Todd stepped out of the elevator and took a deep breath. He knew it was either now or never. He began to walk a little faster down the sidewalk. He had to find Viki. He had to tell her the truth. He knew that she probably would never believe him, but he had to take that risk. She had to know the truth about him.
Suddenly, he realized that he was at the Llanview cemetery. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked through the iron gates. ‘Just one more stop, and then I’ll go see Viki,’ he thought to himself.
He looked around at all the headstones, and then remembered what his therapist had told him. “Todd, if you want to begin your life over, you must make peace with your past,” he chanted over and over in his mind.
He strode through the graveyard, until he reached the one he was looking for: Peter Manning’s grave. His heart began to pound inexplicably. Todd looked at the grave, as horrible images flashed through his mind: the abuse, the torment, and the humiliations he had suffered at Peter Manning’s hands. The images came in a torrent, threatening to overwhelm him. He shook his head, as if to erase the pictures in his mind.
“It’s over, Peter. You can’t hurt me anymore,” Todd said aloud. A lone tear rolled down Todd’s cheek. He ran his hand through his long hair distractedly. He had to get on with his life. And he knew that making peace with Peter Manning was the first step. The next step involved Viki.
Taking one last sad glance at his father’s grave, Todd turned to leave. Suddenly, he stopped. There in front of him, with a look of sadness mingled with disgust on her face, stood Viki.
(part seven by Missinrog)
“I thought I might find you here,” Viki said to Todd. “We seem to be able to speak freely here.”
Todd sarcastically blurts, “well it's not like anyone’s going to interrupt us!”
“I see you haven't changed. Still have that…”
Todd interrupts. “No, Viki, that is what I need to tell you. I have changed. You were right all along.”
“NO!!” Viki shouts. “I won't let you do this to me again, Todd. I can't let you do this again. You hurt me like no one else could when all I ever wanted to do was love you and support you! You took advantage of me!”
“Please, Viki, you have to listen. I have spent this time away from Llanview doing just what you told me last time we were here! In this very same spot.”
Viki is shaking her head ‘no’ with a distrustful look. Todd, feeling ashamed, says, “You know you're right. You don't owe me anything,” and walks away. He peers at Viki from behind some bushes and says, “well, that was stupid, Todd.”
(part eight by Doorsgrl)
As Todd looked at Viki through the bushes a feeling of sadness washed over him. She was the one person who loved him no matter what he had done wrong, and somehow he had lost her trust and he feared he had lost her love.
Todd crept out of his hiding spot. He was going to try and talk to her again. He noticed her kneeling at Sloan's grave. Now was not the time to bother her.
Todd quietly walked out of the cemetary. "I have to win back Viki's trust," Todd told himself. There were things she needed to know that he had to tell her. He needed her to believe in him again.
(part nine by RogerLuvr)
Todd walked around Llanview, thinking of all the things he had done and all the people he had hurt. He kept walking and when he looked up, he was right by the diner. He looked at it and, after sometime, he decided to go in.
He took a deep breath as he entered. He walked in and went right to a back booth. He grabbed a newspaper left on a table by someone and held it up to hide his face. He began to read what was in front of his face. It was a copy of that day's Sun.
As he read on, he could not believe his eyes. Kelly had turned it into some piece of fluff. Anger began to set in when he heard a familiar voice. He peeked up over the paper to see who it was.
(part ten by Em)
Despite the fact that the diner was completely empty, Andrew had taken the table directly across from him and was requesting a cup of coffee from the waitress. Todd got lost in his thoughts, remembering the time he had asked the reverend if he believed in divine retribution. The answer had stuck with him all this time and had continued to haunt him.
He hadn’t noticed that the other man had stood and crossed to his table until he heard him bark, “Todd! What are you doing back in town? I though we were rid of you for good!”
Andrew stood over him menacingly, instantly filling him with memories of his father. He could vividly recall Peter Manning screaming at him, belittling him, berating him, and he began to shake with fear. His therapist warned him that, once the door to his abusive memories were opened, the floodgates would be impossible to close again. He found she was right, as the memories of abuse poured out of him these last few months of therapy. But that knowledge did nothing to help him overcome his terror now.
Reverend Carpenter was shocked to see such a look of horror on Todd’s face. He went back and forth between thinking this was an act and believing it was real. He finally decided this was no act when Todd’s breathing became shallow and labored. Despite his anger at this man who had done so much harm to so many people, his compassion and responsibility as a man of God won out.
“Todd?” Andrew said gently, leaning down toward him. “Are you okay? Take a deep breath and try to calm down.”
“I can’t,” he whispered, when he could finally speak. “I have to get out of here.” But he was frozen with fear at the recollection of his father and all the abuse.
“Let me help you.” He reached down and grasped Todd’s upper arm, only to have him flinch and recoil from his touch. Andrew persisted and finally managed to get him out of the diner and into the open air. Todd, however, still looked terrified and dazed, so he helped him to his car and drove him to the closest safe place he could think of - his church. He planned to get Todd to open up about what brought on this panic attack.
