Chapter 9
It had been seven months since Theresa, Charity, and Fox arrived in California and things were going great for them. Theresa's fashion line, Lopez-Fitz, took off very quickly and she was already receiving calls from the biggest starts in Hollywood asking her to design clothing for them. As promised, Brady introduced Charity to Alex and after hearing her sing for five minutes, Alex immediately signed her to his label. Charity finished recording her first album and just completed her first music video. Fox, after deciding that doing absolutely nothing all day wasn't as fun as he thought, decided that he needed to find a job. He didn't have to look far because Charity asked him to be her manager and pretty soon, Fox was getting her on every radio show out there. After living with Brady for two months, Fox, Theresa, and Charity finally found a nice mansion to move into that was only ten minutes away from Brady. All in all, things were going perfect for the three of them.
Charity rang Brady's doorbell and waited for him to answer. After five minutes, he finally opened the door.
"Took you long enough," Charity said as she let herself into his house.
"Please, come in, make yourself at home" Brady said sarcastically as Charity headed toward his living room and turned on the television.
"Like I need an invitation. I spend more time at your house than I do my own," Charity replied without even turning away from the T.V.
Over the past couple of months, Brady and Charity had spent a lot of time together and had gotten to know each other very well. They had basically become each other's best friend but neither could deny the sexual tension between them. They often flirted or made sexual remarks to each other, but they never actually sat down and talked about their relationship, or lack thereof; so far that's how both of them wanted it to be.
"Not that I mind, but what are you doing here this late?" Brady asked, looking at his watch that read 12:35 AM.
"Tonight is Fox and Theresa's seven month anniversary and I promised to let them have the house to themselves tonight. So luckily for you, I had nowhere else to go and decided to bless you with my presence," Charity said jokingly.
"Watch me as I jump for joy," Brady replied before sitting down next to Charity and grabbing the remote control from her hand.
"Hey! Give it back," Charity exclaimed reaching for the remote control.
"Uh uh, my T.V., my decision on what we watch," Brady said while trying to dodge Charity. But Charity wouldn't have any of that; she attacked Brady knocking the remote control out of his hand and changing the channel as it hit the floor. Charity was about to go after the control when what she heard on the television stopped her. Turning toward the T.V. Charity saw her video being played on a music channel.
"That's me!" Charity screamed seeing herself on T.V. for the first time. "I can't believe it, they're playing my video!"
"Congratulations Charity!" Brady exclaimed, just as excited as Charity was.
"Oh my God, Brady this is amazing, my dreams are actually coming true!" Charity screamed before grabbing Brady into a fierce hug. Brady hugged her just as fiercely, never wanting to let her go. Charity pulled back a little but still stayed in Brady's arms, looking deep into his eyes. Before she could comprehend what she was feeling, Brady's lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. He quickly opened his mouth allowing Charity to slip her tongue into his mouth. They stayed in that position, kissing, for a couple of minutes before finally pulling away.
"That was.interesting," Brady said while staring at Charity trying to see what she thought of the kiss.
"Um, yes, interesting seems like a good word," Charity replied, unable to take her eyes away from Brady.
"So what do we do now?" Brady asked.
"This," Charity replied before capturing Brady's lips in her own and making out with him all night.
Meanwhile (I know its getting old).
Theresa and Fox were having a wonderful night. Fox had taken her to her favorite restaurant and had rented a private room in the restaurant. Before their dinner arrived Fox gave Theresa a diamond bracelet with the words 'Fox + Resa Always' embedded on it. They spent most of their evening talking and laughing over dinner. After dinner, Fox took Theresa to a flower shop and bought her a dozen red roses before heading back to their house.
"Fox, you have made this a perfect night," Theresa said, still touched by all that Fox had done for her.
"The night's still young," Fox replied before opening the door to their house and allowing Theresa to walk in. As soon as Theresa entered the house, she was greeted with the sight of vanilla candles lit all over the house.
"I can't believe you did this," Theresa said in awe.
"I'm glad you like it. Follow the rose petals," he said referring to the petals that were lined up along the floor. Not know what Fox was up to, Theresa followed the rose petals and eventually found herself outside of Fox's room. Theresa looked up at Fox with confusion, but turned and opened the door nonetheless.
"Oh my God," Theresa gasped. Inside Fox's room were white roses decorated all over the floor and bed. He had set up a few more candles in his room and changed his light bulbs so that red light filtered through his room. 'I can't believe he did this for me' Theresa thought.
"Do you like it?" Fox asked, unsure of what to think. Turning to Fox with tears in her eyes, Theresa replied.
"I love it and I am so unbelievably touched that you actually spent time to do this for me."
"Well you deserve it," Fox said taking Theresa into his arms. He brought her lips toward his kissed her senselessly. Theresa started to run her hands over Fox's body and was leading him toward his bed when he stopped her.
"Wait, wait," Fox said. He planned this night so that he could tell her something and he wasn't going to let his pleasure stop him from telling her.
"What is it Fox?" Theresa asked concerned.
"I just wanted to say a few things," Fox replied leading her to his bed and sitting down next to her. Once they were both settled on the bed, Fox began to talk.
"You and I both know that before I met you, I was never one to settle down. I mean, love was the farthest thing from my mind. But ever since we have gotten together, you have made me feel things that I never thought I would lucky enough to feel. You make me feel alive, you make me feel invincible, and you make me feel like I'm more than just the drunken mistake of my mother and father. And I just wanted to say," Fox paused trying to get the words out. "I wanted to say that I- I love you," he said.
Theresa stared at Fox with tears streaming down her eyes and surprise evident in her face. "I love you too Fox, I love you so much," she said before he pulled her close and held her like he would never let go.
Fox leaned over Theresa, guiding her to lie on her back. He slowly began to kiss her neck while his hands roamed her body. Theresa ran her hands through Fox's hair before bringing them down to unbutton his shirt. Fox broke away from Theresa long enough to remove his shirt and toss it to the floor. He then went to work on unloosing the straps of Theresa's dress. When they were all untied, Fox slowly started sliding Theresa's dress off of her shoulders, exposing the top half of her body. Theresa had already gotten rid of Fox's pants and was starting to take off his boxers when Fox stopped her.
"Are you sure about this babe?" he asked knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop if they continued.
Theresa looked at Fox with nothing but love and desire. 'I am so lucky' she thought. She reached up and pulled Fox closer to her body as she replied.
"I've never been more sure about anything else in my life. I love you Fox."
"And I love you Resa," Fox said and then he proceeded to show her how much he loved her all night long.
The Next Day.
"So," Charity said to Theresa waiting for her to talk about her date with Fox last night. She and Theresa were in their kitchen preparing lunch for themselves.
"So." Theresa said purposely keeping Charity in suspense.
"Oh come on Resa, don't make me beg," Charity complained. Theresa laughed before telling Charity all of the wonderful things Fox did for her last night.
"Yeah, yeah, I know that part already," Charity replied referring to the dinner, roses, and candles. "I'm interested in what happened after dinner. Did you guys, you know.?" Charity asked. At Theresa's nod, Charity squealed and grabbed Theresa in a hug. "I'm so happy for you guys, so what was it like?" she asked.
Theresa laughed at Charity's question before responding. "Charity, I love you like a sister but I don't think you want me to go into details."
Charity blushed at Theresa's statement after realizing what her question sounded like. "Okay, point taken, as long as you guys are happy, I'm happy," she responded.
"Of course we're happy. Now what about you, have you and Brady finally stopped flirting and talked about a date?" Theresa asked. Noticing the blush that crossed Charity's face, Theresa immediately starting asking questions.
"Did he ask you out?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes, we've actually got plans for tonight," Charity responded slightly embarrassed by the attention that Theresa was giving her.
"When? How? What led to it?" Theresa asked all in one breath.
"Well, it all started." Charity said as she began to recount the events of last night to Theresa.
"So you asked her out then?" Fox asked. He and Brady were in Brady's entertainment room playing a game of pool.
"Yeah, and she said yes. I was planning on taking her out for dinner and a movie tonight. You know, start things slow," Brady responded.
"Good for you two. Look Brady you're my best friend and I love ya man, but I've come to love Charity like a little sister, and she's been through enough with that fool Miguel, so don't hurt her, okay?" Brady looked into Fox's eyes and could see that he was dead serious about what he was saying.
"Don't worry, I'd never hurt her," Brady replied slightly surprised by the look that Fox was giving him.
"Good, now let's get back to the game," Fox replied as he racked up the pool balls and prepared to play another game.
In Harmony.
Some citizens in Harmony weren't doing as well as the trio in California, mainly Ethan, Gwen, Miguel, and Kay. A month after Theresa left, Ethan found out that Gwen had lied to him about ever being pregnant. It was all just a scheme to get him to choose her over Theresa. He also found out that Gwen and her mother were the ones that sent the letter to the tabloid exposing him as a non-Crane. After finding out all of her lies, Ethan wanted nothing more than to divorce her, but when he was getting ready to have the papers delivered, Gwen got into a car accident and although she recovered, he didn't have the courage to leave her. So he stayed in the same loveless marriage that he grew up watching with between his mother and Julian. He and Gwen were even starting to argue like Ivy and Julian.
Gwen walked out of the bathroom and into her room dressed in a long black dress. She looked at Ethan and saw that he was still dressed in his pajamas and reading a magazine.
"Well, aren't you going to get ready?" Gwen asked impatiently.
"Ready for what?" Ethan replied not bothering to look up at Gwen.
"I told you that we were going to have lunch with my dad and his business associates last night and I reminded you again this morning. My dad has been looking forward to this for the past two weeks. You couldn't have forgotten."
"No I didn't forget, I just chose not to remember," Ethan replied with an uninterested tone.
"Ethan you can't do this to me! I promised my dad we'd be there, I can't show up alone!"
"God forbid you don't get what you want for a change," Ethan replied sarcastically.
"Damnit Ethan! How long are you going to stay angry at me?" Gwen yelled.
"As long as it takes to get rid of the pain that I feel every morning when I wake up and realize that Theresa isn't in my life anymore!" Ethan yelled just as loud getting out of bed and glaring at Gwen.
"Of course! It's always Theresa! Open your eyes Ethan, Theresa is gone! She's been gone for the past seven months. And if you've read the fashion magazines, like I'm sure you have, you'd see that not only is she gone, but she's also enjoying the life that she's made for herself! Don't you see, even if we were to get a divorce right now and you somehow found out where Theresa was living, she'd still never take you back!"
"You're wrong!" Ethan yelled, not wanting to believe Gwen. "Theresa would take me back because I was her first and only love. She could never love anyone the way she loved me. Our love is too strong to let it be broken by distance, and you know that. That's why you keep trying to convince me and yourself that Theresa wouldn't take me back, because you and I both know she would," Ethan said not only trying to convince Gwen but himself also. Gwen stared at Ethan not knowing what to say. 'He's right. Theresa has always wanted Ethan, why would a couple of months change her mind? Either way, I'm married to Ethan and she's out there designing clothing and living a lonely life. Should she decide to come back, I'll make sure that she doesn't get Ethan' Gwen thought.
"Ethan would you please get dressed so that we can leave," Gwen asked exasperated.
"Of course I'll get dressed, it's what you want isn't it? We all know that whatever Gwen Hotchkiss wants, she gets by any means necessary," Ethan said once again going for a low blow insult.
"Say what you want Ethan, just meet me downstairs in twenty minutes," Gwen said before leaving Ethan in their room to himself. He watched her walk out the door and headed towards the bathroom. Once inside he looked up at his reflection in the mirror. 'How did my life become such a hellhole?' he thought before getting into the shower.
Miguel and Kay weren't doing much better than Ethan and Gwen. In her third month of her pregnancy Kay had a miscarriage that really devastated her. Miguel, who was also saddened by the loss, realized that he couldn't leave Kay when she was dealing with a miscarriage. After a while, Miguel started to realize that Kay was once again trying to get him to fall in love with her. After a full blown out fight, Miguel decided that he wanted nothing to do with Kay and tried to avoid her as much as possible; but that didn't stop Kay from believing that one day Miguel would be hers completely.
Miguel waited outside the Bennett door hoping that Jessica would answer the door. Since Charity left, Miguel would stop by once a week to see if Jessica had been contacted by Charity. So far, Jessica had heard from Charity only once since she left and Miguel worried if something happened to her, but he had no way of knowing. He looked up when the door opened and saw Kay standing in front of him.
"Miguel, hi, what are you doing here?" Kay asked with a sickeningly sweet voice, well as sweet as she could muster up.
"Kay," Miguel said with an irritated tone. "Is Jessica here? I came to see if she heard anything from Charity."
'Figures,' Kay thought. 'Will he ever get over her? I carried his baby damnit!' "Jessica isn't here right now but you're welcome to wait for her in the living room. I was listening to the radio, you could keep me company," Kay offered hoping to spend some time Miguel.
Miguel looked at Kay skeptically. 'No doubt she'll use this as an opportunity to flirt with me' he thought. That alone was enough of a reason for him to want to turn and leave. 'But what if Jessica heard from Charity, I can't miss that,' he thought. Deciding on staying, Miguel headed toward the living room and sat on the couch to wait for Jessica. Kay walked over and sat next to him, barely allowing one inch of space between them. She was about to say something when Miguel spoke up first.
"Hey Kay, could you turn up the radio, that song sounds really nice."
Sighing, Kay reached over and raised the volume of the radio, letting the singer's voice filter the room. Kay sat back and listened to the words of the song.
Of all the things I've believed in
I just want to get it over with
Tears form behind my eyes
But I do not cry
Counting the days that pass me by
'She has a beautiful voice' Miguel thought.
I've been searching deep down in my soul
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old
It feels like I'm starting all over again
The last three years were just pretend
And I said,
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
I used to get lost in your eyes
And it seems that I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away
To a place where I am blinded by the light
But it's not right
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
'Why is he so captivated by this girl's voice?' Kay thought as she looked at Miguel as he listened to the song. 'It's just some girl venting about a broken heart.'
And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time
I want what's yours and I want what's mine
I want you
But I'm not giving in this time
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
And when the stars fall
I will lie awake
You're my shooting star
"And that was Charity Standish ladies and gentlemen with Goodbye to You. She was actually on with us last week and when we asked her about that song she told us that she wrote it for her first boyfriend right after they broke up. Anyway keep listening." the D.J. continued but neither Kay nor Miguel were listening after they heard him say Charity's name.
"I knew that voice sounded familiar!" Miguel exclaimed still surprised at hearing Charity on the radio.
"What the hell? Since when did Charity sing?" Kay asked with a touch of jealousy in her voice. 'She was supposed to be sad and lonely not out their making millions of dollars' she thought.
"I don't know. She never once mentioned to me that she liked to sing. I still can't believe that was her. Do you know what this means?" Miguel asked.
"Um, no," Kay replied with confusion.
"It means that I have a better chance of finding her! I mean singers always have fan clubs and things like that. If I search the Internet long enough I'd be sure to find her!" Miguel replied ecstatically.
"What? Miguel did you not hear the words of her song? She was saying goodbye!" Kay said, trying to talk Miguel out of looking up Charity.
Miguel's mood instantly dampened after Kay's statement. 'She's right. Charity basically said that she wanted nothing to do with me in that song. But I love her!'
"Maybe she did Kay," Miguel started. "But I know that if we could just talk she and I could work out our problems and be together again."
'Unbelievable' Kay thought. 'It's been seven months and he still holds out hope that he and perfect little Charity will be together. No way will I let that happen, Miguel will be mine and Charity will know what it's like to lose for once in her life.' Turning back to Miguel, Kay continued to discourage him.
"Miguel, don't you think that Charity would have contacted you if she really wanted you guys to work things out?" Kay asked.
"Yes, but she doesn't know that you lost the baby. She probably thinks that I'm with you trying to provide for our child," Miguel said, refusing to listen to Kay
"Honestly Miguel, don't you think you've done enough damage in her life. Geez, you hurt her so much that she left without so much as a goodbye and she hasn't talked to anyone in Harmony for the past seven months. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to 'work things out.'" Kay said realizing that she was slowly starting to get to Miguel.
Miguel looked at Kay and realized that what she was saying was true. If Charity really wanted to talk to him, she would have called long ago. 'There's no point in me searching for her only to have her turn me away. I wouldn't be able to handle her rejection.' With a final sigh Miguel rose and headed toward the door.
"Tell Jessica that I stopped by and that I'll see her sometime soon," Miguel said before leaving the Bennett household. Kay watched as Miguel walked down the street defeated and heartbroken. 'It's only a matter of time before you're finally mine,' she thought as she closed the door and headed back into her house.
Please feedback!!
The song used was "Goodbye To You" by Michelle Branch.
Next Chapter - The next chapter is going to jump again to about 6 or seven months from now so that it will have been a little over a year since the trio left Harmony. In the next chapter, Charity finds out the name of her biological father, you won't believe who it is!!
It had been seven months since Theresa, Charity, and Fox arrived in California and things were going great for them. Theresa's fashion line, Lopez-Fitz, took off very quickly and she was already receiving calls from the biggest starts in Hollywood asking her to design clothing for them. As promised, Brady introduced Charity to Alex and after hearing her sing for five minutes, Alex immediately signed her to his label. Charity finished recording her first album and just completed her first music video. Fox, after deciding that doing absolutely nothing all day wasn't as fun as he thought, decided that he needed to find a job. He didn't have to look far because Charity asked him to be her manager and pretty soon, Fox was getting her on every radio show out there. After living with Brady for two months, Fox, Theresa, and Charity finally found a nice mansion to move into that was only ten minutes away from Brady. All in all, things were going perfect for the three of them.
Charity rang Brady's doorbell and waited for him to answer. After five minutes, he finally opened the door.
"Took you long enough," Charity said as she let herself into his house.
"Please, come in, make yourself at home" Brady said sarcastically as Charity headed toward his living room and turned on the television.
"Like I need an invitation. I spend more time at your house than I do my own," Charity replied without even turning away from the T.V.
Over the past couple of months, Brady and Charity had spent a lot of time together and had gotten to know each other very well. They had basically become each other's best friend but neither could deny the sexual tension between them. They often flirted or made sexual remarks to each other, but they never actually sat down and talked about their relationship, or lack thereof; so far that's how both of them wanted it to be.
"Not that I mind, but what are you doing here this late?" Brady asked, looking at his watch that read 12:35 AM.
"Tonight is Fox and Theresa's seven month anniversary and I promised to let them have the house to themselves tonight. So luckily for you, I had nowhere else to go and decided to bless you with my presence," Charity said jokingly.
"Watch me as I jump for joy," Brady replied before sitting down next to Charity and grabbing the remote control from her hand.
"Hey! Give it back," Charity exclaimed reaching for the remote control.
"Uh uh, my T.V., my decision on what we watch," Brady said while trying to dodge Charity. But Charity wouldn't have any of that; she attacked Brady knocking the remote control out of his hand and changing the channel as it hit the floor. Charity was about to go after the control when what she heard on the television stopped her. Turning toward the T.V. Charity saw her video being played on a music channel.
"That's me!" Charity screamed seeing herself on T.V. for the first time. "I can't believe it, they're playing my video!"
"Congratulations Charity!" Brady exclaimed, just as excited as Charity was.
"Oh my God, Brady this is amazing, my dreams are actually coming true!" Charity screamed before grabbing Brady into a fierce hug. Brady hugged her just as fiercely, never wanting to let her go. Charity pulled back a little but still stayed in Brady's arms, looking deep into his eyes. Before she could comprehend what she was feeling, Brady's lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. He quickly opened his mouth allowing Charity to slip her tongue into his mouth. They stayed in that position, kissing, for a couple of minutes before finally pulling away.
"That was.interesting," Brady said while staring at Charity trying to see what she thought of the kiss.
"Um, yes, interesting seems like a good word," Charity replied, unable to take her eyes away from Brady.
"So what do we do now?" Brady asked.
"This," Charity replied before capturing Brady's lips in her own and making out with him all night.
Meanwhile (I know its getting old).
Theresa and Fox were having a wonderful night. Fox had taken her to her favorite restaurant and had rented a private room in the restaurant. Before their dinner arrived Fox gave Theresa a diamond bracelet with the words 'Fox + Resa Always' embedded on it. They spent most of their evening talking and laughing over dinner. After dinner, Fox took Theresa to a flower shop and bought her a dozen red roses before heading back to their house.
"Fox, you have made this a perfect night," Theresa said, still touched by all that Fox had done for her.
"The night's still young," Fox replied before opening the door to their house and allowing Theresa to walk in. As soon as Theresa entered the house, she was greeted with the sight of vanilla candles lit all over the house.
"I can't believe you did this," Theresa said in awe.
"I'm glad you like it. Follow the rose petals," he said referring to the petals that were lined up along the floor. Not know what Fox was up to, Theresa followed the rose petals and eventually found herself outside of Fox's room. Theresa looked up at Fox with confusion, but turned and opened the door nonetheless.
"Oh my God," Theresa gasped. Inside Fox's room were white roses decorated all over the floor and bed. He had set up a few more candles in his room and changed his light bulbs so that red light filtered through his room. 'I can't believe he did this for me' Theresa thought.
"Do you like it?" Fox asked, unsure of what to think. Turning to Fox with tears in her eyes, Theresa replied.
"I love it and I am so unbelievably touched that you actually spent time to do this for me."
"Well you deserve it," Fox said taking Theresa into his arms. He brought her lips toward his kissed her senselessly. Theresa started to run her hands over Fox's body and was leading him toward his bed when he stopped her.
"Wait, wait," Fox said. He planned this night so that he could tell her something and he wasn't going to let his pleasure stop him from telling her.
"What is it Fox?" Theresa asked concerned.
"I just wanted to say a few things," Fox replied leading her to his bed and sitting down next to her. Once they were both settled on the bed, Fox began to talk.
"You and I both know that before I met you, I was never one to settle down. I mean, love was the farthest thing from my mind. But ever since we have gotten together, you have made me feel things that I never thought I would lucky enough to feel. You make me feel alive, you make me feel invincible, and you make me feel like I'm more than just the drunken mistake of my mother and father. And I just wanted to say," Fox paused trying to get the words out. "I wanted to say that I- I love you," he said.
Theresa stared at Fox with tears streaming down her eyes and surprise evident in her face. "I love you too Fox, I love you so much," she said before he pulled her close and held her like he would never let go.
Fox leaned over Theresa, guiding her to lie on her back. He slowly began to kiss her neck while his hands roamed her body. Theresa ran her hands through Fox's hair before bringing them down to unbutton his shirt. Fox broke away from Theresa long enough to remove his shirt and toss it to the floor. He then went to work on unloosing the straps of Theresa's dress. When they were all untied, Fox slowly started sliding Theresa's dress off of her shoulders, exposing the top half of her body. Theresa had already gotten rid of Fox's pants and was starting to take off his boxers when Fox stopped her.
"Are you sure about this babe?" he asked knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop if they continued.
Theresa looked at Fox with nothing but love and desire. 'I am so lucky' she thought. She reached up and pulled Fox closer to her body as she replied.
"I've never been more sure about anything else in my life. I love you Fox."
"And I love you Resa," Fox said and then he proceeded to show her how much he loved her all night long.
The Next Day.
"So," Charity said to Theresa waiting for her to talk about her date with Fox last night. She and Theresa were in their kitchen preparing lunch for themselves.
"So." Theresa said purposely keeping Charity in suspense.
"Oh come on Resa, don't make me beg," Charity complained. Theresa laughed before telling Charity all of the wonderful things Fox did for her last night.
"Yeah, yeah, I know that part already," Charity replied referring to the dinner, roses, and candles. "I'm interested in what happened after dinner. Did you guys, you know.?" Charity asked. At Theresa's nod, Charity squealed and grabbed Theresa in a hug. "I'm so happy for you guys, so what was it like?" she asked.
Theresa laughed at Charity's question before responding. "Charity, I love you like a sister but I don't think you want me to go into details."
Charity blushed at Theresa's statement after realizing what her question sounded like. "Okay, point taken, as long as you guys are happy, I'm happy," she responded.
"Of course we're happy. Now what about you, have you and Brady finally stopped flirting and talked about a date?" Theresa asked. Noticing the blush that crossed Charity's face, Theresa immediately starting asking questions.
"Did he ask you out?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes, we've actually got plans for tonight," Charity responded slightly embarrassed by the attention that Theresa was giving her.
"When? How? What led to it?" Theresa asked all in one breath.
"Well, it all started." Charity said as she began to recount the events of last night to Theresa.
"So you asked her out then?" Fox asked. He and Brady were in Brady's entertainment room playing a game of pool.
"Yeah, and she said yes. I was planning on taking her out for dinner and a movie tonight. You know, start things slow," Brady responded.
"Good for you two. Look Brady you're my best friend and I love ya man, but I've come to love Charity like a little sister, and she's been through enough with that fool Miguel, so don't hurt her, okay?" Brady looked into Fox's eyes and could see that he was dead serious about what he was saying.
"Don't worry, I'd never hurt her," Brady replied slightly surprised by the look that Fox was giving him.
"Good, now let's get back to the game," Fox replied as he racked up the pool balls and prepared to play another game.
In Harmony.
Some citizens in Harmony weren't doing as well as the trio in California, mainly Ethan, Gwen, Miguel, and Kay. A month after Theresa left, Ethan found out that Gwen had lied to him about ever being pregnant. It was all just a scheme to get him to choose her over Theresa. He also found out that Gwen and her mother were the ones that sent the letter to the tabloid exposing him as a non-Crane. After finding out all of her lies, Ethan wanted nothing more than to divorce her, but when he was getting ready to have the papers delivered, Gwen got into a car accident and although she recovered, he didn't have the courage to leave her. So he stayed in the same loveless marriage that he grew up watching with between his mother and Julian. He and Gwen were even starting to argue like Ivy and Julian.
Gwen walked out of the bathroom and into her room dressed in a long black dress. She looked at Ethan and saw that he was still dressed in his pajamas and reading a magazine.
"Well, aren't you going to get ready?" Gwen asked impatiently.
"Ready for what?" Ethan replied not bothering to look up at Gwen.
"I told you that we were going to have lunch with my dad and his business associates last night and I reminded you again this morning. My dad has been looking forward to this for the past two weeks. You couldn't have forgotten."
"No I didn't forget, I just chose not to remember," Ethan replied with an uninterested tone.
"Ethan you can't do this to me! I promised my dad we'd be there, I can't show up alone!"
"God forbid you don't get what you want for a change," Ethan replied sarcastically.
"Damnit Ethan! How long are you going to stay angry at me?" Gwen yelled.
"As long as it takes to get rid of the pain that I feel every morning when I wake up and realize that Theresa isn't in my life anymore!" Ethan yelled just as loud getting out of bed and glaring at Gwen.
"Of course! It's always Theresa! Open your eyes Ethan, Theresa is gone! She's been gone for the past seven months. And if you've read the fashion magazines, like I'm sure you have, you'd see that not only is she gone, but she's also enjoying the life that she's made for herself! Don't you see, even if we were to get a divorce right now and you somehow found out where Theresa was living, she'd still never take you back!"
"You're wrong!" Ethan yelled, not wanting to believe Gwen. "Theresa would take me back because I was her first and only love. She could never love anyone the way she loved me. Our love is too strong to let it be broken by distance, and you know that. That's why you keep trying to convince me and yourself that Theresa wouldn't take me back, because you and I both know she would," Ethan said not only trying to convince Gwen but himself also. Gwen stared at Ethan not knowing what to say. 'He's right. Theresa has always wanted Ethan, why would a couple of months change her mind? Either way, I'm married to Ethan and she's out there designing clothing and living a lonely life. Should she decide to come back, I'll make sure that she doesn't get Ethan' Gwen thought.
"Ethan would you please get dressed so that we can leave," Gwen asked exasperated.
"Of course I'll get dressed, it's what you want isn't it? We all know that whatever Gwen Hotchkiss wants, she gets by any means necessary," Ethan said once again going for a low blow insult.
"Say what you want Ethan, just meet me downstairs in twenty minutes," Gwen said before leaving Ethan in their room to himself. He watched her walk out the door and headed towards the bathroom. Once inside he looked up at his reflection in the mirror. 'How did my life become such a hellhole?' he thought before getting into the shower.
Miguel and Kay weren't doing much better than Ethan and Gwen. In her third month of her pregnancy Kay had a miscarriage that really devastated her. Miguel, who was also saddened by the loss, realized that he couldn't leave Kay when she was dealing with a miscarriage. After a while, Miguel started to realize that Kay was once again trying to get him to fall in love with her. After a full blown out fight, Miguel decided that he wanted nothing to do with Kay and tried to avoid her as much as possible; but that didn't stop Kay from believing that one day Miguel would be hers completely.
Miguel waited outside the Bennett door hoping that Jessica would answer the door. Since Charity left, Miguel would stop by once a week to see if Jessica had been contacted by Charity. So far, Jessica had heard from Charity only once since she left and Miguel worried if something happened to her, but he had no way of knowing. He looked up when the door opened and saw Kay standing in front of him.
"Miguel, hi, what are you doing here?" Kay asked with a sickeningly sweet voice, well as sweet as she could muster up.
"Kay," Miguel said with an irritated tone. "Is Jessica here? I came to see if she heard anything from Charity."
'Figures,' Kay thought. 'Will he ever get over her? I carried his baby damnit!' "Jessica isn't here right now but you're welcome to wait for her in the living room. I was listening to the radio, you could keep me company," Kay offered hoping to spend some time Miguel.
Miguel looked at Kay skeptically. 'No doubt she'll use this as an opportunity to flirt with me' he thought. That alone was enough of a reason for him to want to turn and leave. 'But what if Jessica heard from Charity, I can't miss that,' he thought. Deciding on staying, Miguel headed toward the living room and sat on the couch to wait for Jessica. Kay walked over and sat next to him, barely allowing one inch of space between them. She was about to say something when Miguel spoke up first.
"Hey Kay, could you turn up the radio, that song sounds really nice."
Sighing, Kay reached over and raised the volume of the radio, letting the singer's voice filter the room. Kay sat back and listened to the words of the song.
Of all the things I've believed in
I just want to get it over with
Tears form behind my eyes
But I do not cry
Counting the days that pass me by
'She has a beautiful voice' Miguel thought.
I've been searching deep down in my soul
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old
It feels like I'm starting all over again
The last three years were just pretend
And I said,
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
I used to get lost in your eyes
And it seems that I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes and you chase my thoughts away
To a place where I am blinded by the light
But it's not right
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
'Why is he so captivated by this girl's voice?' Kay thought as she looked at Miguel as he listened to the song. 'It's just some girl venting about a broken heart.'
And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time
I want what's yours and I want what's mine
I want you
But I'm not giving in this time
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything I thought I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
The one thing that I tried to hold on to
And when the stars fall
I will lie awake
You're my shooting star
"And that was Charity Standish ladies and gentlemen with Goodbye to You. She was actually on with us last week and when we asked her about that song she told us that she wrote it for her first boyfriend right after they broke up. Anyway keep listening." the D.J. continued but neither Kay nor Miguel were listening after they heard him say Charity's name.
"I knew that voice sounded familiar!" Miguel exclaimed still surprised at hearing Charity on the radio.
"What the hell? Since when did Charity sing?" Kay asked with a touch of jealousy in her voice. 'She was supposed to be sad and lonely not out their making millions of dollars' she thought.
"I don't know. She never once mentioned to me that she liked to sing. I still can't believe that was her. Do you know what this means?" Miguel asked.
"Um, no," Kay replied with confusion.
"It means that I have a better chance of finding her! I mean singers always have fan clubs and things like that. If I search the Internet long enough I'd be sure to find her!" Miguel replied ecstatically.
"What? Miguel did you not hear the words of her song? She was saying goodbye!" Kay said, trying to talk Miguel out of looking up Charity.
Miguel's mood instantly dampened after Kay's statement. 'She's right. Charity basically said that she wanted nothing to do with me in that song. But I love her!'
"Maybe she did Kay," Miguel started. "But I know that if we could just talk she and I could work out our problems and be together again."
'Unbelievable' Kay thought. 'It's been seven months and he still holds out hope that he and perfect little Charity will be together. No way will I let that happen, Miguel will be mine and Charity will know what it's like to lose for once in her life.' Turning back to Miguel, Kay continued to discourage him.
"Miguel, don't you think that Charity would have contacted you if she really wanted you guys to work things out?" Kay asked.
"Yes, but she doesn't know that you lost the baby. She probably thinks that I'm with you trying to provide for our child," Miguel said, refusing to listen to Kay
"Honestly Miguel, don't you think you've done enough damage in her life. Geez, you hurt her so much that she left without so much as a goodbye and she hasn't talked to anyone in Harmony for the past seven months. That doesn't sound like someone who wants to 'work things out.'" Kay said realizing that she was slowly starting to get to Miguel.
Miguel looked at Kay and realized that what she was saying was true. If Charity really wanted to talk to him, she would have called long ago. 'There's no point in me searching for her only to have her turn me away. I wouldn't be able to handle her rejection.' With a final sigh Miguel rose and headed toward the door.
"Tell Jessica that I stopped by and that I'll see her sometime soon," Miguel said before leaving the Bennett household. Kay watched as Miguel walked down the street defeated and heartbroken. 'It's only a matter of time before you're finally mine,' she thought as she closed the door and headed back into her house.
Please feedback!!
The song used was "Goodbye To You" by Michelle Branch.
Next Chapter - The next chapter is going to jump again to about 6 or seven months from now so that it will have been a little over a year since the trio left Harmony. In the next chapter, Charity finds out the name of her biological father, you won't believe who it is!!