Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Theresa had just finished her assignment from Ivy. Four more days and she would be eighteen years old, It was kind of scary that she would be an adult. She had decided to stay home for a year to save up and then go to college. She just wasn't ready to be out on her own, anyway all the colleges she wanted to go to were out of state, and that meant away from Ethan. She knew it was completely stupid not to go to college because of a guy, but Ethan couldn't help being part of it. "What am I going to do?" she asked herself as she closed the laptop and sat back with a yawn.
"What are you going to do about what?" asked Ethan walking into the room with that smile that she loved so much but could never possess.
"Ethan, umm...I-I was talking about college," that was mostly right, she just left out the part about him, she hated lying to him.
"College? Well if you want my mother to give a recommendation I'm sure she would be happy to," said Ethan.
'I didn't even consider Theresa would be leaving, what am I going do?' he asked himself. For some reason he couldn't imagine seeing Theresa's bright smile or her beautiful eyes.
"No, that's not it, I'm not going to college this year. I need to save up for an apartment, I want to go to college in New York and I want my own apartment there."
"Great!" exclaimed Ethan without even thinking, she was staying!
"What's great?"
"That you are saving up for your future, it's admirable, sometimes I forget that other people haven't had the life that I've had, sometimes I wish that I could just be normal and do everything that other people, like working to become someone instead of being born into it."
"Sometimes I wish that my life was the total opposite of how it is now but Fate has it's reasons, maybe we're who we are for a reason."
"Maybe."
"Well I have to get home," said Theresa standing up and grabbing her bag, silently hoping that he would tell her he loved her. Oh she knew it was pointless but there was always a small pinprick of hope in the most utter darkness.
"Do you need a ride?" he asked and she smiled at him, there was always hope.
"Sure, thanks."
"I'll have Charles drive you."
"Actually I think a nice walk would be just great," said Theresa taking her bag and walking out of the room, after all what did she expect, that Ethan would actually want to drive her home, she was just his mother' assistant, nothing to him but a middle-class teenage girl that he could never love. She admonished herself all the way down to the driveway. She was hopeless.
Ethan stood in the living room where Theresa had just been. "What did I do?" he asked himself. He walked up to his room and sat down on his bed, he needed to talk to Gwen, the love of his life, who was in New York, so he dialed her number.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Gwen. It's Ethan," he said laying back on the bed.
"Hi honey, I miss you so much!" said Gwen over the phone.
"I miss you too. I was wondering if you could come home."
"Ethan we discussed this already. I'll be back in two and a half weeks."
"I'll come up there then," said Ethan defiantly.
"And leave poor Theresa with all of the work for our wedding? You have to stay and help her."
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," said Ethan.
"Ethan, Theresa has been wonderful she has planned the whole wedding. I feel like it's more hers than mine already. If you left her to do the rest alone I would feel horrible."
Ethan sighed and sat up, he wanted to be with Gwen, the woman he loved, his soon to be wife. "Okay, Gwen. I love you."
"I love you too, Ethan."
"Bye."
"Bye," and she hung up.
Ethan layed back down on his bed he was so restless lately, he reasoned it was because he was finally going to get married to the woman he loved and spend the rest of his life with her, he closed his eyes and he saw someone else. "Theresa, Theresa, Theresa," he said out loud, "Get out of my head!"
"Ethan, dear, What's wrong?" asked Ivy from the doorway.
Ethan sat up abruptly, "Nothing."
"I heard you in here talking to yourself. Why are you thinking about Theresa?"
"Because Father and Chad are planting ideas in my head about her," said Ethan glumly.
"Julian I can understand, but Chad? Are you sure he just sees something you can't right now?"
"Mother, that's absurd. I love Gwen."
"Well Ethan, maybe you do. But if you...have feelings...for Theresa don't ignore them because you may never ever get those feelings back and you will regret it forever. Julian and Alistair would be outraged but you have to do what makes you happy. Am I making any sense?" asked Ivy toying with her locket.
"Yes you are, but what I feel for Theresa is nothing more than friendship and I know in my heart that Gwen is the woman I'm destined for, but thank you mother, for the advice."
"You're welcome darling. Goodnight."
Theresa sat at her dresser brushing her hair and looking into the mirror and trying to imagine herself as Theresa Crane, it had been so easy before, she could see herself with pearls and diamonds wearing beautiful white silk dresses but now all she saw was her reflection. She got up, turned off her light, and hopped into bed. Maybe there was no hope left for her dreams, but with no hope life suddenly seemed very dismal.