to have everything? He was their mother's dying wish, he was their father's favorite, and now he had the love of a good woman.
It wasn't fair.
Stevie rubbed his thumb over the picture of his unborn son and he tried to feel something but he couldn't. He didn't want him. Children were messy, needy, and they sucked the life out of you and that was not something that he wanted for his life—ever. Sleeping with Quinn was nothing more than just a fuck you to his brother and he never expected anything to actually come out of it. Now he was stuck with a child that he didn't want and a crazy, clingy baby mama to go along with it. He could have gotten rid of Quinn with no problem if his fucking brother hadn't stepped in but as always Super Sam had to come along and save the day.
Stevie sighed as he tossed the sonogram on the coffee table. He was so damn tired of this seemingly endless mess. Quinn had been calling incessantly ever since she dropped off the sonogram demanding to know what he thought. His voicemail was full of messages from her that ranged from gently cajoling to frantically shrieking and everything in between. In one message she would be going on and on about their perfect life with their perfect little blonde-haired baby boy and then in the next she would be threatening to drag him to court the first chance she got before spilling her guts to the first publication that would listen. The message was clear, she wanted her happily ever after any way she could get it and Stevie was the poor bastard that she picked to be her Prince Charming. It didn't matter that he didn't want that kid or her. Quinn was desperate to feel complete and she decided that this 'family' was the thing that was going to do it. On some level Stevie could relate, he knew what that clawing desperation felt like when it seemed that everything you tried to accomplish ended up a failure. He knew what it felt like to be a constant disappointment. He knew what it felt like to have every bad decision and mistake tossed back in your face at every opportunity. He got it, he really did but just because he could relate didn't mean that he wanted to spend the rest of his life shackled to Quinn Fabray and a kid. He had a life to live and that life didn't include changing diapers or reading nursery rhymes.
He tried to do the 'right thing', so to speak, by giving Quinn money to take care of the problem when he first found out she was pregnant. Was it an asshole move? Probably, but in his honest opinion the kid would be better off never existing than having the two of them as parents. Now, it seemed that she was too far along to have an abortion which means that no matter what happened with the baby after the fact he would have a kid out in the world somewhere. He didn't want it. That's all it boiled down to for him. Some people had a soft spot when it came to kids, especially their own, but he felt absolutely nothing. There was nothing about the idea of becoming a father that appealed to him and he hated Quinn and his brother for trying to force him into it. Quinn, he could almost understand but for the life of him he couldn't get his brother's incessant need for him to step up and take care of something he never asked for in the first place. He thought if anybody was going to be on his side when it came to something involving Quinn Fabray it would be his Sam, but no, his traitorous brother chose the side of his cheating ex-fiancé and some kid that he'd never met. Stevie didn't know why he was surprised though, Sam never had his back so he didn't know why he was stupid enough to think he would start now. Sam never spoke up for him when their father berated him about any and everything that he could. As far as their father was concerned the sun shined out of Sam's ass and one word from him would have gotten their dad off of Stevie's back but he never said a word in defense of his brother.
Their mother died of cancer when Stevie was 14 and on her death bed she begged and begged for Sam but he was off at college and didn't make it back it time. Stevie sat by her bedside praying for her pain to go away and all she could do was worry about why Sam wasn't there. He was right there by her side the whole time and she never said she loved him and she never told him good-bye. All she did was moan for Sam over and over again until she could no longer speak.
That is when Stevie started to hate his brother.
After their mother's death Stevie needed someone to be there for him but he had no one. His dad allowed his grief to swallow him and he couldn't get past his own pain to help Stevie with his and as far as Sam went, he all but shut down after their mother died. He barely talked the entire time they were preparing for her funeral and the second she was in the ground he left and never looked back. Soon after that he met Quinn and just a few months later they were engaged to be married. The resentment that was festering inside of Stevie ever since their mother's passing only grew as he watched his brother go out and fall in love with some beautiful blonde and have some great life while he was stuck back at home with a father that ignored him unless it was time to tell him what a disappointment he was. That is why Stevie so greatly enjoyed watching his brother get humiliated on his wedding day. He had overheard the conversation between Quinn and her father where Quinn spilled the beans two days before the wedding about her pregnancy but he never said a word. He could have saved Sam the humiliation but as far as he was concerned his brother could have saved him so many times before but he never did so fair was fair. Sam's wedding day was one of the best days of Stevie's life. Outwardly he played the part of concerned brother but inwardly he reveled at the sight of his brother's devastation. In his mind on that day his brother experienced a fraction of the pain and humiliation that he had lived with his whole life. Stevie thoroughly enjoyed watching his brother suffer and he would never apologize for it.
He wasn't sorry.
As the years went on his resentment for his brother grew and grew but it came to a head after their father suddenly died. Stevie never mourned his father's death but then again he didn't have to. As far as he was concerned John Evans was a bastard and he was burning in hell somewhere and he couldn't be happier about it. All he wanted was the money and assets that he knew he was being willed so that he could go on his merry way. Unfortunately for him John Evans had other ideas. He left Sam almost everything, his money, the assets, the house in the country, the apartment in the city and a controlling share of the business. The only thing Stevie got was his own measly share in the business and a promise that if he worked at Evans and Evans Advertising until he was 30 then he would get full access to the millions in his trust fund. Sam had no such stipulations to abide by. For all intents and purposes Evans and Evans is his company and Stevie was just working there because he had to in order to get his money. Even in death his old man managed to screw him over one last time.
Every time Stevie had to report to work the resentment towards his brother grew a little bit more. Every time he had to answer to Sam or listen meekly while he berated him for not taking his job seriously it took everything in Stevie not to yell out how much he hated him. He wanted to be free of the overbearing presence of his brother. He wanted to be able to walk away from Sam Evans and never have to see his disgustingly perfect face anymore. He hated his brother.
And he wasn't even sorry about it.
He hoped that Sam would be too busy cleaning up his mess with Mercedes to pay any attention to what was going between him and Quinn. Drastic times called for drastic measures and he was going to get that bitch and that bastard child out of his life one way or the other. He only had a few more years slaving away at Evans and Evans before he would be free to collect his money and he would be damned before he spent any of it on some kid that he didn't want. Quinn could either take some money and go, or she could get kicked out on her ass with nothing, it didn't matter to Stevie. He didn't want that kid now and he wasn't going to want him later.
And he wasn't sorry about it.
Stevie got up from the couch and was headed towards the kitchen to make a drink when he heard a vicious pounding on his front door. He couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on his face because he knew exactly who had come to visit. Stevie took his sweet time ambling over to the front door and he swung it open with a large smile on his face.
"Hey, what's up bro?"
Stevie had expected an angry Sam what he didn't expect was the heavy fist driving into his nose. He stumbled back in surprise and grabbed his pounding nose. He blinked rapidly at the stars popping up in his eyes before focusing in on the impressively red face of his brother.
"Dude, what the fuck?"
"What did you say?" Sam growled in a low voice, "What the fuck did you say to Mercedes?"
"I don't know what you are talking about" Stevie lied, trying to buy some time as he backed away from his brother.
"You're lying! Mrs. Halbright said you were up in the office with Mercedes before she left upset, so what the fuck did you say to here?"
Stevie swiped his hand under his nose to wipe away some the blood flowing down his face as he glared at her brother.
"I did her a fucking favor! Mercedes deserves better than you and I helped her to realize it."
"No….Mercedes knows I love her, what the fuck could you have possibly said to make her doubt me?"
"Well…" Stevie said slyly as he walked over to his coffee table and picked up the sonogram and held it up for Sam to see. "I think you can thank Quinn's dumb ass for that one. She didn't clarify which Mr. Evans she was dropping off her little package for so my idiot assistant assumed it might be you. Mrs. Halbright picked it up and placed it on your desk and your nosy little Mercedes went and took a peek. Quinn wrote a nice little note about 'our' baby boy and she was even kind enough to come up with a name matching its Daddy's initials SEE—my initials. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess Mercedes doesn't know your middle name is James does she?"
Sam gravely shook his head no.
"Ah, I'm betting you wished that had that conversation now, aren't you?" Stevie wheezed out a small laugh before swiping at the blood continuing to drip out of his nose.
"What did you do Stevie?"
"Well, since it appeared that Miss Mercedes already jumped to the conclusion that this little one was yours I just helped it along a bit. It didn't take much effort but then again I guess I have your lies to thank for that."
"Fuck you Stevie, why would you do that to her?"
"Who gives a shit about Mercedes? This wasn't about her! This was about you! You did this to her, not me. I told you to back the fuck off, I begged you to leave good enough alone but you wouldn't listen. Now you have to pay the piper. If you are so worried about the well-being of Quinn and that kid then you fucking take care of them because I'm not doing it. As far as Mercedes is concerned she'll be fine, she'll dust herself off and bounce back from this stronger than ever."
"She's gone." Sam said quietly, so quietly that Stevie almost didn't hear him.
"What?"
"She left…she was supposed to be moving to a new apartment but she never signed her new lease but she's gone from her old place."
"So?"
"So?" Sam's angry eyes snapped up to meet Stevie's nonchalant ones, "SO? SHE FUCKING LEFT TOWN! I don't know where she is, I don't know where she's going and her fucking best friend won't tell me anything."
At the end of Sam's angry response Stevie started to laugh, he couldn't help it, this was all working out better than he ever imagined.
"What the fuck are you laughing at?" Sam snapped.
"I'm laughing at you. Jesus, when did you become so fucking pathetic?"
"I'm the pathetic one? You're the spineless bastard that won't claim his child. YOU are the one who has to play puppet master with innocent people's lives because of some stupid ass grudge you have against me. You would hurt someone like Mercedes because you're too much of a fucking pussy to come at me head on."
Stevie's laughter quickly died away at Sam's harsh words and his eyes narrowed before he spat out, "I'm not afraid of you Sam."
"Yes you are. You're nothing but a little bitch and you always have been. That's why Mom couldn't be bothered with you and why Dad didn't believe in you. He knew you weren't worth shit back then and he knew you wouldn't be worth shit now."
"Take that back." Stevie growled as he felt tears prick his eyes, "take back what you said right now."
"Fuck you," Sam replied coldly, "I meant every word."
Stevie looked into the cold eyes of his brother's and he knew Sam was right, he was afraid. He underestimated his brother's feelings for Mercedes and now he was going to pay for it—dearly. That festering resentment was only getting worse but he knew that he had to fix the situation now before Sam ruined him.
"Look, I can fix this. Let me get in touch with Mercedes and I'll— "
"You're done." Sam snapped.
"What? Done with what?"
"With everything. With me, the business… everything."
"I don't understand."
"You're not my fucking brother anymore, do you understand that? You're out of the business, I'll have the papers drawn up by the end of the week."
"But my inheritanc—"
"You will get the fraction of the inheritance that you've earned from working at the business for the last few years but the rest will be put into a trust fund set up for your child."
Stevie stared at him in shock, "You can't do that!"
"Actually I can. Dad put me in charge of everything for a reason, he knew your sorry ass couldn't be trusted. You were such an important part of the business because I chose to let you be a part. I was hoping that you would have learned some responsibility and some pride for your family legacy along the way but it's clear that's a lost cause. I'm done with you Stevie, I forgiven you for a lot but I will never forgive you for making Mercedes cry."
"Fuck that bitch," Stevie replied coldly seconds before Sam's fist was flying back towards his face. The earlier blow seemed like a love tap compared to the pain that exploded through his face from the second blow. Sam sent another crushing punch straight into Stevie's gut that had him wheezing for air and he staggered back and fell against the couch.
"You're nothing to me and I never want to see you again." Sam said coldly as he hovered over Stevie's crumpled body, "And stay away from Quinn and the baby too. I won't allow you to fuck my nephew up. Goodbye, Stevie."
With those parting words Sam walked out of the apartment and Stevie knew that he was walking out of his life for good. At one time the thought of never seeing his brother again would have made him elated but now it just filled him with a gnawing emptiness. Because of some petty bitterness that he couldn't let go of he had lost everything. He had lost his past and his future in the blink of an eye. As Stevie let that sink in dry heaving sobs overtook his body as he clutched his stomach and whispered brokenly over and over again,
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm so sorry."
A/N: I felt we needed to find out why Stevie was so fucked up, but don't worry Sam's POV is next and it's going to pick up with him in LA before he finds out about Mercedes leaving. Barring any major complications it will be up within the next few days.