Part XIII
Both Whitney and Teresa sat by the pool with their drinks. It had been days since they had the chance to talk, or spend any time together. Whitney was busy with Chad and Chad was busy at the recording studio where Whitney spent most of her days and nights.
"So, what's going on with you, Teresa?"
"Nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary. I miss spending time with you."
"Me too, but you have Fox around to keep you company. What's going on between the two of you anyway?"
"Nothing. He is in love with someone else, remember?"
"That maybe so, but you're the one he is spending all his time with. That should account for something to you, Teresa."
"It can't."
Whitney looked at Teresa and saw the look on her face that she recognized all too well.
"Are you in love with him, Teresa?"
Teresa didn't say anything. She took her drink to her lips and sipped it slowly.
"Teresa, you know you can tell me. I won't tell."
"I don't if I love him, Whitney. One thing I know is that everything is becoming so comfortable with him, it scares me."
"What do you mean?"
Teresa turned her head towards Whitney and looked at her in the eyes.
"I guess I'm scared of loving him Whitney. I mean, I know that I feel something for him, a very deep connection, but I don't think I'll let myself fall in love with him completely."
"Why not, Teresa. He makes you so happy."
"And what happens to me the day he finally has that woman he is pinning for? What then, Whitney? I'll be let down again. I will have lost another man that I love to another woman. I can't have my heart broken again Whitney. I don't think I'll be able to survive it this time."
"Aren't you been a bit melodramatic."
"You've never had your heart broken like mine was Whitney. I don't know what would have happened to me if I didn't have Fox. He saved me."
Whitney looked at Teresa and then looked away from her. She knew that Teresa was right about a lot of things but then, she also knew that Teresa always said half truths.
"Are you still hoping that Ethan will come back to you, Teresa?"
"No."
"Are you still in love with him?"
Teresa didn't answer. Instead she put her drink down and got up.
"I have to check on little Ethan."
She made her way to stair case and disappeared from Whitney's eye sight.
"Oh, Teresa. I wish you could forget Ethan existed."
*****
Teresa sat on a bench at the park near the apartment. She looked at the empty swing and walked towards it. She sat down and pushed herself slowly at first, then she started to soar higher and higher by the second. She felt a like she could touch the moon that was looking down on her. A smile spread across her face, the smile of the child that had been lost in her so long ago. She slowed down and her feet hit the grass. The swing came to a full halt and she sat there, lost in her thoughts.
"I always thought that the day light didn't do justice to your beauty as the moonlight did."
Her head whipped and she saw Ethan standing behind her, his hands in his pockets, looking at her. His eyes burned her. She turned her attention back to the her thoughts. He came and sat in the swing that was beside her.
"I thought I would find you here."
"Did you want to speak to me?"
She looked at him and he looked at her.
"Yes, I did. I miss you a lot, Teresa."
"Give me a push, please?"
He got up and giving small pushes and Teresa started soaring again and she enjoyed it.
"Higher, Ethan. Higher. Send me to the moon, far away from everyone and everything. Far away from all my problems and all my heartaches. Send me far away from everything that hurts."
Ethan stopped the swing and faced Teresa.
"What are you talking about?"
She pushed him and got up. She took a few steps away from him, then turned and looked at him.
"I want to be free Ethan. I want to have everything. I want to love and be loved. I want to start a new life for my son and myself, I want to move on. I want to give my son the life he deserves, I want to give him a father."
"He already has a father, Teresa."
"Julian? Did you see what he did to Fox? Did you see the way he treated him? Look at how much he hurt his own son. It's a wonder Fox is normal at all. I'll be damned if I let him do the same thing to my son. I'll be damned if I let him take my baby away from me."
"So you want to give Little Ethan a father."
"Yes, I do. He deserves that much."
"A father like Fox?"
She didn't say anything. She crossed her arms on her chest and looked at him, biting her lower lip.
"Don't think I don't see what's going on between you and Fox. He will hurt you, Teresa. He is nothing but a train wreck waiting to happen and he will take you down right along with him if you're not careful."
"Don't patronize me, don't ever speak about Fox the way you are right now. You don't know him the way I do."
"Did it occur to you that maybe I know him better than you do?"
Teresa had a sarcastic laughter.
"Oh, please! Fox is an amazing man. He has always been there for me and never asked for anything in return."
"Why are you defending him like that?"
"Because I care about him and because no one ever defends him."
Ethan stared at Teresa. She had changed. She was no longer the woman he had known. But he still loved her.
"Teresa, you are playing with fire."
"What the hell are you doing here anyway? Why aren't you with your wife?"
He didn't answer.
"Ethan, I really want to move on with my life. Give me my heart back, Ethan. I don't want the small fragments of it that I have right now. I want all of it back, Ethan. Give me my heart back so that I can be free to love again with everything that I have. I want my heart back so that I can feel complete again. Please Ethan, I've never asked you for anything. Please, give me back what you took."
And she cried because she felt hopeless in front of him, and she cried because she wanted to be released from him and she cried because the man she wanted standing in front of her was Fox and not Ethan and she finally understood that maybe Ethan wasn't the right man for her, but Fox was. Hadn't he always been there for her? Hadn't he always been the one she ran to? Hadn't he been what she hopes Ethan would be?
"I can't release you, Teresa because you're the one I love and I can't risk losing you to another man."
"Then, I was wrong about you, Ethan. Maybe you weren't the man I thought you were."
She went to him and hugged him. He kept her in his arms for a few minutes, inhaling her, remembering how she felt in his arms and how he never wanted to let her go in the first place. She was the woman of his life after all, she was what he always wanted. He felt her lips brush lightly against his cheek and then her hands pushing his arms down and away from her.
"Good bye, Ethan."
He looked at her as she walked away from him.
*****
Gwen had witnessed all of it as she stood behind a grow tree in the park. It was the first time she was out since she had come back from the hospital. She had stood in the park and watched Ethan with Teresa. She had always known that Ethan was in love with Teresa, but this time..she had moved from the tree into an open space when Teresa had left. She stood in front of Ethan who was sitting on the swing Teresa had sat on previously. He had looked up and looked at her, but Gwen knew he had looked right through her when he looked back down. She knew he was thinking of her, she knew that Teresa was on his mind. The love of his life.
She turned her heels and went back to the apartment. No way was she going to allow him to go after Teresa. She wouldn't give him the chance to that, she was not going to release him from their marriage.
Both Whitney and Teresa sat by the pool with their drinks. It had been days since they had the chance to talk, or spend any time together. Whitney was busy with Chad and Chad was busy at the recording studio where Whitney spent most of her days and nights.
"So, what's going on with you, Teresa?"
"Nothing new, nothing out of the ordinary. I miss spending time with you."
"Me too, but you have Fox around to keep you company. What's going on between the two of you anyway?"
"Nothing. He is in love with someone else, remember?"
"That maybe so, but you're the one he is spending all his time with. That should account for something to you, Teresa."
"It can't."
Whitney looked at Teresa and saw the look on her face that she recognized all too well.
"Are you in love with him, Teresa?"
Teresa didn't say anything. She took her drink to her lips and sipped it slowly.
"Teresa, you know you can tell me. I won't tell."
"I don't if I love him, Whitney. One thing I know is that everything is becoming so comfortable with him, it scares me."
"What do you mean?"
Teresa turned her head towards Whitney and looked at her in the eyes.
"I guess I'm scared of loving him Whitney. I mean, I know that I feel something for him, a very deep connection, but I don't think I'll let myself fall in love with him completely."
"Why not, Teresa. He makes you so happy."
"And what happens to me the day he finally has that woman he is pinning for? What then, Whitney? I'll be let down again. I will have lost another man that I love to another woman. I can't have my heart broken again Whitney. I don't think I'll be able to survive it this time."
"Aren't you been a bit melodramatic."
"You've never had your heart broken like mine was Whitney. I don't know what would have happened to me if I didn't have Fox. He saved me."
Whitney looked at Teresa and then looked away from her. She knew that Teresa was right about a lot of things but then, she also knew that Teresa always said half truths.
"Are you still hoping that Ethan will come back to you, Teresa?"
"No."
"Are you still in love with him?"
Teresa didn't answer. Instead she put her drink down and got up.
"I have to check on little Ethan."
She made her way to stair case and disappeared from Whitney's eye sight.
"Oh, Teresa. I wish you could forget Ethan existed."
*****
Teresa sat on a bench at the park near the apartment. She looked at the empty swing and walked towards it. She sat down and pushed herself slowly at first, then she started to soar higher and higher by the second. She felt a like she could touch the moon that was looking down on her. A smile spread across her face, the smile of the child that had been lost in her so long ago. She slowed down and her feet hit the grass. The swing came to a full halt and she sat there, lost in her thoughts.
"I always thought that the day light didn't do justice to your beauty as the moonlight did."
Her head whipped and she saw Ethan standing behind her, his hands in his pockets, looking at her. His eyes burned her. She turned her attention back to the her thoughts. He came and sat in the swing that was beside her.
"I thought I would find you here."
"Did you want to speak to me?"
She looked at him and he looked at her.
"Yes, I did. I miss you a lot, Teresa."
"Give me a push, please?"
He got up and giving small pushes and Teresa started soaring again and she enjoyed it.
"Higher, Ethan. Higher. Send me to the moon, far away from everyone and everything. Far away from all my problems and all my heartaches. Send me far away from everything that hurts."
Ethan stopped the swing and faced Teresa.
"What are you talking about?"
She pushed him and got up. She took a few steps away from him, then turned and looked at him.
"I want to be free Ethan. I want to have everything. I want to love and be loved. I want to start a new life for my son and myself, I want to move on. I want to give my son the life he deserves, I want to give him a father."
"He already has a father, Teresa."
"Julian? Did you see what he did to Fox? Did you see the way he treated him? Look at how much he hurt his own son. It's a wonder Fox is normal at all. I'll be damned if I let him do the same thing to my son. I'll be damned if I let him take my baby away from me."
"So you want to give Little Ethan a father."
"Yes, I do. He deserves that much."
"A father like Fox?"
She didn't say anything. She crossed her arms on her chest and looked at him, biting her lower lip.
"Don't think I don't see what's going on between you and Fox. He will hurt you, Teresa. He is nothing but a train wreck waiting to happen and he will take you down right along with him if you're not careful."
"Don't patronize me, don't ever speak about Fox the way you are right now. You don't know him the way I do."
"Did it occur to you that maybe I know him better than you do?"
Teresa had a sarcastic laughter.
"Oh, please! Fox is an amazing man. He has always been there for me and never asked for anything in return."
"Why are you defending him like that?"
"Because I care about him and because no one ever defends him."
Ethan stared at Teresa. She had changed. She was no longer the woman he had known. But he still loved her.
"Teresa, you are playing with fire."
"What the hell are you doing here anyway? Why aren't you with your wife?"
He didn't answer.
"Ethan, I really want to move on with my life. Give me my heart back, Ethan. I don't want the small fragments of it that I have right now. I want all of it back, Ethan. Give me my heart back so that I can be free to love again with everything that I have. I want my heart back so that I can feel complete again. Please Ethan, I've never asked you for anything. Please, give me back what you took."
And she cried because she felt hopeless in front of him, and she cried because she wanted to be released from him and she cried because the man she wanted standing in front of her was Fox and not Ethan and she finally understood that maybe Ethan wasn't the right man for her, but Fox was. Hadn't he always been there for her? Hadn't he always been the one she ran to? Hadn't he been what she hopes Ethan would be?
"I can't release you, Teresa because you're the one I love and I can't risk losing you to another man."
"Then, I was wrong about you, Ethan. Maybe you weren't the man I thought you were."
She went to him and hugged him. He kept her in his arms for a few minutes, inhaling her, remembering how she felt in his arms and how he never wanted to let her go in the first place. She was the woman of his life after all, she was what he always wanted. He felt her lips brush lightly against his cheek and then her hands pushing his arms down and away from her.
"Good bye, Ethan."
He looked at her as she walked away from him.
*****
Gwen had witnessed all of it as she stood behind a grow tree in the park. It was the first time she was out since she had come back from the hospital. She had stood in the park and watched Ethan with Teresa. She had always known that Ethan was in love with Teresa, but this time..she had moved from the tree into an open space when Teresa had left. She stood in front of Ethan who was sitting on the swing Teresa had sat on previously. He had looked up and looked at her, but Gwen knew he had looked right through her when he looked back down. She knew he was thinking of her, she knew that Teresa was on his mind. The love of his life.
She turned her heels and went back to the apartment. No way was she going to allow him to go after Teresa. She wouldn't give him the chance to that, she was not going to release him from their marriage.
