Chapter 17
The Next Day.
"Tell me again why I'm here?" Fox asked as he and Theresa got out of their car.
"Because Whitney wasn't at the reception last night and I haven't seen her in two years," Theresa replied.
"Tell me again why I'm here?" Fox asked, putting more emphasis on him.
"Because I want to ask Whitney to be my third bridesmaid and while we're there, you could get Chad's address so that you could ask him to be your third groomsmen," Theresa explained.
"So you dragged me out of bed at nine in the morning so that you could do something that could have easily been done anytime after noon?" Fox asked, still not happy about his lack of sleep.
"I really wanted to see Whit," Theresa said, feeling bad for waking Fox up so early, considering the late night he had and the bruises on his face and hands.
"It's okay, baby. Let's just do this so that I can have you to myself later today," Fox said as he rang the Russell doorbell.
"Theresa!" Eve said upon seeing Theresa and Fox in her doorway. "Come in, come in!" she said letting Theresa in and grabbing her into a hug.
"I've missed you Mrs. Russell," Theresa said as Eve hugged her. "How have you been?"
"Great. T.C. and I saw you at the reception last night, but with the incident with Ethan and Fox, we never got a chance to talk to you," Eve said looking at Fox towards the end of her statement.
"Hello, Fox," she said.
"Hello, Mrs. Russell," Fox replied not sure of how to act around her. Luckily, Theresa saved him of having to say anything more.
"Is Whitney here?" she asked.
"Yea, she's upstairs in her room with Chad," Eve replied.
"That's great! We can ask them at the same time!" Theresa said looking at Fox.
"Ask them what?" Eve asked confused.
"To be in our wedding. Whit and I always promised each other that no matter what happened, we would still be in each other's wedding. I want her to be one of my bridesmaid, and hopefully Chad will be one of Fox's groomsmen," she said.
"I'm sure they'll say yes. I didn't get to say this last night, so I'd like to say congratulations. I wish you both the best in love and marriage," she said.
"Thank you Mrs. Russell," Theresa said going over to hug Eve once again.
"Yeah, thank you Mrs. Russell," Fox said.
"No problem, now why don't you two go up and see Whitney and Chad? T.C. and I got home very late last night, so we didn't get a chance to tell Whitney that you were back in Harmony."
"She'll be so surprised to see me! Come on, Fox, let's go!" Theresa said grabbing Fox's hand and leading him upstairs.
Knock Knock
"Come in," Whitney said after hearing someone knock on her door.
"Guess who's back?" Theresa said, walking into Whitney's room.
"Oh my God!! Theresa!!" Whitney exclaimed, jumping off her bed, over Chad, and into Theresa's arms. "I've missed you so much 'Resa!!" she said.
"I've missed you two, Whit. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to seeing you again," Theresa replied.
"It's been so hard to live without my best friend!" Whitney said.
"Well I'm sure Chad helped in that department," Theresa said with a smile as she looked at Chad. "Well, do I get a hug?" she asked him.
"Of course, girl," Chad said as he got off of Whitney's bed and gave Theresa a hug (A/N The only Chad in my head is played by Donn Swaby. The new guy doesn't exist).
"I've been watching your career, I see you finally made it to the runway, huh?" Chad said.
"Yeah, I know. It's about time," she said with a smile.
"Not that I mind you here, but what made you decide to come back after over two years?" Whitney asked.
"Well, I came back to get married," Theresa said, surprising Chad and Whitney.
"Married? To who?" Whitney asked.
"To Fox," Theresa said, dragging Fox further into the room. It was the first time Whitney and Chad even noticed his presence.
"Hi guys," Fox said, clearly uncomfortable with the attention he was getting.
"Fox? You're marrying Fox? When did this happen?" Whitney asked.
"When I left Harmony, Fox came with me and we've been together ever since. He's my best friend and such an amazing man, I can't wait to become his wife!" Theresa said.
"Well, I'm happy for you, both of you," Whitney said as she hugged Theresa again and went over to hug Fox. "Take good care of her," she said.
"I will," Fox said seriously.
"Anyway, besides the fact that I wanted to catch up with you, I wanted to ask you if you would be one of my bridesmaids," Theresa asked.
"I would be honored!" Whitney said with a big smile on her face.
"You're the best Whit!" Theresa exclaimed. "Now, come on, we have to catch up!" she said leading Whitney to her bed and already starting to talk.
Fox and Chad stood by the door as Theresa and Whitney talked, each watching their woman with nothing but love shining in their eyes.
"Congratulations, man" Chad said turning to Fox.
"Thank you. I was thinking, since Whitney is going to be Theresa's third bridesmaid, it would be nice if you could be my third groomsmen," Fox said.
"In other words, Theresa told you to pick me as your third groomsmen," Chad said with a smile.
"Well, yeah," Fox said looking at the ground. "But I'd still be very thankful if you agreed to be a groomsmen."
"I'd love to," Chad replied shaking hands with Fox.
"Thank you," Fox replied before he and Chad turned their attention back to Theresa and Whitney.
Meanwhile.
Charity stood outside the Bennett household, debating whether or not she should ring the doorbell. 'I'm here to visit Jessica, who cares about who I might run into,' she thought to herself before finally ringing the bell. A few seconds later, the door was opened.
"Charity! I'm so happy you're here!" Jessica said pulling Charity into a hug.
"I know, me too," Charity replied. After a while, they finally pulled away from each other.
"Well, come on in," Jessica said before letting her into the house.
"Is anyone home," Charity asked looking around the room.
"No, Kay and Simone went to the mall earlier this morning, and Mom and Dad are at work," she replied.
"Cool," Charity said, a bit relieved that she didn't have to talk to her aunt or uncle.
"So, how was life in LA?" Jessica asked, taking a seat on the couch next to Charity.
"It was amazing! You have to come and visit me someday. I'll show you around the whole city," Charity said excitedly.
"I'm glad you liked it there - you deserve it," Jessica replied. "So how weird was it to find out that Julian Crane is your father?" she asked.
"It's was.interesting," Charity replied. "At first, I was just sad and depressed that the man who I had wanted to meet all my life, was nothing but a jerk who was hated by everyone. But after meeting him, and hearing his story, I couldn't help but love him."
"Really?" Jessica asked, genuinely surprised.
"I know that everyone has their opinion about Julian, and most of them are negative, but he really has changed. He's an amazing guy and a devoted father. He's been there for me ever since he found out, and he's gone out of his way to make sure that Fox, Sammy, and Vicky were happy and comfortable. He really doesn't get the credit he deserves for all that he's managed to do with his life in just a year."
"Wow, you make him sound like a saint," Jessica said.
"He's no saint," Charity said with a laugh. "He can be downright ruthless when someone messes with him or his family, but he is a good man that anyone should be proud to know," she added.
"Well, I'm glad that you finally found him," Jessica said.
"Thanks," Charity replied. "So, how are things with you and Reese?" she asked with a smile.
"Things are going great," Jessica replied with a big smile.
"I can tell, you're smiling like you've got a hanger stuck in your mouth," Charity said (A/N I got that line from a Friends episode. I love that show!).
"I know," Jessica said with a blush. "Anyway, this is making me blush too much, let's talk about you and Brady. How did that happen?" she asked.
"He and Fox went to boarding school together, so when we arrived in LA we stayed with him for the first two months we were there. We didn't actually get together till seven months later. We were watching my video on T.V. for the first time and he just kissed me."
"Ahh!! You get to kiss Brady Black everyday! I'd pay to do that," Jessica exclaimed. Charity laughed at Jessica's statement.
"I still sometimes sit down and surprise myself with the fact that I'm his girlfriend. It's so weird - I'm dating the guy I spent a few years of my life idolizing," Charity said with a laugh.
"It's so cool," Jessica replied. "Anyway, do you have any plans for today? Because if not, I was hoping that you and I could spend the whole day here catching up and watching movies. How does that sound to you?" she asked.
"It sounds great," Charity said before taking off her shoes and making herself comfortable on the couch.
Later that day.
"This sucks," Brady said as he walked the streets with Samantha and Vicky.
"No it doesn't," Samantha said. "You've spent the day with Vicky and I, how could that possibly suck?"
"That's the problem. No offense, but I'd rather be with Charity than with two high school teenagers," he replied.
"Well Charity's catching up with Jessica, so you're stuck with us. Deal with it," Vicky said with a mock glare.
"And where the hell are we going?" Brady asked, finally taking in his surroundings. "We've been walking all day and we've only stopped once so that Vicky could buy some magazine."
"We're near the Book Café, it's a local hangout spot in Harmony," Sammy replied.
"Why are we going there?" he asked.
"Because they have the best cappuccinos, and I want one," Vicky replied.
"Why am I going there?" he corrected.
"Because you have absolutely nothing better to do, unless you want to go back to the mansion and stay with our half-brother and his annoying wife," Sammy replied. Brady stayed quiet. "I didn't think so," she said before turning around and continuing to walk.
"We're here," Vicky said, opening the door and walking in with Samantha and Brady right behind her.
"It's very.homey," Brady said, describing the café.
"Yeah, it is. That's one of the things I love about it," Sammy said as she led them to a table after Vicky placed her order.
"Do you girls come here often, when you're at home?" he asked.
"First of all, we barely came home because we were never wanted. Secondly, even if we did come home, there is no way Alistair and Julian would have let us come here to associate with 'common people.'" Vicky replied.
"Yeah, we've only been here like two or three times in our entire lives and even then, we've had to disguise ourselves - like you," Sammy added referring to the sunglasses that Brady was wearing to disguise himself.
"Oh, I see," Brady replied. "Do you know where they keep the magazines? I want to see if they have the new issue of Jump Shot out."
"Yeah, the sports section is right over there," Vicky said pointing toward the back of the room.
"Thanks," he replied before getting up and heading to the sports section on the café. Seeing the magazine he was looking for, he made a reach for the least copy, only to find it in the hands of someone else.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the person said. "Oh, it's you," he said with a bit of disgust.
"Hello," Brady replied calmly. "You're Miguel, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, that would be me," Miguel replied, staring hard at Brady.
"Well, I guess I'll be going," Brady said, getting annoyed with the way Miguel was staring at him.
"Not so fast," Miguel said, blocking Brady's pathway. "You and I need to talk," he said.
"About what?" Brady asked.
"About the fact that you stole my girlfriend from me," Miguel said. Brady couldn't help but laugh at Miguel's statement.
"Your girlfriend?" he asked between laughs. "Charity hasn't been your girlfriend since the day she left this town, which, by the way, was completely your fault," he said.
"And that's my problem, your problem is trying to take her away from me, forever," Miguel said.
"She's already done with you," Brady said coldly, not liking the way Miguel was talking to him.
"Only because of you. If it weren't for you, Charity and I would be together," Miguel said.
"That, and the fact that you impregnated her cousin," Brady added sarcastically.
"That was a mistake. I never meant for it to happen or cost me to lose Charity. And I sure as hell didn't mean for it to lead her straight into your arms."
"Well you know what they say, 'one man's loss is another man's gain,'" Brady said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What Charity and I had was too special to just wear off over time. We were each other's first loves, she won't just forget about me," Miguel said.
"I don't expect her to. No one ever forgets their first love, but they do get over them. She's over you, Miguel - she has been for a long time. Now the love you two shared may seem like this untouchable love to you, but it's not to her. She's dealt with it and gotten over every little thing that has made her cry. You blew it Miguel, and standing there and creating a list of wishes for the two of you is useless. You two will never be together again, and if you try to come between us, you'll regret it, okay?" he asked with a dark glare.
"What's going on?" Kay asked, appearing by Miguel's side.
"Nothing," Brady replied, not taking his eyes off of Miguel. "I was just leaving," he said be breezing past both of them.
"What the hell was that about?" Kay asked once Brady was out of sight.
"None of your business," Miguel said before walking past Kay and out of the restaurant.
"So you just left them?" Charity asked later that night while she and Brady were hanging out in their room. Brady had just told her of his interaction with Miguel and she couldn't believe how irrational Miguel was being about the whole situation.
"Basically - I saw no reason to stay," Brady replied.
"I don't know why Miguel is acting like this. After all, he cheated on me, I should be upset, not him," she said.
"I don't really care how upset he is, just as long as he stays away from us," Brady said as he sat next to Charity on their bed.
"So how was the rest of your day?" Charity asked.
"Pretty dull," Brady replied as he began to kiss Charity's neck. "I spent the day with your sisters."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't be with you. I just had to spend the day with Jessica, I've missed her so much," Charity said, barely making the words out as Brady began to nibble on her ears.
"Don't worry about it," Brady replied. He suddenly pulled away and looked at Charity for a few seconds.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Well, I've been thinking, and I realized that Fox and Theresa were getting married."
"It took you this long to realize this?" she asked with a smile.
"Let me finish," he said with a mock glare. "Anyway, I was thinking, that maybe." he trailed off, unable to finish.
"What were you thinking?" Charity asked.
"I was wondering if you would want to move in with me," Brady blurted.
"You want me to live with you?" Charity asked, surprised.
"I know that this came out of no where, but think about it. Fox and Theresa are going to be married and are going to have the house to themselves on many nights. Not only that, but you're already at my house or I'm out your house for the most part of the day, so why not just live together? It works out for everyone," he said, all in one breath. Charity stayed quiet, pondering Brady's suggestion. 'This is a big step,' she thought to herself. 'But who else would I want to take this step with?' she asked herself. 'No one' she concluded.
"I'd love to move in with you," she said with a smile.
"Really?" Brady asked excitedly.
"Yes, it'll be great!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bed with Brady and pulling him into a hug.
"I know!" Brady replied, equally excited. He leaned down and seized her lips in a passionate kiss. He pulled away and started to kiss his way down her neck as he led her to their bed.
"God, I love you," he said.
"I love you too," Charity replied before Brady began to undress her.
"Whew! I'm tired," Theresa said as she and Fox walked into the mansion later that night.
"Well it was your idea to stop at every store in the mall," Fox said as he took a seat on the couch.
"I just wanted to make sure that I didn't skip over anything. It's been so long since I've been to Harmony Mall, I couldn't miss anything," she replied.
"Seriously, this obsession you have with shopping isn't healthy," Fox joked.
"Really?" Theresa said with a smile as she made her way to Fox. "Well, what do you suppose I do about this obsession?" she asked, taking a seat on his lap.
"I suggest that you don't go shopping for a whole week and spend the entire time making love to your amazing, loving, fiancé," Fox said with a smile.
"Hmm.sounds like a good idea to me," Theresa replied with a smile before lowering her lips to Fox's. Fox's hand slid down Theresa's legs and slowly began to make their way up her skirt. Theresa, in turn, was running her hands up and down Fox's chest under his shirt.
"We can't do this here, anyone might walk in," Theresa said, pulling her lips away from Fox.
"I don't care," Fox said as he hungrily captured Theresa's lips in his own. Theresa instantly gave in and succumbed to the kiss. She allowed Fox to pull the hairclip from her hair, letting his fall over her shoulders.
"God, I love your hair," he breathed. Theresa could only moan in response as she ran her hands through Fox's blonde hair. She felt Fox remove his hands from her skirt and felt them rubbing her lower back through her shirt.
"You're so beautiful," he said as he ran his hand up her shirt and toward her bra strap.
"I love your touch," Theresa said with a moan as she felt Fox unclip her bra and run his hands all over her back. She felt his hands head to her breasts and prepared herself for the pleasure she knew she was about to feel. However, before she could feel such pleasure, they were interrupted.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!?!?" Ethan yelled.
"Oh my God, Ethan!" Theresa exclaimed completely embarrassed. She turned around and began to fix herself up.
"What the hell is your problem?!?" Fox asked, angered that Ethan had just ruined their moment.
"I- I-" Ethan stammered, unable to take his eyes away from Theresa as she redressed herself. Unfortunately for him, Fox noticed.
"Keep your eyes off of her!" he yelled, stepping in front of her and blocking Ethan's view of Theresa.
"Ethan, what's wrong with you?!" Theresa yelled stepping in front of Fox now that she had dressed herself.
"He was touching you!" Ethan yelled as anger built inside of him.
"That's generally what you do when you make love to someone," Fox said, rolling his eyes at Ethan.
"He doesn't deserve to touch you like that!"
"Excuse me? Incase you totally forgot about last night - she's my fiancée. I have a right to touch her in anyway I want," Fox said.
"No you don't!" Ethan yelled enviously.
"Stop this Ethan!" Theresa said. "Fox is right. We've been together for over two years, so what he decides to do with me is not your business."
"This is all part of his plan, Theresa," Ethan said. "He just wants to get you into bed, and when he does, he'll leave you in a heartbeat."
"If that were the case, then he would have been gone a lone time ago," Theresa said. Ethan felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart. 'They've slept together,' he thought sadly to himself. His sadness soon became anger.
"You slept with him! Have you no respect for yourself?!" he yelled. He was answered with a hard slap across his face from Theresa. It wasn't like the slap he received last night; that one had been done out of respect for Fox. The slap she just gave him was a slap given out of anger and a bit of hatred.
"Don't you EVER insult me like that again!" Theresa yelled. "I have a lot of respect for myself, which is why I don't understand why I ever wanted to be your wife!" she said before pushing past him and heading upstairs.
"Wow, two slaps in two days, you never learn, do you Ethan?" Fox asked with a smirk.
"Shut the hell up," Ethan replied angrily as he rubbed his face.
"It sucks doesn't it? To realize that you're not number one for once in your life," he said with a smile
"I said shut up!" he said.
"I'll shut up when I'm done," Fox said. "You just can't stand the fact that things aren't going your way. The girl, who spent her whole life loving you, suddenly leaves and comes back two years later only to be deeply in love with your own brother. That has to hurt."
"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Ethan said. "You may think that you came out on top this time, but you didn't. Theresa was mine first. You're still second to me," he said with a smile. "I was her first love, her first time, -"
"Her first heartbreak," Fox interrupted. "If you think you're going to get to me, you're sadly mistaken. You can have all the firsts in the world with her, but I have the most important one. I will be her first and only husband, and you'll never have that," he said, staring hard at Ethan.
Ethan glared at Fox, unable to think of something to say.
"What's the matter Ethan? No comments?" he taunted. "I didn't think you did. You see, you thought you could get to me by making me feel like I'm second best once again because you know how much that used to hurt me, but it doesn't work anymore. You see, I know now that I'm not second best - I'm first. I have the amazing girlfriend, I have the amazing sisters that love me dearly, I have the rich father and grandfather that love and care about me, and I will be the one to have the loving marriage with the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm better than you Ethan, with or without these perks. I always have and always will be a better person than you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go and make love to my future wife, I'll see you later," he said before walking out of the living room and leaving Ethan to ponder over his words.
TBC
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The Next Day.
"Tell me again why I'm here?" Fox asked as he and Theresa got out of their car.
"Because Whitney wasn't at the reception last night and I haven't seen her in two years," Theresa replied.
"Tell me again why I'm here?" Fox asked, putting more emphasis on him.
"Because I want to ask Whitney to be my third bridesmaid and while we're there, you could get Chad's address so that you could ask him to be your third groomsmen," Theresa explained.
"So you dragged me out of bed at nine in the morning so that you could do something that could have easily been done anytime after noon?" Fox asked, still not happy about his lack of sleep.
"I really wanted to see Whit," Theresa said, feeling bad for waking Fox up so early, considering the late night he had and the bruises on his face and hands.
"It's okay, baby. Let's just do this so that I can have you to myself later today," Fox said as he rang the Russell doorbell.
"Theresa!" Eve said upon seeing Theresa and Fox in her doorway. "Come in, come in!" she said letting Theresa in and grabbing her into a hug.
"I've missed you Mrs. Russell," Theresa said as Eve hugged her. "How have you been?"
"Great. T.C. and I saw you at the reception last night, but with the incident with Ethan and Fox, we never got a chance to talk to you," Eve said looking at Fox towards the end of her statement.
"Hello, Fox," she said.
"Hello, Mrs. Russell," Fox replied not sure of how to act around her. Luckily, Theresa saved him of having to say anything more.
"Is Whitney here?" she asked.
"Yea, she's upstairs in her room with Chad," Eve replied.
"That's great! We can ask them at the same time!" Theresa said looking at Fox.
"Ask them what?" Eve asked confused.
"To be in our wedding. Whit and I always promised each other that no matter what happened, we would still be in each other's wedding. I want her to be one of my bridesmaid, and hopefully Chad will be one of Fox's groomsmen," she said.
"I'm sure they'll say yes. I didn't get to say this last night, so I'd like to say congratulations. I wish you both the best in love and marriage," she said.
"Thank you Mrs. Russell," Theresa said going over to hug Eve once again.
"Yeah, thank you Mrs. Russell," Fox said.
"No problem, now why don't you two go up and see Whitney and Chad? T.C. and I got home very late last night, so we didn't get a chance to tell Whitney that you were back in Harmony."
"She'll be so surprised to see me! Come on, Fox, let's go!" Theresa said grabbing Fox's hand and leading him upstairs.
Knock Knock
"Come in," Whitney said after hearing someone knock on her door.
"Guess who's back?" Theresa said, walking into Whitney's room.
"Oh my God!! Theresa!!" Whitney exclaimed, jumping off her bed, over Chad, and into Theresa's arms. "I've missed you so much 'Resa!!" she said.
"I've missed you two, Whit. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to seeing you again," Theresa replied.
"It's been so hard to live without my best friend!" Whitney said.
"Well I'm sure Chad helped in that department," Theresa said with a smile as she looked at Chad. "Well, do I get a hug?" she asked him.
"Of course, girl," Chad said as he got off of Whitney's bed and gave Theresa a hug (A/N The only Chad in my head is played by Donn Swaby. The new guy doesn't exist).
"I've been watching your career, I see you finally made it to the runway, huh?" Chad said.
"Yeah, I know. It's about time," she said with a smile.
"Not that I mind you here, but what made you decide to come back after over two years?" Whitney asked.
"Well, I came back to get married," Theresa said, surprising Chad and Whitney.
"Married? To who?" Whitney asked.
"To Fox," Theresa said, dragging Fox further into the room. It was the first time Whitney and Chad even noticed his presence.
"Hi guys," Fox said, clearly uncomfortable with the attention he was getting.
"Fox? You're marrying Fox? When did this happen?" Whitney asked.
"When I left Harmony, Fox came with me and we've been together ever since. He's my best friend and such an amazing man, I can't wait to become his wife!" Theresa said.
"Well, I'm happy for you, both of you," Whitney said as she hugged Theresa again and went over to hug Fox. "Take good care of her," she said.
"I will," Fox said seriously.
"Anyway, besides the fact that I wanted to catch up with you, I wanted to ask you if you would be one of my bridesmaids," Theresa asked.
"I would be honored!" Whitney said with a big smile on her face.
"You're the best Whit!" Theresa exclaimed. "Now, come on, we have to catch up!" she said leading Whitney to her bed and already starting to talk.
Fox and Chad stood by the door as Theresa and Whitney talked, each watching their woman with nothing but love shining in their eyes.
"Congratulations, man" Chad said turning to Fox.
"Thank you. I was thinking, since Whitney is going to be Theresa's third bridesmaid, it would be nice if you could be my third groomsmen," Fox said.
"In other words, Theresa told you to pick me as your third groomsmen," Chad said with a smile.
"Well, yeah," Fox said looking at the ground. "But I'd still be very thankful if you agreed to be a groomsmen."
"I'd love to," Chad replied shaking hands with Fox.
"Thank you," Fox replied before he and Chad turned their attention back to Theresa and Whitney.
Meanwhile.
Charity stood outside the Bennett household, debating whether or not she should ring the doorbell. 'I'm here to visit Jessica, who cares about who I might run into,' she thought to herself before finally ringing the bell. A few seconds later, the door was opened.
"Charity! I'm so happy you're here!" Jessica said pulling Charity into a hug.
"I know, me too," Charity replied. After a while, they finally pulled away from each other.
"Well, come on in," Jessica said before letting her into the house.
"Is anyone home," Charity asked looking around the room.
"No, Kay and Simone went to the mall earlier this morning, and Mom and Dad are at work," she replied.
"Cool," Charity said, a bit relieved that she didn't have to talk to her aunt or uncle.
"So, how was life in LA?" Jessica asked, taking a seat on the couch next to Charity.
"It was amazing! You have to come and visit me someday. I'll show you around the whole city," Charity said excitedly.
"I'm glad you liked it there - you deserve it," Jessica replied. "So how weird was it to find out that Julian Crane is your father?" she asked.
"It's was.interesting," Charity replied. "At first, I was just sad and depressed that the man who I had wanted to meet all my life, was nothing but a jerk who was hated by everyone. But after meeting him, and hearing his story, I couldn't help but love him."
"Really?" Jessica asked, genuinely surprised.
"I know that everyone has their opinion about Julian, and most of them are negative, but he really has changed. He's an amazing guy and a devoted father. He's been there for me ever since he found out, and he's gone out of his way to make sure that Fox, Sammy, and Vicky were happy and comfortable. He really doesn't get the credit he deserves for all that he's managed to do with his life in just a year."
"Wow, you make him sound like a saint," Jessica said.
"He's no saint," Charity said with a laugh. "He can be downright ruthless when someone messes with him or his family, but he is a good man that anyone should be proud to know," she added.
"Well, I'm glad that you finally found him," Jessica said.
"Thanks," Charity replied. "So, how are things with you and Reese?" she asked with a smile.
"Things are going great," Jessica replied with a big smile.
"I can tell, you're smiling like you've got a hanger stuck in your mouth," Charity said (A/N I got that line from a Friends episode. I love that show!).
"I know," Jessica said with a blush. "Anyway, this is making me blush too much, let's talk about you and Brady. How did that happen?" she asked.
"He and Fox went to boarding school together, so when we arrived in LA we stayed with him for the first two months we were there. We didn't actually get together till seven months later. We were watching my video on T.V. for the first time and he just kissed me."
"Ahh!! You get to kiss Brady Black everyday! I'd pay to do that," Jessica exclaimed. Charity laughed at Jessica's statement.
"I still sometimes sit down and surprise myself with the fact that I'm his girlfriend. It's so weird - I'm dating the guy I spent a few years of my life idolizing," Charity said with a laugh.
"It's so cool," Jessica replied. "Anyway, do you have any plans for today? Because if not, I was hoping that you and I could spend the whole day here catching up and watching movies. How does that sound to you?" she asked.
"It sounds great," Charity said before taking off her shoes and making herself comfortable on the couch.
Later that day.
"This sucks," Brady said as he walked the streets with Samantha and Vicky.
"No it doesn't," Samantha said. "You've spent the day with Vicky and I, how could that possibly suck?"
"That's the problem. No offense, but I'd rather be with Charity than with two high school teenagers," he replied.
"Well Charity's catching up with Jessica, so you're stuck with us. Deal with it," Vicky said with a mock glare.
"And where the hell are we going?" Brady asked, finally taking in his surroundings. "We've been walking all day and we've only stopped once so that Vicky could buy some magazine."
"We're near the Book Café, it's a local hangout spot in Harmony," Sammy replied.
"Why are we going there?" he asked.
"Because they have the best cappuccinos, and I want one," Vicky replied.
"Why am I going there?" he corrected.
"Because you have absolutely nothing better to do, unless you want to go back to the mansion and stay with our half-brother and his annoying wife," Sammy replied. Brady stayed quiet. "I didn't think so," she said before turning around and continuing to walk.
"We're here," Vicky said, opening the door and walking in with Samantha and Brady right behind her.
"It's very.homey," Brady said, describing the café.
"Yeah, it is. That's one of the things I love about it," Sammy said as she led them to a table after Vicky placed her order.
"Do you girls come here often, when you're at home?" he asked.
"First of all, we barely came home because we were never wanted. Secondly, even if we did come home, there is no way Alistair and Julian would have let us come here to associate with 'common people.'" Vicky replied.
"Yeah, we've only been here like two or three times in our entire lives and even then, we've had to disguise ourselves - like you," Sammy added referring to the sunglasses that Brady was wearing to disguise himself.
"Oh, I see," Brady replied. "Do you know where they keep the magazines? I want to see if they have the new issue of Jump Shot out."
"Yeah, the sports section is right over there," Vicky said pointing toward the back of the room.
"Thanks," he replied before getting up and heading to the sports section on the café. Seeing the magazine he was looking for, he made a reach for the least copy, only to find it in the hands of someone else.
"Oh, I'm sorry," the person said. "Oh, it's you," he said with a bit of disgust.
"Hello," Brady replied calmly. "You're Miguel, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes, that would be me," Miguel replied, staring hard at Brady.
"Well, I guess I'll be going," Brady said, getting annoyed with the way Miguel was staring at him.
"Not so fast," Miguel said, blocking Brady's pathway. "You and I need to talk," he said.
"About what?" Brady asked.
"About the fact that you stole my girlfriend from me," Miguel said. Brady couldn't help but laugh at Miguel's statement.
"Your girlfriend?" he asked between laughs. "Charity hasn't been your girlfriend since the day she left this town, which, by the way, was completely your fault," he said.
"And that's my problem, your problem is trying to take her away from me, forever," Miguel said.
"She's already done with you," Brady said coldly, not liking the way Miguel was talking to him.
"Only because of you. If it weren't for you, Charity and I would be together," Miguel said.
"That, and the fact that you impregnated her cousin," Brady added sarcastically.
"That was a mistake. I never meant for it to happen or cost me to lose Charity. And I sure as hell didn't mean for it to lead her straight into your arms."
"Well you know what they say, 'one man's loss is another man's gain,'" Brady said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"What Charity and I had was too special to just wear off over time. We were each other's first loves, she won't just forget about me," Miguel said.
"I don't expect her to. No one ever forgets their first love, but they do get over them. She's over you, Miguel - she has been for a long time. Now the love you two shared may seem like this untouchable love to you, but it's not to her. She's dealt with it and gotten over every little thing that has made her cry. You blew it Miguel, and standing there and creating a list of wishes for the two of you is useless. You two will never be together again, and if you try to come between us, you'll regret it, okay?" he asked with a dark glare.
"What's going on?" Kay asked, appearing by Miguel's side.
"Nothing," Brady replied, not taking his eyes off of Miguel. "I was just leaving," he said be breezing past both of them.
"What the hell was that about?" Kay asked once Brady was out of sight.
"None of your business," Miguel said before walking past Kay and out of the restaurant.
"So you just left them?" Charity asked later that night while she and Brady were hanging out in their room. Brady had just told her of his interaction with Miguel and she couldn't believe how irrational Miguel was being about the whole situation.
"Basically - I saw no reason to stay," Brady replied.
"I don't know why Miguel is acting like this. After all, he cheated on me, I should be upset, not him," she said.
"I don't really care how upset he is, just as long as he stays away from us," Brady said as he sat next to Charity on their bed.
"So how was the rest of your day?" Charity asked.
"Pretty dull," Brady replied as he began to kiss Charity's neck. "I spent the day with your sisters."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't be with you. I just had to spend the day with Jessica, I've missed her so much," Charity said, barely making the words out as Brady began to nibble on her ears.
"Don't worry about it," Brady replied. He suddenly pulled away and looked at Charity for a few seconds.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Well, I've been thinking, and I realized that Fox and Theresa were getting married."
"It took you this long to realize this?" she asked with a smile.
"Let me finish," he said with a mock glare. "Anyway, I was thinking, that maybe." he trailed off, unable to finish.
"What were you thinking?" Charity asked.
"I was wondering if you would want to move in with me," Brady blurted.
"You want me to live with you?" Charity asked, surprised.
"I know that this came out of no where, but think about it. Fox and Theresa are going to be married and are going to have the house to themselves on many nights. Not only that, but you're already at my house or I'm out your house for the most part of the day, so why not just live together? It works out for everyone," he said, all in one breath. Charity stayed quiet, pondering Brady's suggestion. 'This is a big step,' she thought to herself. 'But who else would I want to take this step with?' she asked herself. 'No one' she concluded.
"I'd love to move in with you," she said with a smile.
"Really?" Brady asked excitedly.
"Yes, it'll be great!" she exclaimed, jumping off the bed with Brady and pulling him into a hug.
"I know!" Brady replied, equally excited. He leaned down and seized her lips in a passionate kiss. He pulled away and started to kiss his way down her neck as he led her to their bed.
"God, I love you," he said.
"I love you too," Charity replied before Brady began to undress her.
"Whew! I'm tired," Theresa said as she and Fox walked into the mansion later that night.
"Well it was your idea to stop at every store in the mall," Fox said as he took a seat on the couch.
"I just wanted to make sure that I didn't skip over anything. It's been so long since I've been to Harmony Mall, I couldn't miss anything," she replied.
"Seriously, this obsession you have with shopping isn't healthy," Fox joked.
"Really?" Theresa said with a smile as she made her way to Fox. "Well, what do you suppose I do about this obsession?" she asked, taking a seat on his lap.
"I suggest that you don't go shopping for a whole week and spend the entire time making love to your amazing, loving, fiancé," Fox said with a smile.
"Hmm.sounds like a good idea to me," Theresa replied with a smile before lowering her lips to Fox's. Fox's hand slid down Theresa's legs and slowly began to make their way up her skirt. Theresa, in turn, was running her hands up and down Fox's chest under his shirt.
"We can't do this here, anyone might walk in," Theresa said, pulling her lips away from Fox.
"I don't care," Fox said as he hungrily captured Theresa's lips in his own. Theresa instantly gave in and succumbed to the kiss. She allowed Fox to pull the hairclip from her hair, letting his fall over her shoulders.
"God, I love your hair," he breathed. Theresa could only moan in response as she ran her hands through Fox's blonde hair. She felt Fox remove his hands from her skirt and felt them rubbing her lower back through her shirt.
"You're so beautiful," he said as he ran his hand up her shirt and toward her bra strap.
"I love your touch," Theresa said with a moan as she felt Fox unclip her bra and run his hands all over her back. She felt his hands head to her breasts and prepared herself for the pleasure she knew she was about to feel. However, before she could feel such pleasure, they were interrupted.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO HER?!?!?" Ethan yelled.
"Oh my God, Ethan!" Theresa exclaimed completely embarrassed. She turned around and began to fix herself up.
"What the hell is your problem?!?" Fox asked, angered that Ethan had just ruined their moment.
"I- I-" Ethan stammered, unable to take his eyes away from Theresa as she redressed herself. Unfortunately for him, Fox noticed.
"Keep your eyes off of her!" he yelled, stepping in front of her and blocking Ethan's view of Theresa.
"Ethan, what's wrong with you?!" Theresa yelled stepping in front of Fox now that she had dressed herself.
"He was touching you!" Ethan yelled as anger built inside of him.
"That's generally what you do when you make love to someone," Fox said, rolling his eyes at Ethan.
"He doesn't deserve to touch you like that!"
"Excuse me? Incase you totally forgot about last night - she's my fiancée. I have a right to touch her in anyway I want," Fox said.
"No you don't!" Ethan yelled enviously.
"Stop this Ethan!" Theresa said. "Fox is right. We've been together for over two years, so what he decides to do with me is not your business."
"This is all part of his plan, Theresa," Ethan said. "He just wants to get you into bed, and when he does, he'll leave you in a heartbeat."
"If that were the case, then he would have been gone a lone time ago," Theresa said. Ethan felt like a knife had been plunged into his heart. 'They've slept together,' he thought sadly to himself. His sadness soon became anger.
"You slept with him! Have you no respect for yourself?!" he yelled. He was answered with a hard slap across his face from Theresa. It wasn't like the slap he received last night; that one had been done out of respect for Fox. The slap she just gave him was a slap given out of anger and a bit of hatred.
"Don't you EVER insult me like that again!" Theresa yelled. "I have a lot of respect for myself, which is why I don't understand why I ever wanted to be your wife!" she said before pushing past him and heading upstairs.
"Wow, two slaps in two days, you never learn, do you Ethan?" Fox asked with a smirk.
"Shut the hell up," Ethan replied angrily as he rubbed his face.
"It sucks doesn't it? To realize that you're not number one for once in your life," he said with a smile
"I said shut up!" he said.
"I'll shut up when I'm done," Fox said. "You just can't stand the fact that things aren't going your way. The girl, who spent her whole life loving you, suddenly leaves and comes back two years later only to be deeply in love with your own brother. That has to hurt."
"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Ethan said. "You may think that you came out on top this time, but you didn't. Theresa was mine first. You're still second to me," he said with a smile. "I was her first love, her first time, -"
"Her first heartbreak," Fox interrupted. "If you think you're going to get to me, you're sadly mistaken. You can have all the firsts in the world with her, but I have the most important one. I will be her first and only husband, and you'll never have that," he said, staring hard at Ethan.
Ethan glared at Fox, unable to think of something to say.
"What's the matter Ethan? No comments?" he taunted. "I didn't think you did. You see, you thought you could get to me by making me feel like I'm second best once again because you know how much that used to hurt me, but it doesn't work anymore. You see, I know now that I'm not second best - I'm first. I have the amazing girlfriend, I have the amazing sisters that love me dearly, I have the rich father and grandfather that love and care about me, and I will be the one to have the loving marriage with the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm better than you Ethan, with or without these perks. I always have and always will be a better person than you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to go and make love to my future wife, I'll see you later," he said before walking out of the living room and leaving Ethan to ponder over his words.
TBC
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