CH 29- Just Friends
"Fox and I are a couple!" Paloma happily squealed. "Aren't you happy for me Theresa?"
All the feeling in Theresa's knees seemed to melt away, as she struggled to comprehend the words that flowed from her sister's lips.
"A couple?" She stammered. "No, no that can't be!"
"It's true Theresa, I'm with your little sister now!" Fox beamed, staring down at a grinning Paloma.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" She yelled, deeply hurt. "How could you two do this to me?"
She could already feel her legs weakening underneath her weight, as the tears poured down her face. Feeling as though she could take no more, Theresa quickly rushed passed them and headed for the nearest exit. She couldn't believe that her own sister and the man that she once loved could do this to her.
Once outside, Theresa placed a hand to her chest and let out a heavy sigh, feeling as though her heart had broken into a million pieces.
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Theresa opened her eyes with a start, squinting from the stream of sunlight that shone through her bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief, as she glanced outside the frosty window.
"It was just a dream." She smiled to herself. "Thank goodness! I don't think I could bare it if that actually came true."
She drew her hand from underneath the covers and wearily rubbed her forehead.
"Theresa you have got to stop worrying yourself about Fox and Paloma." She silently whispered. "There is nothing going on between the two of th—"
Theresa abruptly stopped as she stared at the silver bracelet dangling from her wrist.
"That's funny." She mumbled to herself. "I was wearing this exact same bracelet in my dream."
She suddenly felt her heartbeat rapidly increase in her chest, as she slowly pulled the covers from underneath her chin.
"Oh my god!" Theresa exclaimed, staring down at her fully-clothed body. "I must have slept in my clothes!"
She carefully sat up and placed a hand to her mouth.
"That means it wasn't a dream!" She slowly realized. "Last night actually happened!"
Theresa swung her feet from underneath her covers and cautiously stood up. As she nervously paced back and forth, the events of the night before flashed in her memory. Instantly she remembered everything that happened.
"F-fox and Paloma," she stammered. "They're a co—"
She briefly closed her eyes, and tightened her fists finding it difficult to even say the word. She shakily let out a deep breath as her eyes wandered to a picture of Fox by her bedside.
"You," she said in between clenched teeth. "You did this!"
Theresa angrily grabbed the picture frame and coldly stared at the photograph.
"I can't even rightfully be upset with Paloma because she had no idea about us! But you?" She spat. "I knew something wasn't right about you when you suddenly came back. You were acting so different and I had no idea what was wrong. Now I do. You were involved with my baby sister!"
Immediate rage filled her insides as she thought about the man she once loved.
Suddenly she heard the faint sound of a male voice coming from downstairs. She stood quietly in her room and listened intently for the voice to sound once more. Finally her eyes widened with disbelief as the familiar voice rang in her ears.
Fox.
"How dare he come here after what he did!" She yelled. "If he thinks that I'm just going to forgive him—"
Suddenly it occurred to her that Fox probably wasn't even there to see her.
"Of course!" Theresa annoyingly smiled. "He's probably here to spend time with his new girlfriend!"
She quickly changed out of her clothes and prepared herself to confront Fox.
"He is never going to set foot into this house again, and I don't care what anyone says!" She mumbled to herself, pulling her hair into a ponytail.
Theresa fiercely walked towards the door and yanked on the doorknob, surprisingly coming face to face with Fox. For a moment she just stood there unable to say or do anything. Although part of her wanted to strangle the life out of him, she couldn't help but feel the light sensation of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. There was something about the way he looked at her that always made her knees weak. It was no secret that she was still very much in love with him.
Theresa quickly turned away from him, not wanting to reveal her true feelings.
"What are you doing here?" She bitterly spoke. "Does this look like Paloma's room to you?"
"I didn't come here to see Paloma." Fox let out a deep sigh. "I came to make sure that you were alright."
"You don't give a damn about me." She coldly whispered, refusing to make any eye contact.
"Theresa of course I care about you. I promised that I would be here for you and the babies and I intend to keep my promise."
"Well don't do us any favors. We don't need you."
"Look I'm sorry that I hurt you, but can't we just be mature about this?" Fox looked at her.
For the first time, Theresa slowly turned around and stared into his eyes.
"Mature?" She repeated in disgust. "Fox, you went behind my back and secretly became involved with my baby sister! How the hell do you expect me to act?"
"What goes around comes around." Fox mumbled, turning his back to her.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing."
"No, come on!" She yelled, turning him back around. "If you have something to say, just say it!"
"Fine." He sternly looked at her. "I said, what goes around comes around. You're the one who started this whole thing. I'm just doing to you what you did to me."
Theresa's eyes widened in anger, as she slapped Fox hard across the face.
"You have a lot of nerve! Where the hell do you get off blaming this on me?" She yelled.
"Oh, give me a break Theresa!" Fox looked at her in disgust. "It was your deceits that lead me to do what I did! Did you think I was stupid? How long did you think that I was going to be your little play thing?"
"What?" Theresa held her head in confusion.
"Oh, don't play dumb with me." Fox coldly stared at her. "All those times you told me that you loved me and that Ethan was out of your heart forever were all lies. You made me think that you wanted to share a future with me, when all along you still loved Ethan. How many times did you lead me to believe that you and I could actually be together? You made me think that you were over Ethan and that one day we could get married. But all my half-brother had to do was put on some sappy act about how much he loved you and you jumped right into bed with him and became pregnant with his kids!"
"I don't believe this!" Theresa threw her hands up in defeat. "How can you say that, when I told you what happened that night?"
"Well can you blame me if I don't believe you?" He shot back. "You told me that you loved me, when all along it was my half-brother that you had in your heart! You didn't think I heard you, did you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"That night when I went to get you your milk I heard what you said to Whitney." Fox struggled to fight back his tears. "You said that you were glad that Ethan was the father of the twins. You said that you loved him since you were a little girl and that you couldn't ask for a better father for them."
For a while Theresa just stood there and looked at him, amazed by his ignorance.
"That's why you left." She slowly realized.
"Yes." Fox simply said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "Do you know how much that hurt me? To hear that after all we'd been through, none of it mattered and you still loved my half brother."
"Well what can I say Fox?" She placed a hand to her head. "I really wish you would have stayed to hear what else I said. Maybe then you would have realized just how wrong you were."
"What do you mean?" He doubtfully looked at her.
"After you left, I told Whitney that even though I knew Ethan could be a good father to the twins, I wished that you were their father."
Suddenly Fox felt his stomach tighten as he realized his mistake. However, he refused to back down. Theresa still had to know how much she hurt him.
"Well I'm not." He looked at her. "I'm not the father of those twins and it kills me. Do you think it's easy for me to come here and be with you? For me to massage your back, give you warm milk, look into your eyes everyday and not be able to kiss you? Do you think it's easy for me to tell little stories to the twins, buy them cute little toys and know that I will be nothing more to them than their uncle? No, you don't! Well let me tell you, it's torture."
"Well I'm sorry ok?" Theresa cried. "I didn't ask you to do any of these things for me, and don't think that I'm not grateful because I am. But I didn't mean for any of this to happen! God, I wish that I could just turn back time, and take that night away. I wish that you and I could go back to the way that we were. I wish that it was you that I made love to that night, and I honestly thought that I had—"
"But that's not what happened!" He interrupted her, the tears falling down his face. "You slept with Ethan and now you're pregnant with his kids! You can't change that Theresa!"
"I know that!"
"No, I don't think you do!" He cried. "You can't tell me that you don't feel that connection when we're together. It hurts me to love you because I know that we can never be together! We may be able to spend time together now, but as soon as Ethan wakes up it will be over! I can't allow myself to feel for you when I know that in a second it can all be taken away. You know that as soon as Ethan wakes up and realizes that you are pregnant with his children, he is going to want to be apart of your life as much as possible. And then I'm going to be all alone. That's not fair Theresa! I deserve to be happy!"
"With my baby sister?" She cried in disgust.
Suddenly Theresa felt a sharp pain strike her stomach.
"Owe!" She winced, crouching down to the ground.
"Theresa?" Fox immediately grew concerned.
He ran to her side and held her in his arms as she struggled to control her breathing.
"Oh god, what am I doing?" Fox cursed underneath his breath. "I'm so sorry baby...please...please...calm down."
After a while, Theresa's breathing became regular again and she slowly rose into a sitting position.
"Fox?" She looked up at him. "This isn't going to work."
"I know." He sadly sighed.
"You're right. We can't change what happened. What's done is done." She heavily exhaled. "But I don't want to fight with you anymore. I need you in my life."
"I need you too." He lightly brushed a strand away from her face. "Look, I don't even really know what's happening between Paloma and I, but we can't continue like this Theresa."
"I agree." She looked at him. "So since we can't be together but we still want each other in our lives, why don't we just stay friends?"
"Ewww, the f-word." Fox made a face.
"I'm serious," Theresa lightly giggled. "I rather have you as my buddy than my enemy."
"Yeah, you're right. Plus it would make things a lot easier." He admitted.
"Yes it would." She smiled.
"So what do you say? Friends? Fox grinned, extending his hand.
"Best friends." Theresa winked, pulling him in for a sweet but friendly hug.
"Fox and I are a couple!" Paloma happily squealed. "Aren't you happy for me Theresa?"
All the feeling in Theresa's knees seemed to melt away, as she struggled to comprehend the words that flowed from her sister's lips.
"A couple?" She stammered. "No, no that can't be!"
"It's true Theresa, I'm with your little sister now!" Fox beamed, staring down at a grinning Paloma.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing!" She yelled, deeply hurt. "How could you two do this to me?"
She could already feel her legs weakening underneath her weight, as the tears poured down her face. Feeling as though she could take no more, Theresa quickly rushed passed them and headed for the nearest exit. She couldn't believe that her own sister and the man that she once loved could do this to her.
Once outside, Theresa placed a hand to her chest and let out a heavy sigh, feeling as though her heart had broken into a million pieces.
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Theresa opened her eyes with a start, squinting from the stream of sunlight that shone through her bedroom. She breathed a sigh of relief, as she glanced outside the frosty window.
"It was just a dream." She smiled to herself. "Thank goodness! I don't think I could bare it if that actually came true."
She drew her hand from underneath the covers and wearily rubbed her forehead.
"Theresa you have got to stop worrying yourself about Fox and Paloma." She silently whispered. "There is nothing going on between the two of th—"
Theresa abruptly stopped as she stared at the silver bracelet dangling from her wrist.
"That's funny." She mumbled to herself. "I was wearing this exact same bracelet in my dream."
She suddenly felt her heartbeat rapidly increase in her chest, as she slowly pulled the covers from underneath her chin.
"Oh my god!" Theresa exclaimed, staring down at her fully-clothed body. "I must have slept in my clothes!"
She carefully sat up and placed a hand to her mouth.
"That means it wasn't a dream!" She slowly realized. "Last night actually happened!"
Theresa swung her feet from underneath her covers and cautiously stood up. As she nervously paced back and forth, the events of the night before flashed in her memory. Instantly she remembered everything that happened.
"F-fox and Paloma," she stammered. "They're a co—"
She briefly closed her eyes, and tightened her fists finding it difficult to even say the word. She shakily let out a deep breath as her eyes wandered to a picture of Fox by her bedside.
"You," she said in between clenched teeth. "You did this!"
Theresa angrily grabbed the picture frame and coldly stared at the photograph.
"I can't even rightfully be upset with Paloma because she had no idea about us! But you?" She spat. "I knew something wasn't right about you when you suddenly came back. You were acting so different and I had no idea what was wrong. Now I do. You were involved with my baby sister!"
Immediate rage filled her insides as she thought about the man she once loved.
Suddenly she heard the faint sound of a male voice coming from downstairs. She stood quietly in her room and listened intently for the voice to sound once more. Finally her eyes widened with disbelief as the familiar voice rang in her ears.
Fox.
"How dare he come here after what he did!" She yelled. "If he thinks that I'm just going to forgive him—"
Suddenly it occurred to her that Fox probably wasn't even there to see her.
"Of course!" Theresa annoyingly smiled. "He's probably here to spend time with his new girlfriend!"
She quickly changed out of her clothes and prepared herself to confront Fox.
"He is never going to set foot into this house again, and I don't care what anyone says!" She mumbled to herself, pulling her hair into a ponytail.
Theresa fiercely walked towards the door and yanked on the doorknob, surprisingly coming face to face with Fox. For a moment she just stood there unable to say or do anything. Although part of her wanted to strangle the life out of him, she couldn't help but feel the light sensation of butterflies in the pit of her stomach. There was something about the way he looked at her that always made her knees weak. It was no secret that she was still very much in love with him.
Theresa quickly turned away from him, not wanting to reveal her true feelings.
"What are you doing here?" She bitterly spoke. "Does this look like Paloma's room to you?"
"I didn't come here to see Paloma." Fox let out a deep sigh. "I came to make sure that you were alright."
"You don't give a damn about me." She coldly whispered, refusing to make any eye contact.
"Theresa of course I care about you. I promised that I would be here for you and the babies and I intend to keep my promise."
"Well don't do us any favors. We don't need you."
"Look I'm sorry that I hurt you, but can't we just be mature about this?" Fox looked at her.
For the first time, Theresa slowly turned around and stared into his eyes.
"Mature?" She repeated in disgust. "Fox, you went behind my back and secretly became involved with my baby sister! How the hell do you expect me to act?"
"What goes around comes around." Fox mumbled, turning his back to her.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing."
"No, come on!" She yelled, turning him back around. "If you have something to say, just say it!"
"Fine." He sternly looked at her. "I said, what goes around comes around. You're the one who started this whole thing. I'm just doing to you what you did to me."
Theresa's eyes widened in anger, as she slapped Fox hard across the face.
"You have a lot of nerve! Where the hell do you get off blaming this on me?" She yelled.
"Oh, give me a break Theresa!" Fox looked at her in disgust. "It was your deceits that lead me to do what I did! Did you think I was stupid? How long did you think that I was going to be your little play thing?"
"What?" Theresa held her head in confusion.
"Oh, don't play dumb with me." Fox coldly stared at her. "All those times you told me that you loved me and that Ethan was out of your heart forever were all lies. You made me think that you wanted to share a future with me, when all along you still loved Ethan. How many times did you lead me to believe that you and I could actually be together? You made me think that you were over Ethan and that one day we could get married. But all my half-brother had to do was put on some sappy act about how much he loved you and you jumped right into bed with him and became pregnant with his kids!"
"I don't believe this!" Theresa threw her hands up in defeat. "How can you say that, when I told you what happened that night?"
"Well can you blame me if I don't believe you?" He shot back. "You told me that you loved me, when all along it was my half-brother that you had in your heart! You didn't think I heard you, did you?"
"What are you talking about?"
"That night when I went to get you your milk I heard what you said to Whitney." Fox struggled to fight back his tears. "You said that you were glad that Ethan was the father of the twins. You said that you loved him since you were a little girl and that you couldn't ask for a better father for them."
For a while Theresa just stood there and looked at him, amazed by his ignorance.
"That's why you left." She slowly realized.
"Yes." Fox simply said, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "Do you know how much that hurt me? To hear that after all we'd been through, none of it mattered and you still loved my half brother."
"Well what can I say Fox?" She placed a hand to her head. "I really wish you would have stayed to hear what else I said. Maybe then you would have realized just how wrong you were."
"What do you mean?" He doubtfully looked at her.
"After you left, I told Whitney that even though I knew Ethan could be a good father to the twins, I wished that you were their father."
Suddenly Fox felt his stomach tighten as he realized his mistake. However, he refused to back down. Theresa still had to know how much she hurt him.
"Well I'm not." He looked at her. "I'm not the father of those twins and it kills me. Do you think it's easy for me to come here and be with you? For me to massage your back, give you warm milk, look into your eyes everyday and not be able to kiss you? Do you think it's easy for me to tell little stories to the twins, buy them cute little toys and know that I will be nothing more to them than their uncle? No, you don't! Well let me tell you, it's torture."
"Well I'm sorry ok?" Theresa cried. "I didn't ask you to do any of these things for me, and don't think that I'm not grateful because I am. But I didn't mean for any of this to happen! God, I wish that I could just turn back time, and take that night away. I wish that you and I could go back to the way that we were. I wish that it was you that I made love to that night, and I honestly thought that I had—"
"But that's not what happened!" He interrupted her, the tears falling down his face. "You slept with Ethan and now you're pregnant with his kids! You can't change that Theresa!"
"I know that!"
"No, I don't think you do!" He cried. "You can't tell me that you don't feel that connection when we're together. It hurts me to love you because I know that we can never be together! We may be able to spend time together now, but as soon as Ethan wakes up it will be over! I can't allow myself to feel for you when I know that in a second it can all be taken away. You know that as soon as Ethan wakes up and realizes that you are pregnant with his children, he is going to want to be apart of your life as much as possible. And then I'm going to be all alone. That's not fair Theresa! I deserve to be happy!"
"With my baby sister?" She cried in disgust.
Suddenly Theresa felt a sharp pain strike her stomach.
"Owe!" She winced, crouching down to the ground.
"Theresa?" Fox immediately grew concerned.
He ran to her side and held her in his arms as she struggled to control her breathing.
"Oh god, what am I doing?" Fox cursed underneath his breath. "I'm so sorry baby...please...please...calm down."
After a while, Theresa's breathing became regular again and she slowly rose into a sitting position.
"Fox?" She looked up at him. "This isn't going to work."
"I know." He sadly sighed.
"You're right. We can't change what happened. What's done is done." She heavily exhaled. "But I don't want to fight with you anymore. I need you in my life."
"I need you too." He lightly brushed a strand away from her face. "Look, I don't even really know what's happening between Paloma and I, but we can't continue like this Theresa."
"I agree." She looked at him. "So since we can't be together but we still want each other in our lives, why don't we just stay friends?"
"Ewww, the f-word." Fox made a face.
"I'm serious," Theresa lightly giggled. "I rather have you as my buddy than my enemy."
"Yeah, you're right. Plus it would make things a lot easier." He admitted.
"Yes it would." She smiled.
"So what do you say? Friends? Fox grinned, extending his hand.
"Best friends." Theresa winked, pulling him in for a sweet but friendly hug.