The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
| NEVER AGAIN BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 9 |
NEVER AGAIN
chapter 9:
[Minutes pass silently as the ex-spouses remain in the same room together but are separated by the painful childhood memories that each is re-living in their own minds. Tea is trying to make sense out of the possible reason that Todd has just given her for why her mother may have left her when she was a small child. Todd is trying to deal with the agonizing memories of events he had kept hidden for years, even from himself at times. Now, he finds himself helpless in his attempts to force those memories back into a safer place inside himself.
The distant ring of a telephone in the outer office startles them both.
Tea leaves Todd in the conference room and enters the outer office. Todd follows her and listens to her side of the conversation, realizing immediately that she's talking to her boyfriend, even though she purposely avoids using his name.
When Tea completes the call and turns toward the conference room, she's not surprised to find Todd leaning in the doorway, glaring at her.]
Todd: Why'd you lie to Mr. Hairpiece?
Tea: Kip's hair is real.
Todd: It doesn't look real.
Tea: Trust me, it is. Besides, I didn't lie to him.
Todd: You didn't tell him the truth.
Tea: I'm working late because I have closing arguments in the morning. That's the truth.
Todd: You stopped working on that a long time ago. You were pretending that you ate dinner all alone. You really milked it, too.
Tea: Would you prefer I call him back and tell him that you're here?
Todd: Go ahead.
Tea: Would you also like me to tell him what we've been discussing?
Todd: You can tell him anything you want...about you.
Tea: Because there's nothing to tell about you, because nothing happened, right?
Todd: You kissed me.
Tea: I was referring to...
Todd: I was referring to this...
[Todd moves toward Tea. She quickly steps away from him, knowing that if he were to kiss her again, especially as vulnerable as she feels right now, it would ultimately lead to more than either is prepared for.]
Tea: I really do need to finish my work.
Todd: So you can get home to Mr. Hair?
Tea: This case is important. A woman's life is depending on the job I do tomorrow.
Todd: It's today. It's after midnight.
Tea: Just barely. It is later than I realized, though. Maybe I should take my work home with me and finish there.
Todd: Are you really that afraid of what we have?
Tea: We have nothing. We had something once. I don't even know what to call it. It was never really a marriage. It was hardly even a relationship.
Todd: We had sex.
Tea: We had a physical attraction. I'll give you that.
Todd: We had great sex.
Tea: So great, you promptly abandoned me on a deserted island so you could risk your life trying to get back to another woman.
Todd: You call that prompt? How many times was it?
Tea: That's irrelevant. You did leave me there.
Todd: So? Two years before I did it to you, you split on me after I gave you the best sex of your life, or so you claimed.
Tea: Is that why you abandoned me on that island? Was it worth risking your life just to pay me back?
Todd: I did what I had to do. I had to see my kids.
Tea: You would have been with them again, after the storm season passed.
Todd: I couldn't wait that long.
Tea: You couldn't bear to pretend for that long that you had any genuine feelings for me?
Todd: If you want to know what I feel for you, I'll show you.
Tea: We need to put the past behind us and move forward.
[Todd approaches her again. Tea backs herself against the wall, trying to retreat from him.]
Todd: You're confusing forwards and backwards.
Tea: Your charm won't work on me this time. You should stop wasting your time.
Todd: What are you going to do? Go home and fuck your brains out with Pretty Boy? You know you'll be thinking about me the whole time. You always do, anyway.
Tea: Your ego is outrageous.
Todd: We both know it's true. You can't get me out of your head.
Tea: I can certainly get you out of my life.
Todd: We'll see about that.
Tea: I know you revealed some things tonight that...
Todd (raising his voice): Shut up about that!
Tea: Destroying my life won't make yours feel any better.
Todd: I don't want to destroy your life, Delgado. I just want to make you feel good.
Tea: You want to use me to forget. It won't work. You won't be able to convince me to give up my life for you again. It would be easier for both of us if you accept that now and go back to Llanview.
Todd: Llanview sucks!
Tea: Then, go somewhere else.
Todd: Maybe I like it here.
Tea: I like my life the way it was...without you in it.
Todd: That's not the way it felt when you kissed me.
Tea: That was a mistake.
Todd: How would your boy toy feel about that?
Tea: He is not my boy toy.
Todd: Did I get the words wrong? I thought that's what you call a guy who's dating an older chick.
Tea: I'm not that much older than him.
Todd: Twice his age?
Tea: I think you're confusing me with your other ex-wife.
Todd: I love it when you're jealous.
Tea: I hate it when you're jealous. Allow me to have this happiness.
Todd: What happiness?
Tea: I am happy. I'm content.
Todd: Content isn't happiness...it's boredom.
Tea: Fine! Allow me to be bored. I jumped off this roller coaster ride with you a long time ago. I have no intention of jumping back on again...ever!
Todd: I wasn't inviting you.
Tea: Good! I'm glad to hear that. Good night!
Todd: It won't work, Delgado. You won't be able to forget about me.
Tea: Maybe not, but I can choose to end the abusive cycle we've been in for too long. You hurt me. I hurt you. You hurt me back. It's exhausting. It's painful. I don't want that for myself anymore. I don't want that for you, either. I want you to find someone you can feel comfortable with.
Todd: That's you.
Tea: You're comfortable with my being your friend. You have never been comfortable being my friend, or my lover, or my husband. You want me to give you everything I have while you continue to give me nothing that I need.
Todd: It could be different this time.
Tea: I thought that the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. I'm through hoping for miracles. I'll always want the best for you, Todd. The difference now is that I want that for myself, as well. You have to leave now. I'm going home.
to be continued...
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2003 COPYRIGHT BY TIMA
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