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| NEVER AGAIN BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 16 |
NEVER AGAIN
chapter 16:
[Several weeks later...
Tea sits alone in her bedroom feeling like a failure...again. Kip left several hours earlier, taking the last of his belongings with him. Their break-up was amicable but Tea is left feeling like she's lost one of the few people in her life that truly cared about her.
As Tea wallows in her loneliness, she picks up the telephone and dials a familiar number.]
Rachel Gannon: Hello?
Tea: I'm so glad you're home.
Rachel: Not for long, I have a date tonight.
Tea: I'll call back in a few days.
Rachel: I have some time before my date will be here. What's wrong?
Tea: I'm giving up men.
Rachel: Again? You usually only do that when Todd Manning breaks your heart.
Tea: Don't mention that man's name.
Rachel: So, this is about Todd?
Tea: There's more to my life than Todd Manning.
Rachel: Like?
Tea: Kip moved out.
Rachel: I thought things were going well between you two.
Tea: They were.
Rachel: What happened?
Tea: Nothing. It's not important.
Rachel: Let me guess... A certain bad boy from your past reared his ugly head, and I do mean ugly.
Tea: Don't start.
Rachel: Usually the only time you let me say what I really feel about that creepy ex-husband of yours is when you hate men. When you decide to throw away your life on that man again is when you work overtime trying to convince me that there really is something worth your effort beneath that ugly exterior of his. Which is it this time?
Tea: He's not ugly.
Rachel: You've fallen for him again? I thought you swore the last time, he had finally run out of chances to break your heart.
Tea: I have absolutely not fallen for him again.
Rachel: So, I don't have to worry about you ending up on a deserted island any time soon?
Tea: It's complicated.
Rachel: When isn't it between you and Todd?
Tea: I have no intention of going anywhere with Todd this time, or any time. We're not getting back together. I'm certain of that.
Rachel: But, he is back in your life?
[Rachel considers Tea's silence to be embarrassed confirmation that she has indeed allowed Todd back into her life again.]
Rachel: I'm not surprised. I did think you'd both wait longer to get back together this time, though.
Tea: We are not back together!
Rachel: Yet!
Tea: Ever! I'm through with Todd Manning.
Rachel: Why did you break up with Kip?
Tea: I don't know.
Rachel: He was a lot cuter than Todd.
Tea: He did have nice hair.
Rachel: What more could you want in a man?
Tea: I want Todd. Why did I just say that? More importantly, why do I mean it? What's wrong with me? The man dumped me. He left me on a deserted island so he could chase after his other ex-wife. I should hate him. I should never want to see him again.
Rachel: Did he give you a good reason for what he did?
Tea: Only if you consider a speech about love equaling hate a good reason.
Rachel: He said he hated you?
Tea: He said that love is just a mask for hate and that when people say they love you they're just covering the hatred they really feel for you.
Rachel: He's told you that he loved you in the past, hasn't he?
Tea: I don't think he was trying to say he hates me.
Rachel: What was he trying to say? It would be easier on you if you weren't madly in love with a lunatic who doesn't make any sense.
Tea: I would have to be a lunatic myself to love Todd again.
Rachel: We're all lunatics when it comes to love.
Tea: I thought, with Kip, things had finally gotten easier.
Rachel: That's only because you were never in love with him. At least you enjoyed some great sex before settling for Todd again.
[There's silence as Tea recalls her intimate times with Todd. Her resolve not to reunite with her ex-husband quickly diminishes.]
Rachel: Isn't this the part where you tell me what a dynamo Todd Manning is in bed?
Tea: This is the part where I wish you luck on your date.
Rachel: I don't know if I should wish you luck with Todd, or offer my condolences.
Tea: I'm not going back to him.
Rachel: Girlfriend, get real! We both know you can't resist that man, for reasons I'll never understand.
Tea: Neither will I. I'm a reasonably intelligent woman. Why do I make such dumb choices when it comes to men? What's wrong with me?
Rachel: You're in love.
Tea: That's no excuse.
Rachel: It's the only one you've ever been able to give me that I believed. You love the guy.
Tea: Love is overrated.
Rachel: I agree.
Tea: So, why are you going out tonight? Why am I considering making the biggest mistake of my life...yet again?
Rachel: One of my many flaws is that I'm always convinced that the next guy I go out with will be Mr. Right. You only have one flaw. His name is Todd Manning.
Tea: Mr. Wrong.
Rachel: Did you call hoping I would talk you out of chasing after that man again?
Tea: I'm not chasing after him. If I happen to run into him...
Rachel: You'll knock him down and tear his clothes off.
Tea: I will not! Not if we're in public, anyway.
Rachel: Some times it's more fun in public.
Tea: Rachel!
Rachel: We need to change the subject. Thinking about Todd Manning as a sexual being is making me not want to have sex tonight.
Tea: I'll hang up so you can stop thinking about Todd altogether and get back in the mood. Thank you!
Rachel: For being your friend even when I know you're making a mistake? You'll always have that.
Tea: I really appreciate having you back in my life. Have I told you that recently?
Rachel: Every time we've talked. The time you spent on that island really affected you, didn't it?
Tea: I didn't know if I would ever make it off that island. I thought I might never speak to any of the people I cared about again.
Rachel: Including Todd?
Tea: Including Todd. It's pathetic, isn't it? It was because of him that I became stranded to begin with. He left me there and paddled off without me...
Rachel: Despite what happened, you still had him at the top of the list of people you wanted to see again if you were rescued. Why is that?
Tea: If I knew the answer to that I wouldn't feel so stupid right now. I should want a man who cherishes me, not a man who leaves me behind and forgets about me.
Rachel: But, you gave up Kip for Todd.
Tea: Maybe I'm punishing myself.
Rachel: Being with Todd would be punishment for me. For you, it's the answer to your dreams.
Tea: I'm so pathetic.
Rachel: No matter how you feel about that man, you do have a choice.
Tea: It doesn't feel that way. I know I would regret trying to have a relationship with him again. But, if I don't try, I'll regret that, too. Either path will lead to me being alone and hating myself. To quote Todd Manning -- love sucks!
to be continued...
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