Disclaimer: Really? We're 53 chapters in. Haven't I disclaimed enough? :D


Chapter Fifty-Three: "Misery Loves Company"

"Theresa, please wait!" Ethan called after her.

She continued walking away from him.

"Please, Theresa."

Angrily, she spun around. "What do you want from me, Ethan? Why can't you just go?"

"Because I can't leave this alone."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I think we can leave this one alone. I'm done, Ethan. Do you hear me? Done." With that, she continued walking, making her way to the bar.

"Tequila," she said to the bartender.

Ethan was fast on her trail. "I didn't know you drank the hard stuff," he said as he observed her.

Truth be told, she rarely drank alcohol, let alone hard liquor. Of course, she wasn't going to let him know that. Squaring her shoulders, she replied coolly, "Apparently, there's a lot about me that you don't know."

"Then tell me, Theresa."

"It's not worth it anymore," she replied harshly.

"Then please listen to me. Theresa, I was wrong."

She nearly choked as the alcohol slid down her burning throat. "What?"

"I was wrong. So wrong! I never should have doubted you or spoken to you the way I did. I should have trusted you."

"Then why couldn't you? Why couldn't you, just once, believe in me?"

"I-I know I should have. I was just caught so unaware. For months, Andrew has been talking about a woman he was crazy about. He painted a rather vivid picture." That was an understatement. Andrew had taken every opportunity to describe his relationship, supplying more details than Ethan even cared to know. "And when I saw you with him…." His voice trailed off.

Ethan shuddered. He still remembered how it felt as though the world were crashing in around him when he saw his Resa walk in the restaurant with Andrew. When he thought of his brother holding her, kissing her, touching her….it was a crushing blow. And for those brief instants when he thought that Theresa had willingly gone along with Andrew's dinner scheme, Ethan thought his heart might stop.

Theresa felt her own heart lurch. She remembered the hurt on Ethan's face; the shock, the disappointment, the raw emotions, the pain. If he'd only believed in her instead of listening to his brother or jumping to conclusions!

No. Sorry wasn't good enough.

She was tired of the roller coaster.

She was tired of always feeling as though she was under suspicion for something….something that she couldn't even put her finger on.

She was just tired.

Lifting her hand, she said quietly, "I-I can't listen to this right now."

Defeated, Ethan watched as she turned away from him once again. This time, he did not follow.


"I still can't believe you would bring him here," Whitney said, arms crossed, glaring at Chad.

Chad shrugged nonchalantly. He knew that Whitney was going to be upset with him. He'd been prepared. "Well, Brazen is a public place. There's nothin' wrong with Ethan bein' here."

"Nothing wrong? Nothing wrong? You do know what he did to Theresa tonight, don't you?"

"I know, Whit. I know."

"Then how can you be so calm about it? What on earth possessed you to take it upon yourself to bring him here just so that he can make her even more miserable?"

"Maybe it's 'cause misery loves company," Chad replied with a grin.

"That's not funny, and your attempt, might I add lame attempt, at humor is not going to cause me to change this subject. Theresa needs distance from Ethan Crane. She does not need that man breathing down her neck."

"Whitney, what makes you think you're such an expert when it comes to love? What makes you think you know what Ethan and Theresa need?"

"I know that if you love someone, you don't treat that person the way Ethan treated Theresa tonight."

"It's the people that we love who have the ability to hurt us the most. You know what I'm sayin'? That's one of the chances you gotta take. It's like takin' the bad with the good. But we know better than anyone else just how good love can be."

"It's not the same, Chad. It's not the same at all! Ethan doesn't even have any business being near Theresa in the first place. He is a married man."

Chad shook his head. "He shoulda never married Gwen."

"That's not for you to say," Whitney shot back.

Chad's eyebrows shot up. "Has either Ethan or Theresa been happy without each other?"

"Theresa was happy with Chuck. There is no doubt in my mind about that."

"But in the back of her mind, there was always Ethan. Same thing with Ethan. Sure, he's tried to make a go of his marriage. He's tried to do right by Gwen, but he's never been able to get Theresa out of his system."

"But don't you understand, Chad? Ethan and Theresa are destructive to one another. They're like…." She paused, searching for the right words. "….gasoline and fire. Sure, without a doubt, the chemistry is there. Yet if you light that gasoline, the explosion is likely to incinerate everything in its path. That's why I think that Theresa and Ethan don't need to be anywhere near each other. They are destructive."

"Nah, Whit. They ain't. In fact, I'm gonna prove it to you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see," Chad replied cryptically.


Theresa sat in a corner table and could still feel Ethan's gaze upon her. She wanted to go to him. He already thought the worst of her. So what was the point of trying to remain virtuous? Why not just walk up to him and tell him that she wanted him….and that she would take him any way she could get him?

She groaned. That has to be the alcohol talking. I still have my standards. Why would I even want to be with someone who doesn't trust me?

No, she wasn't about to go to him.

Maybe I should just go home.

"Hey, Theresa," Chad said approaching her table.

Her friend's voice immediately jolted Theresa from her thoughts.

"Hi Chad," she replied quietly.

Chad placed his hands on the table and leaned over, whispering conspiratorially. "I hate to bother you, but I need your help."

Good! Something to take my mind off of Ethan!

"What can I help you with, Chad?"

He looked around him, as if to see if anyone was listening in. "Well, it's like this. I, um, got Whitney a little upset. I was hopin' you could talk to her. You know, smooth things over?"

Theresa shook her head. "I don't know. Somehow, I don't think I'm the right person to be giving advice on relationships."

"But you're her best friend. She listens to you. Besides, you got that girl talk thing goin' on, and that's not somethin' I can compete with. Hell, I'm not even sure that's somethin' I want to compete with."

"Fine. Where is she?"

"She's goin' into my office. She said for you to meet her there."

"Okay. I'll go and see her."

"Thanks a bunch, T. You don't know what this means."

Theresa had a strange feeling when Chad said those words but tried to dismiss it.

Standing, she walked back through the crowd and down the corridor. The sound of the music grew lighter as she came to a door marked 'Private.' Without hesitation, she opened the door and let herself into her friend's office.

Whitney was nowhere to be found. "I'll just wait a minute," she said aloud.


Watching Theresa disappear through the crowd, Chad headed toward his best friend.

"Ethan, you hangin' in there?"

"I suppose," he replied, his eyes straining to catch a glimpse of Theresa.

"You'll be doin' better than that if I have anything to say. Now, don't ask questions, but I want you to go my office. There's someone there waitin' for you."

"Chad, what is-"

"No questions. Remember? Now come on. Let's get goin'."


Sitting on the leather couch, Theresa glanced at her surroundings. Chad's office was, without question, indefinably Chad. The walls were painted a deep plumb color, accented by replicas of tribal masks that hung on the walls. A desk was stashed in the corner, covered with papers. Theresa also noticed several photos of Whitney.

The sound of the door opening grabbed Theresa's attention. She looked toward the door, expecting to see Whitney. Instead, she saw Ethan.

He walked in, surprise etching his features. "Theresa, I didn't-"

He cut his sentence short when he heard the door slam behind him and the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Theresa practically leaped from where she sat and bolted to the door. The knob wouldn't turn. She groaned and began beating on it. "Chad, let me out! Chad! Let me out!"

From the other side of the door, she and Ethan could hear their friend chuckling. "Nah. You guys need to work it out, and you aren't gettin' outta there 'til you do."

Theresa turned around and glared at Ethan. "You did this!"

Ethan held up his hands, protesting his innocence. "Theresa, you know Chad. He does what he wants to do." Still, he couldn't help the smile that started to form at the corners of his mouth.

Thank you, Chad!

Theresa crossed her arms. "You don't look too upset about it," she noted.

"That's because I'm not upset," Ethan replied.

He closed the distance between them, and gently touched her face, tracing the contours of her cheek. He waited for her to pull away. Surprisingly, she didn't.

Theresa felt her breath catch within her, and her eyes fluttered closed. Being close to him, feeling his touch, was almost enough to make her forget all that had passed between them.

She opened her eyes, looking back at him, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones.

"Please, Theresa. Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

Slowly, quietly, she spoke. "Dios me ayuda, pero te amo, Ethan. Pero no puedo olvidar este noche o los seis años que pasado." God help me, but I love you, Ethan. But I cannot forget this night or the last six years.

Ethan felt his heart pounding. He wasn't entirely sure what Theresa said, but the way she spoke, the softness of her voice, stirred a flurry of emotions.

For nearly six years, he'd been separated from her.

And it had been his own doing.

His own foolish pride.

His own unwillingness to listen to her, to believe in her.

"What have I done?" he whispered, his voice catching in his throat.

Theresa felt dangerously drawn to him, and she knew that she needed to put some distance between them. She needed to get out of that office.

Hurriedly, she moved away from him, and swept the room with her gaze.

She wanted a way out.

Any way out.

Surveying her surroundings, she saw that there were no windows. However, she did notice another door. Walking to it, she stood before it whispering, "Please, please, please."

Turning its knob, she pulled it open. She was disappointed to find that it was only a closet.

She groaned and made her way to the door through which they'd both entered. Again, she found herself trying to turn the doorknob. It was no use. The keyhole was on the other side, and it was becoming quite obvious that Chad meant what he said. He wasn't going to open the door.

Ethan watched her as she walked to Chad's desk and began riffling through the drawers. "There has to be something in here…." she muttered.

"What are you looking for?" Ethan asked.

"A screwdriver, a nail file, a letter opener, anything that will help me to unfasten the screw in the doorknob and get out of here."

"You know, there are worse things that could happen than being locked in here with me…." Ethan said. He was trying not be so amused by Theresa and the way she was handling their plight, but he couldn't help himself. She was treating the situation as though she was in prison, bound and determined to break out.

Theresa might have been in a hurry to get out of there, but Ethan would have been happy to stay locked up with her forever.

She shot a glance at him. "Are you just going to stand there and watch, or are you going to help me?"

With a twinkle in his eyes, he replied, "Well, with things being as they are, I'm happy to just stand here and watch."

"How can you be so flippant? Doesn't it bother you in the least that Chad has locked us in here?" She continued rummaging through the desk drawers.

Ethan shook his head. "Not at all."

She seemingly ignored him and mumbled, "Nothing. Nothing at all!" when she was unable to find anything useful.

Pulling a pin from her hair, she walked to the door and tried to use it to loosen the screws.

Watching Theresa's creative attempt at finding a solution to the problem, Ethan couldn't help but smile. "Who are you? MacGuyver?"

The flimsy metal pin bent between her fingers, useless.

Angrily, she looked back at him, her raw emotions spilling over. "For all you know, I could be! Of course, you wouldn't know that, would you? You seem to like to jump to conclusions, Ethan, but have you even bothered to look at the real me? No. It's all about accusations with you now, just as it was almost six years ago!"

The smile faded from his face. Theresa's words hurt, but he deserved it. Perhaps it was better to just everything out in the open, once and for all.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "I suppose this is where broken trust comes into play."

"I am just tired, Ethan. I'm tired of apologizing for the past, tired of being made to feel as though I'm a pariah. I'm not."

"I know, Theresa."

"Do you, Ethan? Do you even know why I am so upset with you? Do you even have any inkling of what is going through my mind right now?" She paused. "No, I don't suppose you do. Ethan, I believed in you. With every ounce of my being, I loved you and entrusted my heart to you. And all you want to do is find fault with me! Why? What happened to change things between us? You can't tell me it was just finding out that I'd had feelings for you longer than you'd originally thought or because I never went out with Chuck before moving to New York. There's more, and I want to know what it is!"

Ethan took a deep breath. Memories flooded his mind….the words he read in Theresa's diary. Her own admission that she had been playing him for a fool, that she'd been sleeping with Noah Bennett. They were memories that he had tried so unsuccessfully to block out.

Yet the time had come.

It was time to lay all the cards on the table.

"You're right. There is more." The old hurt and anger started to swell inside of him. "You want to know why I was so ready to accept Andrew's lies? You want to know why I couldn't allow myself to believe in you when I should have? It was because I did believe in you, Theresa, and my belief in you nearly destroyed me in the process!"