Chapter 10
Miguel walked into his house forlornly and sat down on the couch. After over a year of holding out hope that Charity would come back to him, he had finally lost hope today. He had been on his way home when he decided to stop by the Book Café. On his way out he noticed a magazine called Young Adults with Charity's picture printed across the entire cover. Interested, Miguel bought the magazine and sat down and read the article about her; what he read broke his heart completely. Miguel brought out the magazine a reread the article for the third time.
"I was actually in love once, at least I think I was. He was my first real boyfriend and everything just seemed to go perfectly for us. It turned out that he cheated on me with my cousin and got her pregnant. To make things worse, my cousin announced her pregnancy when we were at the alter about to get married. It just broke my heart. But I learned to deal with it, and I've been able to move on. I've actually been dating someone for the past seven months. We were friends before we started dating so that made our relationship even better; he's my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without him. Being with him has made me really happy."
Miguel angrily threw the magazine across the room before lying on the couch and allowing tears to fall down his eyes.
"We were supposed to be together forever, Charity," he said to himself as the tears continued to fall.
Kay sat in her room reading the same magazine article that Miguel has been reading. 'Happy?' "She's not supposed to be happy! I have Miguel in my clutches, while she thousands of miles away from him. She is not supposed to be happier than me!" Kay said to herself.
"Talking to yourself again Kay?" Jessica said walking into Kay's room.
"Go away Jessica, I'm not in the mood for you," Kay replied clearly annoyed. Jessica looked over at Kay's bed and noticed the magazine that featured Charity on the cover.
"So I see you read the article on Charity," Jessica said. "She seems really happy, I bet that's just killing you isn't it?" she said with a smirk.
"Back off Jessica!" Kay said raising her voice.
"How does it feel Kay?" Jessica taunted. "You spent three years trying to tear Miguel away from Charity so that you two could be together and Charity could be all alone, but instead she willingly gives him to you and he still turns you down. Not only that, but Charity has been on just about every radio station and music channel out there. But look at you, you're nineteen years old and still pining over a man who loves someone else. Was it worth it Kay?"
"For the last time Jessica, get out," Kay said refusing to let Jessica see how much her words were really hurting her.
"Gladly, I've got to get ready with my date with Reese anyway," Jessica said before turning and leaving Kay to herself in her room.
'Ignore Jessica, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I've got Miguel and that's all that matters,' Kay thought but that didn't stop the tears from falling down her eyes.
Ethan sat in his office contemplating his life and what it had become. 'It's been over a year since I've seen you face to face Theresa. Will you ever come back?' Ethan thought. He had spent most of his time watching Theresa's life though that magazine covers and fashion shows that she put on. He watched her as she bloomed from a little know designer to one of the biggest designers in the world. He would buy each and every magazine that even had Theresa's name in it. It was for that reason that he was reading the latest issue of Young Adults that featured Charity on the cover. He figured that since Charity left with Theresa, she might talk about her in her tell-all interview. He skimmed the article until he finally saw a section that had Theresa's name in it. Interested, Ethan began reading that section.
"Theresa and I actually lived in the same town. I was dating her brother when we lived there but we never actually talked. When I was preparing to leave that town I ran into her and her friend Nicolas, who happens to be my manager now. Anyway we left town together and became best friends. She's like my sister and I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments. She doesn't really like talking about her personal life to the public so I'm not going to sit here and tell whether or not she's dating someone, but I will say that's she's been through a lot in her life and she deserves everything that she has. Just the other day we were talking and she told me that she was unbelievably happy with where she is in her life and I think that that's all she ever wanted."
Ethan stopped reading after he realized that Charity wouldn't say anything more about Theresa. He put the magazine away and picked up the photo he had of Theresa on his desk. He gazed at her wishing he could hold her in his arms again. 'I know you'll never be as happy as you were when you were with me, Theresa. We'll be together again, someday,' he thought as he put the picture down and went back to work.
Charity and Brady were in his car on their way to Brady's house. Today was Charity's 19th birthday and Brady had gone out of his way to make it perfect for her. He surprised her with breakfast in bed and then took her on the biggest shopping spree ever at her favorite mall. They had just gone out to dinner, or tried to but it didn't work out the way that Brady planned.
"I'm really sorry about dinner, I actually thought we could fool them," Brady said. They went out to a restaurant in disguises hoping to fool their fans and although no one recognized Brady, almost everyone recognized Charity and pretty soon people were crowding around their table hoping to get an autograph. Eventually they had to leave early without finishing their date.
"Don't worry about it, I love having my fans ask for autographs. It's such a great feeling!" Charity replied looking at Brady.
"I told you to wear a wig," Brady said as he parked his car in his driveway.
"And I told you that I'd look stupid," Charity replied.
"Not true, I'm wearing a wig, do I look stupid to you?" Brady asked referring to the black wig on top of his head.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Charity asked with a smirk.
"Very funny," Brady replied sarcastically before getting out of the car, taking off his wig, and going to open the door for Charity. Once they were both out of the car, they walked up to Brady's door.
"So, here we are," Brady said a little to loudly.
"Yes, after all this is your house," Charity replied confused by Brady's weird behavior. "You might want to open the door sometime soon," she said after watching Brady stare at the door for a few seconds.
"Oh, right, of course," Brady said as he unlocked the door and allowed Charity to enter first.
"SURPRISE!!" Charity jumped at the sound and looked up to see a fully decorated room with all of her closest friends.
"Oh my God, you guys threw me a surprise party?!" Charity said still in awe over all the people and decorations in the room.
"Of course we did, you didn't think we'd let you turn nineteen without a party did you?" Theresa said as she and Fox came up to Charity and gave her a hug.
"Happy Birthday C," Fox said also giving her a hug.
"You guys planned this all along didn't you?" Charity said looking at Brady, Theresa, and Fox. "That why you were all so adamant about keeping me out all day." At Brady's nod, Charity reached up and gave him a hug and kiss. "You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for," she said.
"Well, we try," Fox joked.
"Happy Birthday Charity!" said Maria Deluca, a friend that Charity met through Alex, as she gave Charity a hug. Right behind Maria stood her long time artist boyfriend, Michel Guerin. He also reached over and gave her a hug.
"Thanks guys, it's good to see you Ria. How have you been?" Charity asked.
"Great, You would not believe the things that happened to Isabel, Tess, and I while we were on tour. Let me tell you." with that said Maria dragged Charity away and began to tell her the events that took place while she and her band mates were on tour.
Two hours later Charity was sitting down listening to a conversation between one of her friends and one of Theresa's models. Actually she was trying to listen, but was finding it very difficult. Ever since Maria dragged her away, she hadn't been able to find Brady and spend time with him. 'Where the hell is he?' she thought as she once again surveyed the living room.
"Looking for me?" a voice whispered in her ear. Charity felt chills go down her spine at the feel of Brady's breath close to her ear.
"Maybe," she replied not turning around.
"What do you say we head upstairs so I can give you your present," he said.
"I thought this party was my present."
"No, this party is from Fox, Resa, and I. I got you something special, well two things actually. Come on, I'll show them to you," Brady replied before taking her hand and leading her upstairs to his room. Once inside he headed toward his drawer and pulled out a box. Turning around he looked at Charity who was watching him curiously.
"I spent a whole day trying to figure out what to get you, and I was going to settle for just a trip to some faraway island, but then I saw something that automatically reminded me of you, so here it is," he said before giving her the box.
Charity opened the box and gasped at what she saw. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a diamond heart in the middle. Turning it around she saw the words 'I Love You' engraved in it. Looking up at Brady she saw the scared look in his eyes at what she would say next. Wanting to say so many things, but not knowing how to say it, Charity said the first thing she could thing of.
"I love you too," she said. She barely finished before Brady grabbed her out of sheer joy gave her a body-trembling kiss.
"God, I love you so much," he said as he ignored the tears in his eyes and continued to shower her face with kisses.
"Ditto," Charity said as light tears began to slide down her eyes. After a couple of minutes, they both finally calmed down.
"What's the second thing you wanted to show me?" Charity asked making her way over to his bed.
"Oh yeah," Brady said before reaching into his drawer and pulling out a manila folder.
"A folder?" Charity asked, slightly confused.
"No, not just a folder," Brady said. "The gift is what's inside the folder. I know how you've always wanted to know your father, so I had an old friend of mine do some extensive research. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's supposed to have your father's name and everything there is to know about him. His job, his family, where your parents met, everything. I thought you might like it," Brady said.
"I can't believe you did this for me," Charity said staring at the folder. She reached up and grabbed Brady in a hug excitedly and kissed him. "This is the best birthday ever!" she squealed.
"I'm glad you like it," Brady said just as happy as Charity. "So are you going to open it?" Brady asked curious to find out who Charity's father was.
"Yes, but not now. I want Fox and Theresa to also be there when I open it. They two of my best friends and I think they also deserve to find out when I do," Charity said.
"Okay then, how about we get back down there so you can enjoy your party," Brady said already leading Charity out the door.
"There you are," Theresa said as she saw Charity and Brady come down the stairs. "I've been looking all over for you, it's time to open some presents!" she said excitedly.
"There's way to many presents here for me to open now," Charity said looking at the table full of presents.
"Well then just open a few, starting with mine," Theresa said thrusting her present for Charity into her hand.
Charity took the box and sat down on a chair before opening it. Inside was a beautiful dress perfectly fit for Charity (I suck at descriptions, so go here to see the dress ).
"I designed it especially for you," Theresa said as Charity stared at the dress.
"It's beautiful, thank you," Charity said as she stood and gave Theresa a hug.
"Open mine now," Maria said coming over and handing Charity her gift.
After opening a few more gifts, everyone eventually got back to the party. A few more hours later the last guest had finally left leaving Theresa, Fox, Charity, and Brady alone in Brady's mansion trying to clean up.
"This has been the best birthday ever, thanks for the party guys," Charity said looking at all three of them.
"Aw, don't worry about it, you deserve it," Fox said coming over and hugging Charity.
"I feel a group hug coming on," Theresa said jokingly as she and Brady went over to Fox and Charity and joined in on the hug. After a few more seconds they pulled away and Charity grabbed the folder Brady had given her. After telling Theresa and Fox the entire story of the folder, the four of them made their way over to the couch so that Charity could open it. Situated between Brady and Theresa, Charity started to open the folder.
"This is it," she said to them. "I, Charity Standish, am the daughter of." She opened the folder and scrolled to the bottom to find the name of her father.
"JULIAN CRANE?!?!?!"
TBC
Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Hehe. Don't worry I'll explain it in the next chapter or the chapter after that. I've got a big assignment coming up so I don't know when I'll be able to post again, but keep checking for updates!!
P.S. I got the dress from a web page called loralie.com if anyone's interested.
Please Feedback!!
Miguel walked into his house forlornly and sat down on the couch. After over a year of holding out hope that Charity would come back to him, he had finally lost hope today. He had been on his way home when he decided to stop by the Book Café. On his way out he noticed a magazine called Young Adults with Charity's picture printed across the entire cover. Interested, Miguel bought the magazine and sat down and read the article about her; what he read broke his heart completely. Miguel brought out the magazine a reread the article for the third time.
"I was actually in love once, at least I think I was. He was my first real boyfriend and everything just seemed to go perfectly for us. It turned out that he cheated on me with my cousin and got her pregnant. To make things worse, my cousin announced her pregnancy when we were at the alter about to get married. It just broke my heart. But I learned to deal with it, and I've been able to move on. I've actually been dating someone for the past seven months. We were friends before we started dating so that made our relationship even better; he's my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without him. Being with him has made me really happy."
Miguel angrily threw the magazine across the room before lying on the couch and allowing tears to fall down his eyes.
"We were supposed to be together forever, Charity," he said to himself as the tears continued to fall.
Kay sat in her room reading the same magazine article that Miguel has been reading. 'Happy?' "She's not supposed to be happy! I have Miguel in my clutches, while she thousands of miles away from him. She is not supposed to be happier than me!" Kay said to herself.
"Talking to yourself again Kay?" Jessica said walking into Kay's room.
"Go away Jessica, I'm not in the mood for you," Kay replied clearly annoyed. Jessica looked over at Kay's bed and noticed the magazine that featured Charity on the cover.
"So I see you read the article on Charity," Jessica said. "She seems really happy, I bet that's just killing you isn't it?" she said with a smirk.
"Back off Jessica!" Kay said raising her voice.
"How does it feel Kay?" Jessica taunted. "You spent three years trying to tear Miguel away from Charity so that you two could be together and Charity could be all alone, but instead she willingly gives him to you and he still turns you down. Not only that, but Charity has been on just about every radio station and music channel out there. But look at you, you're nineteen years old and still pining over a man who loves someone else. Was it worth it Kay?"
"For the last time Jessica, get out," Kay said refusing to let Jessica see how much her words were really hurting her.
"Gladly, I've got to get ready with my date with Reese anyway," Jessica said before turning and leaving Kay to herself in her room.
'Ignore Jessica, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I've got Miguel and that's all that matters,' Kay thought but that didn't stop the tears from falling down her eyes.
Ethan sat in his office contemplating his life and what it had become. 'It's been over a year since I've seen you face to face Theresa. Will you ever come back?' Ethan thought. He had spent most of his time watching Theresa's life though that magazine covers and fashion shows that she put on. He watched her as she bloomed from a little know designer to one of the biggest designers in the world. He would buy each and every magazine that even had Theresa's name in it. It was for that reason that he was reading the latest issue of Young Adults that featured Charity on the cover. He figured that since Charity left with Theresa, she might talk about her in her tell-all interview. He skimmed the article until he finally saw a section that had Theresa's name in it. Interested, Ethan began reading that section.
"Theresa and I actually lived in the same town. I was dating her brother when we lived there but we never actually talked. When I was preparing to leave that town I ran into her and her friend Nicolas, who happens to be my manager now. Anyway we left town together and became best friends. She's like my sister and I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments. She doesn't really like talking about her personal life to the public so I'm not going to sit here and tell whether or not she's dating someone, but I will say that's she's been through a lot in her life and she deserves everything that she has. Just the other day we were talking and she told me that she was unbelievably happy with where she is in her life and I think that that's all she ever wanted."
Ethan stopped reading after he realized that Charity wouldn't say anything more about Theresa. He put the magazine away and picked up the photo he had of Theresa on his desk. He gazed at her wishing he could hold her in his arms again. 'I know you'll never be as happy as you were when you were with me, Theresa. We'll be together again, someday,' he thought as he put the picture down and went back to work.
Charity and Brady were in his car on their way to Brady's house. Today was Charity's 19th birthday and Brady had gone out of his way to make it perfect for her. He surprised her with breakfast in bed and then took her on the biggest shopping spree ever at her favorite mall. They had just gone out to dinner, or tried to but it didn't work out the way that Brady planned.
"I'm really sorry about dinner, I actually thought we could fool them," Brady said. They went out to a restaurant in disguises hoping to fool their fans and although no one recognized Brady, almost everyone recognized Charity and pretty soon people were crowding around their table hoping to get an autograph. Eventually they had to leave early without finishing their date.
"Don't worry about it, I love having my fans ask for autographs. It's such a great feeling!" Charity replied looking at Brady.
"I told you to wear a wig," Brady said as he parked his car in his driveway.
"And I told you that I'd look stupid," Charity replied.
"Not true, I'm wearing a wig, do I look stupid to you?" Brady asked referring to the black wig on top of his head.
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Charity asked with a smirk.
"Very funny," Brady replied sarcastically before getting out of the car, taking off his wig, and going to open the door for Charity. Once they were both out of the car, they walked up to Brady's door.
"So, here we are," Brady said a little to loudly.
"Yes, after all this is your house," Charity replied confused by Brady's weird behavior. "You might want to open the door sometime soon," she said after watching Brady stare at the door for a few seconds.
"Oh, right, of course," Brady said as he unlocked the door and allowed Charity to enter first.
"SURPRISE!!" Charity jumped at the sound and looked up to see a fully decorated room with all of her closest friends.
"Oh my God, you guys threw me a surprise party?!" Charity said still in awe over all the people and decorations in the room.
"Of course we did, you didn't think we'd let you turn nineteen without a party did you?" Theresa said as she and Fox came up to Charity and gave her a hug.
"Happy Birthday C," Fox said also giving her a hug.
"You guys planned this all along didn't you?" Charity said looking at Brady, Theresa, and Fox. "That why you were all so adamant about keeping me out all day." At Brady's nod, Charity reached up and gave him a hug and kiss. "You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for," she said.
"Well, we try," Fox joked.
"Happy Birthday Charity!" said Maria Deluca, a friend that Charity met through Alex, as she gave Charity a hug. Right behind Maria stood her long time artist boyfriend, Michel Guerin. He also reached over and gave her a hug.
"Thanks guys, it's good to see you Ria. How have you been?" Charity asked.
"Great, You would not believe the things that happened to Isabel, Tess, and I while we were on tour. Let me tell you." with that said Maria dragged Charity away and began to tell her the events that took place while she and her band mates were on tour.
Two hours later Charity was sitting down listening to a conversation between one of her friends and one of Theresa's models. Actually she was trying to listen, but was finding it very difficult. Ever since Maria dragged her away, she hadn't been able to find Brady and spend time with him. 'Where the hell is he?' she thought as she once again surveyed the living room.
"Looking for me?" a voice whispered in her ear. Charity felt chills go down her spine at the feel of Brady's breath close to her ear.
"Maybe," she replied not turning around.
"What do you say we head upstairs so I can give you your present," he said.
"I thought this party was my present."
"No, this party is from Fox, Resa, and I. I got you something special, well two things actually. Come on, I'll show them to you," Brady replied before taking her hand and leading her upstairs to his room. Once inside he headed toward his drawer and pulled out a box. Turning around he looked at Charity who was watching him curiously.
"I spent a whole day trying to figure out what to get you, and I was going to settle for just a trip to some faraway island, but then I saw something that automatically reminded me of you, so here it is," he said before giving her the box.
Charity opened the box and gasped at what she saw. Inside was a beautiful silver necklace with a diamond heart in the middle. Turning it around she saw the words 'I Love You' engraved in it. Looking up at Brady she saw the scared look in his eyes at what she would say next. Wanting to say so many things, but not knowing how to say it, Charity said the first thing she could thing of.
"I love you too," she said. She barely finished before Brady grabbed her out of sheer joy gave her a body-trembling kiss.
"God, I love you so much," he said as he ignored the tears in his eyes and continued to shower her face with kisses.
"Ditto," Charity said as light tears began to slide down her eyes. After a couple of minutes, they both finally calmed down.
"What's the second thing you wanted to show me?" Charity asked making her way over to his bed.
"Oh yeah," Brady said before reaching into his drawer and pulling out a manila folder.
"A folder?" Charity asked, slightly confused.
"No, not just a folder," Brady said. "The gift is what's inside the folder. I know how you've always wanted to know your father, so I had an old friend of mine do some extensive research. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's supposed to have your father's name and everything there is to know about him. His job, his family, where your parents met, everything. I thought you might like it," Brady said.
"I can't believe you did this for me," Charity said staring at the folder. She reached up and grabbed Brady in a hug excitedly and kissed him. "This is the best birthday ever!" she squealed.
"I'm glad you like it," Brady said just as happy as Charity. "So are you going to open it?" Brady asked curious to find out who Charity's father was.
"Yes, but not now. I want Fox and Theresa to also be there when I open it. They two of my best friends and I think they also deserve to find out when I do," Charity said.
"Okay then, how about we get back down there so you can enjoy your party," Brady said already leading Charity out the door.
"There you are," Theresa said as she saw Charity and Brady come down the stairs. "I've been looking all over for you, it's time to open some presents!" she said excitedly.
"There's way to many presents here for me to open now," Charity said looking at the table full of presents.
"Well then just open a few, starting with mine," Theresa said thrusting her present for Charity into her hand.
Charity took the box and sat down on a chair before opening it. Inside was a beautiful dress perfectly fit for Charity (I suck at descriptions, so go here to see the dress ).
"I designed it especially for you," Theresa said as Charity stared at the dress.
"It's beautiful, thank you," Charity said as she stood and gave Theresa a hug.
"Open mine now," Maria said coming over and handing Charity her gift.
After opening a few more gifts, everyone eventually got back to the party. A few more hours later the last guest had finally left leaving Theresa, Fox, Charity, and Brady alone in Brady's mansion trying to clean up.
"This has been the best birthday ever, thanks for the party guys," Charity said looking at all three of them.
"Aw, don't worry about it, you deserve it," Fox said coming over and hugging Charity.
"I feel a group hug coming on," Theresa said jokingly as she and Brady went over to Fox and Charity and joined in on the hug. After a few more seconds they pulled away and Charity grabbed the folder Brady had given her. After telling Theresa and Fox the entire story of the folder, the four of them made their way over to the couch so that Charity could open it. Situated between Brady and Theresa, Charity started to open the folder.
"This is it," she said to them. "I, Charity Standish, am the daughter of." She opened the folder and scrolled to the bottom to find the name of her father.
"JULIAN CRANE?!?!?!"
TBC
Bet you didn't see that coming, did you? Hehe. Don't worry I'll explain it in the next chapter or the chapter after that. I've got a big assignment coming up so I don't know when I'll be able to post again, but keep checking for updates!!
P.S. I got the dress from a web page called loralie.com if anyone's interested.
Please Feedback!!