Chapter 11: If These Walls Could Talk
Chapter 11:
Theresa looked anxiously at her watch
again as she paced back and forth. Not five minutes had past since the
last time she looked at it. A woman sitting in a chair close by watched
as she wore a hole in the carpet. Theresa was at the Harmony Airport
waiting on Whitney's plane to arrive. She was flying in for the wedding
and Theresa couldn't be more thrilled that she was going to be there.
She needed her best friend right now more than anything. It was
Thursday afternoon and it had been almost two days since she had told Ethan
that she needed a break. Who was she kidding? She broke up with Ethan
and the memory of seeing the hurt in his eyes was enough to tear her
heart into tiny pieces. Whitney had no idea of what had happened so she
was in for some surprise when she arrived. An announcement was made
that the plane had arrived and the passengers would be exiting shortly.
Theresa chewed on a fingernail nervously as she scanned the people
coming through the gate. There was no sign of Whitney yet. It had been
almost six weeks since she had seen her and that felt like forever. They
were accustomed to seeing each other every single day so this new
situation took a lot of getting used to. As she kept thinking about how
much she missed Whitney, she finally saw her walk through the gate.
Theresa smiled for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
"WHITNEY!" Theresa called out waving her hands over her head. Whitney
looked up and a big smile spread across her face.
"Hey!" Whitney ran towards her. She dropped her bags and gave Theresa
a huge hug.
"Whit it's so good to see you! Six weeks is entirely too long."
"I know. I've missed you so much. How are you?" Whitney asked,
unaware of the answer she would receive.
Theresa felt her eyes well up. She promised herself she wouldn't do
this right away, but she just couldn't control what she felt.
"Not good, Whitney," she said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"Theresa what's wrong?" Whitney asked, extremely concerned for her best
friend.
"I'll tell you all about it, I promise. Let's just get out of the
airport. I want to hear all about you and this tour you've been on,"
Theresa replied trying to sound cheery. Whitney looked at her to make sure,
but she realized that whatever Theresa was about to tell her was
definitely major. She nodded and proceeded to tell her best friend all about
the tour and everything that was happening in her life as they walked
to the car.
Theresa put Whitney's suitcase and bag in the trunk of her car and got
in. She was about to start the ignition when Whitney stopped her.
"Okay Theresa, what's the matter? I haven't seen you like this in a
very long time. What happened?"
"I broke up with Ethan." Whitney couldn't believe what she just heard.
She thought it was an April Fool's joke, but she realized that it was June.
"You what?" Whitney asked completely bewildered.
"Things haven't been going so well lately and I told him the other
night that I needed a break. Whitney, it was the hardest thing I've ever
done in my entire life!" Theresa choked back her tears, but couldn't
control them any longer. She let it all out and told Whitney the whole
story.
Whitney sat and listened to her best friend in the entire world explain
in great detail the heartache she was experiencing. She was proud of
her for making the decision she did, but she was still in shock and felt
terrible that she was in so much pain. Whitney found it somewhat
amusing how much she had changed. Theresa was now a far cry from the
wide-eyed dreamer she was just a few years ago. She wrapped her arms around
Theresa and let her cry on her shoulder.
"Shh…sweetie it's okay. I'm so sorry I haven't been here for you."
Theresa sat up and wiped the tears away from her eyes.
"Whitney, don't ever be sorry for going out and reaching for your
dreams. I'm so proud of you. I always knew you'd be doing this one day.
As for me, well, I feel so much better now that you're here. Believe
me, this whole situation with Ethan is hard, but I think each day the
hurt will be a little less than the day before."
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Whitney
asked wryly.
"I'm still your best friend, Whit. I just grew up." She gave Whitney
her best smile and started up the car and the girls drove to the
Russell house.
Ethan walked into his apartment after a long day at the office. He
threw his briefcase down on a chair and made his way to his bedroom.
Frustrated, he worked to loosen his tie and un-tuck his shirt. It had been
a very long day and he felt like he had been put through the ringer.
He looked around his room and signs of her were everywhere. Pictures of
the two of them together, clothes she kept there just in
case…everything. He picked up a pillow on his bed and it still smelled like her
perfume. Ethan threw it down and sighed as he ran his fingers through his
hair. He missed her so much. He was upset that she just made this
decision and he was supposed to accept it. Deep down he knew this was
what she needed and he desperately wanted to believe it was for the best
and that she would one day come back to him…but he wasn't so sure
anymore. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted her back. He
remembered all the times he promised that he would do anything to make
her happy. He truly meant those promises, but he didn't realize when he
made them that he would be required to live without her.
He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to find
something to eat. He didn't see anything appetizing and decided to order in.
As he was reaching for the phone it rang.
"Hello?"
"Ethan! It's me. How are you?" Sheridan asked happily.
"Sheridan. I'm…okay," he lied. "How are you?"
"What's wrong, Ethan? You can't lie to me remember?"
"Theresa broke up with me," he said flatly. Saying that was extremely
difficult due to the lump in his throat. He hadn't really said those
words aloud until now.
"She what?" Sheridan asked surprised. Even after her talk with Theresa
the other day, she never believed that she would end things with Ethan.
"She told me she needed a break for awhile to figure her life out and
that included a break from our relationship."
"Oh Ethan. I'm so sorry. I know how much she loves you, and maybe she
just needs a little time to sort things out. You will get back
together." Sheridan tried her best to reassure him.
"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure.
"Ethan, believe in your love for her. It's strong and you will find
your way back to each other again. Just give it some time. I mean, look
at me and Luis. We're getting married in two days. Lord knows how
much we went through to get where we are today. If time is what she
needs, then give it to her."
"I know you're right, Sheridan. It's just really hard. I feel like my
heart has been ripped out my chest and handed to me."
"Believe me, I know how you're feeling right now. It gets easier. I'm
so sorry you are going through this, but I truly believe that this will
bring you two closer together in the long run."
"I hope you're right. I keep trying to tell myself those very same
things, but it's not working very well right now."
"You know I'm here for you if you ever need anything. Don't hesitate.
I have to run right now because my cell phone is cutting out. I just
wanted to call you because I haven't talked to you all week. I'll see
you tomorrow at the rehearsal okay?"
Ethan sighed. He forgot all about that and suddenly felt really
selfish. "Of course you will. I wouldn't miss it. Thanks for listening,
Sheridan."
"Anytime Ethan. Bye."
"Bye."
Ethan hung up the phone and put his head on the table. He needed to
snap out of this, he just wasn't sure where to begin. He picked up the
phone to order some food, but decided he really didn't want to be cooped
up in the apartment where so many things reminded him of Theresa. He
quickly changed into khaki shorts and polo shirt and headed out the
door, determined to have an hour or two in a Theresa-free environment.
Luis was watching TV when he heard a knock at the door. He got up and
opened it to find Sheridan with her arms full of dress bags and
shopping bags, and she had the mail clenched in her teeth. Luis grinned
widely at this sight. She was completely adorable to him at that moment.
He took the mail from her mouth and a majority of the bags she was
carrying. "Hey baby!"
"Hey," she said quickly as she hurried back to the bedroom to put down
the dresses. After she hung them up she flopped down on the bed. "God
those things are heavy. My dress feels like it weighs 50 pounds."
"Which one is your dress?" Luis inquired with a playful smirk on his face.
Sheridan sat up and looked at him. "Oh no you don't! Luis
Lopez-Fitzgerald you are not allowed anywhere near those dresses until Saturday…is
that understood?" Luis just laughed.
"Yes ma'am!" He saluted her. Sheridan rolled her eyes but couldn't
fight back her laugh. She lay back on the bed and continued to laugh at
him.
"Are you laughing at me?" he asked knowingly. Sheridan couldn't stop
giggling. Luis walked over and jumped onto the bed falling down heavily
next to her. "And what is it you find so funny, Crane?"
Sheridan turned her head to the side as to look at Luis. "Do you
realize that you won't be able to call me that much longer? In two days my
name will be Lopez-Fitzgerald." She smiled at the thought."
Luis wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his forehead against
hers. "I know and I can't wait."
"Me neither," Sheridan replied happily.
They laid in their embrace for a moment just looking at one another.
Luis slowly leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Sheridan
wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss.
Luis was thoroughly enjoying this, but he knew he had to pull away
before things went any further.
"Sherry, as much as I want to do this, we can't right now." Sheridan
gave him a confused look.
"Why not?" she asked as she traced his jaw line with her index finger.
"I have that party to go to." He felt badly for saying so.
"Oh yes. The bachelor party," she said with a sneer. "Promise me that
you'll behave." Her voice softened and it was almost pleading with him.
"I promise."
"Pinky swear," Sheridan said softly, holding up her hand. Luis smiled.
That was their thing they had started a long time ago. He locked his
pinky with hers.
"Pinky swear," he whispered back. "You don't need to worry. I love
you and only you and there is nothing in this world that can change that.
You're stuck with me." He ran his thumb over her cheek and smiled
softly at her.
"Good, because there's no one I'd rather be stuck with than you, Ponch."
She returned his smile because she knew she had nothing to worry about.
She just wanted to give him a hard time about it. She also wanted to
give him something to take with him as a reminder of what was waiting
for him at home. Sheridan put her hand behind his head and kissed him
wildly. He felt him respond hungrily and he began to work his hands down
her body. She wasn't sure how she was going to pull away, but she knew
she had to. She broke the kiss and hopped up from the bed.
"Come on Luis…don't want to be late for your party." She knew that was
mean but maybe it would give him an incentive to come home early so
they could pick this up. Luis looked up at her and knew exactly what she
was doing. It still had quite an effect on him. He groaned and lay
back on the bed and rubbed his face with his hands. He stood up and
smiled at her.
"You're lucky I love you so much, Sheridan."
Sheridan batted her eyes at him. "I know. I love you, too. You'd
better get going. You don't want to be late. And you really need to
leave now because if you stay much longer, I can't promise that I will
behave myself." Luis grinned at her and she giggled.
"Okay baby." He kissed her sweetly on the lips and grabbed his keys.
"I'll see you when I get back tonight?" he asked hopefully. He
definitely wanted to pick up where they left off just now.
"Maybe. You never know, I may have some swinging bachelorette party to
go to," she said teasingly." She saw the look he was giving her. "I'm
just kidding. I'll see you later. Have fun."
Luis smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you. I'll see you later.
Love you."
"Love you." She smiled and watched him walk out the door.
She stood in the doorway for a moment when a devilish smile formed on
her face. She went to phone and dialed Sam's cell phone.
"Sam, hi, it's Sheridan. I need you to do me a favor!"
To Be Continued...
