Chapter Ten

Shocking Surprises

While being gently lifted by two pairs of strong hands, Theresa groaned as a wave of nausea washed over her. She heard the sound of a car door opening and felt the soft cushioned seats beneath her as she was being gently laid in the back seat. Closing her eyes for most of the ride, Theresa hugged herself as her stomach churned repeatedly. Once the car stopped, Theresa felt herself being lifted again. With her eyes slightly opened, Theresa could only see the evanescent shadows of the individuals who carried her gliding across the furniture of the darkened room they entered.

"Get her some water," Theresa heard someone whisper.

Theresa strained to see who had spoken, but her blurry vision was no aid in revealing the identities of the individuals present in the room. Moaning Fox's name, Theresa rubbed her throbbing head. "I'm right here." Theresa thought she heard someone say. Her eyes shot open as she expected to see Fox standing before her. "Fox?" She said her voice full of hope and relief. Theresa squinted hoping for the multiple images to combine to form into one solid picture- Fox.

"No, it's Aaron." He said apologetically as he handed her a glass of water. Aaron was beginning to feel guilty, but instead of allowing his guilt to fasten itself in his eyes he put on a façade of sympathy instead.

Theresa accepted the glass reluctantly as she frowned at Aaron. "I could have sworn that I heard Fox." She said in disbelief. "I could have sworn that- that" Theresa failed to continue and took a sip of her water.

"That what Theresa? That I was Fox?" Aaron finished for her.

Theresa looked down at her glass of water and nodded. She felt Aaron smooth away a stray hair that tickled her face. "I've got a confession to make Theresa." Aaron said quietly. He averted his eyes as the secrets he was keeping burned within him.

Theresa looked up and tilted her head. "I knew it!" She said. "You were hiding something from me!" Accusation flashed in her eyes as her hands gripped the glass of water tightly.

"For good reason," Aaron cleared his throat nervously. As the secrets piled up ready to surface, Aaron reasoned that he should be extremely careful in the manner in which he would reveal the truth. Aaron determined that he would reveal the first secret that was the easiest for him to disclose. "I'm not really Dylan's brother." Aaron said quickly. His burden of secrecy became somewhat lighter, but Aaron knew there was more to divulge to the woman sitting across from him.

"I didn't see any type of resemblance that would suggest anything like that." Theresa admitted. "But that isn't the whole confession is it?" Theresa said as she sensed there was something more that Aaron wanted to tell her. She searched his eyes with hers, but he deliberately looked down to escape from Theresa's curious eyes.

"No, there's more. A lot more actually." Aaron said as he stood up and walked around the room to settle his nerves. Theresa fidgeted anxiously as she waited for Aaron to continue. Her ears were thirsty for the information Aaron was withholding from her. After a long pause of silence Theresa placed her glass on the table in front of her and stood up slowly. "Where are we anyway?" Theresa asked changing the subject while hoping to ease Aaron's blatant nervousness. "This place doesn't look familiar." She continued as she walked around slowly, her body swaying uneasily.

"We're at my house." Aaron said rubbing his hands together as his eyes followed Theresa on her stroll through the spacious living room.

"Your house, hm?" Theresa muttered as she steadied herself by holding onto a table underneath a covered window. "You don't have a lot of furniture in here," Theresa noted. "And it's kind of dark. No wonder" Theresa said as she tugged at the shade of one window. "All the windows are covered. Afraid of the light or something?" Theresa joked. "How long have you lived in Harmony anyway?" Theresa asked before Aaron could respond to her small quip.

"Not long." Aaron responded as he stroked his chin. "Actually I'm not here for that long." Theresa narrowed her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. Her frustration with Aaron's mysterious behavior was coming close to reaching its peak.

"Then why are you here?" Theresa asked. "What's the big secret that you're keeping from me?" With a somewhat bemused expression on his features Aaron stifled a chuckle by clearing his throat. 'Fox wasn't lying when he said you were feisty,' Aaron thought to himself as Theresa impatiently tapped her foot- her hands still hoisted on her hips.

"It's a long story Theresa." Aaron said with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "You might want to sit down."

Sighing, Theresa sat down and crossed her legs. She twiddled her thumbs while watching Aaron pace the room.

"I don't know where to start." Aaron said. "It's kind of hard to explain everything without" Aaron stopped as though he were searching for the right words.

"Without what?" Theresa asked.

"Without giving away too much." Aaron said placing his hands behind his neck. Theresa could not help but notice Aaron's toned arms. They reminded her of Fox's own muscular and comforting embrace. Shaking her head to distract herself from memories of Fox, Theresa rolled her eyes at Aaron. She did not understand why he was being so secretive. All the anonymity was violently provoking Theresa's curiosity. "Aaron," Theresa said trying to be careful as to not allowing her frustration to fuel her emotions. "Please just explain what's going on."

"Okay," Aaron said scratching his head. "I'm really not Dylan's brother." He repeated knowing full well that Theresa was impatiently waiting for more information that she was dying to know.

Theresa nodded her response. She fidgeted on the couch as she waited for Aaron to continue. Aaron turned away from Theresa and intentionally allowed a long pause of silence to fill the room. He wanted to make sure that there was ample time for Theresa to be prepared to hear the next bit.

Aaron took a slow deep breath. "My real name is Aaron James Hartley."

"Okay," Theresa said slowly. "And?" She prompted.

"And," Aaron paused again. "And I'm an agent for the FBI." Aaron watched Theresa warily as she tried to digest the new information. He could already see the surprise and doubt swirling in Theresa's brown irises.

"FBI?" Theresa said gawking. "What in the world is the FBI doing in Harmony?" She wondered aloud. Doubt pervaded her mind as she tried to process the information. "FBI?" She whispered again.

"It's just a small unit that's stationed here in Harmony." Aaron said quickly. "This house is the base of operations."

"This has something to do with Fox doesn't it?" Theresa asked abruptly as her mind began forming various scenarios.

Aaron nodded solemnly. "It has a lot to do with Fox actually."

Theresa's eyes widened as her imagination went into overload. Theresa feared that Fox had done something to prompt the FBI to search for him. She figured that might have explained his supposed death. "Is he really dead?" Theresa whispered her eyes immediately falling on her twitching fingers.

Aaron sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. He purposely avoided Theresa's gaze giving her an unsettling feeling within her stomach. His lack of response prompted the dread to fill Theresa to the brim. Theresa tried to control her breathing as she focused on the change of light in the room. It was becoming darker, the room felt colder, and Theresa was becoming benumbed with grief all over again. Her mind flashed back to the day she was given the news of Fox's death. It seemed as though she were reliving the moment- encountering the same emotions that plagued her that very day.

"You know what's funny?" Theresa said laughing bitterly. "I thought for a minute that you were Fox in disguise." Theresa reprimanded herself in her mind as she flashed back to the moments she watched Aaron's mannerisms. Aaron watched Theresa sympathetically as she shared her confession.

"Deep down I was praying that you would rip off a mask and voila you'd be Fox in the flesh." Theresa sighed as she hugged herself again while pangs of hurt hit Theresa all over again.

"Theresa" Aaron entreated, but her look of anguish instantly made his tongue turn to sawdust.

"You were about the same height, your walk looked like his" Theresa's voice trailed off. "But I guess it was all wishful thinking on my part." Theresa shrugged and looked up to the ceiling.

"Theresa"

"I'm such a foolish girl." Theresa said without turning her head to the voice calling her name.

"Theresa"

"No wonder everybody says I live in a fantasy world." Theresa said tearfully as she slapped her hand against her leg in aggravation towards herself. "Accepting reality is so hard though sometimes." Theresa admitted as she pressed her lips together. She blinked rapidly- her eyes still focused on the ceiling above her.

"Theresa"

"I guess I never thought about it before," Theresa continued still oblivious to the person calling to her. "When you accept the reality of your situation it- it hurts sometimes." Theresa felt as though her heart was being painfully squeezed as she persistently continued to speak.

"Theresa"

"Like with Fox's death," Theresa whispered still unwilling to answer to the person calling her name. "I wanted him to be alive so badly that I made myself think that you were Fox. Somehow I wanted Aaron Banning to be Nicholas Foxworth Crane." Theresa dropped her eyes back to her fingers and watched her tears fall into her palms.

"Theresa, how can Aaron be me?" Fox said as he stepped out the shadows.

"What?" Theresa looked up confused. When her eyes settled on Fox's figure, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

"You're" Theresa covered her mouth. "Oh my God" She said feeling as though the breath had been knocked out of her. "You're alive."