Author's Rantings: What is it about soap operas that is so very addicting? I mean, I love Passions to death, but half the time I'm watching it and thinking how very stupid it is. Yet the very next day, I'm glued to the television set, waiting to see what's going to happen next. How do they do that? It's evil and sick and wrong– but I love it. Especially when you get yummy characters like Fox and Theresa. They better do something with them or I'll– well, I'll probably still watch the show, but I'll be fuming the entire time.
Have I told you guys lately that I love you? Well, I do, especially when you are reviewing so faithfully. You guys rock.
Red, Red Wine
" You look like someone just hit you with a train. Or possibly a very large suburban."
Fox looked up woozily, smiling lopsidedly as he recognized Whitney. " Whitney Russell. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be off with Ch-Ch-Chad somewhere?"
Usually, he was much better at holding his liquor; in fact, Fox prided himself on being able to keep a steady head under the influence. But tonight, he'd had about ten too many, and he was still going strong. The bartender had already tried to cut him off, but a nice, crisp hundred dollar bill seemed to change his mind. Oh, it was lovely being rich sometimes.
Whitney sighed. " Actually, Chad and I aren't really talking right now. He– well, it's a long story."
" I've always liked stories," Fox informed her, grinning stupidly, " especially ones with princesses and castles and little horsies. Where everyone lives happily ever after in the end."
Whitney shrugged. " Well, Chad kind of wants me to go to LA with him, and I kind of said no. He didn't really take that too well."
Fox motioned to the seat next to him. " Well, sit down. I'm buying. Heck, I'm frickin' rich, I could buy this whole place if I wanted to." He leaned in closer to her. " You want this place? I could buy it for your birthday."
" My birthday isn't until June," Whitney informed him kindly.
Fox waved his hand. " Small details, my friend."
Whitney reached out and took his hand. " Fox, what's wrong? I've been trying to call Theresa all day, and now you I find you like this. Did the two of you get into a fight, or something?"
Fox felt a quick, sobering pain in his heart. " There is no two of us anymore. Just her and me. Separate. She broke it off."
Whitney frowned compassionately at him. " Oh, Fox, I'm so sorry." She looked about the bar, trying to think of the right thing to say. " Are you all right?"
" We were really good together, you know?" Fox stated, forgetting for a moment that it was Whitney he was talking to. " She was so...cunning, you know, like...like a fox. Wicked in the best way possible."
Whitney offered a small smile. " That's Theresa for you."
Fox continued on as though he hadn't heard her, " But then she could turn around and be so sweet, so...wonderful. It was like the best of both worlds."
Suddenly, it was like a montage of Theresa memories running through his mind. Theresa smiling warily at him when he made his grand arrival at the mansion that first night by sneaking into her bed. Theresa getting tipsy on those nightcaps they shared together. Theresa singing Little Ethan to sleep. Theresa looking so forlorn over losing Ethan. Theresa wearing that pink dress, singing at the Blue Note with such fire and passion. Theresa looking so awkward and uncoordinated on the tennis court. Theresa laughing uproariously on the slip and slide. Theresa melting so perfectly into his arms as they danced. Theresa smiling trustingly at him as he lowered her onto the field of grass.
He felt a cool hand slipping into his own and looked up to see Whitney's eyes filled with sympathy. " I feel so terrible for you, Fox. I mean, I love Theresa but I kind of suspected that this was going to happen... is there anything I can do for you?"
It was all so simple. This is exactly what he had wanted to happen. " Yeah, actually...I don't think I'm fit to walk, much less operate a vehicle. Can you drive me home?"
In a matter of moments, they were in Whitney's car, driving through the deserted streets of Harmony. When they reached the Crane mansion, Whitney parked the car, and the two sat in silence. Fox looked over at her after a few minutes had passed. " Do you really love Chad?"
Whitney looked taken aback by the question. " Well, yeah. Yes. I love him with all of my heart."
" But how do you KNOW?" Fox pressed.
Whitney smiled to herself. " He's the only man I've ever loved."
" But he's the only man you've ever been with," Fox reminded her, " so how can you really be sure?"
Whitney shrugged. " I don't know... I just feel it, I guess. Why do you ask?"
Fox shook his head. " It's just hard to imagine being able to find your true love right away, without ever knowing what anyone else is like." There was silence for a moment. Hastily, he ammended, " I'm sorry, Whitney, I didn't mean to– "
" No, it's okay." Whitney assured him. " I've actually thought the same thing. In a way, I've always been kind of jealous of Theresa. She's had so much more experience than me– granted not good experience necessarily, but experience all the same. I mean, she was engaged to Ethan, married to Julian, and then she was dating you. And all through that, she knew that her true love was Ethan." She stopped, realizing her blunder. " I'm sorry, Fox... I shouldn't have said that."
Fox looked away. " Well, you know. What's another heartache when your heart's already broken?"
There was another long silence. " You know," Whitney ventured after a moment, " I was kind of jealous when you and Theresa started dating. I kind of thought..."
" What?"
Whitney met his gaze. " This is stupid, but...well, I kind of thought if anyone was going to end up dating you, it would be me, not her." She waited for some sort of a response from him. " I guess that was all in my head."
Fox sighed. " That wasn't...ALL in your head." He looked up, met her gaze. " You know, sometimes things like this happen for a reason. You and Chad had a fight, and me and Theresa....well, we both ended up here, together. That can't just be coincidence."
Whitney gave a small, nervous smile. " You've obviously been spending too much time with Theresa."
Fox took in a deep intake of breath. He had Whitney here, alone. With just a few carefully crafted words, she could be his. This was what he had been waiting for, planning for, scheming for. So why did it suddenly feel so wrong?
* Forget Theresa,* Fox instructed himself, *she sure isn't thinking about you.*
Whitney sought out his gaze once more, found it. " But maybe you're right. Maybe this isn't just a coincidence...maybe it's something more."
They inched toward one another, tentatively, with all of the awkwardness of an adolescent's first kiss. And then the distance between them closed, and their lips met.
***
Theresa felt like she had been walking all night. She didn't really know where to go. Normally, if she was feeling this down, she'd call Fox and ask him to meet her somewhere to help cheer her up. She couldn't exactly do that now. Home was not an option, since Luis would take one look at her tear-streaked face and go after Fox with a chainsaw. So, she wandered, until she finally stopped outside of the Book Café. That was safe enough, she supposed.
Hurriedly, she pushed open the door and made her way to a back table, hoping that no one she knew was there. She collapsed onto one of the hard wooden chairs and burried her face in her hands. How had this happened? She had gone into this knowing that eventually, she and Fox would have to end things. So why did it hurt so much now that it had actually happened?
" Can I get you something?"
Theresa glanced up at the waitress. Fortunately, it was one she didn't recognize. " Hi, yes... can I have a coffee, please?" The waitress started to walk away, but Theresa grabbed her arm. "And can you make it Irish?"
The waitress glanced around the room. " We aren't really supposed to..."
Theresa looked up at her woefully. " Please?"
The waitress sighed, relenting. " All right. How Irish are we talking?"
" Green-wearing, potato-eating, clover-wearing, St. Patrick Irish." Theresa returned. The waitress nodded, half-smiling, and disappeared to get her drink.
A moment later, she reemerged, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. She smiled compassionately at Theresa as she handed it to her. " Here. Enjoy."
" Thanks." Theresa took a long swig of the drink, ignoring the burning sensation on her throat and tongue, waiting for the numbing effects of the alcohol to occur. A moment later, she felt positively tipsy, but not so melancholy, so that was something.
" Theresa? Is that you?"
Theresa looked up, horrified to see Ethan standing over her. Hurriedly, she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. " Oh, hi, Ethan. I didn't expect to see you here..."
Ethan took the seat across from her, uninvited. His face was full of concern. " Theresa, are you all right?" His face suddenly hardened. " Did Fox...?"
Theresa shook her head. " No, Ethan. Fox didn't do anything to me. In fact, he was wonderfully perfect. It was me." The pain was coming back to her again, cutting through her numb pleasantness. She took another drink of her 'coffee' to force it back once more.
Ethan frowned at this new information. " What do you mean?"
In her head, Theresa decided to carefully choose her words so that Ethan would feel sorry for her and realize how much he still cared, but instead she heard herself saying, " It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He was just supposed to be temporary, you know? But then..." She shrugged helplessly. " Why did he have to be so wonderful, Ethan? He really cared about me. He really listened when I talked, you know? And when he looked at me... but I ruined everything. I always ruin everything."
Ethan shook his head. " Theresa, you can't blame yourself for– " He stopped, sniffing the air. " Have you been drinking?"
She gave a dizzy smile. " You have beautiful eyes."
Ethan stood up, pulling her to her feet. " Come on, Theresa. I'm taking you home."
He led her out into the street, bracing her with his own body. Theresa smiled at him dreamily. " My knight in shining armor. You always were my white knight, Ethan. And what little girl doesn't dream about that when she's younger? I know I did. No little girl ever dreams of the black knight...but sometimes, you wake up, and there he is."
It wasn't long before they had reached the Lopez-Fitzgerald house. The windows were darkened, and it looked completely empty. " It doesn't look like anyone's home." Ethan observed. " Will you be okay there by yourself?"
" Just peachy." Theresa slurred. She took a few steps forward but then slumped down onto the ground. " Oops," she giggled, " did I fall?"
Ethan helped her back up. " Come on. I'll take you inside, get you settled down." He fished through her purse and found her keys, then let her into the darkened house. After turning on a few lights, he guided her back to her bedroom and set her down on the bed.
" Thank you, Ethan," Theresa said with a grand, dramatic flourish, " my white knight." Suddenly, inexplicably, she felt herself begin to cry.
Ethan was by her side in an instant. " Theresa, are you all right? Do you need me to stay with you?" He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. Suddenly, his hands slid down to her face, and his lips were brushing against her own, soft, polite.
Theresa pulled away. " No, Ethan. No. Not like this." She shook her head for added effect. " You should go home to Gwennie tonight, and I...I should get some sleep, so that I can think straight tomorrow."
" I'm sorry, Theresa," Ethan said quickly. " I don't know what came over me."
Theresa shook her head. " Don't be sorry. You...you are a good man. Thank you for helping me back." She rested her head down on the pillow and then turned away from him. She heard his footsteps retreating into the background and then closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.
Suddenly, she realized what had just happened. Ethan had kissed her, was willing to stay with her. And she had turned him away.
" What's happening to me?" she inquired aloud, and was answered with silence.
***
I thrive on reviews. Don't make me starve.
Have I told you guys lately that I love you? Well, I do, especially when you are reviewing so faithfully. You guys rock.
Red, Red Wine
" You look like someone just hit you with a train. Or possibly a very large suburban."
Fox looked up woozily, smiling lopsidedly as he recognized Whitney. " Whitney Russell. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be off with Ch-Ch-Chad somewhere?"
Usually, he was much better at holding his liquor; in fact, Fox prided himself on being able to keep a steady head under the influence. But tonight, he'd had about ten too many, and he was still going strong. The bartender had already tried to cut him off, but a nice, crisp hundred dollar bill seemed to change his mind. Oh, it was lovely being rich sometimes.
Whitney sighed. " Actually, Chad and I aren't really talking right now. He– well, it's a long story."
" I've always liked stories," Fox informed her, grinning stupidly, " especially ones with princesses and castles and little horsies. Where everyone lives happily ever after in the end."
Whitney shrugged. " Well, Chad kind of wants me to go to LA with him, and I kind of said no. He didn't really take that too well."
Fox motioned to the seat next to him. " Well, sit down. I'm buying. Heck, I'm frickin' rich, I could buy this whole place if I wanted to." He leaned in closer to her. " You want this place? I could buy it for your birthday."
" My birthday isn't until June," Whitney informed him kindly.
Fox waved his hand. " Small details, my friend."
Whitney reached out and took his hand. " Fox, what's wrong? I've been trying to call Theresa all day, and now you I find you like this. Did the two of you get into a fight, or something?"
Fox felt a quick, sobering pain in his heart. " There is no two of us anymore. Just her and me. Separate. She broke it off."
Whitney frowned compassionately at him. " Oh, Fox, I'm so sorry." She looked about the bar, trying to think of the right thing to say. " Are you all right?"
" We were really good together, you know?" Fox stated, forgetting for a moment that it was Whitney he was talking to. " She was so...cunning, you know, like...like a fox. Wicked in the best way possible."
Whitney offered a small smile. " That's Theresa for you."
Fox continued on as though he hadn't heard her, " But then she could turn around and be so sweet, so...wonderful. It was like the best of both worlds."
Suddenly, it was like a montage of Theresa memories running through his mind. Theresa smiling warily at him when he made his grand arrival at the mansion that first night by sneaking into her bed. Theresa getting tipsy on those nightcaps they shared together. Theresa singing Little Ethan to sleep. Theresa looking so forlorn over losing Ethan. Theresa wearing that pink dress, singing at the Blue Note with such fire and passion. Theresa looking so awkward and uncoordinated on the tennis court. Theresa laughing uproariously on the slip and slide. Theresa melting so perfectly into his arms as they danced. Theresa smiling trustingly at him as he lowered her onto the field of grass.
He felt a cool hand slipping into his own and looked up to see Whitney's eyes filled with sympathy. " I feel so terrible for you, Fox. I mean, I love Theresa but I kind of suspected that this was going to happen... is there anything I can do for you?"
It was all so simple. This is exactly what he had wanted to happen. " Yeah, actually...I don't think I'm fit to walk, much less operate a vehicle. Can you drive me home?"
In a matter of moments, they were in Whitney's car, driving through the deserted streets of Harmony. When they reached the Crane mansion, Whitney parked the car, and the two sat in silence. Fox looked over at her after a few minutes had passed. " Do you really love Chad?"
Whitney looked taken aback by the question. " Well, yeah. Yes. I love him with all of my heart."
" But how do you KNOW?" Fox pressed.
Whitney smiled to herself. " He's the only man I've ever loved."
" But he's the only man you've ever been with," Fox reminded her, " so how can you really be sure?"
Whitney shrugged. " I don't know... I just feel it, I guess. Why do you ask?"
Fox shook his head. " It's just hard to imagine being able to find your true love right away, without ever knowing what anyone else is like." There was silence for a moment. Hastily, he ammended, " I'm sorry, Whitney, I didn't mean to– "
" No, it's okay." Whitney assured him. " I've actually thought the same thing. In a way, I've always been kind of jealous of Theresa. She's had so much more experience than me– granted not good experience necessarily, but experience all the same. I mean, she was engaged to Ethan, married to Julian, and then she was dating you. And all through that, she knew that her true love was Ethan." She stopped, realizing her blunder. " I'm sorry, Fox... I shouldn't have said that."
Fox looked away. " Well, you know. What's another heartache when your heart's already broken?"
There was another long silence. " You know," Whitney ventured after a moment, " I was kind of jealous when you and Theresa started dating. I kind of thought..."
" What?"
Whitney met his gaze. " This is stupid, but...well, I kind of thought if anyone was going to end up dating you, it would be me, not her." She waited for some sort of a response from him. " I guess that was all in my head."
Fox sighed. " That wasn't...ALL in your head." He looked up, met her gaze. " You know, sometimes things like this happen for a reason. You and Chad had a fight, and me and Theresa....well, we both ended up here, together. That can't just be coincidence."
Whitney gave a small, nervous smile. " You've obviously been spending too much time with Theresa."
Fox took in a deep intake of breath. He had Whitney here, alone. With just a few carefully crafted words, she could be his. This was what he had been waiting for, planning for, scheming for. So why did it suddenly feel so wrong?
* Forget Theresa,* Fox instructed himself, *she sure isn't thinking about you.*
Whitney sought out his gaze once more, found it. " But maybe you're right. Maybe this isn't just a coincidence...maybe it's something more."
They inched toward one another, tentatively, with all of the awkwardness of an adolescent's first kiss. And then the distance between them closed, and their lips met.
***
Theresa felt like she had been walking all night. She didn't really know where to go. Normally, if she was feeling this down, she'd call Fox and ask him to meet her somewhere to help cheer her up. She couldn't exactly do that now. Home was not an option, since Luis would take one look at her tear-streaked face and go after Fox with a chainsaw. So, she wandered, until she finally stopped outside of the Book Café. That was safe enough, she supposed.
Hurriedly, she pushed open the door and made her way to a back table, hoping that no one she knew was there. She collapsed onto one of the hard wooden chairs and burried her face in her hands. How had this happened? She had gone into this knowing that eventually, she and Fox would have to end things. So why did it hurt so much now that it had actually happened?
" Can I get you something?"
Theresa glanced up at the waitress. Fortunately, it was one she didn't recognize. " Hi, yes... can I have a coffee, please?" The waitress started to walk away, but Theresa grabbed her arm. "And can you make it Irish?"
The waitress glanced around the room. " We aren't really supposed to..."
Theresa looked up at her woefully. " Please?"
The waitress sighed, relenting. " All right. How Irish are we talking?"
" Green-wearing, potato-eating, clover-wearing, St. Patrick Irish." Theresa returned. The waitress nodded, half-smiling, and disappeared to get her drink.
A moment later, she reemerged, carrying a steaming mug of coffee. She smiled compassionately at Theresa as she handed it to her. " Here. Enjoy."
" Thanks." Theresa took a long swig of the drink, ignoring the burning sensation on her throat and tongue, waiting for the numbing effects of the alcohol to occur. A moment later, she felt positively tipsy, but not so melancholy, so that was something.
" Theresa? Is that you?"
Theresa looked up, horrified to see Ethan standing over her. Hurriedly, she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. " Oh, hi, Ethan. I didn't expect to see you here..."
Ethan took the seat across from her, uninvited. His face was full of concern. " Theresa, are you all right?" His face suddenly hardened. " Did Fox...?"
Theresa shook her head. " No, Ethan. Fox didn't do anything to me. In fact, he was wonderfully perfect. It was me." The pain was coming back to her again, cutting through her numb pleasantness. She took another drink of her 'coffee' to force it back once more.
Ethan frowned at this new information. " What do you mean?"
In her head, Theresa decided to carefully choose her words so that Ethan would feel sorry for her and realize how much he still cared, but instead she heard herself saying, " It wasn't supposed to happen this way. He was just supposed to be temporary, you know? But then..." She shrugged helplessly. " Why did he have to be so wonderful, Ethan? He really cared about me. He really listened when I talked, you know? And when he looked at me... but I ruined everything. I always ruin everything."
Ethan shook his head. " Theresa, you can't blame yourself for– " He stopped, sniffing the air. " Have you been drinking?"
She gave a dizzy smile. " You have beautiful eyes."
Ethan stood up, pulling her to her feet. " Come on, Theresa. I'm taking you home."
He led her out into the street, bracing her with his own body. Theresa smiled at him dreamily. " My knight in shining armor. You always were my white knight, Ethan. And what little girl doesn't dream about that when she's younger? I know I did. No little girl ever dreams of the black knight...but sometimes, you wake up, and there he is."
It wasn't long before they had reached the Lopez-Fitzgerald house. The windows were darkened, and it looked completely empty. " It doesn't look like anyone's home." Ethan observed. " Will you be okay there by yourself?"
" Just peachy." Theresa slurred. She took a few steps forward but then slumped down onto the ground. " Oops," she giggled, " did I fall?"
Ethan helped her back up. " Come on. I'll take you inside, get you settled down." He fished through her purse and found her keys, then let her into the darkened house. After turning on a few lights, he guided her back to her bedroom and set her down on the bed.
" Thank you, Ethan," Theresa said with a grand, dramatic flourish, " my white knight." Suddenly, inexplicably, she felt herself begin to cry.
Ethan was by her side in an instant. " Theresa, are you all right? Do you need me to stay with you?" He reached out and brushed her hair away from her face. Suddenly, his hands slid down to her face, and his lips were brushing against her own, soft, polite.
Theresa pulled away. " No, Ethan. No. Not like this." She shook her head for added effect. " You should go home to Gwennie tonight, and I...I should get some sleep, so that I can think straight tomorrow."
" I'm sorry, Theresa," Ethan said quickly. " I don't know what came over me."
Theresa shook her head. " Don't be sorry. You...you are a good man. Thank you for helping me back." She rested her head down on the pillow and then turned away from him. She heard his footsteps retreating into the background and then closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come.
Suddenly, she realized what had just happened. Ethan had kissed her, was willing to stay with her. And she had turned him away.
" What's happening to me?" she inquired aloud, and was answered with silence.
***
I thrive on reviews. Don't make me starve.
