The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
AFFLICTION
BY TROG |
CHAPTER
27 |
CHAPTER 27
It was early afternoon as Todd struggled to edit his front page for the evening edition but all he could think of was Tea with Aaron Blackmoor. Aaron had arrived a few hours ago and Todd waited to hear from Tea, jumping every time his phone rang.
“What the hell is this, Todd?”
Todd looked up and Blair was standing there holding the divorce papers he had messengered to her earlier. She walked over and slammed them on the coffee table, sending papers flying in every direction .
“Their divorce papers, Blair. I would have thought you’d seen enough of them in your lifetime to recognize them when you saw them.”
“I’M NOT GIVING YOU A FUCKING DIVORCE, TODD!”
Todd got up quickly and closed the door.
“Yes...you are,” he said rather calmly.
“NO...I‘M NOT!”
Todd stared at her, at her hard expression and her vengeful eyes. She was made up of sharp angles, bony and pointed, thorny and prickly--an emotional porcupine. Their was so little femininity in her posture, in her spirit...she was filled with hostility and venom. Where was her round, womanly grace, her soft, girlish charm? This woman had given birth and yet she possessed no nurturing qualities...no maternal tenderness and beauty. There was no comfort or warmth in her arms, her body was always filled with tension like some tightly wound spring that could snap and hurt you at any moment. She never trusted his love enough to surrender to him...not like Tea, who melted in his embrace, allowing him into every part of her. But then...Blair had been right not to trust his love, his love for her had never been true.
“Look, Blair. I know I’ve been...a jerk this these past couple of years. I’ve pulled some lousy shit on you...and you on me....but don’t you see that’s the way it’s always gonna be with us... we’re just not right together. And I’m willing to pay...you’ll be a rich woman in your own right. We can...share...custody of our kids, and just move on. That’s what I want...and I think deep down...that’s what you want too.”
Tears rose in Blair’s eyes.
“That’s not what I want, Todd! I...I happen to love you! I want our marriage to work...I want our children to have a real family.”
“We are a family...just not together.”
“Do you have any idea what this is going to do to our little girl?”
“Don’t pull that shit on me, Blair! Have you looked at Starr lately? She’s a mess! She’s miserable because all we do is fight...it’s all we’ll ever do! And if we raise her together...she‘ll wind up being just like us! I think she deserves better. Don‘t you?”
“Don’t pretend you’re doing this for the good of your children, Todd. You’re doing this cause you want....that Puerto Rican slu...Tea! You’re bored with me because the chase is over...so now you’re going after her! It’s all some game to you isn’t it Todd...the thrill of the hunt! Oh...yes...Todd’s bored...so let’s just see who’s life he can ruin next! You ruined mine to Max...because you said you LOVED me...because you convinced me that you wanted a family...and now that you have me you need a new prey to stalk! Todd the great, white hunter of women!” she yelled.
Todd shook his had slowly and smiled sarcastically at her.
“Oh, gee, Blair...you just know me so well! You’ve got my number, Blair...no...can’t fool you,” he said, approaching her. “Maybe it was a sort of game with you...but it’s no game with Tea.”
“Oh, I’ve got your number alright! And there is no way in hell that I’m giving you a divorce. You wanted me...well...guess what, Todd...YOU‘RE STUCK WITH ME!”
Todd laughed and sat behind his desk.
“I don’t think so, Blair.”
Blair walked over and leaned on the front of his desk.
“You try and divorce me Todd...and I’ll make sure Bo find’s out how you got rid of my baby and told me it was dead. YOU KIDNAPPED MY SON, REMEMBER!”
Todd’s face tensed and his nostrils flared widely as he listened to her. He stood up slowly...menacingly... and leaned forward with an ugly sneer.
“You just try,“ he hissed. “You have no proof. And it happened in Mexico...out of Bo’s jurisdiction. And beside...what would the courts say to a woman who willingly stayed with a man after finding out he kidnapped her child?”
“Oh, don’t worry...I’ll get proof. And no one knows about this except you and me...who’s going to believe I knew all along after all my suffering. I was just a grieving mother...innocent and vulnerable. Face it, Todd...you’re sunk! You push for this divorce and I’ll see you behind bars...and so will you’re children.”
Todd whirled around the desk and lunged at her causing her to step back.
“Don’t do this, Blair. Don’t fight me on this....or you’ll regret it!”
“I’m not afraid of your threats....I’m not your little, timid Tea!”
“No...you’re not, Tea. If you were...I’d be in love with you. If you were Tea, I’d respect you! If you were Tea...I’d give up everything for you...I’d fall on my knees for you. If you were Tea I’d be in your bed every night. But...you’re NOT Tea!”
Blair’s eyes bulged and her face heated with rage as she listened to him, blinded with jealousy.
“Poor Tea! Does she know what she’s getting in bed, Todd...getting it up once a year and all? I think Tea will be very disappointed.”
Todd threw his head back and laughed in her face.
“Well, Blair...believe me, Tea’s not disappointed...a bit exhausted...but never disappointed. With Tea I have the opposite problem...I can’t keep my hands off of her. And getting it up once a year for you was more than any man should have to endure in a lifetime. We didn’t exactly scorch the sheets. You suck in bed, Blair...frigid and stiff and selfish and boring. Like most grifters, Blair, you can only fake it!” he snapped, as Blair’s hand went up to slap him but he caught it and held it firmly. “ You’re about as exciting to me sexually as that coffee table over there. You don‘t turn me on that way...so...let‘s not discuss this tasteless and humiliating subject any more. Just give me a divorce and let‘s end this torture.”
“NEVER! I’m never giving you a divorce...Todd,” she said, yanking her hand free, heading for the door and walking out, slamming it loudly.
“BITCH!” he yelled after her, hurling the divorce papers at the door.
Todd sat down behind his desk and pouted like a child. Why did he think that this would be easy after the way he’d treated her, deceiving her even more than he’d deceived himself?
His door suddenly slammed shut and he looked up expecting Blair had returned, but it wasn’t Blair. It was Aaron Blackmoor.
Todd’s heart pounded at the site of this towering figure of a man who stood in front of his door regarding him silently, but he refused to blink in his presence or show the slightest fear. Todd sat back casually, putting his feet on the desk, and placing both hands on the arm rests of his office chair as if it were a throne, striking an arrogant and majestic pose in his newspaper kingdom, looking his subject straight in the eye.
Aaron Blackmoor was even more perfect close up, manicured and well tailored in a navy suit. His hair was short and expertly cut, the color of gleaming wheat in the hot sun, but it was his eyes that one couldn’t help but notice. They were gray-blue...like ice. Beautiful...yet frightening and unnatural like villainous character out of some science fiction comic book.
Aaron took a few steps into the office and observed his rival in his surroundings. His x-ray eyes scanned the office in seconds noting the expensive, tasteful Mission furnishings, the abstract sculpture in the corner, the cool, practical elegance of the place...the unassuming wealth of the room, like the man behind the desk.
He remembered Todd Manning from the hospital the day he went to see Tea...when Aaron had mistaken him for a mental patient. This time Todd Manning was more presentable in a brown, expensive suit and Italian loafers, modern but elegant, like his office. Aaron observed Todd’s shaggy hair and the tuft of hair below his lower lip...a touch of the rebel, he thought as he looked into his unusual eyes, a golden-green color that was both striking and unique. The malevolent look in Todd Manning’s eyes said he was a force to be reckoned with...raging and powerful...a worthy opponent.
Moments passed as the two men stared at one another...like cowboys, dueling rivals waiting to see who would draw first.
“I’m Aaron Blackmoor...Tea’s husband,” he said in a deep, mellifluous voice.
“I know who you are! What do you want?”
“I want you to stay away from my wife.”
“I think that’s Tea’s decision...not yours,” said Todd coolly, still sitting in his chair and playing with his pencil while looking up at him.
Aaron put his hands into his pockets and looked down at the floor.
“You’re an interesting man, Mr. Manning. I’ve been doing a little...homework...on you.”
Todd stood up but remained behind his desk. Aaron Blackmoor was at least four inches taller than him and intimidating as hell.
“Really? I’ve been doing a little...homework...on you too!” said Todd.
Aaron smiled.
“I’m afraid I’m a rather boring subject. I lead a rather dull existence, Mr. Manning. I can’t imagine my life would be very interesting to a newspaper man use to printing the glossy and sensational.”
Todd walked slowly around the desk and stood in front of him.
“Oh don’t sell yourself short...your line of...work...fascinates me!”
Aaron’s eyes narrowed at Todd’s words.
“You find business consulting...fascinating? “ said Aaron with amusement.
Todd nodded and smiled.
“Oh yeah...all that travel...all those...contracts...I’m must say....I’m completely enthralled.”
Aaron Blackmoor looked away and walked toward the window, looking down on Llanview.
“Well...someone has to do it! The work is dull...but lucrative,” said Aaron without turning around. “I find I no longer get any satisfaction out of my work though...ever since I married Tea...all I want to do is be with her. I’m thinking of moving away with her...some lovely paradise away from everything and everyone. Just the two of us. Perhaps, starting a family,” he said, suddenly turning back to Todd. “I want what you have...a wife...some children...you know how that is, Mr. Manning.”
Todd looked into his icy stare.
“Tea’s not going anywhere with you. She’s leaving you...that’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
“Oh...I assure you...Tea will stay with me. She’s my wife. MY wife. You already have one.”
“My present wife and I are getting divorced.”
“Really! I understood you had just gotten married and had another child. Rather strange behavior for a man getting a divorce. Your wife and children must be devastated?”
“If you’re trying to lay some moral guilt trip on me, trying to appeal to my sense of common decency, then I’d say you haven’t done your homework very well! Let me introduce myself...I’m Todd Manning! I have no morals...I have no common decency! And you know what? Tea still wants ME! She still loves ME! And you can’t have her...not because of me...but because of her! SHE WANTS ME! That’s the way it is and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it!”
Aaron didn’t blink but simply walked a bit closer to Todd.
“I was so sorry to hear about you’re brother-in-law. Such a tragedy. Such a violent and senseless death. Tell me how’s your sister...Vicki, isn’t it? Such a lovely woman...who could have done such a thing,” he said with a compassion so laced with sarcasm it sounded almost boastful and theatrical as he looked Todd in the eye. It was a dare.
Todd’s chest tightened at the audacity of this man, his brashness sent a wave of fear through Todd’s body as he stood there trying not to overreact, but his hands tightened into tight fists as he resisted the urge to hit him for mentioning Vicki‘s name. Todd knew Aaron was looking for a reaction...for a hint of something he could use...but Todd kept his cool.
“Vicki is none of your damned business,” said Todd turning away from him quickly and taking a deep
breath.
Aaron stood there when suddenly, on removing his hand from his pocket, something shiny fell out and made a loud tapping sound on the floor, rolling across the room until it hit the wall. Both men watched it without moving when Todd suddenly walked over and picked it up. It was a gold bullet.
“What the hell is this?” asked Todd, holding it up between his fingers.
Aaron walked calmly over to Todd and held out his hand in front of Todd.
“That’s mine. Give it to me. It’s a sort of good luck charm...I never travel without it. It was given to me by my grandfather...he was a great hunter.”
Todd placed the bullet in the palm of Aaron Blackmoor’s hand and watched as he carefully placed it back in his pocket.
“What did he hunt?”
Aaron smiled.
“He hunted his enemy...he was a great soldier.”
“And are you a hunter too?” asked Todd, toying with him.
“Me? No...not me,” he laughed. “I abhor violence of any kind.”
Todd smiled.
“Oh yeah...me too,” said Todd sarcastically.
“Stay away from my wife Mr. Manning...or you’ll regret it.”
Todd walked up to him, looking up into his cold face defiantly.
“NO! I won‘t! Not as long as she wants to be with me!”
Aaron Blackmoor paced around slowly, his demeanor cool and tight.
“You know, Mr. Manning...you and I are very much alike. And I’m not surprised that we’re in love with the same woman...she is a jewel. More precious than anything I’ve ever encountered in my travels. She’s magical...an enchantress with healing powers, a heart so pure it has the power to heal the deepest wounds...even save tortured, desperate souls...like yours and mine. You see...I understand why you want her...why you need her...it’s the same for me. You and I...we’re titans...fearless warriors doing whatever we have to to get what we want, but in the end, we are humbled by love and lay down our arms for a woman. I am Menalaus and you are Paris...and Tea... she’s our Helen of Troy...our prize. But, my dear, impetuous Paris...you lost ...you let her go...and now...she’s mine. She belongs to her husband. You had your shot...one shot. Now it‘s my turn. Tea belongs to me.”
“Tea...belongs to Tea! The choice is hers...and she wants ME!” Todd shouted.
“Don’t be stupid, Mr. Manning. Go back to your family...to your wife and children. Tea is lost to you. You will never have her,” said Aaron as he walked toward the door.
“Tea will never go back to you,” said Todd.
“We’ll see. I have ways of convincing Tea...in the end...she will be with me. And she‘ll do it for love.”
“You’re delusional. Tea loves me...and you can’t change that.”
“No...I can’t change that. But...she will stay with me. Good-by Mr. Manning,” he said walking out and closing the door softly, confidently behind him.
Todd walked quickly to his desk and picked up the phone, dialing Tea’s room at The Palace, but the phone just kept on ringing.
“Where the hell are you, Delgado!”
As Todd hung up he realized that his hands were shaking.
to be continued...
2002 Copyright by Trog
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