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Greta was sitting alone in Salem Place, thinking about her life. She
was going through a rough time and it was an emotional roller coaster
for her. She hated being in this position, but her closest friends were
there for her. Especially Eric. Eric was amazing, he was kind and
gentle with her. He let her talk about her problems, he let her cry, he
didn't care. He was always there for her when she needed him.
She had been pondering her relationship with Eric also. Eric was one
of the most fascinating men she had ever met. She had fallen in love
with him instantly, even when he was still in love with Nicole Walker.
When he touched her or brushed past her, she felt electricity and her
stomach developed butterflies. When he talked to her gently, or
whenever he talked to her, she had the same gut- socking, dizzy feeling
she always got.
It was always the same with Eric, he was always talking about them as
just friends. Friends. That's all they were, that's all her ever wanted
to be. But Greta couldn't blame him, Nicole had broken his heart. He
was so sure that things with him and Nicole were going to work, but
when she married Lucas, his world came crumbling down. And she was
there to catch him, help him dust himself off, and bring him to his
feet again.
Greta felt anger towards Nicole for hurting him. Nicole had explained
that she did it out of love for Eric, but she begged to differ. Every
time she saw Nicole, or Lucas, she wanted to just confront them about
their mascarade. She wanted to ask them if this was entertaining for
them to watch Eric suffer. She wanted to ask them if they enjoyed
seeing Eric tumble downwards when he saw them together. But she
couldn't tell them that, she couldn't tell anyone her feelings.
Especially if Eric didn't feel the same way.
She could see it in Eric's eyes every time he saw Nicole. It was the
same look she got when she was around Eric. She could tell he longed to
take Nicole in his arms and never let go. But he was stronger then
that, and she knew it. He was trying his best to move on with his life
and forget about her. But, as easy as it sounds, it's as hard as hell.
Greta was saying from experience.
There was a song named "Have You Ever?" by Brandy. It reminded Greta
so much about her feelings and relationship with Eric. She had caught
it on the radio once and recorded it onto a cassette tape. And from
that time on, every night she would play it over and over until she
fell asleep. Sometimes it made her cry, sometimes it made her angry,
but whatever it made her feel, she still loved the song.
"If only he could love me back," she said softly to herself. She
slowly stood up from the hard park bench and gave a sigh. She was
fighting back tears as she placed her head in her hands. It was
painful, love. Love was supposed to be a magnificent experience for
everyone to encounter one time or another in their life. But not for
her, she was one of those people who would probably never find the
right person. She hated herself for thinking that way, but she knew
that in the end it would probably be the truth. The hard, cold truth.
She wrapped her arms around her body as she strolled along through the
small shopping center. It was a chilly December day in Salem and the
temperatures were suppose to be dropping steadily. She breathed hard,
causing a cloud of air to form. It was lightly snowing and the
snowflakes tickled her nose as she walked along. Christmas was only two
weeks away and she still had a bunch of shopping to do. She had to get
gifts for all her friends, but she didn't know exactly what to get each
of them. This was always a magical time of year for her. She loved
Christmas when she could sing carols, hang decorations, or just sit by
the fireplace and drink hot cocoa.
Sami was going to be coming over to her apartment tomorrow afternoon
and help her hang decorations But Greta was going to put up the tree
by herself, she didn't know why she wanted to do it alone, but she did.
Sami was one of her newer friends and practically her only woman
friend. Now she could talk to another girl, heart to heart, and not
worry about what the guys thought. Of course, she would never tell her
about her feelings for Eric, considering Eric was Sami's twin brother.
No, she'd have to keep those thoughts to herself for now, and maybe
forever.
The fresh snow crunched under her feet and she wrapped her scarf
tighter around her neck. There were children playing in the middle of
Salem Park as she passed by.
"I wish I could raise a family," she said, "all I ever wanted was to
have a loving husband and kids, but it looks like that will never be."
She continued on, glancing over her shoulder at the children once
more. They were so happy, just playing in the snow. It would take more
then a snowfall to make her happy. Then, when she turned back around,
she saw someone approaching her. It was Bo, her other closest friend.
Eric, Bo, and her had once tried to search for Greta's past with
Princess Gina, but they hadn't come up with anything solid. This had
saddened Greta, but she had decided to start a new life with or without
her mother. She had to go on, she couldn't dwell on the past.
"Well hello Greta," Bo said pleasantly. He had a few shopping bags in
his hands.
"I see you're Christmas shopping, get anything for me?" she joked.
"Actually I did," Bo replied, " so you haven't started yet?"
"No," she shyly admitted, " but I'll get on it."
Bo smiled, then looked at his watch,
"It was nice talking to you Greta, but I've got to get home, bye."
"Bye Bo," she said, "I'll see you at the Salem Ball on Christmas
Eve."
"Not unless I see you first," he called over his shoulder.
Greta laughed to herself. He was always cracking jokes. He was always
happy now. Hope had finally come back to her old self. They were now
engaged and they were getting married in Janurary. She was so happy for
them, they were finally getting what they've wanted for a long time. If
only she could be that lucky.
Austin and Carrie had gotten back together and Mike had left Salem
because of the lawsuit placed against him by Ali. Ali had definetly put
a whopper on Mike, it had made him so upset, he had left Salem. She
felt bad for him, considering all he's been through. He had lost the
love of his life, Carrie, forever. She just prayed she wouldn't be that
unlucky.
She couldn't wait to get home and just lay in bed and watch t.v.,
maybe listen to the radio. She could pig out on chocolate and drink
coffee. She could rent a movie, maybe a love story. She loved love
storys with romantic endings. The guy gets the girl and all is happily
ever after. She had seen the movie Forces of Nature, but been majorly
depressed with the overall movie. It ended wrong.
Greta had always imagined writing a romantic story. It would be
perfect, with the perfect ending. It wouldn't be too sappy, too long,
but just right. In her imagination she could do wonders. She often
dreamed about Eric, sometimes it would be good, sometimes it would be
bad, but however it ended, it was still pleasant. Just to see his face
made her tingle.
When she finally got home, she unwrapped herself of the layers and
layers of clothing she had bundled up in to go outside. She walked into
the kitchen and poured herself a large, cold glass of milk. She walked
into the living room and noticed the flashing light on her answering
machine. She pressed the play button, hoping it might be Eric.
"Greta, this is Abe down at the Salem P.D, we have a man we're
interrogating that maybe you should question. Come down by nine
tonight."
She glanced at the clock. Good, it was only seven, so she had plenty
of time. She had recently gotten a job at the Salem Police Department.
She helped with investigations and interrogations, but she never went
into a dangerous situation, Abe had made sure of that.
She once again bundled up and headed for the Police Department, not
knowing what lie ahead for her, but she would soon find out. And the
results may not be that bad...
Greta walked to the police department and interrogated the man, but
they still hadn't gotten a solid. It seemed like everything she was
doing lately had been a failure. She had disappointed her whole world
and everyone in it. She wanted to fall in love, she wanted to be swept
off her feet. She wanted passion, obsession, and desire. And yet when
she spoke, there wasn't an ounce of excitement or whisper of a thrill.
She wanted lightning to strike, she wanted it to strike with Eric. He
seemed so close, yet so far away.
She wrapped her scarf around her neck and pulled her coat on. She
pushed the door open and could instantly feel the lack of heat. She
shivered and continued outside. The snow was falling more heavily then
when it had been almost an hour ago.
As she passed by the stores she looked inside the shop windows. There
were dolls, toy trains, puzzles, rocking horses, games. She could
remember when she was little all those things in the shop window would
have made her face light up in a second. Now it seemed like nothing
could ever be right again. She would never get her one true Christmas
wish...
As she rounded the corner, a man in a Santa Claus suit, collecting for
charity stopped her.
"I know what you want for Christmas," he said.
"What's that?" she asked politely.
"This," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling a candy cane
out. Greta gratefully accepted the candy and reached into her pocket
and gave him the only change she had left. He thanked her as she
started off again.
"Close, but no cigar Santa," she whispered as she continued. She
shoved the candy cane in her pocket, along with her hands. She had
forgotten to bring her gloves. But when she had left, she had had other
things on her mind. Another person on her mind. It seemed like Eric was
the only thing she could concentrate on anymore. He was the only thing
that made her wake up in the morning. Eric was him, her dream man.
"Excuse me, do you need a ride home?" someone asked as they drove up
beside her. Greta jumped at the sound of someone else's unexpected
voice. She turned to see who it was, and when she did, a smile danced
across her lips. It was Eric.
"Yes, thank you," she said, walking in front of the car and getting
in on the passenger side.
"How come you're out this late at night?" she asked him, "Don't you
have better things to do then pick up strange girls in the middle of
the night?"
Eric laughed and put the car back into gear. "First of all, you're not strange. Second of all, who says a guy
can't go out for a drive every once in a while?"
"Driving in the dark, during a snowstorm, and in the freezing cold.
Not the best driving conditions, if I do say so myself," she replied.
Eric looked over at her, then focused his eyes back on the road.
"Okay, you caught me. Abe saw you leave the police station alone and
he wanted me to make sure you got home alright," he admitted shyly.
"I could have made it home by myself," said Greta, disappointed that
Eric had picked her up because of orders from Abe.
"I know, I know, but I know that Abe, and especially me, would like
be rest assured that you got home alright. We wouldn't want a pretty
girl like you disappearing right before the most magical time of the
year, now would we?"
Greta blushed at the mention of her being pretty. Every time Eric said
something like that, her heart melted and she felt dizzy.
"So," she said, snapping out of her daze," have you done any
Christmas shopping yet?"
"Some of it. I know, I need to finish up, Christmas is only two weeks
away," he admitted.
"I haven't done any of mine yet," Greta said, "Guilty as charged."
"I believe you are now on Santa's naughty list," he joked, "Now youwon't get your Christmas wish."
Greta froze. But you are my Christmas wish, she thought. You are my
one true love. I guess dream's never do come true.
"So what is your Christmas wish?" he asked as he turned a corner.
"I don't have one," she said softly, turning her head to look out the window.
"You don't? Why not?" he asked.
"I've given up on dreams and wishes, they never come true," she said
as a tear slipped down her flushed cheek.
"Sure they do, you just got to give them time. That's what miracles are for," said Eric seriously. Greta wiped her tear away and turned to
Eric.
"You're right, and you're at my house," she said. He slowly came to a
stop and she opened the car door.
"Bye," she said.
"Bye, and goodnight," Eric said as she shut the door.
Eric watched her walk up to her house, then unlock her door and shut it
again. He sighed and put the car back into gear. "I love you," he whispered softly as he began to drive off. He
fumbled with the radio, he was trying to find a good and happy
Christmas song to cheer him up. Instead, he stopped on a country
station. The song playing reminded him so much of Greta and him.
It was called "What If I Said?" by Anita Cochran and Steve Wariner.
"What if I did say?" he said quietly, stopping at his own house. He
got out and jogged up to his door and opened it. He was thankful to be
inside once again, in the warmth and safety of his own house. It was
comforting to be around your own surroundings. He took his coat off and threw it on the back of a chair, then he
plopped down on the couch. He aimlessly began flipping through the
channels.
"The news, The Grinch, sappy love story," he announced every channel
he came to, until he got back to the beginning. He really did love
Greta, but something kept telling him that she didn't love him back.
Something told him that he wasn't good enough for her. So, he had
discarded the thoughts and pushed them into the dusty, cob-webbed,
corner of the back of his mind. But they always surfaced, everytime he
heard her voice or saw her smile. It was the same thing everytime and
he couldn't get rid of his feelings for her, no matter how hard he
tried. He also couldn't get rid of his feelings for Nicole. She had
played a major part in his life. She had been his first love, but now
it was Greta.
Nicole had married Lucas and now they were happily married living in
their large mansion with Kate. He should have known better then to let
himself fall for her. He should have known better then to wear his
heart on his sleeve, only to have it taken away and torn into a million
pieces. He didn't really associate with Nicole anymore, or Lucas for
that matter. But occasionally he'd see them out together and it
saddened him, but not as badly as it had before.
Greta and him had gone to Paris to find out about her mother, but
turned up empty. He knew it had to hard for her, not knowing anything
about her past really. To not even know her mother, to not be
surrounded by family. All she had now was the comfort of her friends,
her friends for life. He had tried his best to comfort her, but all she
wanted was to be alone. She had closed herself off to him and everyone
else. But then something had happened that turned her around. She had
finally realized that life is too short to worry about what was or what
could have been.
So she had come back and had begun to build a new life. And she was
doing pretty damn good if you asked him. She was always putting her
best foot forward. Whenever she got a call from Abe to come down to the
police station, she dropped everything and came at that moment. She was
helping out at chairty events and she was even helping to plan this
year's Salem Ball at the Penthouse.
The Salem Ball this year was going to be the best yet. Especially with
Greta here, he had determined. It was going to be wonderful dancing,
flirting, have her in his arms all night. But then it would all come to
an end and it would all be over. He would still have her for a little
while and that was better then nothing. It was going to be held on
Christmas Eve at the Penthouse at nine to twelve. Everyone in Salem was
planning on being there to celebrate Christmas. Christmas really was
the happiest time of the year, for everyone except Eric it seemed.
He threw the remote down in frustration and sighed,
"If you only knew," Eric said, "Things might just change, for better
or worse."
Here are the lyrics to the song I mentioned in my story, enjoy! =)
What If I Said
By: Stever Wariner and Anita Cochran
We’ve been friends for a long, long time
You tell me your secrets, and I tell you mine
She’s left you all alone, and you feel like no one cares
But I have never failed you, and I’ve always been there
You tell your story, it sounds a bit like mine
It’s the same old situation, it happens every time
Can’t we see, oh maybe you and me is what’s meant to be
Or do we disagree
What if I told you, what if I said that I love you
How would you feel, what would you think, what would we do
Do we dare to cross that line, between your heart and mine
Or would I loose a friend, or find a love that would never end
What if I said
She doesn’t love you, oh it’s plain to see
I can read between the lines of what you’re telling me
He doesn’t hold you they way a woman should be held
How long can I go on keeping these feelings to myself
What if I told you, what if I said that I love you
How would you feel, what would you think, what would we do
Do we dare to cross that line, between your heart and mine
Or would I loose a friend, or find a love that would never end
What if I said
Oh, we’ve both had our share of loneliness
So who’s to say that we can’t have a little happiness
And if I found that in you
It would make my dreams come true
Or would you walk away
Hear what I have to say
So what if I told you, what if I said that I love you
How would you feel, what would you think, what would we do
Oh, do we dare to cross that line between your heart and mine
Oh, I’ve always wondered, from the day that we met
What if I said, what if I said, ooh, ooh, ooh, what if we said
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