Disclaimer: I don't own Passions or any of the characters that you recognize.
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"Did you think I wouldn't find out? You stupid bitch. You will pay for your betrayal!" He took several photographs from his pocket and shoved them in Theresa's face.
She gasped when she saw Greg's mutilated body. "You killed him, you bastard!"
"Just wait 'til you see what I have planned for you."
Theresa screamed when she saw the knife. Joshua raised it in the air and brought it down. She tried to fight back but he was too strong. He brought the knife to her throat and made the fatal slice.
Theresa bolted up in bed. She was drenched with sweat and panting from fear. She was crying when she heard someone tap on her bedroom door. "Who is it?"
"It's Fox. Pilar told me that you went to your bedroom after you got back from seeing Miguel. I just wanted to check on you."
"Ok." She really didn't want to see anybody right now, but Fox opened her door and sat down on her bed. The concern in his eyes made her cry even harder. "It's just not fair."
He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it ever so gently. "Shh, don't cry. Miguel will get better, you'll see. Especially now that his entire family is here to support him."
"Fox how can you be so optimistic about life? The last several years of my life have shown me that the world is a cruel place. I mean, men tell you that they love you but once you do something to disappoint them; they hurt you in unimaginable ways. Gregory was the only man to love me in spite of my flaws but he died. I hate Ethan. He strung me along for a long time. Then there's Joshua . . ." Theresa stopped when she realized what she had just said.
"Who is Joshua?" Fox asked hoping that Theresa would open up to him. "How did he hurt you?"
"He's nobody."
Fox had grown restless. "Damn it Theresa. Don't lie to me. Don't push me away. Your family may be blind to your pain because they have so many other things on their minds, but I can see through you. You need to tell someone what this Joshua Dersky did to you."
Fox's anger scared her, but the name Dersky was what caused her to tremble. "H-How did you k-know his last n-name?"
"I did some research while you went to see Miguel. Theresa, he killed someone that you loved. He couldn't stand the fact that you had found someone new. Is that why you are afraid to let me in?"
"We were in love once. At least I think I loved him. But he hurt me so much more than you think."
"Then tell me. I won't judge you, I promise."
"He was good to me until . . ."
"Until you had an affair with Gregory?"
"Is that the kind of person you think I am? Some tramp who decided to cheat on my husband? Guess again. He stopped being my husband a long time before that. He beat me, Fox." Theresa lifted up her shirt and showed Fox her back. "One night Joshua came home in a bad mood. He was angry that I didn't have dinner ready for him. He took the chain off of our fence and whipped me. The sad thing is I blamed myself and forgave him. I did that every single time he hit me." She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. "Look at me, crying over the past."
Fox took her shoulders in his hands and looked into her eyes. "You don't need to be strong for me. In fact, I want to be your shoulder to cry on, the person you come to when you feel vulnerable, no matter what time it is okay."
She looked at him and nodded. She started to cry harder and buried her face in his chest until she had no more tears left in her.