The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
| ONE LAST TIME BY TIMA |
CHAPTERS 73 - 75 |
ONE LAST TIME
chapter 73:
[Moments later, as Tea's grandmother enters the apartment, Tea takes the baby carrier from her. She immediately removes Valencia from the carrier and holds her close to her chest as she speaks to her daughter in Spanish. Todd watches them, enjoying the knowledge that he helped Tea find complete love for the first time in her life.
Tea looks up and notices the look on Todd's face.]
Tea: I think she wants to be held by her papi now.
Todd: You can keep doing what you're doing. You're better at that baby talk junk than I am.
Tea: She wants to hear your words.
Todd: Chicks are always trying to get me to talk. I hate that.
Tea: Deal with it, Manning. You're out numbered.
Todd: Are you saying you're coming with me?
Tea: I meant...
Todd: I mean it, Tea...come with me.
[Tea's grandmother speaks to Tea in Spanish, encouraging her to follow her heart.
As her grandmother leaves the room, Todd notices the pained expression on Tea's face. He knows that she wants to be with him. He also knows that she's scared. He understands her fears, but wants her to risk everything to be with him again, now that he's willing to risk everything for her.]
Tea: I can't.
Todd: You can do this, Delgado.
Tea: I'm not as strong as you are.
Todd: Are you nuts?
Tea: I'll end up alone.
Todd: You'll never be alone again. Valencia will make sure of that.
Tea: It didn't work for you with Starr.
[Tea instantly regrets her words.]
Tea: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.
Todd: I blew it with Starr. You'll never blow it with our kid. She'll love you. She'll never stop.
Tea: Will you?
Todd: I don't know.
Tea: I can't.
Todd: I could say a bunch of phony words and make a bunch of stupid promises. You'd know it was all a bunch of bull. You should never give a damn about anyone. You always end up getting your heart ripped out.
[Todd approaches them. He leans in close and kisses Valencia on the head.]
Todd: Tell her I loved her.
Tea: You're not abandoning her.
Todd: What do you want me to do? You want me to keep letting you put my heart through a shredder?
Tea: You won't abandon us.
Todd: Us?
Tea: We're a family...maybe not a conventional one, but we are a family.
Todd: Families live together, right?
Tea: Not always. Not when the parents aren't compatible.
Todd: We're compatible.
Tea: We're combative.
Todd: Yeah, but we both get a kick out of that, so it's okay, right?
Tea: I can't be the only one risking everything again. I just can't.
Todd: I'll risk everything, too.
Tea: You won't risk anything...especially your heart.
Todd: If I had one of those things...
Tea: This won't work if you can't admit you have a heart...if you won't risk it for me.
Todd: What if I did? How do I know you won't split on me again?
Tea: How do I know you won't abandon me? We either both have to risk everything this time, or we need to focus solely on sharing our daughter. Which will it be?
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
ONE LAST TIME
chapter 74:
Todd: You always want too much.
Tea: Only what I deserve. You deserve it, too.
Todd: I deserve to have someone kick me in the gut everyday. I never deserved you.
Tea: You deserve love.
Todd: Not your kind.
Tea: What other kind is there?
Todd: The kind where it's hard to tell the difference between that and hate.
Tea: You deserve to be adored, not hated.
Todd: Go back to telling me to get out of your life. That was easier to take.
Tea: I don't want you to leave my life. I never wanted that.
Todd: You were pretty convincing.
Tea: I tried many times to convince myself. I never could, because my heart wouldn't let go of you.
Todd: You should, for your own sake, and for Valencia.
Tea: Valencia will adore you, too. You just need to allow her the opportunity to know the real you.
Todd: The real me gets tossed in jail a lot. She'll have to settle for the me that pretends to be human whenever I'm around you.
Tea: You are very human. Your humanness, your humanity, shows the most when you're with your children.
Todd: I can't take this anymore. Stay? Or, go? Make up your mind.
Tea: Stay.
[Tea's heart breaks at the hurt look on his face.]
Tea: Todd...
Todd: No, don't say it. Don't make it worse by doing any of that letting me down easy junk.
[Todd looks at his family for several agonizing seconds before turning and leaving Abuela's apartment.
Todd returns to Llanview and goes straight to his office. He spends hours making his employees miserable, not wanting to go home alone, yet again.
As the sun begins to brighten the sky, and his office, his exhausted and stressed-out employees are allowed a respite from their boss' unreasonable tirades as Todd finally leaves the newspaper office and begrudgingly returns to his empty penthouse.
He spends more than an hour staring out the large window in his unbearably lonely living room, wanting more than anything to return to Tea and make her come back with him, to make the loneliness evaporate the way it only does when she's near him. He knows he should let her go, that she deserves better than he could ever give her. His heart aches for her, as it has each time he's tried to meander through his painful life without her.
As he continues to stare at the view he memorized long ago, sleep begins to threaten him, clearly not understanding that Todd Manning does not need sleep. Too depressed to fight off the monster of sleep this time, he removes his shirt as he slowly moves up the staircase, tossing it on the floor, followed by his shoes and pants, before he reaches his bedroom.
As he enters the doorway, he stops. Before his brain has time to register his reaction and adjust it properly, his face lights up with a broad smile. He stares at his bed, and its occupant for more than a minute before moving further into the room.
As he reaches the side of the bed, he stares down at the sleeping form of his intruder. His body reacts to her beauty as his mind tries to review all the angles of why his bed isn't empty, like he had dreaded it would be.
Tea's eyes suddenly open. She momentarily panics, realizing she's not alone, until she realizes that the man hovering over her, wearing nothing but underwear, is her ex-husband.]
Tea: Todd! You startled me.
[Tea sits up and runs her fingers through her hair, nervous about Todd's continued silence.]
Tea: Say something. Take back your invitation. Throw us out. Do something. Your silence is totally unnerving.
[Tea is pleasantly surprised as Todd steps back from the bed and removes his underwear. He flings it across the room and quickly lifts the blanket covering her body.
Within seconds, his body is joined to hers as they both focus on the pleasure of their sexual reunion, delaying what they both know will be a more difficult return to living together and fully sharing their lives on a daily basis.]
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
ONE LAST TIME
chapter 75:
[Minutes later...
Todd stares at the ceiling as he lies alone in his bed. The sound of Tea returning from feeding their daughter causes him to look in her direction.]
Tea: Is it okay if I join you?
Todd: Where else were you planning on sleeping?
[Tea joins him under the blankets.]
Tea: I already slept. It's morning, in case you hadn't realized.
Todd: I know what time it is. I don't care.
Tea: Did you sleep at all last night...wherever you were?
Todd: Is that your way of asking me where I was?
Tea: I know where you were. You were at the office...weren't you?
Todd: Are you jealous?
Tea: Of your newspaper?
Todd: Of whoever you think I spent last night with.
Tea: You were certainly ready to go this morning.
Todd: I could be ready to go again in a few minutes.
Tea: You look tired.
Todd: You know me, I only need to sleep once a year.
Tea: Querido...
Todd: So you're admitting it?
Tea: What?
Todd: That you're here because you give a damn about me, not just because you were in the mood.
Tea: I do love you, Todd.
[Tea snuggles against Todd's body, allowing herself to truly relax for the first time in a long time. Her relaxation is quickly eliminated as Todd jumps out of bed.]
Tea: What's wrong?
Todd: Nothing.
Tea: Come back to bed.
Todd: I need to get back to work. There's a big story breaking.
Tea: What story?
Todd: You'll see.
[Todd rushes out of the bedroom. Tea begrudgingly leaves the warmth of the bed and follows him.
At the top of the stairs, Tea stops. Todd has the front door of the penthouse open and is hastily walking through it as she speaks.]
Tea: We won't be here when you get back.
[Todd immediately re-enters the penthouse, closing the door behind him. Slowly, he moves further into the living room, as Tea remains perched at the top of the staircase, her arms folded in front of her.]
Todd: Bailing already?
Tea: I made it clear that I can't do this alone this time. I need to know that you're honestly trying to have a relationship with me, or I can't be with you.
Todd: I gave you what I could. You always want more.
Tea: I want a real relationship. I want to feel close to you...emotionally, physically and sexually.
Todd: One of those I can do.
Tea: Do I get to pick which one?
Todd: Sure...if you pick the one where we have tons of sex.
Tea: There was a time that sex didn't come easily for us. Is there any chance the others will come eventually, too?
Todd: There's a lot of touching while we're doing it. Isn't that enough for you?
Tea: No.
Todd: Nothing ever is.
[Todd watches her movement as she slowly descends the staircase and seductively positions herself on the sofa.]
Tea: We're alone.
Todd: Our kid's upstairs.
Tea: We're alone in this room. We love each other. I enjoy being with you. You seem to enjoy being with me.
Todd: You want to go again?
Tea: I want you to join me on this sofa. I want to kiss, and touch, and hold each other.
Todd: While we're doing it?
Tea: No sex.
Todd: What's the point?
Tea: I want tenderness, Todd.
Todd: I was trying not to hurt you.
Tea: You were wonderful while we were making love. I need you to work on your follow through.
Todd: That's girl stuff.
Tea: I'm a girl.
Todd: I'm a guy. I hate all that junk.
Tea: I need to feel close to you.
Todd: We can't get any closer than what we were doing before.
Tea: I give up!
[Tea rushes upstairs. Todd paces in the living room. He knows what Tea wants. He also knows that he can't give it to her.
Minutes later...
Tea returns to the living room with their daughter in her carrier.]
Todd: Delgado...
Tea: I've made it clear what I need.
Todd: What about what I need?
Tea: I think you need me to love you.
Todd: I hate that you feel that way about me.
Tea: Why?
Todd: You know why.
Tea: You want to be with me when we're apart. Why can't you feel that way when we're together?
Todd: I want to be with you, Tea.
Tea: You just don't want me to touch you.
Todd: You can touch me...sometimes.
Tea: I need more than sex.
Todd: That's all you ever wanted back when we were married.
Tea: That's not true, and you know it.
Todd: You don't get to walk out on me just because I'm not giving you whatever the hell you want ever second.
Tea: It's what I need.
Todd: Well, I need you to stop walking out on me. My needs come first.
Tea: What about what our daughter needs?
Todd: She needs her mami to stop walking out on her papi.
Tea: Valencia needs us to teach her about having a healthy relationship.
Todd: She's screwed!
Tea: We can do this. You opened your heart to me to convince me to try this again. Can you keep it open, now that I'm here?
Todd: That was different. I was desperate. You can't expect me to do it all the time.
Tea: Tell me that you're willing to keep trying and I'll stay with you forever.
Todd: Forever -- that's a really long time.
Tea: That's how long I want.
Todd: That's how long I want, too.
to be continued...
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
2003 COPYRIGHT BY TIMA
FanFiction Home
Home
