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Theresa shook her head in disbelief. She quickly walked outside of the shop. As
she looked through the window, she could still see Audrey arguing with the
waiter. Theresa looked up at the cloudless sky and took deep calming breaths.
Her mind was spinning, and she was desperately trying to regain control of her
thoughts. She quickly walked to her car and paused before she opened the door.
Instead, she reached for her cell phone and quickly dialed home. She paced
around anxiously, waiting for her husband to answer the phone. "C'mon, Fox."
Theresa thought impatiently.
"Hello, Crane residence?"
Theresa frowned. It wasn't Fox on the phone. "Dylan?" Theresa asked.
"Theresa?" Dylan said.
"Yeah, it's me." Theresa said in an agitated voice.
"Theresa, what is it?" Dylan said noticing the distress in Theresa's voice.
"Tell me the truth about Audrey." Theresa said quickly. "Now."
She demanded.
Dylan appeared to be flustered. Theresa heard a loud "clunk" on the other end
of the line. It was as if Dylan dropped the receiver.
"Dylan?" Theresa asked. There was no answer. Theresa tried again, "Dylan?!"
"I'm here." Dylan answered.
"Well, answer me! Please?" Theresa said hastily.
"Why?" Dylan asked. "I already told you, Audrey is just a friend of mine's and
Fox's."
"Really?" Theresa said. "Okay, then perhaps you can
explain why she's here in Harmony." Theresa heard the "clunk" once again
accompanied by a distorted conversation between Dylan and another person.
Theresa assumed it was Fox.
"Dylan?" Theresa asked.
"Yeah?" Dylan answered.
"You really need to stop dropping the phone." She said sarcastically.
"I didn't- drop the phone." Dylan said.
"Whatever," Theresa said. "Look, do you know why she's here?"
"Surprise visit?" Dylan suggested.
"Dylan!" Theresa whined.
"You sound upset." Dylan said.
"Well, maybe I am." Theresa said.
"It's probably just a friendly visit." Dylan said. "Why don't you come home and
talk to Fox about it?"
Theresa sighed. "You're right, I'm just overreacting. I'm on my way home now."
Theresa drove quickly. She opened the windows and hoped the fresh air would
calm her down. She blasted her radio and let the wind playfully tousle her
hair. By the time Theresa got home, she felt a little bit better. However, deep
down she felt something wasn't right about Audrey's visit. She walked quickly
to the front door, and opened it. She found Fox and Dylan and Little Ethan
sitting in the living room. Fox looked up sheepishly. "Hi honey," He said with
a small smile.
"Hi." Theresa said. "You've got some explaining to do."
"I do?" Fox said appearing to have no idea of what Theresa was talking about.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about." Theresa said as she set
her lips in a firm line.
"Maybe I should go~" Dylan said as he stood up.
"Stay." Theresa ordered. Dylan looked at Theresa. "Sit." Theresa said in a low
tone.
"Yes ma'm." Dylan said as he
resumed his seat. Fox looked a bit amused. "She's even got you whooped." He
mumbled to his friend. Dylan frowned and crossed his arms in a huff.
"Okay, so Audrey's a friend. How'd you meet?" Theresa asked her husband.
"Boarding school." Fox answered evenly.
"Did you ever date?" She asked suspiciously.
"It doesn't matter, I'm with you now." Fox replied.
"Answer the question." Theresa said.
Fox sighed. "You better give her a good answer." Dylan mumbled. "Or else she'll
whoop you."
Fox rolled his eyes. "Shut up Dylan."
"Fox!" Theresa said impatiently. "Did you ever date
Audrey?"
Fox remained silent. Theresa placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look
that prompted him to quickly answer the question."Uh- no~" Fox said as his voice trailed off.
"The truth Fox?" Theresa said.
"Yeah, give her the truth," Dylan warned. "Because lies aren't
good in a relationship."
"Once." Fox said. "It wasn't anything serious."
Theresa looked at her husband exasperatingly. "You dated her?" Theresa
suddenly felt angered.
"I said once" Fox said in defense.
"Ugh!" Theresa said as she walked towards the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Fox said as he carried Little Ethan and went to the
bottom of the steps. Theresa ignored him and slammed the door of their room.
"She's pissed." Dylan said as he walked up to Fox.
"Damnit." Fox mumbled.
"Hey, watch the language around the kid." Dylan said nodding towards Little
Ethan. Ethan Martin looked at Fox with a worried expression. "It's okay,
buddy," Fox said. "I'll fix this."
Dylan smirked. "You screwed up big time."
"You're the one who told me that 'lies aren't good in a relationship.'"
Fox replied irritated.
"Since when did you start listening to me?" Dylan asked.
"You might want to leave now," Fox suggested. "Before you get double-teamed by
me and Ethan Martin."
"I can take you both." Dylan said as he got into a mock boxing position.
"Dylan." Fox said exasperated. "Now's not the time. Just do me a favor and
watch Little Ethan while I try to talk to Theresa."
~*~
Justin Hammond took of his coffee stained shirt and frowned. "This better come
out," He thought as he quickly tossed it in the washer and walked to the
kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. He popped the tab
and took a swig of the drink. As he walked through the hallway, his eyes became
transfixed on an enlarged photo of him and his wife at his wedding. He gazed
sadly at the beautiful woman who stood proudly beside him. "Where are you?" He
thought sadly. As he continued down the hallway to his room, Justin was haunted
by memories of his wife Lindsay. He desperately tried to stop the memories from
washing over him, but it was no use. He succumbed to the memories and found
himself drifting from memory to memory. Time simply could not erase the
feelings of remorse and sorrow that Justin felt when he was alone.
"Would you fix the sink? It's leaking again." Lindsay pleaded. She gave
Justin her best puppy-dog look.
"How could I refuse you?" Justin remembered saying as he leaned down to
lovingly kiss his wife.
"Thank you honey," Lindsay said. "Now, I'm going to do some shopping. I'll be
back in a few."
Justin remembered going to the living room to grade some papers. He had totally
forgotten about the sink. Lindsay had been badgering him about the sink for a
few weeks now, but Justin never got to fixing it. A few hours later, as it was
getting dark, Justin glanced at his watch worriedly. "I wonder where she is."
He mumbled as he reached over to call her on her cell phone. After five
attempts of trying to reach her, he finally resorted to leaving a message on
her voicemail. "Just checking on you, beautiful."
Justin said. "I love you, and I guess I'll see you later. Give me a call so
that I can make sure you're all right. You know how much of a worry-wart I can
be."
Justin's eyes began filling with tears.
Lindsay never did call him back. For many long agonizing hours, Justin waited
for his wife to return home. When she didn't show, Justin frantically called
the police. A search of the area was conducted, but no trace of Lindsay was
found. The last place she was spotted was in the parking lot of the local
grocer's. The police viewed surveillance tapes of the day Lindsay was spotted.
The tapes revealed that Lindsay had been attacked. Justin watched in horror as
he saw his wife walking towards the car. Suddenly, a masked man jumped out from
behind her and appeared to hold a gun to her head. Justin's heart lurched in
his chest as he saw the armed man leading Lindsay to her car. "We've got to find
her!" Justin had said urgently.
The search for Lindsay resumed. For weeks they followed tips, but they all
ultimately led to a dead end. Justin didn't give up hope. He desperately wished
his wife would turn up alive. Lindsay's car had eventually been found abandoned
in Atlanta, but Lindsay had disappeared. There
was nothing left in the car. The car was thoroughly searched and luckily no
trace of blood was found. This fact gave Justin hope that his wife was still
alive. Ever since, Justin lived his life full of sadness and regret. His
demeanor transformed him into a pessimistic and sardonic character. No one
seemed to be able to help Justin. Most of the Harmony residents who knew of
Justin's story remained tight-lipped. They gave him sympathetic looks that drove
him insane. Justin crushed the can in his hands. Nothing seemed to be able to
amuse him much. That was until Theresa Crane came along. Theresa amused Justin.
Although he thought she was beautiful he wasn't interested in dating her. He
simply wanted to be her friend, but Theresa took offense to his banter. She had
already revealed that she didn't like him. Justin shook his head. He couldn't
believe Theresa had dumped her coffee on him. Theresa's physical appearance
reminded Justin of Lindsay. Perhaps that was why he took an immediate interest
in getting to know Theresa. Physical similarity was the only thing that Theresa
and Lindsay held in common for the moment, for Justin really did not know much
about Theresa Crane. Bantering with Theresa was the only way Justin knew how to
communicate with her. He thought that one day he might actually try to have a
normal conversation. "We'll see." Justin mumbled.
~*~
"Where have you been?" Gwen demanded as Ethan walked into the house.
"I got some coffee." Ethan said dully.
Gwen looked at her husband suspiciously. "Did you run into her today?"
"Who?" Ethan asked tiredly.
"You know who" Gwen said.
"Gwen, can't you trust me?" Ethan said irritated.
"Trust you? How can I trust you Ethan, when you still
love another woman?!"
"Gwen, please," Ethan said holding up his hand. "Is the baby asleep?"
Gwen sighed. "Yeah," she mumbled. "But it's not like you really care about
her."
"Don't you ever say that!" Ethan said in a low and
angry tone. "I love our daughter."
"As much as you love Theresa?" Gwen snapped.
"God, Gwen, why do you do this? You constantly nag me about Theresa. It
needs to stop!"
"It'll never stop, because I don't think you'll ever get over Theresa."
Ethan sat down and rubbed his temples. His head was already beginning to pound.
"What do you want me to do Gwen? What do you want from me?"
Gwen folded her arms. "I've been thinking~" She said. "I don't think this is
going to work."
"What's not going to work?" Ethan asked.
"Our marriage." Gwen said evenly. "I want a divorce."
~*~
"Mommy," Belle said as she tugged on her mother's sleeve.
"Not now, honey. Mommy's busy." Angela said as she rummaged through the
medicine cabinet.
"What are you doing?" Belle asked curiously as Angela pulled out a syringe.
"Mommy has to get a shot." Angela said quietly. "Why don't you go out and
play?"
" 'Kay," Belle said as she skipped out of the room.
Angela rolled up her sleeve and tied a bandanna around her arms. She winced as
the needle pierced her skin. A few minutes later, Angela felt her mind
spinning. She also felt as if her body feel were suspsended in the air. Angela sank to the bathroom floor
and drifted from reality.
~*~
