TITLE: DAYS Fairy Tale: Eric & Greta: Chapters 81-85
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 81
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Eric watched from the corner of his eye as Greta turned back around in her chair. He smiled slightly, she had noticed. He turned his attention back to his 'date.' He mentally sighed, as he listened to her talk. She was one of the models at the last two photo shoots he had done, he wasn't interested in her, but he could tell she was in him. She was forward to say the least. He tried to keep his attention on what she was saying, but his focus kept moving to the other table in the corner.
Austin was holding her hand, and they were talking, it looked way to intimate to him, and he didn't like it one bit. He decided he needed to up his side as well.
He interrupted his date, and stood up, extended his hand, and then his mind was blank for a second, then it came to him. "Vicki." She looked up at him, "Would you like to dance?" He asked her, with a sigh of relief that he remembered her name. He felt bad in using her like this, but he knew from the way she acted, he was using her a lot less than other dates had.
She accepted and they headed out onto the dance floor. They started to dance, and he stole a few glances ever so often to 'their' direction.
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Austin was trying to do a good job in taking her mind off what was happening, but when his face changed again, but then abruptly went back to smiling, she knew something was wrong. She turned again, but they weren't at the table, she ws about to ask where they went when she saw them on the dance floor and her heart sank even more. "Who is she?" She asked. Greta could see that Austin didn't want to tell her, "Who?" she asked again.
He sighed, "She's one of the models at Titan."
"What do you know about her?"
He sighed again, "Greta, you really don't want to know all this do you?" She nodded her head yes, "Well... she's one of those types of girls that goes after what she wants, and usually gets it."
Greta nodded, "Just like Nicole." She said quietly, "I was right." And in that instant she knew that she really didn't want to be right, she was hoping that she had been wrong. But now the proof was right there in front of her.
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Eric saw them looking, and pulled Vicki closer to him, she smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. *Come on Greta, think about this. Do you really want to have us see other people?* He wanted her to get mad, he wanted her to yell at him, he was hoping for it. But when she turned back around in her chair, trying to ignore him, he knew his plan wasn't working. When the song was over he went back to sit down, his mind swimming, trying to think of why it wasn't working.
He looked at Vicki, trying to figure out what went wrong. *She is exactly what Greta said I would want! So what's wrong?* Then it hit him, *I am sooo stupid. I basically just showed her that she was right.* He sighed, and Vicki asked him what was wrong.
"Oh nothing, just hungry, wondering when the food will get here." He blurted out, and he was glad that she accepted that answer. His eyes wandered back to the other table. *I'm going to get you back Greta, but I'm going to make it so that you want me back.* His determination was strong, almost as strong as his love for her was.
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Greta and Austin finished their dinner and then left quickly. Their ride back to her place was quiet, and so was the ride up the elevator. She opened the door, and turned to him. "Austin, thank you for a wonderful night, I'm sorry I wasn't better company."
"Greta, it's no problem, that is what friends are for. Let's just say you can pay me back when I run into Sami and Brandon together."
She smiled lightly, "I'll be there." He leaned in, and gave her a hug. She sighed into his chest, "Thanks, needed that." She said as he let her go. "How about we meet for lunch tomorrow, I'm paying."
He smiled, "I'll be there. Ummm I have to work, but I will have my break around noon."
"Okay, I'll meet you at your office."
He smiled, "Sounds good. See you tomorrow." With that he left and she went into her apartment. She locked the door behind her, and then the tears started to fall. "Oh Eric..." She said out loud. "Why did I have to be right?"
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Eric sat on his couch, laying his head back, his feet up on the coffee table. He took Vicki home, and she wasn't to happy that he wanted to leave. But that wasn't what he was thinking about. *How could I have been so stupid?* He asked himself. He stood up and moved into his bedroom, removing his tie and shirt in the process. He threw them, and his undershirt into the hamper. He pulled off his pants, and fell back onto his bed. "Now what am I going to do?" He asked himself. He thought for awhile, "I have to date someone not like either one of them." Then he thought about it, "No, that says the same thing to her." He sighed, then he smiled, "That's it, it was so obvious!" He smiled, as he turned out the lights, and settled in for the night. He had a new plan, and this time, he was sure it was going to work. It just had to.
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Chapter 82
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A week flew by, and Greta stormed into her apartment, followed by Austin. "What the hell does he think he is doing?" She yelled at no one in particular.
"Exactly what you told him to do." Austin responded quietly.
She heard him and twirled around, "I didn't tell him to go out there and date as many people as he could in a week!"
"Well no, but you did say to see other people. Obviously he is, and he hasn't found someone yet."
"Well he's going through the models and secretaries at Titan!"
Austin laughed, "Well, he works there."
She looked at him shocked, "Are you saying that's okay?"
He backed up a step at her anger, "Uhh, no."
"How many has it been now? Huh? And why is it that it's like I always run into him and one of them together?"
"Not sure why we see them so much. But ummm, as to the number, well let's see..." He thought about it for a minute, as Greta passed back and forth. "It can't be more than 7 or 8 cause it's only been about a week, since we first saw him with someone else." Greta rolled her eyes and sat on her couch in a huff.
"There was the first blond, then the medium height, ash blond with the curly hair," she nodded in agreement. "Then there was a light brunette, then a tall girl with black hair, oh and the red head..." She nodded again. "Oh, and then the dark brunette of this afternoon."
Greta stood back up, and threw her hands up in the air, "Six, SIX women in one week! That is not like him."
Austin moved closer to her, "Greta.." She kept going on, and on about it, "Greta..." She wasn't listening. "GRETA!"
She spun to look at him, "What?"
"Why do you care?" He asked looking at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember, you broke up with him. You told him to see other people. You said that the two of you don't belong together. So why is this bothering you so much?"
She stopped, she wasn't going to answer that, but said, "It's just not like him."
"Uh huh, sure," he said giving her a knowing look.
"Okay, okay. I still have feelings for him." He tilted his head, "Okay, okay, I still love him. But..."
"But what?"
"It wasn't meant to be."
"Why not? Because of Nicole? She messed up his life, it's not his fault. You know that!"
"He picked me because he was hurt, that's all!"
Austin shook his head, and moved towards the door, "You can keep telling yourself that all you want." He said and walked out, and closed the door behind him.
"Ahhh," she screamed throwing her hands in the air and then plopped down on the couch.
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Eric walked out of the development lab, looking at the proofs he just made. He looked at each one carefully, under his eye piece. *Not to bad,* he thought to himself. He heard the door open and looked up, he gave a half smile and turned back to looking at the proofs. He felt arms go around him, and he tried not to pry them off him.
"What are you looking at?"
He turned around to look at the pretty brunette. He thought if he squinted enough, and used some of his imagination, she sort of remind him of... "Just some photo shoot proofs."
She smiled, her hands working on the muscles of his neck. "So when are you going to be done?"
"I am done for today, I just wanted to take a look at them." He looked at his watch, "So Marie, are you saying you want to go out somewhere to night?"
She smiled, "Well I wouldn't mind."
He laughed, "Okay, how about we each go home, I will pick you up in about and hour or so, I'll call you with a more exact time, when I get a reservation."
She smiled, "Sounds great, I'll see you soon." With that she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left.
Eric sighed, they had been dating for about a week now. Marie was a really nice girl. Beautiful, smart, and very nice. And because of that, he knew he couldn't keep going on with what he had planned with her, she didn't deserve it. He decided he was going to tell her the truth tonight, about what he had been doing, and hopefully she wouldn't hate him to much, or tell Greta for that matter.
He walked out of the photo lab and made his way to the offices, he smiled at Austin's secretary, and stopped at her desk. "Is Austin in?" He asked her.
"No, Mr. Reed left a few minutes ago."
"Oh, another date?" He asked.
The secretary smiled, "Seems like it, I have made so many dinner reservations for him lately, I hope it is going well."
"Yeah, me too." He said trying not to grit his teeth. "So where is the lucky place tonight?" He asked her.
"Well he seems to really like Tuscany, but then again her knows the owner."
"Yeah, me too. Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what?"
"I have another date myself tonight, mind making me another one of your reservations."
"Tuscany?"
"Yeah, and if I get any good gossip I'll let you know." She smiled and winked at him as she picked up the phone. A few minutes later she hung it up, "They are ready for you, it's at 7 o'clock."
"Thanks."
"No problem, and remember, I want all the details."
He smiled at her and nodded his head. *Little does she know, I'm trying to break the happy couple up.* He though as he walked to the elevator, taking out his cell phone. He called Marie and told her of the reservation, and then went home to get ready himself.
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Eric led Marie into the restaurant and greeted Maggie with a hug. She led them to their table, and Eric pulled out the chair for her as he looked around the restaurant. As he pushed the chair in he saw them, on the dance floor.
He went and sat down in his seat. The waiter came over and took their order and poured them some wine. He talked to Marie as he watched them finish their dance and then move back to the table. He looked back at Marie quickly, when he saw Greta turn in his direction. He smiled at Marie and asked her to dance, and she agreed. They went out onto the dance floor, and started to dance.
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Greta sat down, and shook her head. Austin caught what she had seen, "Well it looks like he has stopped looking. This one has been around for what, a week now?"
She sighed, "Yes."
"Okay, now what's wrong?"
"Look at her," she said.
"Okay, I'm looking, what?"
"She's not blonde."
"Uhh, no she's not. So?"
"She's not tall either."
"No, but she isn't short."
"What do you know about her?"
"Well Marie is really nice, she's one of the secretaries at Titan. Kinda shy, but smart, and kind."
Greta leaned her head on her hands, and rested her elbows on the table. "I guess I was wrong."
"About what?" Austin asked.
"I thought he really wanted someone like Nicole, someone not like me."
Austin nodded, now understanding what she meant, "And now that he is dating someone, someone a lot like you, it's making you really think about it."
"No, no it's not. I was right, we don't belong together."
"Greta, why are you fighting it so much? What is the real reason? You know he wants someone like you, you know he loves you, you know it wasn't his fault, and you know Nicole will never come between you again, so what is it?"
She rubbed her forehead, "I... I... I don't know."
"I think you do."
"Austin, I don't want to talk about it."
"Well to bad, you need to, otherwise you are going to be miserable. Let it out. What is bothering you?"
"I can't get it out of my mind."
Austin looked confused, "What?"
"Every time I see him, every time I close my eyes I can see it, I feel the pain all over again."
He then understood what she meant, he had felt the same thing, but... "Greta... it wasn't real."
"But my heart doesn't understand that. My mind won't forget it, and I don't know if I ever will."
He reached out and took her hand, "Do you want my advise?" She nodded yes. "Don't do this to yourself. You are going through all this anyway, why not do it with someone you love. You still love him, I know you do. Talk to him, tell him the truth, and work it out, together."
She looked over her shoulder, "What's the point, he's already moved on."
"Well, you don't know for sure until you ask. Talk to him."
Her head was swimming, she looked back and saw them dancing, and she felt her heart breaking. She looked back at Austin, "I don't know, I don't think I can."
"Just talk to him, tell him what you feel, all of it." She took a deep breath, and stood up. "Go ahead, stop thinking and use your heart."
She nodded, "Thanks, Austin, for everything."
He smiled at her, "What are friends for."
She nodded, and with another big breath she turned around and walked onto the dance floor and right up to Eric. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.
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Chapter 83
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Eric turned around with a slightly surprised look on his face, "Greta..."
"Eric, can we talk for a minute." She all of a sudden felt really nervous. All kinds of thoughts went into her head, and she tried to not think about them.
"Uhh sure," he said and then looked to Marie, "Excuse me for a minute." He told her and walked with Greta outside. Greta almost smiled as she saw Austin go up and talk to Marie.
They walked outside, and away from the entrance to the restaurant. "Greta... what did you want to talk about?"
She pointed back at the restaurant, "How are the two of you going?" She asked.
Eric's heart sank, that wasn't what he hoped she would have said. "Why does it matter?" He asked her.
She turned away from him, "Just curious." She said, she knew she was chickening out.
"Greta, if that is the reason you asked to talk to me, I'm going to go back inside." He didn't want to be testy with her, but he wanted to spark some emotion in her.
He started to walk back to the door and she just finally blurted it out, "I was wrong." She said simply.
He turned back to her, "What?"
"I was wrong." She said again.
"About what?" He asked walking closer to her.
She looked to the ground, "About you wanting someone like Nicole and not me."
"Yeah," was all he said.
She looked quickly at the restaurant again, then back to the ground, "How close are the two of you."
"Greta, just tell me."
She put her face in her hands, "It hurts."
"What does?" He asked moving closer and tilting her face up to look at him.
"To see you with someone else, to see you be so close to someone else."
He looked at her confused, "What do you think it does to me to see you and Austin together?"
Now she was confused, "What are you talking about?"
"You and Austin, how many dates has this been now? And what, you started dating like 2 days after we broke up." He said, a bit of anger and hurt in his voice.
She shook her head, "We aren't dating."
"What?" Now he was really confused.
"Austin and I aren't dating."
"But... you keep having dinner, and dancing, and..."
She gave a slight smile up at him, "We are just friends, we have been going out as friends, that's all."
He looked shocked, "You two aren't together" She shook her head, and then pointed back at the restaurant, wanting him to answer her question. He sighed, "It depends."
"On what?"
"On what you want to hear."
Now she really was confused, "That doesn't make any sense. What?"
He decided to be honest with her, "If you want me to be happy with her, then I guess I will go and try to be. Even though... I have only been dating her and all the others just to... get back at you."
She looked at him shocked, "Back at me?"
"I thought you were dating Austin, it hurt, and I decided to give you what you wanted." He touched her cheek with his hand, caressing it lightly, "Greta I love you, I haven't stopped."
A tear ran down her face, and he wiped it away. "I love you too." She then turned away from him.
"Greta... what, what's wrong?"
She lowered her head, "There is just so much, so much that I feel, that is so hard to get over, and I don't know if I can."
He turned her around, and made her look up at him, "Then let me help you. Don't shut me out." He held her face in his hands, and leaned in and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, finally letting her heart win out over her mind.
They slowly broke apart, "Greta, we belong together, don't, don't let something come between us."
"It's going to take time," she said softly.
"Yes, time together not apart, never apart again." He said and kissed the top of her forehead.
She leaned in and rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He let out a breath, as he felt like he was becoming whole once again.
Greta felt his arms around her, and once again felt safe. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"For what?" He asked her, pulling away enough to look into her eyes.
"For not figuring all this out sooner, and hurting you so much."
He kissed her forehead again, "No reason to be sorry. You were hurt and confused, I just hope you learn from all this, not to push me away." He looked her in the eyes, looking into her soul, "Remember we can get through anything, as long as we are together. And remember, I love you."
She smiled up at him, "I love you too." And they kissed once more.
"Now what?" He asked her, "It's your decision."
She took a deep breath, "We start over."
He looked at her worried, "Completely?"
She smiled, "Not completely, that would be impossible. But... basically."
"Start dating again, taking it slow." She nodded yes. "Okay, then we can have our first date by moving you back home."
She straightened her shoulders, and moved away from him. "No."
He moved up behind her, and turned her around, "Why?"
"I'm not ready for that," she said.
"Okay, then I'll have a chance to actually come to your door and pick you up."
"Yeah."
She heard cough behind them and she looked over his shoulder, and Eric turned to look as well. Austin and Marie walked over to them. Marie walked towards Eric, "We heard, basically everything, and I can't say that I am happy about it, and that I'm not upset, because I am. But... I understand."
Eric smiled, "Thanks, and... I'm sorry." He looked over at Austin, "And I guess I owe you a thank you as well."
"The smile on Greta's face is all I need, just take care of her."
"I will." He responded.
"Well, I am heading home." Austin said, he then smiled, "And I offered Marie a ride home. So Eric.. if you wouldn't mind..."
Eric smiled, "Not at all, I would love to take Greta home."
Austin gave Greta a hug, and with that him and Marie left.
"Ready to go?" Eric asked her, and she nodded yes. He went back in, and squared away the bill, and then returned and escorted Greta to the jeep.
"You know, we need to talk." He said as he shut his door.
"I know, about a lot."
He started the car, "How about we go back to my place, and I'll make some coffee..."
"No, my place would be better, then you don't have to drive me home later."
He looked over at her, noticing that she had said that way to quickly. He pulled out of the parking lot, and started to drive. She knew he was going in the wrong direction, "Eric.. where?"
"Greta, I'm going back to my place."
"No, I don't want too." He could actually see fear in her eyes at the thought. He pulled up to the curb outside the apartment and turned off the car. "Eric, please take me home."
"This is your home."
"No, not anymore."
He got out of the jeep and walked to her side and opened the door and put out his hand, she refused to take it. "Greta, what is the big deal?"
He saw the look on her face, and then it dawned on him. She hadn't been back to the apartment since what she had witnessed. He slowly took her hand, and pulled her gently from the jeep. "Eric, I don't want to go."
"Greta, please, you need to face it."
"Not now."
"Yes, now." She finally gave in, and went inside with him.
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Chapter 84
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Greta felt her heart racing, she didn't want to go back in that apartment, thoughts of the last time kept running through her mind. She remembered how happy she was, that she was going to get home and have everything ready and surprise him. But it turned out, Nicole was the one to surprise her. She shivered with the thought.
Eric looked over at her, and wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer, "Are you cold?"
"No," she said simply, but leaned against him for support. She almost wanted to laugh at that, she was leaning on him for support, and just a few weeks ago she could have killed him where he stood. They walked up to the door, and Eric unlocked it, and opened it, and went inside. Greta stood there, Eric looked back at her, holding the door open, motioning her inside. But she didn't move.
Eric slowly walked over to her, and he noticed she was staring into space, he touched her cheek lightly, bringing her focus back to him. "It's okay, remember, it wasn't real." He saw the water in her eyes and his heart was breaking, he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, then held out his hand to her slowly. Letting her decide whether to take it or not.
She looked up into his eyes, and saw the love he had for her in them, she closed her eyes, and slowly took his hand, and he pulled her into the apartment slowly. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, holding on to her, and then shut the door. Eric looked down at her, lightly touching her cheek. Her eyes opened to look up at him, he smiled softly at her, and kissed her forehead. "How about you sit down, and I'll make us some coffee." She nodded softly, and he went into the kitchen.
Her eyes slowly moved around the apartment, she noticed a few changes since she had left, besides the stuff she had taken with her. His large photo of LA was gone, she smiled slightly, and was replaced by an even larger photo of Paris at night. She moved over closer to the couch, and then stopped in her tracks, looking at the floor. The image of a pair of jeans flashed in her mind, she moved her head looking away to see shoes, she closed her eyes, then opened them only to see a shirt further up the hallway. She closed her eyes again, and a smiling Nicole entered her head. She squeezed her eyes tight and then opened them, only to find a very clean apartment, no clothes lying anywhere.
Eric watched her as he poured the coffee into the mugs, and he knew she was still remembering, he could tell by her movements, and the look on her face. *No wonder she didn't want to move back here.* He thought to himself. He moved back over to her, setting the mugs on the coffee table, she moved over and sat down next to him. He reached over and took her hand, and she smiled at him. "I missed you, so much." He said, his words soaked in emotion.
"I missed you too." She said softly.
He reached over, and cupped the side of her face in his hand, she leaned into it, closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling. "I know it's going to take some time, to get back to where we were. I understand that, completely. I know how much I hurt you."
She shook her head, "No, it wasn't you. I know that, I understand that, it just..."
"It doesn't take the pain away." He finished for her, and she nodded yes. "Greta, I don't even know what I would do if the roles had somehow been reversed. So I can't even begin to understand how you feel, but I will be here for you, because I love you."
He leaned back against the couch, pulling her slowly with him, she settled in, and laid her head on his chest, hearing his heart beat, as he continued talking. "And someday, hopefully not to far away, the hurt will all go away, we will be back to the way we were before, only even stronger." He kissed the top of her head for emphasis, "And then when all that is back to the way it should be, then we can go to Green Mountain like you planned."
She looked up at him, "How did you know?" She asked in shock, she had no idea that he knew she had planned that.
"Later 'that' night, they called asking if you were still going to have the reservation since it was so late, or to cancel it." She nodded in understanding, "Then John called me and told me you had left." He said, the look in his eyes made Greta want to curl up and die.
*Oh God, I hurt him.* She thought, "Eric, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt..."
"Shhh, it's okay, you don't need to apologize to me. Heck we shouldn't have to apologize to each other at all. The person to blame should be apologizing, but that won't happen because she skipped out on bail." He sighed, and Greta could feel his anger about it, knew how much he was beating himself up over Nicole. She knew she wasn't the only one hurting, feeling powerless to change things. She willed the courage inside of her and stood up. Eric looked up at her questioning, worried. She held out her hand, and he took it and stood up. "Greta..."
"I need to face my fears, I need to get it over with, for both of us, and I need your help." She pulled his hand and slowly started to walk back to the bedrooms. At first he was really confused, but then he understood, until she stopped in the kitchen, and she turned around and walked back over to the door.
"Greta?" She took off her shoes, and he smiled, and taking her lead, took of his own as well, and then his suit coat. She was trying to get as comfortable as possible first before she faced what she didn't want too. He walked over to her, and behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the side of her cheek from behind. "Tell me." He said softly.
"Tell you? What?" She asked him looking over her shoulder at him.
"I know you don't want to, but tell me everything, everything that you saw."
She cringed slightly, closing her eyes, but she knew it would help, in the long run. It would let him know what she knew, and help her think it through, understand it. She took a long deep breath, held onto his arms that were wrapped around her. "Okay, I'll tell you everything." She said softly.
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Chapter 85
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Greta took a deep breath, and started to recall everything that happened. "Okay, I got home early, about a half hour before you were supposed to be home. I opened the door, walked in and sat my bags on the floor." He nodded, and followed her as she walked closer to the couch. "I looked around and saw your jeans and shoes on the floor." He could feel her shake slightly and held onto her tighter. "I laughed to myself, I thought you were being messy." The sound of her voice indicated how wrong that thought was. "I picked them up and headed back to your bedroom to put them in the hamper," she walked towards the bedroom, "That's when I found your T-shirt in the hallway, I picked that up too." She then turned towards the bedroom door, which was shut. She reached slowly for the knob, but didn't turn it.
Eric held onto her, and kissed the side of her cheek, he could feel her shaking, "Greta, we don't have to go through all this now," he knew it was going to be a lot all at once.
She didn't answer him, but opened the door instead. She walked one step into the room, and as she looked at the bed, tears started to stream down her face. They were there again, that image of him and Nicole in bed together. She closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly, she opened her eyes again, and the bed came back into focus. No one was in it, it was freshly made, a new comforter she noticed. "I walked in, and saw... well you know what I saw. I dropped the stuff on the floor, and after the shock partially wore off, I ran out of the room, and then the apartment."
He heard the sound of her voice, and turned her to look at him, he knew he would find her tear streaked face. He gently wiped the tears away, then kissed her cheeks lightly. Eric still had so many questions that he knew he would never get the answers too. Like how did Nicole get him back to the apartment? How did she time it all so perfectly? But he didn't care about those questions anymore, he only cared about making Greta, the woman he loved, forget about the whole thing. And he knew that he would do anything so that she would never be hurt like this again. She leaned in against him, and he held onto her, as the tears ran down her face and his own. He wasn't sure if he was crying because of the hurt or the happiness of having her in his arms again.
Greta looked up at him, "Eric, hold me."
He looked at her confused, "I am."
She took a deep breath, she knew what she was asking was moving a few steps further then them just starting over, but it was what she wanted. "No, hold me... laying down."
He looked at her, then at the bed, then back to her, "Are you sure? I mean... that bed doesn't exactly have the best memories for you right now."
He was right, but also wrong. "But it also has wonderful memories, and... I want to reclaim my territory," she said with a small smile.
He felt his heart leap at her remark, as well as something else, but her pushed it away instantly. He wouldn't refuse her anything, and he slowly walked over to the bed, and she followed. She laid down, moving towards the center. He saw how difficult it was for her, and was amazed at how strong she was being. He crawled in next to her, and wrapped his arms around her, and she curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest. He hadn't expected this so soon.
But he sure wasn't expecting what she would say next, "Tell me about her."
Eric looked down at her, "What?"
Greta looked up at him, "Tell me about Nicole."
He looked at her confused, "What do you want me to tell you about her?"
"I need to know some things, I need to understand it all."
"Greta I'm not sure I understand what you mean." He said, hugging her tightly to him, kissing the top of her head, smelling the sent of her shampoo.
She smiled slightly, nuzzled her face into his chest, smelling his cologne and him. The feeling of being back in his arms, was like being home again. But she pulled her mind away from that, and tried to focus on what she needed to hear, needed to know. "I need to know why you fell in love with Nicole, I need the honest truth, what you saw in her. I need to understand, and I want you to tell me the whole story, all the way up until she married Lucas."
"Greta, why do you need to know all this? Can't we just get rid of her, forget about her, and move on with our lives together?" He didn't want to think about her anymore, he wanted to put that huge mistake of a relationship behind him.
"I need to know so that I can put it behind me, I need to understand why you fell in love with her, I need to know, please."
She looked up at him, and he saw that she was serious. "Okay." He said softly.
"And I want the whole truth, don't hind anything from me, I want to know, the honest truth."
He sighed, "Greta, I don't want to hurt you."
"The truth won't hurt me, just please tell me."
He closed his eyes, and held onto her tightly. The he rolled onto his side, and she moved up, so that they were facing each other, looking into each others eyes. "Okay... Well I met Nicole while she was a waitress at Java Cafe...."
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To Be Continued
WRITTEN BY: Heather Ferguson (fergus80)
EMAIL: hferguso@niu.edu
WEBSITE: http://eric_greta.tripod.com (from when Jensen was on days)
Rating: If you can watch DAYS, you can read this. If there is a rating change, a link to the chap. will be provided.
Disclaimer: Days of Our Lives and all of their characters are property of Corday Productions and NBC.
My Rant: Okay, I'm finally putting this up on FanFiction.net. Mostly to free up my website space. This was started way back in Oct. of 1999, and I haven't decided if it's finished yet or not. Reviews are always welcome!
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Chapter 81
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Eric watched from the corner of his eye as Greta turned back around in her chair. He smiled slightly, she had noticed. He turned his attention back to his 'date.' He mentally sighed, as he listened to her talk. She was one of the models at the last two photo shoots he had done, he wasn't interested in her, but he could tell she was in him. She was forward to say the least. He tried to keep his attention on what she was saying, but his focus kept moving to the other table in the corner.
Austin was holding her hand, and they were talking, it looked way to intimate to him, and he didn't like it one bit. He decided he needed to up his side as well.
He interrupted his date, and stood up, extended his hand, and then his mind was blank for a second, then it came to him. "Vicki." She looked up at him, "Would you like to dance?" He asked her, with a sigh of relief that he remembered her name. He felt bad in using her like this, but he knew from the way she acted, he was using her a lot less than other dates had.
She accepted and they headed out onto the dance floor. They started to dance, and he stole a few glances ever so often to 'their' direction.
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Austin was trying to do a good job in taking her mind off what was happening, but when his face changed again, but then abruptly went back to smiling, she knew something was wrong. She turned again, but they weren't at the table, she ws about to ask where they went when she saw them on the dance floor and her heart sank even more. "Who is she?" She asked. Greta could see that Austin didn't want to tell her, "Who?" she asked again.
He sighed, "She's one of the models at Titan."
"What do you know about her?"
He sighed again, "Greta, you really don't want to know all this do you?" She nodded her head yes, "Well... she's one of those types of girls that goes after what she wants, and usually gets it."
Greta nodded, "Just like Nicole." She said quietly, "I was right." And in that instant she knew that she really didn't want to be right, she was hoping that she had been wrong. But now the proof was right there in front of her.
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Eric saw them looking, and pulled Vicki closer to him, she smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. *Come on Greta, think about this. Do you really want to have us see other people?* He wanted her to get mad, he wanted her to yell at him, he was hoping for it. But when she turned back around in her chair, trying to ignore him, he knew his plan wasn't working. When the song was over he went back to sit down, his mind swimming, trying to think of why it wasn't working.
He looked at Vicki, trying to figure out what went wrong. *She is exactly what Greta said I would want! So what's wrong?* Then it hit him, *I am sooo stupid. I basically just showed her that she was right.* He sighed, and Vicki asked him what was wrong.
"Oh nothing, just hungry, wondering when the food will get here." He blurted out, and he was glad that she accepted that answer. His eyes wandered back to the other table. *I'm going to get you back Greta, but I'm going to make it so that you want me back.* His determination was strong, almost as strong as his love for her was.
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Greta and Austin finished their dinner and then left quickly. Their ride back to her place was quiet, and so was the ride up the elevator. She opened the door, and turned to him. "Austin, thank you for a wonderful night, I'm sorry I wasn't better company."
"Greta, it's no problem, that is what friends are for. Let's just say you can pay me back when I run into Sami and Brandon together."
She smiled lightly, "I'll be there." He leaned in, and gave her a hug. She sighed into his chest, "Thanks, needed that." She said as he let her go. "How about we meet for lunch tomorrow, I'm paying."
He smiled, "I'll be there. Ummm I have to work, but I will have my break around noon."
"Okay, I'll meet you at your office."
He smiled, "Sounds good. See you tomorrow." With that he left and she went into her apartment. She locked the door behind her, and then the tears started to fall. "Oh Eric..." She said out loud. "Why did I have to be right?"
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Eric sat on his couch, laying his head back, his feet up on the coffee table. He took Vicki home, and she wasn't to happy that he wanted to leave. But that wasn't what he was thinking about. *How could I have been so stupid?* He asked himself. He stood up and moved into his bedroom, removing his tie and shirt in the process. He threw them, and his undershirt into the hamper. He pulled off his pants, and fell back onto his bed. "Now what am I going to do?" He asked himself. He thought for awhile, "I have to date someone not like either one of them." Then he thought about it, "No, that says the same thing to her." He sighed, then he smiled, "That's it, it was so obvious!" He smiled, as he turned out the lights, and settled in for the night. He had a new plan, and this time, he was sure it was going to work. It just had to.
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Chapter 82
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A week flew by, and Greta stormed into her apartment, followed by Austin. "What the hell does he think he is doing?" She yelled at no one in particular.
"Exactly what you told him to do." Austin responded quietly.
She heard him and twirled around, "I didn't tell him to go out there and date as many people as he could in a week!"
"Well no, but you did say to see other people. Obviously he is, and he hasn't found someone yet."
"Well he's going through the models and secretaries at Titan!"
Austin laughed, "Well, he works there."
She looked at him shocked, "Are you saying that's okay?"
He backed up a step at her anger, "Uhh, no."
"How many has it been now? Huh? And why is it that it's like I always run into him and one of them together?"
"Not sure why we see them so much. But ummm, as to the number, well let's see..." He thought about it for a minute, as Greta passed back and forth. "It can't be more than 7 or 8 cause it's only been about a week, since we first saw him with someone else." Greta rolled her eyes and sat on her couch in a huff.
"There was the first blond, then the medium height, ash blond with the curly hair," she nodded in agreement. "Then there was a light brunette, then a tall girl with black hair, oh and the red head..." She nodded again. "Oh, and then the dark brunette of this afternoon."
Greta stood back up, and threw her hands up in the air, "Six, SIX women in one week! That is not like him."
Austin moved closer to her, "Greta.." She kept going on, and on about it, "Greta..." She wasn't listening. "GRETA!"
She spun to look at him, "What?"
"Why do you care?" He asked looking at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember, you broke up with him. You told him to see other people. You said that the two of you don't belong together. So why is this bothering you so much?"
She stopped, she wasn't going to answer that, but said, "It's just not like him."
"Uh huh, sure," he said giving her a knowing look.
"Okay, okay. I still have feelings for him." He tilted his head, "Okay, okay, I still love him. But..."
"But what?"
"It wasn't meant to be."
"Why not? Because of Nicole? She messed up his life, it's not his fault. You know that!"
"He picked me because he was hurt, that's all!"
Austin shook his head, and moved towards the door, "You can keep telling yourself that all you want." He said and walked out, and closed the door behind him.
"Ahhh," she screamed throwing her hands in the air and then plopped down on the couch.
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Eric walked out of the development lab, looking at the proofs he just made. He looked at each one carefully, under his eye piece. *Not to bad,* he thought to himself. He heard the door open and looked up, he gave a half smile and turned back to looking at the proofs. He felt arms go around him, and he tried not to pry them off him.
"What are you looking at?"
He turned around to look at the pretty brunette. He thought if he squinted enough, and used some of his imagination, she sort of remind him of... "Just some photo shoot proofs."
She smiled, her hands working on the muscles of his neck. "So when are you going to be done?"
"I am done for today, I just wanted to take a look at them." He looked at his watch, "So Marie, are you saying you want to go out somewhere to night?"
She smiled, "Well I wouldn't mind."
He laughed, "Okay, how about we each go home, I will pick you up in about and hour or so, I'll call you with a more exact time, when I get a reservation."
She smiled, "Sounds great, I'll see you soon." With that she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left.
Eric sighed, they had been dating for about a week now. Marie was a really nice girl. Beautiful, smart, and very nice. And because of that, he knew he couldn't keep going on with what he had planned with her, she didn't deserve it. He decided he was going to tell her the truth tonight, about what he had been doing, and hopefully she wouldn't hate him to much, or tell Greta for that matter.
He walked out of the photo lab and made his way to the offices, he smiled at Austin's secretary, and stopped at her desk. "Is Austin in?" He asked her.
"No, Mr. Reed left a few minutes ago."
"Oh, another date?" He asked.
The secretary smiled, "Seems like it, I have made so many dinner reservations for him lately, I hope it is going well."
"Yeah, me too." He said trying not to grit his teeth. "So where is the lucky place tonight?" He asked her.
"Well he seems to really like Tuscany, but then again her knows the owner."
"Yeah, me too. Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what?"
"I have another date myself tonight, mind making me another one of your reservations."
"Tuscany?"
"Yeah, and if I get any good gossip I'll let you know." She smiled and winked at him as she picked up the phone. A few minutes later she hung it up, "They are ready for you, it's at 7 o'clock."
"Thanks."
"No problem, and remember, I want all the details."
He smiled at her and nodded his head. *Little does she know, I'm trying to break the happy couple up.* He though as he walked to the elevator, taking out his cell phone. He called Marie and told her of the reservation, and then went home to get ready himself.
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Eric led Marie into the restaurant and greeted Maggie with a hug. She led them to their table, and Eric pulled out the chair for her as he looked around the restaurant. As he pushed the chair in he saw them, on the dance floor.
He went and sat down in his seat. The waiter came over and took their order and poured them some wine. He talked to Marie as he watched them finish their dance and then move back to the table. He looked back at Marie quickly, when he saw Greta turn in his direction. He smiled at Marie and asked her to dance, and she agreed. They went out onto the dance floor, and started to dance.
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Greta sat down, and shook her head. Austin caught what she had seen, "Well it looks like he has stopped looking. This one has been around for what, a week now?"
She sighed, "Yes."
"Okay, now what's wrong?"
"Look at her," she said.
"Okay, I'm looking, what?"
"She's not blonde."
"Uhh, no she's not. So?"
"She's not tall either."
"No, but she isn't short."
"What do you know about her?"
"Well Marie is really nice, she's one of the secretaries at Titan. Kinda shy, but smart, and kind."
Greta leaned her head on her hands, and rested her elbows on the table. "I guess I was wrong."
"About what?" Austin asked.
"I thought he really wanted someone like Nicole, someone not like me."
Austin nodded, now understanding what she meant, "And now that he is dating someone, someone a lot like you, it's making you really think about it."
"No, no it's not. I was right, we don't belong together."
"Greta, why are you fighting it so much? What is the real reason? You know he wants someone like you, you know he loves you, you know it wasn't his fault, and you know Nicole will never come between you again, so what is it?"
She rubbed her forehead, "I... I... I don't know."
"I think you do."
"Austin, I don't want to talk about it."
"Well to bad, you need to, otherwise you are going to be miserable. Let it out. What is bothering you?"
"I can't get it out of my mind."
Austin looked confused, "What?"
"Every time I see him, every time I close my eyes I can see it, I feel the pain all over again."
He then understood what she meant, he had felt the same thing, but... "Greta... it wasn't real."
"But my heart doesn't understand that. My mind won't forget it, and I don't know if I ever will."
He reached out and took her hand, "Do you want my advise?" She nodded yes. "Don't do this to yourself. You are going through all this anyway, why not do it with someone you love. You still love him, I know you do. Talk to him, tell him the truth, and work it out, together."
She looked over her shoulder, "What's the point, he's already moved on."
"Well, you don't know for sure until you ask. Talk to him."
Her head was swimming, she looked back and saw them dancing, and she felt her heart breaking. She looked back at Austin, "I don't know, I don't think I can."
"Just talk to him, tell him what you feel, all of it." She took a deep breath, and stood up. "Go ahead, stop thinking and use your heart."
She nodded, "Thanks, Austin, for everything."
He smiled at her, "What are friends for."
She nodded, and with another big breath she turned around and walked onto the dance floor and right up to Eric. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.
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Chapter 83
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Eric turned around with a slightly surprised look on his face, "Greta..."
"Eric, can we talk for a minute." She all of a sudden felt really nervous. All kinds of thoughts went into her head, and she tried to not think about them.
"Uhh sure," he said and then looked to Marie, "Excuse me for a minute." He told her and walked with Greta outside. Greta almost smiled as she saw Austin go up and talk to Marie.
They walked outside, and away from the entrance to the restaurant. "Greta... what did you want to talk about?"
She pointed back at the restaurant, "How are the two of you going?" She asked.
Eric's heart sank, that wasn't what he hoped she would have said. "Why does it matter?" He asked her.
She turned away from him, "Just curious." She said, she knew she was chickening out.
"Greta, if that is the reason you asked to talk to me, I'm going to go back inside." He didn't want to be testy with her, but he wanted to spark some emotion in her.
He started to walk back to the door and she just finally blurted it out, "I was wrong." She said simply.
He turned back to her, "What?"
"I was wrong." She said again.
"About what?" He asked walking closer to her.
She looked to the ground, "About you wanting someone like Nicole and not me."
"Yeah," was all he said.
She looked quickly at the restaurant again, then back to the ground, "How close are the two of you."
"Greta, just tell me."
She put her face in her hands, "It hurts."
"What does?" He asked moving closer and tilting her face up to look at him.
"To see you with someone else, to see you be so close to someone else."
He looked at her confused, "What do you think it does to me to see you and Austin together?"
Now she was confused, "What are you talking about?"
"You and Austin, how many dates has this been now? And what, you started dating like 2 days after we broke up." He said, a bit of anger and hurt in his voice.
She shook her head, "We aren't dating."
"What?" Now he was really confused.
"Austin and I aren't dating."
"But... you keep having dinner, and dancing, and..."
She gave a slight smile up at him, "We are just friends, we have been going out as friends, that's all."
He looked shocked, "You two aren't together" She shook her head, and then pointed back at the restaurant, wanting him to answer her question. He sighed, "It depends."
"On what?"
"On what you want to hear."
Now she really was confused, "That doesn't make any sense. What?"
He decided to be honest with her, "If you want me to be happy with her, then I guess I will go and try to be. Even though... I have only been dating her and all the others just to... get back at you."
She looked at him shocked, "Back at me?"
"I thought you were dating Austin, it hurt, and I decided to give you what you wanted." He touched her cheek with his hand, caressing it lightly, "Greta I love you, I haven't stopped."
A tear ran down her face, and he wiped it away. "I love you too." She then turned away from him.
"Greta... what, what's wrong?"
She lowered her head, "There is just so much, so much that I feel, that is so hard to get over, and I don't know if I can."
He turned her around, and made her look up at him, "Then let me help you. Don't shut me out." He held her face in his hands, and leaned in and kissed her deeply. She kissed him back, finally letting her heart win out over her mind.
They slowly broke apart, "Greta, we belong together, don't, don't let something come between us."
"It's going to take time," she said softly.
"Yes, time together not apart, never apart again." He said and kissed the top of her forehead.
She leaned in and rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. He let out a breath, as he felt like he was becoming whole once again.
Greta felt his arms around her, and once again felt safe. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"For what?" He asked her, pulling away enough to look into her eyes.
"For not figuring all this out sooner, and hurting you so much."
He kissed her forehead again, "No reason to be sorry. You were hurt and confused, I just hope you learn from all this, not to push me away." He looked her in the eyes, looking into her soul, "Remember we can get through anything, as long as we are together. And remember, I love you."
She smiled up at him, "I love you too." And they kissed once more.
"Now what?" He asked her, "It's your decision."
She took a deep breath, "We start over."
He looked at her worried, "Completely?"
She smiled, "Not completely, that would be impossible. But... basically."
"Start dating again, taking it slow." She nodded yes. "Okay, then we can have our first date by moving you back home."
She straightened her shoulders, and moved away from him. "No."
He moved up behind her, and turned her around, "Why?"
"I'm not ready for that," she said.
"Okay, then I'll have a chance to actually come to your door and pick you up."
"Yeah."
She heard cough behind them and she looked over his shoulder, and Eric turned to look as well. Austin and Marie walked over to them. Marie walked towards Eric, "We heard, basically everything, and I can't say that I am happy about it, and that I'm not upset, because I am. But... I understand."
Eric smiled, "Thanks, and... I'm sorry." He looked over at Austin, "And I guess I owe you a thank you as well."
"The smile on Greta's face is all I need, just take care of her."
"I will." He responded.
"Well, I am heading home." Austin said, he then smiled, "And I offered Marie a ride home. So Eric.. if you wouldn't mind..."
Eric smiled, "Not at all, I would love to take Greta home."
Austin gave Greta a hug, and with that him and Marie left.
"Ready to go?" Eric asked her, and she nodded yes. He went back in, and squared away the bill, and then returned and escorted Greta to the jeep.
"You know, we need to talk." He said as he shut his door.
"I know, about a lot."
He started the car, "How about we go back to my place, and I'll make some coffee..."
"No, my place would be better, then you don't have to drive me home later."
He looked over at her, noticing that she had said that way to quickly. He pulled out of the parking lot, and started to drive. She knew he was going in the wrong direction, "Eric.. where?"
"Greta, I'm going back to my place."
"No, I don't want too." He could actually see fear in her eyes at the thought. He pulled up to the curb outside the apartment and turned off the car. "Eric, please take me home."
"This is your home."
"No, not anymore."
He got out of the jeep and walked to her side and opened the door and put out his hand, she refused to take it. "Greta, what is the big deal?"
He saw the look on her face, and then it dawned on him. She hadn't been back to the apartment since what she had witnessed. He slowly took her hand, and pulled her gently from the jeep. "Eric, I don't want to go."
"Greta, please, you need to face it."
"Not now."
"Yes, now." She finally gave in, and went inside with him.
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Chapter 84
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Greta felt her heart racing, she didn't want to go back in that apartment, thoughts of the last time kept running through her mind. She remembered how happy she was, that she was going to get home and have everything ready and surprise him. But it turned out, Nicole was the one to surprise her. She shivered with the thought.
Eric looked over at her, and wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer, "Are you cold?"
"No," she said simply, but leaned against him for support. She almost wanted to laugh at that, she was leaning on him for support, and just a few weeks ago she could have killed him where he stood. They walked up to the door, and Eric unlocked it, and opened it, and went inside. Greta stood there, Eric looked back at her, holding the door open, motioning her inside. But she didn't move.
Eric slowly walked over to her, and he noticed she was staring into space, he touched her cheek lightly, bringing her focus back to him. "It's okay, remember, it wasn't real." He saw the water in her eyes and his heart was breaking, he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, then held out his hand to her slowly. Letting her decide whether to take it or not.
She looked up into his eyes, and saw the love he had for her in them, she closed her eyes, and slowly took his hand, and he pulled her into the apartment slowly. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, holding on to her, and then shut the door. Eric looked down at her, lightly touching her cheek. Her eyes opened to look up at him, he smiled softly at her, and kissed her forehead. "How about you sit down, and I'll make us some coffee." She nodded softly, and he went into the kitchen.
Her eyes slowly moved around the apartment, she noticed a few changes since she had left, besides the stuff she had taken with her. His large photo of LA was gone, she smiled slightly, and was replaced by an even larger photo of Paris at night. She moved over closer to the couch, and then stopped in her tracks, looking at the floor. The image of a pair of jeans flashed in her mind, she moved her head looking away to see shoes, she closed her eyes, then opened them only to see a shirt further up the hallway. She closed her eyes again, and a smiling Nicole entered her head. She squeezed her eyes tight and then opened them, only to find a very clean apartment, no clothes lying anywhere.
Eric watched her as he poured the coffee into the mugs, and he knew she was still remembering, he could tell by her movements, and the look on her face. *No wonder she didn't want to move back here.* He thought to himself. He moved back over to her, setting the mugs on the coffee table, she moved over and sat down next to him. He reached over and took her hand, and she smiled at him. "I missed you, so much." He said, his words soaked in emotion.
"I missed you too." She said softly.
He reached over, and cupped the side of her face in his hand, she leaned into it, closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling. "I know it's going to take some time, to get back to where we were. I understand that, completely. I know how much I hurt you."
She shook her head, "No, it wasn't you. I know that, I understand that, it just..."
"It doesn't take the pain away." He finished for her, and she nodded yes. "Greta, I don't even know what I would do if the roles had somehow been reversed. So I can't even begin to understand how you feel, but I will be here for you, because I love you."
He leaned back against the couch, pulling her slowly with him, she settled in, and laid her head on his chest, hearing his heart beat, as he continued talking. "And someday, hopefully not to far away, the hurt will all go away, we will be back to the way we were before, only even stronger." He kissed the top of her head for emphasis, "And then when all that is back to the way it should be, then we can go to Green Mountain like you planned."
She looked up at him, "How did you know?" She asked in shock, she had no idea that he knew she had planned that.
"Later 'that' night, they called asking if you were still going to have the reservation since it was so late, or to cancel it." She nodded in understanding, "Then John called me and told me you had left." He said, the look in his eyes made Greta want to curl up and die.
*Oh God, I hurt him.* She thought, "Eric, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt..."
"Shhh, it's okay, you don't need to apologize to me. Heck we shouldn't have to apologize to each other at all. The person to blame should be apologizing, but that won't happen because she skipped out on bail." He sighed, and Greta could feel his anger about it, knew how much he was beating himself up over Nicole. She knew she wasn't the only one hurting, feeling powerless to change things. She willed the courage inside of her and stood up. Eric looked up at her questioning, worried. She held out her hand, and he took it and stood up. "Greta..."
"I need to face my fears, I need to get it over with, for both of us, and I need your help." She pulled his hand and slowly started to walk back to the bedrooms. At first he was really confused, but then he understood, until she stopped in the kitchen, and she turned around and walked back over to the door.
"Greta?" She took off her shoes, and he smiled, and taking her lead, took of his own as well, and then his suit coat. She was trying to get as comfortable as possible first before she faced what she didn't want too. He walked over to her, and behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the side of her cheek from behind. "Tell me." He said softly.
"Tell you? What?" She asked him looking over her shoulder at him.
"I know you don't want to, but tell me everything, everything that you saw."
She cringed slightly, closing her eyes, but she knew it would help, in the long run. It would let him know what she knew, and help her think it through, understand it. She took a long deep breath, held onto his arms that were wrapped around her. "Okay, I'll tell you everything." She said softly.
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Chapter 85
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Greta took a deep breath, and started to recall everything that happened. "Okay, I got home early, about a half hour before you were supposed to be home. I opened the door, walked in and sat my bags on the floor." He nodded, and followed her as she walked closer to the couch. "I looked around and saw your jeans and shoes on the floor." He could feel her shake slightly and held onto her tighter. "I laughed to myself, I thought you were being messy." The sound of her voice indicated how wrong that thought was. "I picked them up and headed back to your bedroom to put them in the hamper," she walked towards the bedroom, "That's when I found your T-shirt in the hallway, I picked that up too." She then turned towards the bedroom door, which was shut. She reached slowly for the knob, but didn't turn it.
Eric held onto her, and kissed the side of her cheek, he could feel her shaking, "Greta, we don't have to go through all this now," he knew it was going to be a lot all at once.
She didn't answer him, but opened the door instead. She walked one step into the room, and as she looked at the bed, tears started to stream down her face. They were there again, that image of him and Nicole in bed together. She closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly, she opened her eyes again, and the bed came back into focus. No one was in it, it was freshly made, a new comforter she noticed. "I walked in, and saw... well you know what I saw. I dropped the stuff on the floor, and after the shock partially wore off, I ran out of the room, and then the apartment."
He heard the sound of her voice, and turned her to look at him, he knew he would find her tear streaked face. He gently wiped the tears away, then kissed her cheeks lightly. Eric still had so many questions that he knew he would never get the answers too. Like how did Nicole get him back to the apartment? How did she time it all so perfectly? But he didn't care about those questions anymore, he only cared about making Greta, the woman he loved, forget about the whole thing. And he knew that he would do anything so that she would never be hurt like this again. She leaned in against him, and he held onto her, as the tears ran down her face and his own. He wasn't sure if he was crying because of the hurt or the happiness of having her in his arms again.
Greta looked up at him, "Eric, hold me."
He looked at her confused, "I am."
She took a deep breath, she knew what she was asking was moving a few steps further then them just starting over, but it was what she wanted. "No, hold me... laying down."
He looked at her, then at the bed, then back to her, "Are you sure? I mean... that bed doesn't exactly have the best memories for you right now."
He was right, but also wrong. "But it also has wonderful memories, and... I want to reclaim my territory," she said with a small smile.
He felt his heart leap at her remark, as well as something else, but her pushed it away instantly. He wouldn't refuse her anything, and he slowly walked over to the bed, and she followed. She laid down, moving towards the center. He saw how difficult it was for her, and was amazed at how strong she was being. He crawled in next to her, and wrapped his arms around her, and she curled up next to him, laying her head on his chest. He hadn't expected this so soon.
But he sure wasn't expecting what she would say next, "Tell me about her."
Eric looked down at her, "What?"
Greta looked up at him, "Tell me about Nicole."
He looked at her confused, "What do you want me to tell you about her?"
"I need to know some things, I need to understand it all."
"Greta I'm not sure I understand what you mean." He said, hugging her tightly to him, kissing the top of her head, smelling the sent of her shampoo.
She smiled slightly, nuzzled her face into his chest, smelling his cologne and him. The feeling of being back in his arms, was like being home again. But she pulled her mind away from that, and tried to focus on what she needed to hear, needed to know. "I need to know why you fell in love with Nicole, I need the honest truth, what you saw in her. I need to understand, and I want you to tell me the whole story, all the way up until she married Lucas."
"Greta, why do you need to know all this? Can't we just get rid of her, forget about her, and move on with our lives together?" He didn't want to think about her anymore, he wanted to put that huge mistake of a relationship behind him.
"I need to know so that I can put it behind me, I need to understand why you fell in love with her, I need to know, please."
She looked up at him, and he saw that she was serious. "Okay." He said softly.
"And I want the whole truth, don't hind anything from me, I want to know, the honest truth."
He sighed, "Greta, I don't want to hurt you."
"The truth won't hurt me, just please tell me."
He closed his eyes, and held onto her tightly. The he rolled onto his side, and she moved up, so that they were facing each other, looking into each others eyes. "Okay... Well I met Nicole while she was a waitress at Java Cafe...."
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To Be Continued