16


Theresa stood frozen feeling as though her feet were permanently fixed upon the ground. She desperately wanted to tell Fox yes, but another part of her told her to refuse him. "My answer is~" Theresa paused as she averted her gaze to the ground. "Fox, I really want to say yes~" Theresa's voice trailed off.

Fox became overwhelmed with disappointment. "But the answer is no?" Fox asked sadly. Theresa said nothing and instead nodded her head in affirmation.

"Why does she have to be so stubborn?" Fox grumbled silently to himself. He didn't expect to fly all the way to Mexico just to be sent right back to Harmony. Now that Theresa was refusing to return to Harmony, Fox was becoming increasingly frustrated. "Fine." He said throwing his hands up. "Fine. If you want to be like this then all right. I'll leave you alone. You won't have to worry about me ever bothering you again. Goodbye Theresa." Fox left hurriedly leaving Theresa alone with her conflicting thoughts and emotions. "Wait Fox!" Theresa called as she chased after him.

Fox stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around. "Fox," Theresa said nervously.

Fox titled his head to indicate that he was listening. Theresa swallowed and fidgeted with her hands. "I- I don't want you leave like this." She admitted.

"I don't have much of a choice." Fox said. Fox decided to mask his own feelings. If Theresa could do it, so could he. Meanwhile, Theresa found it difficult to decipher his tone. In fact, she was almost baffled by it.

"I don't mean to push you away like this," Theresa said.

Fox turned around slowly and settled his gaze upon Theresa. "You may not mean to Theresa, but the fact is that you are pushing me away. You want me to leave you alone~ then I will. Like I said Theresa, I won't bother you anymore."

"It sounds like you don't want to be a part of my life anymore." Theresa said shakily. Her eyes were a mixture of sadness and trepidation.

Fox closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, Theresa. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Theresa asked with bated breath.

"Until you're ready to fix our relationship~" Fox began. "I'll leave you alone." Fox had to force himself to utter the words. He did not want to leave Theresa alone. He wanted to help her, but Theresa kept refusing him. Fox hoped that Theresa would come to her senses, but until then, he was going to have to respect her wishes. "That's what you want, isn't it?" Fox asked Theresa.

Theresa blinked as his words settled in. Deep down she knew she wanted Fox to stay with her. Deep down she knew that she yearned for his comforting embrace accompanied with his soothing voice. However, Theresa was still bothered by the fact that Fox was still with Whitney. It was the one thing that kept her distanced from Fox.

Fox scrutinized Theresa with his concentrated gaze. "It's not what you really want is it?" Fox asked quietly. Theresa ultimate desire was still an anomaly to him. Fox knew that Theresa was hiding something, and he had a feeling that she had yet to discover it.

Theresa looked up into Fox's eyes and found herself cursing them silently. "You can see right through me," She thought to herself. "Those beautiful eyes…"

"Theresa?" Fox interrupted Theresa's thoughts.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Theresa said quietly as she fumbled with her hands. "You know me so well."

"What do you want Theresa?" Fox asked softly. "What do you really want?"

"You." The words escaped Theresa's lips in a whisper before she had a chance to contemplate them. A spell of silence washed over both Theresa and Fox. Neither had expected the one-syllable word to have such an impact.

Theresa's heart began beating rapidly in her chest. The thumping of her heart seemed to beat in a synchronized rhythm to the loud ticking of the grandfather clock in the room.

"Me?" Fox asked. "You- you want me?" Fox asked flustered. "What does she mean?" He thought to himself.

"I- I meant…" Theresa said flustered. Theresa knew what she meant. She wanted Fox to be with her and not Whitney. She just did not know if she could muster enough courage to tell Fox her true feelings. Paloma had seen it long before Theresa did. The dream Theresa had only emphasized Theresa's deepest desires. She wanted Fox. She loved him.

It had always been there. Theresa knew it. Her attraction to Fox only led her to want to learn more about the witty Crane. It did not take long for Theresa and Fox to become good friends. Theresa always enjoyed Fox's company, but for a long time her heart and mind were preoccupied with Ethan Winthrop. She thought she loved Ethan, but now her feelings were a ball of mass confusion. Theresa even began to question if it were really love that she had felt for Ethan.

"Theresa." Fox once again interrupted Theresa's train of thoughts.

"I-I think I- I lo~"

Before Theresa could admit her feelings, she heard someone knock on the door. Theresa turned around.

"Should you answer that?" Fox asked.

"No, not yet." Theresa said hurriedly as she turned back to Fox. "That can wait. This can't. I think I'm in l~"

The persistent knocking kept interrupting. Paloma entered the room and looked at Fox and Theresa. "Was that the door I heard?" Paloma asked as she walked over to find out who was on the doorstep.

Theresa nodded, but quickly focused her attention back to Fox. Fox watched her with anticipation. "I think I'm in- in love with you Fox." Theresa finally admitted.

"Oh my God." Theresa heard behind her. Theresa immediately felt her body stiffen as she recognized the voice. "You can't be serious. You can't be in love with him."

Theresa inhaled sharply. "Ethan?" She asked turning around. "What are you doing here?" She asked angrily.

~*~