Chad stood in the shower. It was piercingly hot, but he needed it. He needed to feel the water hit his muscles. He wondered how he would make it to his bed. Everything in him ached. It had been the hardest day of his life. He had found his mother, lost the woman he loved, and broke her heart. Things were twirling inside of his head. He didn’t know what to make of him. As he closed his eyes, he thought of two different faces: He saw Whitney, as he broke her heart, and he saw Eve, and the look on her face.

Chad left the shower and put on a t-shirt and some bottoms. For some reason, the room seemed colder, and he found another quilt that Eve had brought to him. He cocooned himself under the blankets, trying to get warm. Once he finally had himself wrapped up, he closed his eyes, and saw the faces of today again: TC, giving him the gift of college, Simone, who was genuinely happy about TC and Eve’s gift, Eve, how she looked at him, and he was the only one who knew why, and Whitney, the girl who was finally willing to risk her heart, only to have it broken.

He felt horrible about Whitney. How could he not? But, it wasn’t meant to be. And the sooner he was able to bury himself in work and school, the better off he would be. He wondered how Whitney was, and hoped that Theresa would be able to help her. He prayed on it for a minute.

Once through with Whitney, he thought of Eve. He remembers the look in her eyes. The intensity of them. No one in his life had ever looked at him like that. That’s when it hit him: she is his MOTHER. She’s reacting to him as his MOTHER. Since the day he was born, she has loved him. All those years of pain. For her, it really is a freeing of sorts. She’s his mother, and she loves him. He’s so confused. In his mind, she’s Doctor Russell. His mother is some mythical creature that’s always been out there, beyond his reach. Chad thinks about what Eve was willing to do for him. She thinks about how hard things would be if the truth were to be learned, and that she really doesn’t care. She simply doesn’t care. His entire life, he’s wanted a family like the Russells. He knows how rare it is. It was something that he only saw in dreams. And, he’s living with them. How how HOW could she give it up all for him? How could she remotely think that HE is worth it? He couldn’t be worth it, because nobody loved him enough to keep him. Deep down, that was the truth of Chad’s life. He knew that he put up a brave front, but the truth of the matter was, he didn’t think he was worthy of love, if his parents cut out on him.

It was one of the fundamental truths of his life, and a deep part of his psyche.

And now, he knows that it was ALL WRONG!

His mother wanted him. Above all else. She’s willing to throw away a good family for him. But, he can’t let that happen. He really does need to talk to someone. Father Lonigan is a good choice. He can’t afford a therapist, but, even if he could, he wouldn’t trust one. He trusts Father L.

Chad finally falls asleep, due to mental exhaustion, hoping tomorrow will be a better day.
 

Theresa is thumbing through a magazine, when she finally hears what she’s been waiting for: a knock on her door.

" Come in."

The door opens, and Whitney is standing there, tears streaming down her face.

" Whitney?"

Whitney doesn’t even say anything. She goes to the bed and begins to sob, as Theresa holds her in her arms. Theresa knows what’s wrong, but can’t let Whitney know.

" Whitney, what’s wrong?"

" It…it’s Chad."

" Chad?"

" I finally did it, Theresa. I told him that I loved him. And, do you want to know what he said to me?"

" What?"

" He said that it was all a joke. That he doesn’t care for me, and he thought I had gotten the message. "
 

" Are you sure?"

" Theresa, I know when someone tells me that I’ve been a fool. "

" What happened, Whitney. Tell me all of it."

Whitney explained to Theresa about her parents’ offer to Chad, and then their talk afterwards.

" Whitney, maybe Chad didn’t care for you."

" But, you were SO SURE!"

" Yes, Whitney, and look where I am. Ethan’s on his honeymoon with Gwen. I didn’t exactly turn out to be the expert on matters of the heart as I thought I’d be. I know that this  might sound bad, but, it’s better than you found out now, than get in any deeper. "

" The pain is still here."

" I know. But, Whitney, you’ll find someone. Someone that will love you and put you first. Someone that isn’t lying to you."

" You believe that?"

" I have to. It’s the only way that I can stay sane since Ethan left me."

Whitney looked at Theresa and hugged her. " Do you want to talk about it?"

" No. Not now. YOU are the one that’s here."

" It…it hurts so much, Theresa. I just wanna hit someone. "

" Like Chad?"

" I already hit him."

Theresa looked at Whitney, and then they both began to laugh and cry.

" I wish I had been there, Whit."

" He deserved it."

" Are you…are you going to try and get your parents to turn on Chad?"

Whitney shook her head. " I thought about it. I told Chad that he had a few months to find somewhere else to live. If he didn’t, then I would make a big stink. But, if I’m going to be honest, Chad HAD cooled things. He hadn’t pushed. I had been living ‘our’ relationship in my own mind these past few months. He didn’t lead me on or pursue me. So, part of it is my fault. And, he’s been nothing but respectful to my parents, before he even knew that they were going to give him this terrific gift.

The illogical part of me says that my heart is hurting. The logical part of me tells me that I can’t be unfair and ruin maybe the first REAL chance Chad has had in his life. Who knows if he will ever get another chance like this, and I can’t do it. I might want to, but, I can’t take that away."

" That’s big of you, Whitney."

" Not so big. You should have seen the look on my father’s face when he was talking about helping Chad. He wants to do this. Both my parents do. And, I think it can only help Chad by being around my parents. He has a lot of scars, Theresa. From how he’s lived his life, not that he wanted to, but that he was forced to. He’s been hurt, and maybe that’s what he knows how to do to others."

" But, there is another side to him."

" Is there? I’m beginning to wonder. But, I’m swearing off men for awhile. I’m not going near them. I have tennis. My family. Good friends. Love is something that’s going back down on the list, where it should have been all along."

Whitney squared her shoulders as she said it, but Theresa knew her friend too well. She knew that Whitney was in pain. But, this is how Whitney always dealt with emotional pain. She didn’t expose it to others. She would deal with her personally and privately. That was a big difference between them, but it didn’t stop them from being friends. Theresa hugged her best friend. Thoughts of the night she had spent with Chad were pushed to the back of her mind.
 

Penny Crane cried out, " Mommy, Daddy! Mommy, Daddy!"

She didn’t have to cry again because Julian and Ivy met one another at Penny’s door. Both had baby monitors in their bedrooms in order to keep an eye on Penny.

Ivy went over to her daughter. She and Julian could see that Penny was crying.

" Penny darling, what’s wrong?"

" Mommy, it hurts. It hurts a lot.", she said, pointing to her legs.

Julian and Ivy looked at one another. The doctor had told them that Penny would experience a great deal of difficulty as her legs were healing, and that it would spread to her back. They advised no medication, because she was a young child and they didn’t want to give a child that young powerful drugs.

" Honey, the doctors said that you would be in a little pain.", Ivy tells her.

" It’s not a little! It’s a lot!"

" Princess, we know it’s tough, but there’s nothing that we can do. We can try and make you more comforable." Julian sat on Penny’s bed and maneuvered her legs to a higher angle. " Does this help?"

Penny nods. " The Pain’s not in my back. But, how can you keep it that way?"

Julian got in the bed and positioned himself. " I’ll just hold it right here with my leg. Ivy, get another blanket and a pillow."

" You’d stay with me, Daddy? All night?"

" Of course, Princess."

Ivy left them and came back with two blankets and pillows.

" Ivy.."

Ivy got into bed with them, and helped with Penny’s other leg.

" Now, you go to sleep, young lady. Your daddy and I will be right here."

Ivy looked over to Julian and smiled. He shook his head, but, smiled back.

Soon, all three were asleep.