Chapter 6
Later that day.
"Charity.Charity, wake up," Theresa said trying to shake Charity awake. Charity slowly opened her eyes and noticed that it was already nighttime.
"Where are we," she asked trying to take in her surroundings.
"We're at a hotel. Fox was getting tired so we decided to stop for the night. I'm going to go in and try and get us some rooms," Theresa replied before getting out of the car and walking into the hotel.
Charity turned around and looked at Fox. She could help but feel sorry for him as she saw the sadness and longing in his eyes as he watched Theresa walk away. Something inside of her just wished she could do something to make him feel better about the entire situation. Coming up with a solution Charity started talking.
"She'll come around you know," she said.
"Who are you talking about," Fox asked although he already had an idea of who she meant.
"Don't play dumb with me Fox, I'm talking about Theresa. I can tell you care about her a lot and not just as a friend. You and I both know that right now Theresa doesn't plan on dating anyone right now because she thinks she and Ethan were 'meant to be' and that they have an undying, untouchable love that can never be-"
"Is this supposed to make me feel better because it not working," Fox said cutting off Charity.
"Well if you had let me finish," Charity said before getting back to her point. "Now as I was saying, it's becoming obvious that Ethan and Theresa were meant to be together no more than Miguel and I. Think about it, we were both just two young teenage girls eager to fall in love. We didn't think about all the troubles that come with a relationship, we just lived in our own fantasy world and Ethan and Miguel stupidly made us feel like we could stay there forever. But we can't, and I'm began to realize that after I found out about Miguel and Kay and I think that as soon as Theresa realizes that, you and her will be able to be together," Charity ended waiting for Fox's response.
"I know that, and you know that, but for some reason Theresa doesn't know that," Fox said growing impatient with all the waiting. Growing up he was used to always getting what he wanted when he wanted it. The fact that he was now stuck in a position where all he could do was wait for Theresa to be ready bothered him more than anything in the world, 'well except for Ethan' Fox thought.
"Just give her time," Charity replied. "Like I said before, Theresa can't live in that world forever. Besides, I think she's already starting to leave that fantasy world behind her."
"Just what do you mean by that? It doesn't look like Theresa will be getting over Ethan anytime soon."
"Well has she ever gone on a road trip across country with Ethan? No, she's only done that with you. Not only that, but the words that Ethan said to her last night might have been a little wake up call to Theresa. It's only a matter of time before Theresa sees what right in front of her, and when she does, I'll be there to say 'I told you so.'" Charity replied
"Yeah well I hope you're right."
"I know I'm right," Charity said assuredly as Theresa came back to the jeep.
"Right about what Charity?" Theresa asked after hearing the tail part of their conversation.
"Right about the fact that you got us some rooms," Charity covered. "So did you?" she asked.
"Actually, I got us a room. They only had one room left so I took it. The problem is it only has two beds, so one of us will have to sleep on the couch," Theresa said looking at Fox as she finished talking.
"And I guess that since I'm such a wonderful gentleman, I'm going to volunteer to take the couch, isn't that right Theresa?" Fox asked sarcastically.
"Of course it is," Theresa said with amusement as all three of them got out of the jeep and headed into the hotel for a good night of sleep.
The Next Day.
"Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald, what are you doing here?" Phyllis asked as she let Pilar into the Crane mansion.
"Good Morning Phyllis. I know that you weren't expecting to see me here again, but as I was reminiscing in Theresa's room and I realized that she had too many things here at the mansion to take with her when she left, so I figured I'd come over and collect the rest of her belongings and bring them home," Pilar replied.
"I see, I was planning on packing Theresa's belongings and bringing them to you today after I got off of work. Since you're here, you can get started and I'll help you when I take my break."
"That's very nice of you Phyllis, I'll get started right away," Pilar said as she dropped her belongings in the living room and headed upstairs.
Back at the Hotel.
Fox quietly crept over to Theresa's bed and gazed at her as she slept. Unable to contain himself, he lightly ran his hands through her hair, waking her up.
"Fox, what are you doing?" Theresa asked groggily.
"Something I've been dreaming of for the past couple of months," Fox replied before claiming Theresa's mouth in a soul-shattering kiss. Theresa wrapped her arms around Fox's neck and pulled him closer to her body. Running her hands up and down his back, Theresa pulled away slightly and started nibbling on Fox's ears.
"Oh, that feels so good Resa," Fox said before nibbling on Theresa's neck. Theresa moved her hands and ran them up and down Fox's chest, quickly turning him on.
"Oh, Theresa, Theresa"
"THERESA" Fox yelled for the third time.
"Huh, what happened?" Theresa asked confused.
"You were mumbling something in your sleep and I wasn't sure if it was a nightmare so I've been trying to wake you up. Are you okay?" Fox asked.
'It was just a dream damnit!' Theresa thought as she got up from bed. 'Wait, why does that bother me so much? Fox is just a friend, I have no feelings for him, it was just a pointless dream' she concluded before turning back to Fox.
"Yes Fox, I'm fine, I don't remember my dream though," she lied. "So where's Charity?" she asked quickly trying to change the subject.
Fox looked at Theresa strangely, knowing that she was lying about not remembering her dream. 'It was probably about Ethan anyway' he thought bitterly. Letting the subject drop, he answered Theresa's question.
"She's sitting on the couch still trying to decide if she should call her cousin Jessica. I told her that it would be a good idea just so that Jessica wouldn't worry, but she's afraid someone else might answer the phone and she really doesn't want to talk to any of her other family members back in Harmony. I was hoping you could talk to her, since she doesn't look like she's going to take my advice," Fox replied.
Theresa looked past Fox to see Charity sitting on the couch staring at the phone as though it held the answers to all her questions. "Sure, I'll try and talk to her. How about you go get us some breakfast and give us some time alone," Theresa replied.
"No problem, I'll see you two later," Fox replied before kissing Theresa on the cheek and heading out the door. Theresa stayed put for a few seconds trying to recover from the chills that Fox's kiss sent down her spine. 'He's just a friend' Theresa thought before recollecting herself and heading over to sit next to Charity.
"You know, staring at it won't give you an answer," Theresa said referring to the phone. Charity sighed before looking up at Theresa.
"I know, I just wish it did. I really want to talk to Jessica to let her know that I'm okay and to make sure that she's okay, but I really don't want to risk the chance of Uncle Sam, Aunt Grace, or Kay picking up the phone. Not to mention that Miguel might already be there checking up on Kay and the baby. I'm just don't know what to do, what do you think?"
"I think you should call," Theresa replied. "I mean so what if any one of them pick up the phone. They're all the way over there and you're all the way over here. You gave up Miguel, what else could they possibly want from you? You can't hide from them forever."
"Well what about you?" Charity asked. "I don't exactly see you running to the phone calling Harmony and like you said, you can't from them, or should I say him, forever," she said referring to Ethan.
"That's different. I'm not telling you to call Miguel; I'm saying call Jessica and if Miguel happens to answer the phone then deal with him. You're telling me to call Ethan, and I just don't want to deal with him right now," Theresa replied. Seeing that Charity was still wary of calling home, she spoke up again. "How about this, if you call Jessica, I'll use the phone in the bedroom and call my mother. Is that a deal?" she asked.
Charity thought about for a few seconds before agreeing with Theresa. She waited for Theresa to enter the bedroom before picking up the phone and dialing the number of her former home.
Bennett Household
RING!!! RING!!
"Hello, Bennett residence," Jessica said as she answered the phone.
"Jessica? Is that you?" Charity asked.
"Oh my God Charity, how are you?" Jessica asked, barely containing her excitement at hearing her cousin's voice.
"I'm good, how about you? I miss you so much," Charity replied.
"I miss you too. You have no idea how boring this place is without you to talk to. Everyone keeps to themselves and no one talks to each other. Not that I would want to talk to any one of them after the way they treated you."
"Jessica you can't stay mad at them just because of me, they're your family. Besides, there's no point in staying angry with them, I'm having a blast here," Charity replied excitedly.
"Really? Where are you right now?" Jessica asked.
"Right now we're in Missouri, we're going to get back on the road in about an hour," she replied.
"We? Who are you with and how the hell did you get to Missouri without a car?" Jessica asked. "Please don't tell me you actually hitchhiked with some stranger, do you realize how dangerous that is?"
"Jessica, relax. I didn't hitchhike with anyone. I was walking on the street, hoping to catch a bus but Fox and Theresa, who were also leaving Harmony, saw me and asked me to come with them. Twenty-four hours later here we are in Missouri," Charity concluded.
"Theresa and Fox? Wait, so you're with them? How is it, are you feeling better?" Jessica asked feeling concerned about Charity.
"I'm getting there. Being away from everyone definitely helps," Charity replied.
Jessica hesitated pondering whether or not to say what was on her mind. Finally deciding, Jessica replied, "I told Miguel that you left yesterday, he didn't take it too well. He really misses you. I personally think this shouldn't bother you, but I thought you might like to know."
"Well that's just too bad for Miguel," Charity replied coldly. "Miguel made his bed now he can sleep in it with or without Kay."
"I'm glad to see you're not letting this bring you down. I don't know where you're going, and I'm pretty sure you're not going to tell me, but wherever you go and whatever you do I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. When you were knocked down, you wasted no time in getting back up."
"Thank you Jessica, that means a lot to me. And just so you know, the three of us were planning on moving to California. We're not certain of a specific town or what we're going to do when we get there but at least we have some kind of destination in mind. I was hoping to start a search for my biological father once we were settled down there. It'd be nice to get to know him."
"That sounds like a good idea, I hope you find him, you deserve to be happy," Jessica replied. She paused before continuing, "Charity as nice as it is to hear from you, I've gotta go. Reese and I have a big date tonight and he'll be picking me up in about in 10 minutes"
"Oh, yeah sorry about that, I'll let you go. Could you not tell anyone that we're headed to California? I don't want it to somehow get back to Miguel or Ethan and have anyone of them bring problems our way, okay?"
"Sure, no problem. It was really good to hear from you. Take care of yourself and try and contact me again soon, alright."
"I will, you take care of yourself too. I love you," Charity said.
"I love you too, Bye."
"Bye," Charity said before hanging up the phone and relaxing back on the couch.
"So how was it?" Theresa asked as she came back into the room after taking a quick shower and getting dressed.
"Great, Jessica answered and I was able to catch her up on what's been going on with us. I told her I'd call her again soon," Charity replied happily.
"See, piece of cake. I told you it was a good idea, I hope this teaches you to always listen to Theresa," Theresa joked as she leaned back in the couch. Charity laughed at Theresa before responding.
"Alright, I did my part of the deal, now you do yours."
"No problem, all I have to do is call mama on her cell phone, no worries of anyone else answering that," Theresa said before heading to the bedroom to call her mother.
Crane Mansion.
Ethan walked into the Crane living room and headed for the brandy on the table. Today was already a horrible day. It was so hard for him wake up and realize that Theresa wouldn't be there when went downstairs for breakfast; instead he would have to see Gwen day in and day out. Finishing his first cup, Ethan refilled his glass and walked back to the couch to sit down. As he sat down he heard ringing coming from under what looked like Pilar's coat to Ethan. Picking it up and noticing that the number appeared as an unknown call in the caller I.D. Ethan answered the phone hoping to take a message for Pilar.
"Hello?" Ethan said into the phone. He waited for a response but heard nothing. "Hello?" he asked again. Ethan was about to hang up the phone when he finally heard a voice he recognized almost immediately.
"Eth- Ethan?" It was Theresa.
TBC
Later that day.
"Charity.Charity, wake up," Theresa said trying to shake Charity awake. Charity slowly opened her eyes and noticed that it was already nighttime.
"Where are we," she asked trying to take in her surroundings.
"We're at a hotel. Fox was getting tired so we decided to stop for the night. I'm going to go in and try and get us some rooms," Theresa replied before getting out of the car and walking into the hotel.
Charity turned around and looked at Fox. She could help but feel sorry for him as she saw the sadness and longing in his eyes as he watched Theresa walk away. Something inside of her just wished she could do something to make him feel better about the entire situation. Coming up with a solution Charity started talking.
"She'll come around you know," she said.
"Who are you talking about," Fox asked although he already had an idea of who she meant.
"Don't play dumb with me Fox, I'm talking about Theresa. I can tell you care about her a lot and not just as a friend. You and I both know that right now Theresa doesn't plan on dating anyone right now because she thinks she and Ethan were 'meant to be' and that they have an undying, untouchable love that can never be-"
"Is this supposed to make me feel better because it not working," Fox said cutting off Charity.
"Well if you had let me finish," Charity said before getting back to her point. "Now as I was saying, it's becoming obvious that Ethan and Theresa were meant to be together no more than Miguel and I. Think about it, we were both just two young teenage girls eager to fall in love. We didn't think about all the troubles that come with a relationship, we just lived in our own fantasy world and Ethan and Miguel stupidly made us feel like we could stay there forever. But we can't, and I'm began to realize that after I found out about Miguel and Kay and I think that as soon as Theresa realizes that, you and her will be able to be together," Charity ended waiting for Fox's response.
"I know that, and you know that, but for some reason Theresa doesn't know that," Fox said growing impatient with all the waiting. Growing up he was used to always getting what he wanted when he wanted it. The fact that he was now stuck in a position where all he could do was wait for Theresa to be ready bothered him more than anything in the world, 'well except for Ethan' Fox thought.
"Just give her time," Charity replied. "Like I said before, Theresa can't live in that world forever. Besides, I think she's already starting to leave that fantasy world behind her."
"Just what do you mean by that? It doesn't look like Theresa will be getting over Ethan anytime soon."
"Well has she ever gone on a road trip across country with Ethan? No, she's only done that with you. Not only that, but the words that Ethan said to her last night might have been a little wake up call to Theresa. It's only a matter of time before Theresa sees what right in front of her, and when she does, I'll be there to say 'I told you so.'" Charity replied
"Yeah well I hope you're right."
"I know I'm right," Charity said assuredly as Theresa came back to the jeep.
"Right about what Charity?" Theresa asked after hearing the tail part of their conversation.
"Right about the fact that you got us some rooms," Charity covered. "So did you?" she asked.
"Actually, I got us a room. They only had one room left so I took it. The problem is it only has two beds, so one of us will have to sleep on the couch," Theresa said looking at Fox as she finished talking.
"And I guess that since I'm such a wonderful gentleman, I'm going to volunteer to take the couch, isn't that right Theresa?" Fox asked sarcastically.
"Of course it is," Theresa said with amusement as all three of them got out of the jeep and headed into the hotel for a good night of sleep.
The Next Day.
"Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald, what are you doing here?" Phyllis asked as she let Pilar into the Crane mansion.
"Good Morning Phyllis. I know that you weren't expecting to see me here again, but as I was reminiscing in Theresa's room and I realized that she had too many things here at the mansion to take with her when she left, so I figured I'd come over and collect the rest of her belongings and bring them home," Pilar replied.
"I see, I was planning on packing Theresa's belongings and bringing them to you today after I got off of work. Since you're here, you can get started and I'll help you when I take my break."
"That's very nice of you Phyllis, I'll get started right away," Pilar said as she dropped her belongings in the living room and headed upstairs.
Back at the Hotel.
Fox quietly crept over to Theresa's bed and gazed at her as she slept. Unable to contain himself, he lightly ran his hands through her hair, waking her up.
"Fox, what are you doing?" Theresa asked groggily.
"Something I've been dreaming of for the past couple of months," Fox replied before claiming Theresa's mouth in a soul-shattering kiss. Theresa wrapped her arms around Fox's neck and pulled him closer to her body. Running her hands up and down his back, Theresa pulled away slightly and started nibbling on Fox's ears.
"Oh, that feels so good Resa," Fox said before nibbling on Theresa's neck. Theresa moved her hands and ran them up and down Fox's chest, quickly turning him on.
"Oh, Theresa, Theresa"
"THERESA" Fox yelled for the third time.
"Huh, what happened?" Theresa asked confused.
"You were mumbling something in your sleep and I wasn't sure if it was a nightmare so I've been trying to wake you up. Are you okay?" Fox asked.
'It was just a dream damnit!' Theresa thought as she got up from bed. 'Wait, why does that bother me so much? Fox is just a friend, I have no feelings for him, it was just a pointless dream' she concluded before turning back to Fox.
"Yes Fox, I'm fine, I don't remember my dream though," she lied. "So where's Charity?" she asked quickly trying to change the subject.
Fox looked at Theresa strangely, knowing that she was lying about not remembering her dream. 'It was probably about Ethan anyway' he thought bitterly. Letting the subject drop, he answered Theresa's question.
"She's sitting on the couch still trying to decide if she should call her cousin Jessica. I told her that it would be a good idea just so that Jessica wouldn't worry, but she's afraid someone else might answer the phone and she really doesn't want to talk to any of her other family members back in Harmony. I was hoping you could talk to her, since she doesn't look like she's going to take my advice," Fox replied.
Theresa looked past Fox to see Charity sitting on the couch staring at the phone as though it held the answers to all her questions. "Sure, I'll try and talk to her. How about you go get us some breakfast and give us some time alone," Theresa replied.
"No problem, I'll see you two later," Fox replied before kissing Theresa on the cheek and heading out the door. Theresa stayed put for a few seconds trying to recover from the chills that Fox's kiss sent down her spine. 'He's just a friend' Theresa thought before recollecting herself and heading over to sit next to Charity.
"You know, staring at it won't give you an answer," Theresa said referring to the phone. Charity sighed before looking up at Theresa.
"I know, I just wish it did. I really want to talk to Jessica to let her know that I'm okay and to make sure that she's okay, but I really don't want to risk the chance of Uncle Sam, Aunt Grace, or Kay picking up the phone. Not to mention that Miguel might already be there checking up on Kay and the baby. I'm just don't know what to do, what do you think?"
"I think you should call," Theresa replied. "I mean so what if any one of them pick up the phone. They're all the way over there and you're all the way over here. You gave up Miguel, what else could they possibly want from you? You can't hide from them forever."
"Well what about you?" Charity asked. "I don't exactly see you running to the phone calling Harmony and like you said, you can't from them, or should I say him, forever," she said referring to Ethan.
"That's different. I'm not telling you to call Miguel; I'm saying call Jessica and if Miguel happens to answer the phone then deal with him. You're telling me to call Ethan, and I just don't want to deal with him right now," Theresa replied. Seeing that Charity was still wary of calling home, she spoke up again. "How about this, if you call Jessica, I'll use the phone in the bedroom and call my mother. Is that a deal?" she asked.
Charity thought about for a few seconds before agreeing with Theresa. She waited for Theresa to enter the bedroom before picking up the phone and dialing the number of her former home.
Bennett Household
RING!!! RING!!
"Hello, Bennett residence," Jessica said as she answered the phone.
"Jessica? Is that you?" Charity asked.
"Oh my God Charity, how are you?" Jessica asked, barely containing her excitement at hearing her cousin's voice.
"I'm good, how about you? I miss you so much," Charity replied.
"I miss you too. You have no idea how boring this place is without you to talk to. Everyone keeps to themselves and no one talks to each other. Not that I would want to talk to any one of them after the way they treated you."
"Jessica you can't stay mad at them just because of me, they're your family. Besides, there's no point in staying angry with them, I'm having a blast here," Charity replied excitedly.
"Really? Where are you right now?" Jessica asked.
"Right now we're in Missouri, we're going to get back on the road in about an hour," she replied.
"We? Who are you with and how the hell did you get to Missouri without a car?" Jessica asked. "Please don't tell me you actually hitchhiked with some stranger, do you realize how dangerous that is?"
"Jessica, relax. I didn't hitchhike with anyone. I was walking on the street, hoping to catch a bus but Fox and Theresa, who were also leaving Harmony, saw me and asked me to come with them. Twenty-four hours later here we are in Missouri," Charity concluded.
"Theresa and Fox? Wait, so you're with them? How is it, are you feeling better?" Jessica asked feeling concerned about Charity.
"I'm getting there. Being away from everyone definitely helps," Charity replied.
Jessica hesitated pondering whether or not to say what was on her mind. Finally deciding, Jessica replied, "I told Miguel that you left yesterday, he didn't take it too well. He really misses you. I personally think this shouldn't bother you, but I thought you might like to know."
"Well that's just too bad for Miguel," Charity replied coldly. "Miguel made his bed now he can sleep in it with or without Kay."
"I'm glad to see you're not letting this bring you down. I don't know where you're going, and I'm pretty sure you're not going to tell me, but wherever you go and whatever you do I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. When you were knocked down, you wasted no time in getting back up."
"Thank you Jessica, that means a lot to me. And just so you know, the three of us were planning on moving to California. We're not certain of a specific town or what we're going to do when we get there but at least we have some kind of destination in mind. I was hoping to start a search for my biological father once we were settled down there. It'd be nice to get to know him."
"That sounds like a good idea, I hope you find him, you deserve to be happy," Jessica replied. She paused before continuing, "Charity as nice as it is to hear from you, I've gotta go. Reese and I have a big date tonight and he'll be picking me up in about in 10 minutes"
"Oh, yeah sorry about that, I'll let you go. Could you not tell anyone that we're headed to California? I don't want it to somehow get back to Miguel or Ethan and have anyone of them bring problems our way, okay?"
"Sure, no problem. It was really good to hear from you. Take care of yourself and try and contact me again soon, alright."
"I will, you take care of yourself too. I love you," Charity said.
"I love you too, Bye."
"Bye," Charity said before hanging up the phone and relaxing back on the couch.
"So how was it?" Theresa asked as she came back into the room after taking a quick shower and getting dressed.
"Great, Jessica answered and I was able to catch her up on what's been going on with us. I told her I'd call her again soon," Charity replied happily.
"See, piece of cake. I told you it was a good idea, I hope this teaches you to always listen to Theresa," Theresa joked as she leaned back in the couch. Charity laughed at Theresa before responding.
"Alright, I did my part of the deal, now you do yours."
"No problem, all I have to do is call mama on her cell phone, no worries of anyone else answering that," Theresa said before heading to the bedroom to call her mother.
Crane Mansion.
Ethan walked into the Crane living room and headed for the brandy on the table. Today was already a horrible day. It was so hard for him wake up and realize that Theresa wouldn't be there when went downstairs for breakfast; instead he would have to see Gwen day in and day out. Finishing his first cup, Ethan refilled his glass and walked back to the couch to sit down. As he sat down he heard ringing coming from under what looked like Pilar's coat to Ethan. Picking it up and noticing that the number appeared as an unknown call in the caller I.D. Ethan answered the phone hoping to take a message for Pilar.
"Hello?" Ethan said into the phone. He waited for a response but heard nothing. "Hello?" he asked again. Ethan was about to hang up the phone when he finally heard a voice he recognized almost immediately.
"Eth- Ethan?" It was Theresa.
TBC