| UNFINISHED BUSINESS BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 22 |
Tea (in her most determined voice): Adios, Todd Manning.
[As she utters the words, she looks in her rearview mirror, as if looking in his direction will make it more empowering.
What she sees in her mirror, though, doesn't make her feel stronger in her conviction to leave and give up on him forever. The image instead causes her to slam on her brakes, not believing the sight.]
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chapter 22:
[As Todd frantically runs after Tea escaping in her car, she suddenly slams on the brakes surprising, and concerning, him. He continues running until he's at the side of her car.
He's horrified to see her slumped over the steering wheel. Concerned for her, he yanks her car door open.]
Todd: Delgado?! Delgado?!
[Todd is out of breath from running and can't manage more than her name as he tries to catch his breath.
Tea is still leaning over the steering wheel, unable to process the current situation. She saw him running after her car. He would only do that if he wanted her to stay...if he wanted to be with her, right?
She wants so much to believe that he changed his mind and now wants to be with her, but she has gotten her hopes up too many times before and had them agonizingly crash moments later when he went back to pushing her away. She wants desperately to grab onto him and not let go, but if she trusts him again, if she allows herself to hope again, and he leaves her again, she doesn't know if she'll survive the heartache.
She knows that he had intended for her to be alone in her pain when he walked away from her moments earlier, but now he's here, concerned about her. Her mind and her heart are in a painful tug-of-war, trying to decide what to believe in this moment.]
Todd: Delgado, did you hit your head?
[Tea feels Todd softly touch the back of her head. She feels in his touch, and hears in his voice, so much concern for her. She slowly lifts her head off of the steering wheel and looks at him.
He's relieved as he carefully looks her over and doesn't see any bleeding, but the pain in her eyes rips at his heart.]
Todd: Are you in pain?
Tea: Yes.
Todd: I'll take you to the hospital.
Tea: Not that kind of pain.
[Todd knows what she's referring to. His own eyes fill with tears as he watches the tears flood out of her eyes.]
Todd: I'll take you home.
Tea: I'm leaving.
Todd (speaking softly): No.
Tea: I can't do this anymore. I can't live there. I can't be around those memories. It hurts too much.
[Todd is tempted to let her go. If he allows her to escape her pain, he can continue pretending that he's escaping his own. After a contemplative moment, the expression on Todd's face changes. When he speaks there is a determination in his voice.]
Todd: Get out of the car.
[Tea responds to his demanding tone by building up her own determination and stubbornness.]
Tea: Let me go. Stop playing games with me.
Todd: I'm not playing, Tea. Get out of the car.
Tea: I can't let you do this to me. You can't pull me back in just so you can shove me away again. That may be a sport that you enjoy, but I'm not interested anymore. You'll have to find a new partner. Now, get away from my car. I'm leaving.
Todd: You're not going anywhere, Tea. Turn the car off and get out of the car, right now.
[Tea looks up at him, fire burning in her eyes.]
Tea: Make me!
[Todd reaches into the car and turns the engine off. He then pulls her body towards his. She doesn't try to stop him. As soon as she feels his touch, her internal struggle ends. He carefully removes her body from the car. He holds her in his arms with a mixture of strength and tenderness. Tea places her arms around his neck and relaxes her body completely. For the first time in a long time, she feels safe.
Todd leaves the car door open as he carries her back toward their home. They're halfway there before Tea opens her eyes and looks behind them.]
Tea: Todd, my car...
Todd: Forget about it.
Tea: The keys are still in the ignition.
Todd: Let someone else have it. I'll buy you a new one.
Tea: Todd...
Todd: What's more important to you right now...your car, or whatever the hell is going to happen when we get to our house?
Tea: Is it our house?
Todd: I bought it...you live in it.
Tea: You know what I'm asking. You know what I need, don't you?
[The pain in her voice again slices at his heart. He hates how much of an effect she has on him.]
Todd: Fine. I'll go back and take care of your car.
Tea: Forget about my car. Let someone else have it.
Todd: Because you want a new one?
Tea: Because I want you. I want you to hold me the way that you should have held me last night, and so many nights before that.
Todd: Delgado...
Tea: We can do this, Todd. We can be together. We can help each other.
Todd: You don't need help.
Tea: I do. I need your help. It hurts so much. I need you to help me.
[They reach the front door of their house.]
Todd: Where's your keys?
Tea: On the key chain with my car keys, which are in the ignition of my car.
Todd: Couldn't you have told me this earlier?
Tea: I just realized. Do you still have your keys?
[Todd disappoints Tea by placing her feet back on the ground. She had hoped to stay in his arms longer. He reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a key chain with numerous keys on it and hands it to her.]
Todd: I'll be right back.
[Todd turns away from her. She immediately becomes concerned that he'll leave her again and not come back. She pulls on the back of his clothing, until she has her body pressed against his back and her arms around him, holding him to her.]
Tea: Don't leave.
[Todd immediately knows what she's thinking.]
Todd: I'm not ditching you.
Tea: You have...so many times.
Todd: I'm just going to get your car out of the middle of the road.
Tea: Leave it. I don't care about it.
[Todd turns toward her. She brings her body tightly against his again, not wanting to ever let go of him again. He places his hands at the sides of her head and looks intently at her eyes.]
Todd: I'm not ditching you.
Tea: Please...stay.
Todd: I'm staying, Delgado. I wasn't running after you to say good-bye. I don't have any intention of ever letting you out of my sight again. You wanted this. Now, you're going to have to deal with it. You're stuck with me. I'm stuck with you. I want to be stuck with you, Tea.
[Tears again come to Tea's eyes.]
Todd: I'm going to go get the car. If I don't, you'll be distracted thinking about it.
Tea: I don't care about that car.
Todd: Someone will find it with the keys in the ignition. They'll come pounding on our door, thinking something horrible has happened to you. The police will be called. They'll run a check on me. They'll arrest me. I'll be prosecuted. I'll be convicted. Do you want that?
[Relief fills Todd's heart as he watches her smile at him.]
Tea: Go get my car. Then, we'll spend the rest of the day together. Tomorrow, we'll confront the rest of the world, but tonight, I just want it to be the two of us.
[Todd's facial expression darkens. Tea reaches her hand up and lightly touches his cheek.]
Tea: We'll do it together. We'll face the past together. We'll face the future together. We'll face the world together.
Todd: I screwed up, Tea.
Tea: Yes, you did. It's okay to be scared, Todd. You have to stop running, though.
Todd: I've been running my whole life.
Tea: You don't have to anymore.
Todd: I was with you last night.
Tea: I know you were, but I need you to be openly with me now, instead of hiding your presence. Can you do that?
Todd: I don't know.
Tea: Can you try?
Todd: I'm trying right now.
Tea: There are certain conditions...
Todd: Tea...
Tea: We live here, not in that other house you bought.
Todd: You haven't even seen it yet.
Tea: This is our home, Todd.
Todd: So, we can never live anywhere else?
Tea: Maybe some day. Right now, though, I need to live here with you.
Todd: You know this won't be easy, right?
Tea: What fun would easy be?
[Todd brings his head closer to hers and lowers his voice as he speaks.]
Todd: None at all. I love you, Tea.
[Todd brings his lips against hers in a gentle kiss full of apologies for the past and hope for the future.]
THE END.
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