The following morning,
Sophia and Antonio's apartment
Téa takes a sip of her coffee as she and Sophia flip through the circulars that had arrived in the morning paper. She had taken a liking to Sophia when she had gotten the chance to really get to know her, and the two had become friends in the short time she had been back. Téa was glad to see that Antonio seemed to have found someone that made him happy. They had decided to brave the local mall together today and get some holiday shopping done.
The two hear the door open behind them, and see a sleepy Antonio emerge from the bedroom.
"Jeez, about time," Sophia teases.
Antonio rubs his hands over his face. "Must've been the turkey," he mutters.
Téa laughs. "Yeah, it couldn't have been the fact that you work long hours at the PD and probably were overdue for an actual good night's sleep."
He shrugs, pouring himself a steaming mug of coffee. He turns towards the two women, leaning against the counter.
"So, where'd you disappear to last night?" Antonio inquires.
"You know where I went 'Tonio, to pay my respects to Abuela," Téa answers quietly.
"Hmmm...any coincedence to the fact that Manning disappeared about the same time you did?" he pushes, eyes narrowing as he carefully watches Téa.
"What is this, the third degree?"
"Evasion."
Téa rolls her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "He went with me, okay?"
Antonio shakes his head. "You never learn do you?"
"Don't start."
"Why not? It apparently bears repeating. The guy has caused you nothing but pain and yet you consistently run back to him whenever you get the chance."
"I did NOT run back to him!"
"So then why did you bring him with you?"
"Cuz I didn't want to go alone! Is that so hard to understand?"
"So, why didn't you ask me, or Mami, or Cris? Anyone but that psycho!"
"He's not a psycho Antonio."
"Oh, he's not. Whaddaya think Pellegrino? With all the stuff we've seen since he's been back?"
Sophia shakes her head, throwing a sympathetic look at Téa. "Antonio, stop."
"Hey, whose side are you on?"
"I'm not on any sides. Look, this is between Téa and Todd, maybe you should just stay out of it."
"You're a big help," he grumbles, and turns his attention back to Téa. "Look, I know you think I'm being a jerk, but I don't want to see you get hurt again."
"I know you don't, but I'm an adult Antonio, and I'm quite capable of making my own decisions."
"Are you? When it comes to that lunatic, I'm not so sure. I'll tell ya Téa, you sure know how to pick 'em."
"You..you don't know him. You don't understand him."
"Oh and you do?"
"Yes!"
"Come on Téa, you can't save him!"
"I'm not trying to save him! I just, I just want him to be able to live one day of his life without everything hurting him," she says, her eyes filling with tears, "I want him to be able to feel that I love him, that Viki loves him, that Sam loves him, without it being painful. I want him to be able to accept that and not be afraid of it."
Antonio is visibly affected by her words. "Téa, why is this your job? And how do you know he's even capable of it? How do you know he's more capable of any emotion other than vengeance?"
"Because I know, because I've seen it, with Starr, and even with me."
"Yeah, okay, I can buy that he has his moments, but what about all the other stuff. Is it worth it? I mean the guy takes a shot at RJ to get your attention, he sends fake bombs, is that love?"
Téa shakes her head slightly. "To him, it is."
"Oh, that's real healthy Téa, that's a real good relationship for you to be involved in."
"Antonio, you could never understand."
"So make me!"
"You CAN'T! You can't. You grew up in a loving house with a loving, caring family. Todd, he grew up and the way he received love was to have unbelievable violence unleashed on him. That's what his perception of love is, what it has always been. But he tries, Antonio, he tries so hard not to repeat those mistakes, not to continue that violent cycle. I see him try, with Starr, I see him try with me," she replies, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"God, your faith in him is really unshakeable isn't it? But tell me this, what about you Téa? You have to be his 'savior' but what do you get out of it."
She looks up at him, meeting his eyes. "He gets to be mine," she whispers.
"I find that hard to believe."
"I'm not surprised, since you have such a high opinion of him."
"Téa, he's no good for you, he brings you down!"
"That is where you're wrong," she snaps. "He believes in me. He knows all of me, the good and the bad, and he keeps on believing in me, he keeps on loving me. We have this...connection. I can't really explain it, but it's like we know what the other is thinking and feeling, and we don't have to say anything. Look, I don't expect you to understand. I only hope you have enough faith in me that I know what I'm doing."
"I wish I could say I did, Téa, but I trust Todd Manning about as far as I can throw him," he says, turning and walking into his room and slamming the door. Téa stares after him, wiping the tears from her face. Turning, she notices Sophia still sitting at the table.
"I'm sorry you had to sit through that."
"I'm sorry about Antonio. Really. It's just, he really cares about you, like a sister, you know?"
"Yeah, I know, and I appreciate his concern, but he just doesn't understand," she pauses, sitting back down. "So, do you think I'm crazy too? I mean I can only imagine what you've heard about Todd."
Sophia smiles. "Actually, I think you're really lucky."
"Huh?"
"And strong. Must not be easy to have to constantly defend him to people. But you are lucky, to love someone like that, to have that kind of love."
"It's not easy."
"No, but nothing worthwhile is, right? Look, I don't know Todd really, only what I've heard at the PD and from Antonio."
"So, you've heard all the glowing reports," Téa says dryly.
"Yeah, you could say that. But you can't help who you love, and you obviously love him. So, you have to try."
Téa smiles at her. "I hope Antonio realizes how lucky he is. And, thank you, I appreciate it. It's not exactly easy to find someone to talk about Todd with, since everyone seems to hate him, so I appreciate the open mind."
Sophia smiles in return, and the two women lapse into silence, returning their attention to the shopping circulars in front of them.
To Be Continued...
