The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
LIES FEARS & LOVE
BY TROG |
CHAPTER
31 |
chapter 31
TEA’S APARTMENT: MORNING
Tea’s face rested comfortably on Todd’s chest as they laid sleeping in the heavy, mahogany sleigh bed of her bedroom. Their naked bodies half covered by a white brocade comforter and linen sheets which laid in terrible disarray, a testament to their passionate lovemaking of last night.
Their soft, rhythmic breathing accompanied the early morning serenity as the sparkling sunlight filtered through the sheer drapes and set their bodies aglow. They slept so soundly, like two naked mortals who had visited Paradise last night and had not yet awakened from the enchantment of the spell that was cast over them.
Suddenly, a loud crash broke the lovely silence which caused Todd and Tea to bolt up right in unison.
“What the hell was that,” said Todd, startled into consciousness.
Hearing some noise beside the bed , they both looked below and noticed the crystal vase of peach roses that had stood on a small, covered table beside the bed, had been knocked over. The vase had not broken but the water was spilled and there were roses scattered everywhere, and sitting squarely in the middle of all this was their son Leo smiling up at them and looking quite pleased with his handiwork.
Todd and Tea both laughed.
“Leo, my little cockroach, what have you done?” said Tea, getting out of bed and lifting him off the floor.
Lourdes, alarmed by the crash, knocked on the partially opened door, but stayed out in the hall.
“Ms. Delgado, is everything alright in there?”
“Yes, Lourdes. It’s just Leo. I’ll take care of it. Thanks,” she called out.
Lourdes closed the door and Tea handed her precocious son to his father as she proceeded to pick up the vase and the roses.
“How did he get in here, I closed the door last night,” said Todd.’’
“I checked on him earlier, and left my door open. I’ve got to tell Lourdes to stop using tablecloths for a while--pulling them down is your son’s favorite hobby.”
Todd smiled as he tossed him into the air in his little blue sleeper with white sheep on it. Leo giggled and screamed with joy. Tea laid down beside them and snuggled beside Todd as Leo wriggled between them and laid back playing with Todd’s fingers.
“He’s a hellion,” said Tea.
“He’s passionate,” said Todd.
“He’s destructive,” said Tea.
“He’s high spirited,” said Todd.
“He takes after you...” they both said at the same time as they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Leo watched his parents with quiet fascination as they kissed and caressed each other. His face turning from one to the other as he watched this man taking his place in his mother’s affections. Leo yanked at his mother’s hair to get her attention and she picked him up,planting little kisses on his happy face.
Todd laid back and watched them as his heart swelled and his chest felt like it would explode with joy. It’s as if he left his body for an instant and was watching this scene from outside himself--like a child with his nose pressed against the glass, yearning for something he thought he’d never have. The profound emotions running through his body were so powerful that he started crying uncontrollably and he suddenly pulled away from them, and turning his back, he sat on the edge of the bed breathing erratically.
Tea noticed his reaction and acted quickly. Slipping on a bathrobe and grabbing Leo, she rushed toward the door.
“Lourdes,” she called out, “could you please take Leo?” Lourdes came, took Leo and Tea closed her bedroom door behind her.
Todd was still sitting on the edge of her bed, his back twitching while gasping for air. Walking over tentatively, she sat beside him, placing an arm around him.
“Todd, take some long deep breaths and try to relax! That’s it....just breath in,” she said as she wiped his brow with her hand, as a fine, cold sweat appeared all over his body. Tea recognized that he was in the throws of an anxiety attack and she continued to comfort him until he was calmer.
“Querido, what’s wrong?”
Todd shook his head and wiped his eyes, sighing deeply.
“I don’t know...it’s like...I don’t deserve this, Tea. You’re so beautiful...and Leo...he’s perfect...and innocent. You both deserve better than me...I’m...worthless. I’m a rapist, Tea...I’m a murderer...I’m...something who’s own father couldn’t love it,” he said, choking on his last words as he stared at the floor.
Tea turned him to face her.
“Todd, you are not worthless. Your father couldn’t love you because he couldn’t love anyone, but that’s how I know you’re better. The way you love me, and Starr, and Leo....querido...you’re nothing like him. You can love...and he couldn’t.”
“What if I hurt Leo, Tea? Like my father hurt me...it happens, you know...what if I lose control and hurt him,” he said, his face in anguish.
“That won’t happen, mi amor. I trust you to never let that happen. You’re a good father.”
Todd looked at her, struggling to believe her but plagued with doubts.
“How do you know I won’t hurt you?”
“I know that you would never hurt me intentionally. That’s what matters. Todd, there are no guarantees in life, but some things are worth the risk. For me, loving you is worth the risk of being hurt.”
“How can you love me, Tea...after everything I‘ve done...everything I told you?”
Tea smiled and touched his cheek.
“It so damn easy to love you, Todd, the hardest part is making you believe it. I can’t imagine not loving you.”
Todd reached out and touched her face, her dark eyes filled with trust.
“I think I’d die...without your love,” he said.
“Me too,” she whispered.
Todd pulled her into his arms and closed his eyes. The horrifying images of his past rushed through his mind, but they seemed altered, diluted somehow, they didn’t have that same dark power over him that they use to. Finally he pulled away from her, calmer and steadier.
“When are you coming to live with me? I fall apart when you're not around...I need you.”
“Todd, I was thinking that maybe it would be best for now if Blair believed her little scheme worked--you know, that she broke us up. It would take her off her guard until you find out what’s going on.”
Todd thought about it.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“And, querido, please be careful. A woman who would go to these lengths to hold on to you is not very stable. I’m glad she doesn’t know about Leo, right now, because, quite frankly, I’m not sure what she’s capable of.”
“Yeah, alright. But I won’t like it, Tea.”
“It will just be for a short time. Besides, I’m rather enjoying our little rendezvous, aren’t you?”
Todd smiled at her.
“Is that all you ever think about, Delgado. I gotta tell you, I’m starting to think you’re a nymphomaniac.”
“I am not a nymphomaniac!! I’m a nymphoManningiac!”
Todd laughed as he got up and pulled her by the hand, leading her toward the bathroom.
“Come on, Delgado, I’m going to give you a cold shower.”
to be continued...
2001 Copyright by Trog
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