Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me
Chapter 1
The Tragic Accident
With one eye on the police officer in the other lane, Dr. Eve Russell made sure that she turned into the proper lane of traffic when she turned off down a side road. She didn't want anything, or anyone, to get in the way of her impending reunion with her husband, T.C. Russell.
Eve reached down and switched on the radio, hitting the seeking button, before finding a jazz station. There was a Nancy Wilson tune on. Eve sighed and began to relax as she neared her home.
She had been ecstatic to open up her e-mail this morning at the office, and find a message from T.C.. It had simply said, 'all if forgiven. come home'. She smiled at the memory.
Eve didn't know what, or who, made her husband finally forgive her for her lies. That she had had a child with the much despised Julian Crane. That she had been a jazz singer at The Blue Note. That she had gotten hooked on drugs. That the woman that had been living in their house for months, Liz Sanbourne, was really her sister.
Liz. God, Eve didn't think there was anyway to make up for her perceived wrong! She was sorry that their father had begin molesting Liz after Eve left. And yes, maybe she could've helped her little sister if she had stuck around.
But it wasn't her decision to cut herself off from the family. Warren Johnson and Tanya Lincoln Johnson, had wanted nothing to do with her once they discovered she was working at the Blue Note...once they discovered she had gotten herself pregnant...with no husband in sight.
Eve tried to push Julian from her mind. He had come to her office, the night before his wedding to Rebecca Hotchkiss, and told her something she really didn't need to hear at this time in her life. He told her he would call off his wedding to Rebecca, if she would consider giving him another chance!
Eve's mouth had dropped open! How conveniently Julian could forget that she was married and couldn't just go home and ask her husband for a divorce. Then, Julian had had the unmitigated gall to tell her that yes, that is exactly what he wanted her to do!
Then she said something that she knew was not smart. Something that would still give Julian clinging hope. Eve told him that if he ever distanced himself from his father, the vile Allistair Crane, then, maybe, she would consider leaving T.C. and giving him a chance.
Eve realized she had put those conditions on him, because she knew he was not man enough to give up the Crane fortune, and all of the power that went with it. Still, it bothered her that she even said it at all. What she should have told him was that she loved T.C., that he was her life, and what Julian and her had(or more precisely never had), was in the past.
Julian left her office quietly, leaving Eve to shake her head with disgust, another thing she could not understand. Of course he would never be his own man! Why had she been the slightest bit surprised to show up for his wedding the next day, and find him acting as if their previous night's conversation had never taken place?
Then, the whole thing then got much, much worse.
The coup de grace, was Fox Crane's drunken public admission at Julian and Rebecca Crane's wedding reception, that he was in love with her daughter Whitney! T.C. had went ballistic, leaping at the poor young man! Eve had found her eyes seeking out Julian's, as he attempted to separate his son from her husband. For a brief moment, their eyes did meet. She knew he was thinking the same thing: funny how the past repeated itself.
And finally, the moment of all moments, when Liz tapped her champagne glass to make an announcement. To Julian's credit, he must have sensed what havoc Liz was about to wreak, because he walked over to her and grabbed her arm, growling at her not to ruin his wedding day. Liz had just smiled, pulling away her arm. Rebecca had moved in closer, sensing that some sort of deep, dark secret was about to be revealed.
Julian's grabbing of Liz's arm, brought out T.C.'s anger again, only this time, Eve was the one that tried to stop him. But it was too late.
Liz raised her her voice and announced that she was Eve's sister, that Eve had run off and left the family long ago to become a Jazz singer at the Blue Note. That she had gotten hooked on drugs and that her sister's carelessness had wrought a pregnancy...one caused by the bridegroom!
Whitney and Simone looked at one another, for at that moment, they were both in agreement of one thing: they did not know their mother. Chad put his arm around Whitney, while glaring across the room at Fox.
T.C. had turned away from Julian and glared at Liz, asking why she would make up these lies? That Eve's parents were dead and that she had been an only child! That his wife didn't even like Jazz! That there was no way his wife would let a filthy creep like Julian Crane, ever put his hands on her!
Rebecca eyed Julian at this moment, and knew that Liz Sanbourne was telling the truth. It explained all of those sly glances she had caught her hubby giving Mrs. Russell. She folded her arms and glared at Julian.
But Julian was staring at Eve. Eve's eyes moved past T.C's to Julian's. T.C. turned around and realized the two were staring at one another. He then knew he had been had by the best thing he THOUGHT had ever happened to him.
After, Eve had been thrown out of the house. She moved in with her friend Grace Bennett, who cautioned her to just give T.C., Whitney and Simone's anger some time. She also advised her friend to watch her back with Liz.
****
But at the moment, Eve shoved the Fox/Whitney/Chad triangle, her youngest daughter Simone's anger at being rejected by Chad, and everything else out of her mind. T.C. wanted her back. He was who she loved. He was who she had made her life with. He was who she wanted to grow old with. And he had forgiven her.
Eve pulled into the drive, noting that her flowers looked a bit limp. Obviously, neither T.C. nor Simone, had been taking care of her plants. But it had been a stressful time. Once she moved back in, her garden would make any of the others seen in 'House Beautiful' seem like weeds!
Eve got out of her car and began fumbling through her purse for her housekeys. She then heard the rumbling of low thunder and looked up at the sky. It looked like rain. Eve went back to looking for her keys. She hoped T.C. hadn't changed the locks. Why would he? He had forgiven her.
Eve pushed against the door, and found it slightly ajar. Puzzled, since T.C. was not usually so careless about home safety, she stepped in and called out.
'T.C.? T.C. are you here?'
There was a loud noise from the upper floors, as if someone had dropped something heavy on the floor. Soon, T.C. Russell made his way down the stairs quickly, wearing nothing but a robe. He smiled at her, something he had not done since that wedding.
'Eve baby, what are you doing here?'
Eve didn't really hear his words, but stared into his face. That smile. It was a nervous smile.
'I got your e-mail, T.C.. Why are you undressed this time of day...'
Eve smiled suddenly. He had been anticipating their 'reunion'. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. But she met with some resistance. He pushed her away.
'Eve...I'm not ready for that. I don't trust you. And I didn't send you any e-mail I...'
T.C. stopped talking suddenly, then glanced up the stairs. It was at that moment, that everything began to click into place for Eve. T.C. had not sent her the e-mail. T.C. had not forgiven her. T.C. was not alone in this house!
'Who is she?!' Eve began to scream, trying to move around him and get to the stairs. T.C. grabbed her, holding her back.
'Just go, Eve! Nothing is going on! I was sick and came home early to go to sleep!'
Eve wrestled away from him and turned to face him.
'You're a damned liar! Who's upstairs, T.C.?'
The answer, presented itself in one of the vilest ways possible. Her dear 'sister' sauntered downstairs, naked as the day she was born. She walked right up to Eve, unabashed.
Eve stared at her, finding it funny that her first thought was that Liz had seduced her husband, while wearing one of her stupid looking headbands!
There was a long silence. T.C. watched the sisters, feeling more ashamed and confused than he had ever felt before in his life, save for when he lost his chance to play tennis. Liz had come to him, telling him everything he needed to hear: that he had not been wrong in throwing his children's mother out on the street. That her past with Julian Crane was unforgivable. That Eve, in general, was not the woman he thought she was.
Eve turned and walked over to the door. She opened it wide.
'Get out! You've ruined my life, now you can crawl back into whatever hole you came out of!'
Liz smiled. She had been doing a lot of that lately.
'I'll leave, if T.C. wants me to leave.'
T.C. looked at her. 'Go and put on some clothes.'
'T.C.! Tell her to leave this instant!' Eve hissed.
T.C. looked at his wife.
'Look, I'm sorry you had to see this. But it doesn't begin to compare to how you betrayed me!'
Eve walked away from the open door and walked up to him.
'Damnit, T.C.! I made a mistake! And I made it long before I met you! You've actually broken our marriage vows!'
T.C. folded his arms, regarding her with scorn.
'I don't know that you haven't.'
Eve rolled her eyes. 'What the hell does that mean?'
T.C. cleared his throat. 'How do I know that Whitney, or even Simone are my children! From the looks of Crane and you at his wedding, the two of you could've been going at it for years and....'
Eve had had enough! To accuse her of having additional children with Julian, and then pawning them off on T.C., was just a bit much! And from the look on her sister's face, it was clear who had put that vile idea into his head!
She slapped T.C. hard. He was a bit taken aback at the suddenness of her hand connecting with his cheek! Then, quick as lightening, Eve rushed past T.C., balled up her fist and aimed for one of her sister's breasts!
The cry of pain was like music to Eve's ears, as Liz stumbled back, gasping in pain. T.C. rushed to her.
'OH GOD! MY BREAST....OH GOD!!!'
Eve hoped the bitch would need plastic surgery for it! She turned, grabbed her purse, then hurried out, just as the rain began to fall. She jumped in her car, backed out of the drive, then screeched off.
**** T.C. moved away from Liz, who was writhing around on the floor in pain. Tears were in her eyes.
'T.C.? Help me! I think I need a doctor!'
But T.C. was staring out of the window. He looked back at Liz.
'I have to go after her! I'm sorry!'
He then hurried over to the table where the portable phone lay. He picked it up and rushed back over to her, handing it to her. Liz had one hand over her bruised breast.
'Call 911 if you need to. I can't let Eve drive off like that in this storm!'
'T.C.!' Liz cried, watching him hurry from the house, dressed in a robe. The pain had begun to subside and she tentatively made her way to the couch. She quickly dialed some numbers, then waited, breathing heavily. There was an answer on the other end.
'Hello?'
'I've done it. Now, I want the money you promised me, Allistair.'
****
Eve could not stop crying as she sped through a stop sign. She didn't even bother to put on windshield wipers. She didn't care anymore.
There was no moving past this! There was no forgiving this kind of betrayal! Whitney and Simone flashed briefly through her mind. She was their mother. They needed her, even if they were angry with her now. They wouldn't always be. She couldn't say the same thing about their father.
For T.C. to think such a thing about Julian and her...Eve clutched the steering wheel, taking deep breaths. She then decided to use the windshield wipers.
As soon as they began working, Eve realized she had driven past the sign that said the Harmony Bridge was out! She hit the brakes in a panic, then screamed as her car skidded over an embankment, and into the river.
T.C., who had not been that far behind, and had grown increasingly fearful of his wife's erratic driving, felt his heart sink when he saw Eve race past the Bridge Out sign. She was going to kill herself! His wife was going to commit suicide over him!
It was as if T.C. watched the whole thing happen in slow motion. Eve's car plunging through air and into the water. His coming to a stop and jumping out of the car, running to see over the side...praying he'd find her car still above water, or that she had gotten out of it. But, there was nothing. T.C. Russell then began to weep.
Chapter 1
The Tragic Accident
With one eye on the police officer in the other lane, Dr. Eve Russell made sure that she turned into the proper lane of traffic when she turned off down a side road. She didn't want anything, or anyone, to get in the way of her impending reunion with her husband, T.C. Russell.
Eve reached down and switched on the radio, hitting the seeking button, before finding a jazz station. There was a Nancy Wilson tune on. Eve sighed and began to relax as she neared her home.
She had been ecstatic to open up her e-mail this morning at the office, and find a message from T.C.. It had simply said, 'all if forgiven. come home'. She smiled at the memory.
Eve didn't know what, or who, made her husband finally forgive her for her lies. That she had had a child with the much despised Julian Crane. That she had been a jazz singer at The Blue Note. That she had gotten hooked on drugs. That the woman that had been living in their house for months, Liz Sanbourne, was really her sister.
Liz. God, Eve didn't think there was anyway to make up for her perceived wrong! She was sorry that their father had begin molesting Liz after Eve left. And yes, maybe she could've helped her little sister if she had stuck around.
But it wasn't her decision to cut herself off from the family. Warren Johnson and Tanya Lincoln Johnson, had wanted nothing to do with her once they discovered she was working at the Blue Note...once they discovered she had gotten herself pregnant...with no husband in sight.
Eve tried to push Julian from her mind. He had come to her office, the night before his wedding to Rebecca Hotchkiss, and told her something she really didn't need to hear at this time in her life. He told her he would call off his wedding to Rebecca, if she would consider giving him another chance!
Eve's mouth had dropped open! How conveniently Julian could forget that she was married and couldn't just go home and ask her husband for a divorce. Then, Julian had had the unmitigated gall to tell her that yes, that is exactly what he wanted her to do!
Then she said something that she knew was not smart. Something that would still give Julian clinging hope. Eve told him that if he ever distanced himself from his father, the vile Allistair Crane, then, maybe, she would consider leaving T.C. and giving him a chance.
Eve realized she had put those conditions on him, because she knew he was not man enough to give up the Crane fortune, and all of the power that went with it. Still, it bothered her that she even said it at all. What she should have told him was that she loved T.C., that he was her life, and what Julian and her had(or more precisely never had), was in the past.
Julian left her office quietly, leaving Eve to shake her head with disgust, another thing she could not understand. Of course he would never be his own man! Why had she been the slightest bit surprised to show up for his wedding the next day, and find him acting as if their previous night's conversation had never taken place?
Then, the whole thing then got much, much worse.
The coup de grace, was Fox Crane's drunken public admission at Julian and Rebecca Crane's wedding reception, that he was in love with her daughter Whitney! T.C. had went ballistic, leaping at the poor young man! Eve had found her eyes seeking out Julian's, as he attempted to separate his son from her husband. For a brief moment, their eyes did meet. She knew he was thinking the same thing: funny how the past repeated itself.
And finally, the moment of all moments, when Liz tapped her champagne glass to make an announcement. To Julian's credit, he must have sensed what havoc Liz was about to wreak, because he walked over to her and grabbed her arm, growling at her not to ruin his wedding day. Liz had just smiled, pulling away her arm. Rebecca had moved in closer, sensing that some sort of deep, dark secret was about to be revealed.
Julian's grabbing of Liz's arm, brought out T.C.'s anger again, only this time, Eve was the one that tried to stop him. But it was too late.
Liz raised her her voice and announced that she was Eve's sister, that Eve had run off and left the family long ago to become a Jazz singer at the Blue Note. That she had gotten hooked on drugs and that her sister's carelessness had wrought a pregnancy...one caused by the bridegroom!
Whitney and Simone looked at one another, for at that moment, they were both in agreement of one thing: they did not know their mother. Chad put his arm around Whitney, while glaring across the room at Fox.
T.C. had turned away from Julian and glared at Liz, asking why she would make up these lies? That Eve's parents were dead and that she had been an only child! That his wife didn't even like Jazz! That there was no way his wife would let a filthy creep like Julian Crane, ever put his hands on her!
Rebecca eyed Julian at this moment, and knew that Liz Sanbourne was telling the truth. It explained all of those sly glances she had caught her hubby giving Mrs. Russell. She folded her arms and glared at Julian.
But Julian was staring at Eve. Eve's eyes moved past T.C's to Julian's. T.C. turned around and realized the two were staring at one another. He then knew he had been had by the best thing he THOUGHT had ever happened to him.
After, Eve had been thrown out of the house. She moved in with her friend Grace Bennett, who cautioned her to just give T.C., Whitney and Simone's anger some time. She also advised her friend to watch her back with Liz.
****
But at the moment, Eve shoved the Fox/Whitney/Chad triangle, her youngest daughter Simone's anger at being rejected by Chad, and everything else out of her mind. T.C. wanted her back. He was who she loved. He was who she had made her life with. He was who she wanted to grow old with. And he had forgiven her.
Eve pulled into the drive, noting that her flowers looked a bit limp. Obviously, neither T.C. nor Simone, had been taking care of her plants. But it had been a stressful time. Once she moved back in, her garden would make any of the others seen in 'House Beautiful' seem like weeds!
Eve got out of her car and began fumbling through her purse for her housekeys. She then heard the rumbling of low thunder and looked up at the sky. It looked like rain. Eve went back to looking for her keys. She hoped T.C. hadn't changed the locks. Why would he? He had forgiven her.
Eve pushed against the door, and found it slightly ajar. Puzzled, since T.C. was not usually so careless about home safety, she stepped in and called out.
'T.C.? T.C. are you here?'
There was a loud noise from the upper floors, as if someone had dropped something heavy on the floor. Soon, T.C. Russell made his way down the stairs quickly, wearing nothing but a robe. He smiled at her, something he had not done since that wedding.
'Eve baby, what are you doing here?'
Eve didn't really hear his words, but stared into his face. That smile. It was a nervous smile.
'I got your e-mail, T.C.. Why are you undressed this time of day...'
Eve smiled suddenly. He had been anticipating their 'reunion'. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. But she met with some resistance. He pushed her away.
'Eve...I'm not ready for that. I don't trust you. And I didn't send you any e-mail I...'
T.C. stopped talking suddenly, then glanced up the stairs. It was at that moment, that everything began to click into place for Eve. T.C. had not sent her the e-mail. T.C. had not forgiven her. T.C. was not alone in this house!
'Who is she?!' Eve began to scream, trying to move around him and get to the stairs. T.C. grabbed her, holding her back.
'Just go, Eve! Nothing is going on! I was sick and came home early to go to sleep!'
Eve wrestled away from him and turned to face him.
'You're a damned liar! Who's upstairs, T.C.?'
The answer, presented itself in one of the vilest ways possible. Her dear 'sister' sauntered downstairs, naked as the day she was born. She walked right up to Eve, unabashed.
Eve stared at her, finding it funny that her first thought was that Liz had seduced her husband, while wearing one of her stupid looking headbands!
There was a long silence. T.C. watched the sisters, feeling more ashamed and confused than he had ever felt before in his life, save for when he lost his chance to play tennis. Liz had come to him, telling him everything he needed to hear: that he had not been wrong in throwing his children's mother out on the street. That her past with Julian Crane was unforgivable. That Eve, in general, was not the woman he thought she was.
Eve turned and walked over to the door. She opened it wide.
'Get out! You've ruined my life, now you can crawl back into whatever hole you came out of!'
Liz smiled. She had been doing a lot of that lately.
'I'll leave, if T.C. wants me to leave.'
T.C. looked at her. 'Go and put on some clothes.'
'T.C.! Tell her to leave this instant!' Eve hissed.
T.C. looked at his wife.
'Look, I'm sorry you had to see this. But it doesn't begin to compare to how you betrayed me!'
Eve walked away from the open door and walked up to him.
'Damnit, T.C.! I made a mistake! And I made it long before I met you! You've actually broken our marriage vows!'
T.C. folded his arms, regarding her with scorn.
'I don't know that you haven't.'
Eve rolled her eyes. 'What the hell does that mean?'
T.C. cleared his throat. 'How do I know that Whitney, or even Simone are my children! From the looks of Crane and you at his wedding, the two of you could've been going at it for years and....'
Eve had had enough! To accuse her of having additional children with Julian, and then pawning them off on T.C., was just a bit much! And from the look on her sister's face, it was clear who had put that vile idea into his head!
She slapped T.C. hard. He was a bit taken aback at the suddenness of her hand connecting with his cheek! Then, quick as lightening, Eve rushed past T.C., balled up her fist and aimed for one of her sister's breasts!
The cry of pain was like music to Eve's ears, as Liz stumbled back, gasping in pain. T.C. rushed to her.
'OH GOD! MY BREAST....OH GOD!!!'
Eve hoped the bitch would need plastic surgery for it! She turned, grabbed her purse, then hurried out, just as the rain began to fall. She jumped in her car, backed out of the drive, then screeched off.
**** T.C. moved away from Liz, who was writhing around on the floor in pain. Tears were in her eyes.
'T.C.? Help me! I think I need a doctor!'
But T.C. was staring out of the window. He looked back at Liz.
'I have to go after her! I'm sorry!'
He then hurried over to the table where the portable phone lay. He picked it up and rushed back over to her, handing it to her. Liz had one hand over her bruised breast.
'Call 911 if you need to. I can't let Eve drive off like that in this storm!'
'T.C.!' Liz cried, watching him hurry from the house, dressed in a robe. The pain had begun to subside and she tentatively made her way to the couch. She quickly dialed some numbers, then waited, breathing heavily. There was an answer on the other end.
'Hello?'
'I've done it. Now, I want the money you promised me, Allistair.'
****
Eve could not stop crying as she sped through a stop sign. She didn't even bother to put on windshield wipers. She didn't care anymore.
There was no moving past this! There was no forgiving this kind of betrayal! Whitney and Simone flashed briefly through her mind. She was their mother. They needed her, even if they were angry with her now. They wouldn't always be. She couldn't say the same thing about their father.
For T.C. to think such a thing about Julian and her...Eve clutched the steering wheel, taking deep breaths. She then decided to use the windshield wipers.
As soon as they began working, Eve realized she had driven past the sign that said the Harmony Bridge was out! She hit the brakes in a panic, then screamed as her car skidded over an embankment, and into the river.
T.C., who had not been that far behind, and had grown increasingly fearful of his wife's erratic driving, felt his heart sink when he saw Eve race past the Bridge Out sign. She was going to kill herself! His wife was going to commit suicide over him!
It was as if T.C. watched the whole thing happen in slow motion. Eve's car plunging through air and into the water. His coming to a stop and jumping out of the car, running to see over the side...praying he'd find her car still above water, or that she had gotten out of it. But, there was nothing. T.C. Russell then began to weep.