Kiss Me
I’ve got this feeling you’re not gonna stay
It’s burning within me
The fear of losing, of slipping away
It just keeps getting closer
Whatever reason to leave that I’ve had,
my place is always beside you
and I wish that I didn’t need you so bad
Your face just won’t go away
“Theresa!” Ethan Crane exclaimed, when he found her lying in her bed, barely conscious. “Theresa, you’ve got to hang on. You’re a fighter. Fight!” He couldn’t lose Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald. He only realized now how much she meant to him. “Why, why did I have to be so harsh with her? It’s all my fault.”
::Flashback::
“Ethan, do you love me? If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t love me, then I’ll never bother you again.”
“I…” Did he love her? Ethan knew, someplace deep inside his heart and soul, that he loved her, but he was too afraid to admit it. Besides he was already engaged to Gwen. And his mother wanted him to marry Gwen more than anything. His family would never forgive him if he called off the marriage. He had to do what was right for the sake of the Crane Empire.
“Theresa, I’m telling you the truth. I don’t love you.”
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do,
to look you in the eye and tell you I don’t love you
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to lie,
to show no emotion when you start to cry
Theresa stepped back in shock. “You… you mean it, don’t you? You don’t love me. You don’t love me!” Through her tear filled eyes, she took one last look at Ethan, then turned on her heel and ran out.
I can’t let you see what you mean to me
when my hands are tied and my heart’s not free
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do
to turn around and walk away pretending I don’t love you
When Theresa didn’t come back, Ethan decided to go find her. He found out that Theresa had been on her brother’s motorcycle, that she wasn’t wearing a helmet, and that she was in an accident.
::Reality::
Just then, a nurse came in to check up on Theresa. “How is she doing?” Ethan asked.
“She’s very weak,” the nurse replied. “There’s no reason for her to be unconscious, and if she doesn’t regain consciousness soon, she could die.”
“Well, fix it!” Ethan demanded. “Theresa can’t die!”
“I’m sorry, sir, but the only thing that can pull her through is love. She’s lost the will to live. She’s given up.” Ethan shook his head. “No, she can’t.”
“I’m afraid the only person who can save her is the one she loves and loves her back. Do you know who that is?”
“Well… she does have a sort of a crush on me,” Ethan told the nurse.
“Then you’re the only one who can save her.” The nurse walked out, and Ethan looked at Theresa again. He smoothed down her hair, and he knew he had to do what his heart told him to and save her. “Theresa,” he whispered. “Theresa, I love you,” Ethan confessed, leaning in closer so that she could hear her. “I love you.”
Theresa stirred, so Ethan took her hand and said, “I know I’ve been hard on you, but Theresa, you’ve got to pull through. I love you. I can’t go through life without you. Please, wake up.”
“Ethan…” Theresa whispered, a smile forming on her face. “Ethan, don’t leave…”
“I won’t leave you, I promise. I’ll be here until you open your eyes, I’ll be the first thing you see.”
The smile on Theresa’s face grew, and she slowly opened her eyes. “Ethan?”
Ethan smiled. “Oh, Theresa, I knew you’d make it!” Never before had he felt so full of joy. Not even when Gwen accepted his proposal. On impulse, he leaned down and kissed her, kissed her with more intensity, passion and love than he’d ever kissed her or Gwen. When he pulled away, Theresa said, “Do you really love me, Ethan?”
“Yes, Ethan, do you really love her?” a voice asked. Ethan turned and there stood Gwen in the doorway. “Gwen—“
“I saw what just happened, you know,” she continued, her eyes flashing, her voice harsh and accusing. “All this time that I’ve trusted Theresa, she’s been stabbing me in the back! You lying, scheming, backstabbing—“
“Gwen, that’s enough. It isn’t Theresa’s fault. Can’t you see she’s in a hospital bed, barely conscious?” Ethan asked, defending Theresa.
“Oh, I bet she’s just acting so she can play her sympathy card and make you fall in love with her,” Gwen retorted.
“How… how dare you!” Theresa said, very softly. Ethan rushed back to her bedside and said, “Theresa, no, you’re too weak. Let me handle Gwen.”
“No, Ethan, I can handle her. Gwen,” Theresa began, her eyes also flashing, “I never did anything against you. I practically planned your whole wedding. I agreed to be your maid of honor! Whatever Ethan feels for me, it’s because his heart wanted to feel for me, not because I forced him to. And, my God, Gwen, I’ve just been in a motorcycle accident. I could have died, and all you think about is that I’m faking it? Does this look fake to you?” Theresa touched the big wound on her head and winced. “Ouch.”
“Theresa, take it easy,” Ethan instructed. Then he turned to Gwen. “Gwen, can I talk to you outside for a minute?”
Reluctantly, Gwen agreed, but not before giving a glare to Theresa. They walked outside and Gwen crossed her arms and said, “Ethan, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“I only kissed Theresa because the nurse said that I’m the only one who can save her life. You don’t want her to die, now do you?”
“No… but Ethan, when I walked in, can you imagine what it looked like? My God, I thought that you had actually fallen in love with Theresa!” Gwen exclaimed.
Ethan felt uneasy. “Of course not, Gwen, I love you, and I’m going to marry you.”
Gwen smiled. “Okay.” Just then her pager went off and she went outside to take her call (in the real world, you’re not supposed to use cell phones in hospitals). Ethan sat down and tried to straighten himself out. “What is happening to me? Am I falling for Theresa?”
Let me close my eyes (let me see)
You give me hope tonight (give me me)
You touch my heart, I cry (and I live)
I live alone tonight in my dreams
Hold me, give me a brace
Help me find my way
You carry through the night (carry me)
Be the one inside my dreams
See me, make me whole
Breathe me, find my way
Out here, be with me
All for you now, kiss me
Kiss me… kiss me…
Make me light the way
Find me, kiss me
Kiss me…
Ethan fondly remembered all the fun times he’d had with Theresa, plus the song that they shared. No one had ever made him feel the way she did, not even Gwen. She didn’t even come close. Sure, he’d known her for a long time, but she was the only girl he’d ever really taken interest in. He never knew anyone else. Not until Theresa, that is.
“Ethan!” Whitney Russell, Theresa’s best friend, rushed into the hospital waiting area, along with Chad Harris, one of Ethan’s closest friends; Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald, Theresa’s brother, and Charity Standish, Miguel’s girlfriend. “Ethan, how is she? Is she…” Whitney trailed off, afraid that she may have lost her best friend.
“She’s okay,” Ethan said softly, “but she could be better.”
“This is all your fault!” Whitney accused. “If you hadn’t gone and broken Theresa’s heart, she wouldn’t have run off… on a motorcycle at that! Was she wearing a helmet?”
“Whitney, stop, aight?” Chad demanded, pulling her aside. “Can’t you see how hurt Ethan is? He already thinks that it’s his fault, you don’t have to add to his guilt.”
“But Chad—“
“No buts, Whit. Now come on, we have to see how Theresa’s doing.” Chad and Whitney walked into her cubicle, and Whitney gasped. “Oh, honey…” She went over to Theresa’s bedside and said, “Theresa, how are you feeling?”
Theresa’s eyes were open, but she felt very weak. “Whit?” she whispered.
“Yeah, it’s me,” Whitney replied. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I’ve got a few cuts and bruises here and there, along with this gash on my head, but otherwise, I’m ecstatic. You won’t believe what Ethan told me!”
“Theresa, don’t get too excited,” Whitney warned. “It’s not good for you.”
“Okay. But Ethan told me that he loves me! Oh, Whit, didn’t I tell you so?”
“Yeah, Whit, Theresa didn’t stop believing, unlike you,” Chad cut in.
“You know what, Chad? You—“
“Uh, uh, uh, no fighting in my hospital room,” Theresa ordered. “Thank you, Chad, for supporting me.”
“But what if he was just saying that to revive you? What if he didn’t really mean it?” Whitney asked.
Chad let out an exasperated sigh. “Geez, Whit, all you can think about is the negative stuff, huh? Ethan has already said that he loves Theresa, can’t you just believe it?”
“No, because he’s still engaged to Gwen. The day that he breaks off the engagement and proposes to Theresa, that will be the day I’ll start believing.”
“Whit, you are a lost cause.” Chad shook his head, and turned to Theresa, who’s eyes were slowly closing. “Theresa?” She didn’t respond.
“Theresa! Oh, my God, Chad, what’s happening?”
“I think she’s unconscious again,” Chad deduced. “Come on, we’ve got to go back outside.” Chad ushered Whitney out of the room and there he found Ethan and Gwen, along with Miguel and Charity. “How is she?” Ethan and Miguel asked, in unison.
“She’s unconscious… again… I think she may have slipped into a coma,” Whitney told them.
“No, my sister can’t die,” Miguel said. “This is all my fault. I have to call Mama and Luis.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Miguel,” Ethan replied. “It’s all my fault.”
“Look, guys, we don’t have time to argue over whose fault it is. We just have to be strong for Theresa,” Charity pointed out.
“Charity’s right. I’m going to go call Mama and Luis, let them know what’s going on.”
“Can I go with you?” Charity asked.
“Sure, come on.” They went to find a pay phone and then a nurse came out of Theresa’s cubicle. “Excuse me,” Ethan said, asking the nurse, “how is she?”
“Well, she’s in a coma now… she needs you more than ever.”
“What do mean, she needs Ethan now more than ever?” Gwen demanded. “Ethan, what is the meaning of all this? Does Theresa have feelings for you? Did she tell you that she loves you?”
Ethan looked to Chad and Whitney for help, but Whitney just crossed her arms and Chad raised an eyebrow.
“Gwen, look. Now is not the time, okay? I will tell you everything, in due time. Right now, I just need to clear my head, okay? I need to be alone.”
“Fine. Push me away. Pick Theresa over me. But don’t think that you’ll get rid of me that easily.” Gwen walked off in a huff, with Ethan calling after her, “Gwen, I didn’t mean it that way…” but she was already out of earshot. Ethan sat back down and sighed. He needed to be here for Theresa, but… This was just too confusing.
We both know that I shouldn’t be here
This is wrong
And baby, it’s killing me, it’s killing you,
both of us tryin’ to be strong
I’ve got somewhere else to be, promises to keep
Someone else who loves me and trusts me fast asleep
“It’s time to make up your mind,” the little voice inside Ethan’s head told him. “You have to decide between Theresa and Gwen, and once you do, there’s no turning back.”
Ethan sat back for a minute, trying to collect his thoughts. Gwen… Gwen was beautiful, she came from the same background as Ethan… he’d known her since he was twelve… she knew almost everything about Ethan… she was the only love of his life… until Theresa came along. Theresa, on the other hand, was so full of life, so… joyful, so hopeful… so much was going for her… she was so pure, so innocent, and so loving. Theresa had a huge heart, she was so kind, and she had made Ethan feel like he was alive. He had so much fun with her. For the first time, it hit him: he really was in love with Theresa. “So I am,” he thought. “I guess Chad was right.” But if he chose Theresa, what would it do to his family? Would he be disinherited? No, there was always Father, he could be the patriarch of the Crane Empire… what about the people in the country club, the rich people of Harmony? Then he realized he didn’t care. All he wanted to do was be with Theresa, and no one else. But he didn’t want to hurt Gwen, and his mother. His mother meant the world to him. Ethan saw what an unhappy marriage she had, though, and he didn’t want to put Gwen through that, if he didn’t really love her. He’d come to a decision, and it was final.
I’ve made up my mind; there is no turning back
She’s been good to me, and she deserves better than that
` Ethan looked up at the sound of nurses and Dr. Russell rushing into Theresa’s room, yelling all those med terms no one understands. “What’s going on?” Ethan asked Dr. Russell.
But she didn’t have to answer. Ethan got a glimpse of Theresa’s heart monitor. She was flatlining.
“Oh, my God, no!” Ethan rushed into the cubicle, while they were trying to revive her. “Theresa, you have to make it! I can’t live without you! Please, don’t die! I love you, Resa!” he practically yelled, before two of the nurses had to drag him out. But somehow, Theresa heard him, and she found the will to live again. Dr. Russell walked out, and Ethan came up to her and asked, “Is she okay?”
“She’s okay. Still unconscious, but okay.” Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, and then he noticed that Sheridan, his aunt, along with Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, Theresa’s other brother, and Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald, her mother, were also there. “Dios mio, what happened?” Pilar asked.
“Pilar, I can explain,” Ethan said. “I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.”
“What the hell do you mean, this is your fault, Crane? What did you do to my sister?” Luis yelled. “It’s your fault she’s in the hospital? She doesn’t even know you… does she?”
Six pairs of guilty eyes looked to the floor. Charity looked around and wondered why everyone was looking down. “Okay, is there something I don’t know here?” Luis demanded.
“Um… yeah,” Whitney told Luis. “Theresa… Theresa has been working at the Cranes’ for months now, maybe for a year.”
Luis turned to Sheridan. “You knew, and you never told me?”
“I was afraid of this,” she bluntly stated. ”That’s why no one told you. They were all too afraid.”
Pilar said, “I’m sorry, mijo, but I didn’t want any fights between you and your sister.”
“Well, no one told me, and I have to find out when my sister’s in the hospital, fighting for her life? Talk about a loyal family,” Luis scoffed. “And how is it your fault that she’s here?”
“I told her I didn’t love her,” Ethan said.
“Ay, my Theresa told you how she felt? Dios mio,” Pilar replied.
“WHAT? That’s it, Crane, you’re going to pay. And that little sister of mine too.”
“Luis, calm down!” Sheridan exclaimed. “First of all, Ivy has given Theresa a great job, where she can enter the world of fashion on a good note. Secondly, she’s in the hospital, so you can’t hurt her here. And lastly, you wanted Theresa to stay away from Ethan. If Ethan told her that he doesn’t love her, then why are you so upset?”
“Okay, okay, Sheridan, you’ve got a point. But Ethan did say that it was his fault that Theresa’s here. Spill it, Crane, why is she here?”
“Well… Theresa and I have become really close in this past year,” Ethan tentatively began. He really didn’t feel like putting up with Luis right now. “Anyway, when I was her date to the prom—“
“You were her date to the prom?” Luis exclaimed. He seemed to be repeating everything Ethan told him.
“Luis, will you just shut up and let me finish, damn it?” Ethan fiercely said. “I’m not in the mood for fighting, okay? Anyway, that’s when she told me that she loved me. I mean, I just thought it was a schoolgirl crush or something, but she kept insisting it wasn’t. Then when we were at the Russell house to visit Chad, Chad reminded me about our pact, and so I decided to come clean with Theresa, quit leading her on. So I did. When she finally realized it was true, she ran off, took Miguel’s motorcycle, and wasn’t wearing a helmet. She lost control of the bike and crashed into a car. The witnesses at the scene of the accident said it would be a miracle if Theresa lived.” Ethan tried to choke back the inevitable tears; he was a Crane. He wasn’t supposed to show any emotion.
“Oh, God, how is she?” Pilar said.
“I don’t know,” Ethan replied. “Why don’t you ask Dr. Russell?”
Just then, she walked by. “Eve,” Pilar asked, “please let me see my Theresa.”
“Of course, Pilar. Only for a little while, though. She needs her rest.”
Pilar nodded and motioned for Luis to come with her, leaving everyone else. Ethan noticed Sheridan’s bloodshot eyes and said, “Sheridan, what’s wrong?”
“Well, when Dr. Russell was being paged about Theresa, Eve was at my cottage, hypnotizing me. Ethan, it wasn’t a dream. It was real. That night was real.”
Ethan let out a sigh. “Oh, Sheridan, are you sure?”
“I’m positive, Ethan. But listen, my problems aren’t important right now. Look at you, you look devastated. What’s up?”
“Sheridan, I just came to a major conclusion. It’s about Theresa.”
“So you are in love with her?” Sheridan asked.
Ethan nodded, and Sheridan gasped. “So… what are you going to do now?”
“I need to talk to the both of them,” Ethan firmly stated. “I need to tell them what my decision is.”
~a week later~
“Morning, Mrs. Crane,” Theresa cheerfully greeted her employer.
“Theresa, what a surprise! What are you doing here? You should be at home, resting… you just got out of the hospital,” Ivy said.
“Well, the wedding is on Saturday, isn’t it? You need the most help you can get. Besides, Ethan called me and told me to come over,” she replied.
“He’s upstairs in his room.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Crane.” Theresa headed upstairs and found Ethan and Gwen inside Ethan’s room. “Great, Theresa, you made it. How are you feeling?”
“Better… still a little sore, but better.” Theresa forced a smile.
“Good. Now, listen, you two, I need to tell you both something. It’s really important, and it will change the course of all of our lives.”
“This does sound serious,” Gwen said. “Ethan, what is it?”
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do,
to look you in the eye and tell you I don’t love you
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to lie,
to show no emotion when you start to cry
I can’t let you see what you mean to me
when my hands are tied and my heart’s not free
We’re not meant to be
It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do,
to turn around and walk away pretending I don’t love you
“Gwen, this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but… “ He looked Gwen squarely in the eye and said, “I don’t love you.” He felt a feeling of déjà vu, just like when he had told Theresa the same thing.
“What? Ethan, what did you just say?”
“I said, I don’t love you. Not anymore.” Ethan sighed. He didn’t want to hurt Gwen this way, but it was the only way. He didn’t want to cause her more pain in an unhappy marriage.
And we will meet again
Fate has a place and time
So you can get on with your life,
I’ve got to be cruel to be kind
Like Dr. Zhivago, all my love I’ll be sending,
and you will never know,
‘cause there can be no happy ending
“You don’t love me? Ethan, if you don’t love me, then… who do you love?” Gwen asked, devastated. “Who did I lose you to?”
Ethan turned to Theresa. “This is where Theresa comes into play. Theresa, I’m going to repeat what I told you in the hospital last week.” He took her hand and looked into her eyes. “I love you, Theresa. I just never realized it until that night, when you flatlined.”
Theresa’s eyes filled with joy. “Oh, Ethan, do you mean it? Do you really love me?”
“Yes, I do,” Ethan sincerely stated. They were about to kiss when Gwen said, “Guys? I have something to tell you too. It’s about time I told you.”
“Gwen, you don’t look too upset,” Ethan realized.
“I’m not. I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell you that I’ve been having an affair with Warren. So we’re even, Ethan. All is forgiven.”
Ethan smiled. “Gwen, I’m not mad at you. Can we at least agree to be friends?”
Gwen extended a hand. “Friends.” Then Ethan gave her a hug and said, “I hope you’re happy with Warren.”
“Me, too,” Theresa pitched in.
“Oh, Theresa, you’ve been great to me. You will always be my friend too, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, look at the time. I’ve got to go, but I will keep in touch with you guys. See you later!” Gwen walked out of Ethan’s room, leaving just Ethan and Theresa. “Ethan, you don’t know how happy you’ve made me. I love you so much.” They kissed then, their first real kiss, and then Ethan pulled away and said, “Resa, I can’t believe we’ve made it. I think it’s fate.”
“Me too, Ethan, me too.” He hugged Theresa and then they went to Whitney’s house to tell her the good news.
The end!
Well, Chad and Whit also got together, after seeing Ethan and Theresa together. They had a double wedding.
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