(Hey all. I made a music video to go along with the story. Check out
www.greta2242.neptune.com and watch the video entitled From Here to
Eternity. The video helps me remember the old couples that I haven't seen
in a while, so I decided to share.)
Carrie couldn't get Austin's face out of her mind. Every time she closed her eyelids, he was smiling at her and telling her, "I love you." Her fantasy was so insane. She spent years living with Mike. Her life was well past her history with Austin Reed. But seeing him all the time was driving her crazy. She almost packed her bags and left the house immediately as Rex offered Austin one of the rooms at Chez Salem. She was now going to see him as she went for a midnight snack or her morning coffee. The very second that Kate's breakfast ended, Carrie ran a marathon back to the house and locked herself in her room.
Lucas and Sami both watched Carrie bolt out of the restaurant like a frightened animal. Lucas asked Sami in a whisper, "Is that a good sign or a bad sign?"
Sami whispered back to him, "She's still affected by Austin which is good."
They watched Austin sigh his frustration before leaving with Rex and Mimi to unpack his into his temporary home. When Austin left, Sami told Lucas, "I have an idea on how you can make up for lying to me! Let's go."
Kate, Billie, and Philip stopped talking to watch Sami pull Lucas out of the restaurant. Billie said, "I was certainly oblivious to Carrie and Austin's salvation years ago."
Philip asked his older sister, "What do you mean?"
Billie looked at her mom before answering her brother, "Sami and Lucas were so involved in separating Carrie and Austin that it just never occurred to me that the way to stop them from ruining everyone else's lives was to force Sami and Lucas to look at each other for love. It's was so obvious, and I completely missed the answer staring me in the face."
Philip commented, "I don't remember a conversation with Lucas that didn't imply Sami in some way. I just thought that Lucas was really bitter over Will's paternity."
Billie shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Me too."
Kate couldn't stand the conversation one minute longer and told them both, "Lucas will never be happy with Sami! I won't let her ruin his life like this. He deserves so much better than the likes of her. She's a vindictive unfeeling monster who has never shown one ounce of human kindness or compassion for anyone!"
Philip asked, "You're not planning anything are you, mom?"
Kate huffed as her answered before storming off.
Philip looked to Billie wondering what they should do. Billie then replied, "She's allowed her opinion. I just hope that we're right and she's wrong. Sami seemed human yesterday and today."
Sami and Lucas barely beat Rex, Mimi and Austin back to the house. Sami pulled Lucas into the house and up the stairs. At the top step Lucas finally asked, "What's the big plan?"
She looked down the corridors to make sure no one heard her before telling Lucas, "My part is easy. I'm just going to make sure Austin moves into the room that adjoins with Carrie."
She pulled him down the hall as she blocked off the other empty bedrooms. He watched her work for a few minutes before he was brave enough to ask, "What's my part in the scheme?"
She smirked at him and replied, "I thought you'd never ask! I want you to marry off Austin and Carrie tomorrow."
Sami started moving a chair into another empty bedroom, but Lucas pulled it out of her hands and placed it where she wanted before snidely remarking, "Oh sure. I'll just run down to the French authorities and get a marriage certificate for them. I'm sure that they pass them out like newspapers."
She shook her head like she was the master schemer here as she talked to a student, "You forget that Austin and Carrie were going to get married in France before. They had the blood work and everything taken care of already."
Lucas replied, "I'm sure that all that expired already."
Sami quibbled, "Well if my handsome charming scheming husband can't figure out a way around that loophole, I might have to divorce you to find someone more capable."
She hadn't looked up right away after she said that. She was making the bedroom unlivable as planned. But when Lucas hadn't responded, she turned to look at him.
When he had her attention, he told her, "Don't joke about stuff like that. I just got this bad vibe."
She dropped the box in her hands and hugged him before she said, "You're right. I've had the same feeling for a few days now. I won't say it again."
He smirked as she hugged him. He had an idea on how Sami's plan might actually work. He told her, "Kiss me and we'll forget about it."
She leaned up and kissed him, forgetting her plan of rearranging the room.
Rex, Mimi and Austin walked in the hallway saying, "Maybe this room is clean. I don't know why maintenance hasn't cleaned the other two rooms."
Rex, Mimi and Austin opened the bedroom door and saw Lucas and Sami kissing each other so intently that they were oblivious to the audience. Mimi closed the door and said, "There's one more room for you Austin."
A few minutes later, Austin settled into his room. He tried to stay in his room to avoid Carrie. He kept getting this urge to kiss her. Her big expressive blue eyes looked at him so sad and lonely that all he wanted to do was reach out to her and hold her in his arms. She betrayed him and left him alone years ago, but he kept reminding himself that she forgave him after they thought that he fathered Will. Surely if she could forgive him for that, it meant that she loved him deeply on some level.
He went to his window and looked at the rain clouds that were gathering. As he stood there waiting for a lightening show, he heard a whisper, "Dad, are you listening? What should I do? Dad, I still love Austin. I've always loved him. But I hate him too."
Austin sucked in his breathe as he listened to Carrie's prayer.
Carrie sat at the window seat in her room trying to figure out what she wanted to do. She looked into the darkening sky and continued her prayer, "Sometimes I think about how wonderful my life could have been with Austin if things hadn't gotten so bad. With him I felt this blanket of love and protection. But when he always sided with Sami because he wanted to be Will's dad, I felt like he was taking his love away from me. So I settled with Mike. Mike is a nice guy, but he never made me feel the way I feel with Austin. Dad, all I felt was relief when I Mike finally left me! But here it is week's later, and Austin makes me so afraid, and he shouldn't! I feel weak, needy, and so sad when I with him because I left him. Dad, you wanted me to always be strong, but I'm not. I'm weak. Am I so afraid of love, daddy, that I won't reach out anymore, not even to say I'm sorry! If I tell Austin that I love him, will he break my heart? Do I even have a heart that will shatter? If I let myself love him completely, will I still be me or will I turn into a bitter harpy who never could trust Austin?"
Austin stood at the window hoping to hear more, but Carrie was silent now. He could imagine her tears, and those tears opened him up to his own wonderment. Carrie still loved him? ~*~
Greta finished lunch with Nathan and continued to remain at the outdoor café. Nathan loved her and said that he'd always love her no matter what she decided to do. She felt so guilty. She agreed to marry Nathan when she hadn't loved him because she wanted to be loved. But now all she could think about was Eric, and how he must feel disappointed in her. She was a coward who couldn't face him. She couldn't trust herself around him. Every time she went near him, her knees knocked because of lust. Lust mixed with the fact that he was the only man that she ever loved or cared for, and his power over her was enough to send the strongest woman running in the opposite direction.
She finally left her seat and went for a walk before heading back to her car. As she walked down the street, a few men started walking next to her. She walked faster and pulled out her keys just in case she needed to use them as a weapon. But they kept walking with her. She finally decided to turn around and walk back towards the patisserie and her car. However the men stopped her by saying in French, "Spare Change?"
She tried to walk past, but one pulled her on her arms. She clawed him off and ran. She ran right into a man's opened arms. Her mind said to scream, but her body just melted into him. Only one man ever had that effect on her, Eric. She asked him, "Did you follow me?"
The men that were bothering her seconds ago scattered. Eric asked her, "Are you hurt anywhere? Are you ok?"
Greta pulled back from hugging Eric and steadied herself before answering, "They probably stole some money from me. Hold on."
Greta opened her purse and sure enough some of her euros were missing. She started complaining, "Damn them. I'll be right back."
Eric caught her by the waist before she ran off. His hand on her stomach sent all sort of vibrations running up and down her body. She steadied herself before turning around and saying, "Well thanks for showing up when you did."
He sadly commented, "You've saved yourself from kidnappings before, so I shouldn't be shocked that you can handle yourself princess."
She asked bewildered, "Kidnapped? No. I think that they were just after my credit cards and money."
He looked stunned and said, "I heard Nathan kidnapped you?"
She scrunched up her face and said, "I met him for lunch when he called my driver. He wanted me to know that he still loved me no matter what I decided. Honestly he made me feel guilty because I don't love him back."
Eric hesitated like he wanted to say something else but then asked her, "Where were you going?"
She answered, "Monte Carlo. I figured it was a good place to be distracted in so I wouldn't have to think about us."
He told her, "I won't bother you again princess. You made it clear what you thought about me."
She wanted to be mad again. Mad enough to send him away, so he couldn't hurt her when he decided to leave her. But she couldn't find the strength. She felt tears start welling up in her eyes before she said, "Why am I always crying around you? I promised myself years ago that I wouldn't let you make me cry again, but every time you come near me I'm either doing things that I wouldn't do or I'm crying because I did those things with you. God Eric, you have no idea how much I hate you. But I keep crying because I love you. I never stopped loving you even when you deserted me for Nicole. And I hate you for that. But every time I want to forget about you, I can't turn off my feelings of love either."
Eric stared at her stone faced and unmoving. She bit her lip and lowered her head before saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. It was foolish for me to think that..."
He cut her off when he pushed her head up to look at him. She started to ask him something, but he cut her off when his mouth claimed hers.
She moaned as he kissed her. She then felt like her legs weren't steady enough to hold her weight. She put her arms around his waist to hold herself up. But there was no way that she was going to stop kissing him because it was the only time that she felt like he was a part of her that was missing.
Carrie couldn't get Austin's face out of her mind. Every time she closed her eyelids, he was smiling at her and telling her, "I love you." Her fantasy was so insane. She spent years living with Mike. Her life was well past her history with Austin Reed. But seeing him all the time was driving her crazy. She almost packed her bags and left the house immediately as Rex offered Austin one of the rooms at Chez Salem. She was now going to see him as she went for a midnight snack or her morning coffee. The very second that Kate's breakfast ended, Carrie ran a marathon back to the house and locked herself in her room.
Lucas and Sami both watched Carrie bolt out of the restaurant like a frightened animal. Lucas asked Sami in a whisper, "Is that a good sign or a bad sign?"
Sami whispered back to him, "She's still affected by Austin which is good."
They watched Austin sigh his frustration before leaving with Rex and Mimi to unpack his into his temporary home. When Austin left, Sami told Lucas, "I have an idea on how you can make up for lying to me! Let's go."
Kate, Billie, and Philip stopped talking to watch Sami pull Lucas out of the restaurant. Billie said, "I was certainly oblivious to Carrie and Austin's salvation years ago."
Philip asked his older sister, "What do you mean?"
Billie looked at her mom before answering her brother, "Sami and Lucas were so involved in separating Carrie and Austin that it just never occurred to me that the way to stop them from ruining everyone else's lives was to force Sami and Lucas to look at each other for love. It's was so obvious, and I completely missed the answer staring me in the face."
Philip commented, "I don't remember a conversation with Lucas that didn't imply Sami in some way. I just thought that Lucas was really bitter over Will's paternity."
Billie shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Me too."
Kate couldn't stand the conversation one minute longer and told them both, "Lucas will never be happy with Sami! I won't let her ruin his life like this. He deserves so much better than the likes of her. She's a vindictive unfeeling monster who has never shown one ounce of human kindness or compassion for anyone!"
Philip asked, "You're not planning anything are you, mom?"
Kate huffed as her answered before storming off.
Philip looked to Billie wondering what they should do. Billie then replied, "She's allowed her opinion. I just hope that we're right and she's wrong. Sami seemed human yesterday and today."
Sami and Lucas barely beat Rex, Mimi and Austin back to the house. Sami pulled Lucas into the house and up the stairs. At the top step Lucas finally asked, "What's the big plan?"
She looked down the corridors to make sure no one heard her before telling Lucas, "My part is easy. I'm just going to make sure Austin moves into the room that adjoins with Carrie."
She pulled him down the hall as she blocked off the other empty bedrooms. He watched her work for a few minutes before he was brave enough to ask, "What's my part in the scheme?"
She smirked at him and replied, "I thought you'd never ask! I want you to marry off Austin and Carrie tomorrow."
Sami started moving a chair into another empty bedroom, but Lucas pulled it out of her hands and placed it where she wanted before snidely remarking, "Oh sure. I'll just run down to the French authorities and get a marriage certificate for them. I'm sure that they pass them out like newspapers."
She shook her head like she was the master schemer here as she talked to a student, "You forget that Austin and Carrie were going to get married in France before. They had the blood work and everything taken care of already."
Lucas replied, "I'm sure that all that expired already."
Sami quibbled, "Well if my handsome charming scheming husband can't figure out a way around that loophole, I might have to divorce you to find someone more capable."
She hadn't looked up right away after she said that. She was making the bedroom unlivable as planned. But when Lucas hadn't responded, she turned to look at him.
When he had her attention, he told her, "Don't joke about stuff like that. I just got this bad vibe."
She dropped the box in her hands and hugged him before she said, "You're right. I've had the same feeling for a few days now. I won't say it again."
He smirked as she hugged him. He had an idea on how Sami's plan might actually work. He told her, "Kiss me and we'll forget about it."
She leaned up and kissed him, forgetting her plan of rearranging the room.
Rex, Mimi and Austin walked in the hallway saying, "Maybe this room is clean. I don't know why maintenance hasn't cleaned the other two rooms."
Rex, Mimi and Austin opened the bedroom door and saw Lucas and Sami kissing each other so intently that they were oblivious to the audience. Mimi closed the door and said, "There's one more room for you Austin."
A few minutes later, Austin settled into his room. He tried to stay in his room to avoid Carrie. He kept getting this urge to kiss her. Her big expressive blue eyes looked at him so sad and lonely that all he wanted to do was reach out to her and hold her in his arms. She betrayed him and left him alone years ago, but he kept reminding himself that she forgave him after they thought that he fathered Will. Surely if she could forgive him for that, it meant that she loved him deeply on some level.
He went to his window and looked at the rain clouds that were gathering. As he stood there waiting for a lightening show, he heard a whisper, "Dad, are you listening? What should I do? Dad, I still love Austin. I've always loved him. But I hate him too."
Austin sucked in his breathe as he listened to Carrie's prayer.
Carrie sat at the window seat in her room trying to figure out what she wanted to do. She looked into the darkening sky and continued her prayer, "Sometimes I think about how wonderful my life could have been with Austin if things hadn't gotten so bad. With him I felt this blanket of love and protection. But when he always sided with Sami because he wanted to be Will's dad, I felt like he was taking his love away from me. So I settled with Mike. Mike is a nice guy, but he never made me feel the way I feel with Austin. Dad, all I felt was relief when I Mike finally left me! But here it is week's later, and Austin makes me so afraid, and he shouldn't! I feel weak, needy, and so sad when I with him because I left him. Dad, you wanted me to always be strong, but I'm not. I'm weak. Am I so afraid of love, daddy, that I won't reach out anymore, not even to say I'm sorry! If I tell Austin that I love him, will he break my heart? Do I even have a heart that will shatter? If I let myself love him completely, will I still be me or will I turn into a bitter harpy who never could trust Austin?"
Austin stood at the window hoping to hear more, but Carrie was silent now. He could imagine her tears, and those tears opened him up to his own wonderment. Carrie still loved him? ~*~
Greta finished lunch with Nathan and continued to remain at the outdoor café. Nathan loved her and said that he'd always love her no matter what she decided to do. She felt so guilty. She agreed to marry Nathan when she hadn't loved him because she wanted to be loved. But now all she could think about was Eric, and how he must feel disappointed in her. She was a coward who couldn't face him. She couldn't trust herself around him. Every time she went near him, her knees knocked because of lust. Lust mixed with the fact that he was the only man that she ever loved or cared for, and his power over her was enough to send the strongest woman running in the opposite direction.
She finally left her seat and went for a walk before heading back to her car. As she walked down the street, a few men started walking next to her. She walked faster and pulled out her keys just in case she needed to use them as a weapon. But they kept walking with her. She finally decided to turn around and walk back towards the patisserie and her car. However the men stopped her by saying in French, "Spare Change?"
She tried to walk past, but one pulled her on her arms. She clawed him off and ran. She ran right into a man's opened arms. Her mind said to scream, but her body just melted into him. Only one man ever had that effect on her, Eric. She asked him, "Did you follow me?"
The men that were bothering her seconds ago scattered. Eric asked her, "Are you hurt anywhere? Are you ok?"
Greta pulled back from hugging Eric and steadied herself before answering, "They probably stole some money from me. Hold on."
Greta opened her purse and sure enough some of her euros were missing. She started complaining, "Damn them. I'll be right back."
Eric caught her by the waist before she ran off. His hand on her stomach sent all sort of vibrations running up and down her body. She steadied herself before turning around and saying, "Well thanks for showing up when you did."
He sadly commented, "You've saved yourself from kidnappings before, so I shouldn't be shocked that you can handle yourself princess."
She asked bewildered, "Kidnapped? No. I think that they were just after my credit cards and money."
He looked stunned and said, "I heard Nathan kidnapped you?"
She scrunched up her face and said, "I met him for lunch when he called my driver. He wanted me to know that he still loved me no matter what I decided. Honestly he made me feel guilty because I don't love him back."
Eric hesitated like he wanted to say something else but then asked her, "Where were you going?"
She answered, "Monte Carlo. I figured it was a good place to be distracted in so I wouldn't have to think about us."
He told her, "I won't bother you again princess. You made it clear what you thought about me."
She wanted to be mad again. Mad enough to send him away, so he couldn't hurt her when he decided to leave her. But she couldn't find the strength. She felt tears start welling up in her eyes before she said, "Why am I always crying around you? I promised myself years ago that I wouldn't let you make me cry again, but every time you come near me I'm either doing things that I wouldn't do or I'm crying because I did those things with you. God Eric, you have no idea how much I hate you. But I keep crying because I love you. I never stopped loving you even when you deserted me for Nicole. And I hate you for that. But every time I want to forget about you, I can't turn off my feelings of love either."
Eric stared at her stone faced and unmoving. She bit her lip and lowered her head before saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you. It was foolish for me to think that..."
He cut her off when he pushed her head up to look at him. She started to ask him something, but he cut her off when his mouth claimed hers.
She moaned as he kissed her. She then felt like her legs weren't steady enough to hold her weight. She put her arms around his waist to hold herself up. But there was no way that she was going to stop kissing him because it was the only time that she felt like he was a part of her that was missing.