Ethan stood still. There was nothing to say, nothing to do. What could you do in a situation like this? Nothing on earth could take away the pain she had endured. Nothing.
Ethan's gut was so far beyond wrenched, he could not stand. He stumbled to the floor and folded his hands together as if to pray.
Pilar walked over to Theresa, maybe a little too fast. Theresa flinched, and her eyes kept twitching.
"Mija." Pilar cried out.
Theresa looked at her. She looked at her own mother as if she were a complete stranger. She looked away and back at the dirty brick wall.
Pilar stepped back again, along with the rest of the group. None of them knew what to do. Luis was so angry with Alistair. He'd ruined his life, when he let Beth get away with Marty, therefore leaving no hope of ever being with Sheridan, not to mention that Marty was his own son, who he missed dearly. Antonio was dead. There was nothing more to say. But Antonio's death was on Alistair's hands.
"Now, Theresa..." Luis thought, unable to even think of the things that happened to her. Luis had to look away in fear that he would soon start crying.
Ethan slowly moved forward closer to Theresa. Soon enough, she saw him pace closer to her.
No sooner as he moved, Theresa moved as well...from him. She moved toward her mother, seeming as though she now realized who she was. Theresa sat merely a foot away from her, and touched her, as though to make sure she was real. She softly touched her pant leg for some unknown reason. That's all she did. She stroked her bleeding hand up and down Pilar's lower leg.
Miguel bent down, startling Theresa for a second. Theresa seemed to take comfort by his gaze after a brief moment. Her eyes softened. This was his cue to lean in for a hug. As soon as he touched her, a burst of pain went through Theresa like a ghost that wouldn't leave. Theresa shrivelled up and screamed out. Miguel stood up fast as he saw her run away back to her "safe" corner where nobody could hurt her.
"Mama, what are we going to do?" Luis asked his mother. It seemed as though their whole lives growing up meant nothing. He could no longer handle being the glue that held their family together. Growing up caring for their family after martin left was always a challenge. But there always seemed to be something he could do. Today was different. He was stumped. His mind cleared blank, there was nothing or less he could do. Theresa went through months of torture, and he had failed her. Protecting her when she was a child was one thing, but completely and utterly failing her as an adult was something Luis could not handle.
"Pilar, we have to call Eve. She's going to need to give Theresa some sort of pain killers to put her to sleep so we can get out of here"
"Give her drugs?" Pilar questioned with anger in her voice.
"Well, what the hell do you think we should do? I am standing here watching my oldest daughter suffer because for months she was tortured by the devil himself!
Pilar grunted and was seemingly beaten. "I guess you're right...I will call Eve."
Minutes later Eve arrived, and stood in horror at the doorway.
"Oh my God, Theresa." She rushed over to her not realizing that Theresa was in no place to shock or frighten. Eve learned this the hard way when she ran to the other side of the room, barely noticing the broken glass on the rotten floor break into her bare feet.
Eve slowly paced toward Theresa.
"Theresa..." Eve stated softly. "I'm here to help you. I am going to make all your pain go away."
Theresa doubted her. But Eve was persistent.
"Theresa, honey, you know me. Sure you were practically one of my daughters. You know I would never hurt you. I want to help you. I want to help you feel better, but honey in order for you to get better we need to get you to a hospital."
Theresa starred at Eve not intending a certain look or expression. Just the same one she gave everybody else. Horror, pain, torture, etc, all echoed from screams through her eyes, without making a sound.
Eve stepped back and took a deep breath, and then she slowly paced toward her and bent down at eye level to Theresa.
"Honey, could you close your eyes for me just for a minute?"
Theresa seemed unsure. She looked at Eve again, and looked at her eyes. They weren't the usual cold, evil eyes she usually saw. They had warmth, a feeling of natural goodness. Theresa hinted a smile in the corners of her mouth. She turned her head away from eve once again and closed her eyes.
Eve opened her medicine bad and pulled out a needle. She squirted the liquid straight up in the air, and placed it in Theresa's upper arm. Theresa seemed to barely notice something was under her skin. There is no wonder why. After being tortured for months, by burns and God knows what, a little needle was something she could more than handle.
She slowly opened her eyes and starred at the people surrounding her. Her eyes stuck on Ethan. This time, her eyes didn't represent pain, horror or torture. They represented something else. Regret. The regret that she had ever laid eyes on him.
They all waited until she fell asleep. It took about 3 minutes before she completely closed her eyes. Ethan just watched as all her pain disappeared from her eyes. She was going to sleep, and she would feel nothing.
Maybe by the time she woke up, a lot of her pain would be healed. Ethan somehow doubted it. Maybe her scars will fade, but she will never ever forget that he was the one who put her through this. He had always wondered what was happening to her, but he never imagined this. Torture.
"They tortured her" Ethan thought terrified.
He could not imagine the pain she went through, nor did he want to.
He stood there, just watching as three guys placed her in the ambulance.
Ethan began watching, not realizing that Luis and Pilar were starring at his unbreakable gaze.
"Ethan? Are you alright?" Pilar asked, worried.
"Ethan, my man. Snap out of it!" Luis said.
Ethan finally broke his stare when they ambulance doors closed and drove on.
Ethan shook his head in order to clear his head from Theresa.
"Yeah, yeah...I'm...I'm fine." He smiled to reassure them. He knew they weren't convinced. They didn't bother to ask what was wrong, because they already knew the answer. His heart was torn in two.
He got in his car and just banged his head against the steering wheel. He turned away his rear view mirror because he could not stand to look himself in the mirror. He cried, unlike he had ever cried before in his life. He felt so much sorrow that he knew he was in no fit to drive. But then a second thought came to his mind...if he crashed and died? Well...the world would be a better place.
He never bothered to put his seat belt on, knowing that if he did crash it could save his unwanted life. He was nothing without Theresa. What was there to live for? If he didn't have Theresa, he didn't have love. Without love there is nothing to live for.
He said it over and over as he started his car.
"A life without love is no life at all".
"A life without love is no life at all".
"A life without love is no life at all".
He started the car and pulled away from the sidewalk.
He swerved, he didn't care. He nearly hit a transport truck, he was sad he didn't. He blasted up the radio and some depressed gothic song came on.
"That perfectly explains my life" He thought.
A red light was ahead of him. He got a thrill. Months ago, before he knew the truth, he would have never even thought about doing this. Hell. This morning he would have never done this. In this hour, of this minute, and in this second, those feelings vanished. He felt a rush of excitement. He went into the next gear. He was now going 10's of miles over the speed limit. He didn't care...he was doing it.
In seconds Ethan was going to cross a very busy street.
Five...
Four...
Three...
Two...
This is it...
ONE...
Bang...there was total destruction...
