Past and Present Danger: Chapter 2
by blueeaglex
 
 

"Two Dr. Russells?" Timmy said, still shaking his head in disbelief. "Why do they look so different from each other?"
Tabitha stared at the two unconscious women, trying to figure it out for herself. The woman dressed in the 70s get-up fell out of the seat, falling onto the ground. This seemed to wake her up, and she stood up, brushed herself off, and walked away, not even seeming to notice the car or the other woman inside.
"One of the women is the person Eve was years ago," Tabitha said excitedly, understanding now. "The woman who just walked away is what Eve was like when she was with Julian. She's the person Dr. Russell has tried so hard to forget."
"And the woman in the car?"
"That's the good, honorable Dr. Russell...the woman Eve became when she met TC. Eve tried so very hard to please T.C., but she had to almost become a different woman to do so. Oh my, Timmy, this could be fun! Just think about all the havoc which could be created with two Eve's running around Harmony!" Tabitha paused, a bad thought crossing her mind. "I only hope the two Eve's don't see each other."
"Why's that?"
"Because that's what will cause the two to become one again," Tabitha explained. "Eve has to literally face her past in order for this fun to end."
Tabitha turned around, starting off in the direction they had come from. "What about Charity, Princess?"
"There's no time to worry about her," Tabitha said, hurrying along. "I'm afraid we need to concentrate on Eve now!"
 

************

T.C. paced the floor of his bedroom. Why wasn't Eve home yet? She had left the restaurant over two hours before, and yet still she wasn't home. "She must have been called away by a patient," he thought to himself.
The bedroom door opened, and Eve walked in, her hand over her head. T.C. leapt to his feet as Eve removed her hand, revealing a small cut. "Honey, what happened?"
"I just had a small car accident, that's all." Eve gave her husband a quick kiss. "I don't know what I was doing..."
"Maybe you'd better go to the hospital," T.C. suggested.
"T.C., I'm fine," Eve said, poo-poohing his suggestion. She wiped the remaining blood from her face with a handkerchief.
"It's just that I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you..." T.C. hugged his wife from behind, his hands around her waist. "I can't wait until our wedding, you know that?"
"I can't wait either, T.C. But really, I feel fine." Eve stared at herself in the mirror. "In fact, I feel like a new woman."

************

Simone yawned as she glanced at the clock on the wall of the Russell living room. "It's 6:30 in the morning on a Saturday, Kay," she grumbled. "Why did you have to wake me so early?"
"I wanted to say I was sorry for what happened last night." Simone winced, recalling the harsh words Kay had used the night before. "I was just so upset, seeing Charity with Miguel. I didn't mean to say that you were a...you know..."
"You're forgiven, Kay." Simone yawned. "So can I go back to bed now?"
"Not yet!" Kay reached for a paper bag she'd brought into the house. "I brought you a present to say, 'Thanks for being my friend'." Kay pulled a blue purse out of the bag, handing it to her friend. "This was the purse you saw in the store window and liked, isn't it?"
The smile on Simone's face gave Kay her answer. "Kay! How can you afford this? I don't know what to say!"
"Well, let's just say that Charity pitched in to help get you this purse." Off Simone's suspicious look, Kay added, "Okay, I took Charity's allowance money from her drawer. But after all the hell she's put me through, it was the least she could do!"
Simone put her purse over her shoulder. "It's great, Kay, thanks."
The two friends hugged, and a second later Whitney walked into the room, breathless.
"What are you doing up so early?" Whitney asked Simone. "You usually sleep in til noon on Saturday."
Yawning again, Simone said, "I think I'm going back to bed...but why are you up? You going to play tennis this early?"
"Yes...tennis." Whitney nodded with a smile which looked slightly off. "I'm going to...play tennis."
Moving away from Kay and Simone, Whitney sighed. She hated lying to her sister. But she wasn't ready to tell anyone in her family the truth.
She was going to see Chad. Thinking about being with him almost made the idea of lying to her family okay. Almost.
She and Chad had been together for six weeks now, and were determined to go six weeks more before revealing their relationship to her family. Then, she would be able to say that she could handle being with a guy and do tennis at the same time. She wished she could tell Simone the truth, but feared that Simone would tell on her.
Pushing aside her frustrations and fears, Whitney walked towards the door.

********************

All eyes in the jazz club were on Eve as she walked inside. The owner whistled as she sauntered towards him. "Who do you think you are, the black Farrah Fawcett?" he asked, pointing at her hairdo. "And those clothes?"
"I'd like to get a job singing here," Eve explained. Since leaving the scene of the accident the night before, she had wandered around Harmony, unable to remember where she was supposed to go. Yet something had drawn her to this place...something inside her said she was supposed to be here.
"What makes you think we'd want you here?" the owner barked, his hands across his chest. "Only the best getta sing here."
In answer to his question, Eve jumped up, coming to a sitting position on the counter and burst into song:

So I'm putting it all on the table
You don't know me well enough to label
me sick or even disturbed....

The words came to Eve as if from nowhere, and for a brief second she thought they had some kind of significance for her.

When you break it down
I'm just two girls
trying to blend, trying to vibe
trying to live just one life...

The owner tapped his foot, impressed by Eve's soulful singing.

Everybody's got insanities...
I've got a split personality....

Eve continued the song, then finished by jumping back to the floor. The owner, as well as several others around, started to clap.

"You're hired," the manager said, extending his hand. "Can you start tonight?"
"It would be my pleasure." Eve grinned back at him, certain that everything was going to be okay now.

**********************

"Psst! Whitney! Over here!"
Looking around to find the source of the voice, Whitney's eyes settled near her father's shed. Chad was standing near the shed, waving his girlfriend over.
"Chad, what are you doing over there?" Whitney said in a low voice, approaching him. "I thought we were meeting in town."
"And wait another second to see you? Nuh-uh. Don't worry, though, no one saw me. Though I had a close call with your father."
"My father's up already?" Whitney looked to Chad for an explanation. "Let me guess...he was in his shed."
"You guessed it. You ever figure out what he keeps in there, anyway?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." Chad leaned over and kissed Whitney, but she was focused on the shed. Just what was her father hiding inside those walls?
"Well, why don't we go in to find out?"
"My father locks the door, and besides--"
Whitney stopped, mid-sentence, as Chad pushed on the door to the shed, which swung inward. "When he left, I saw he didn't lock up," Chad explained.
"I don't think we should go in there," Whitney said. "It's my father's private area."
"But aren't you dying to see what he has in there?" Chad said, urging her forward. "We can just peek around...plus, it's a nice private place where no one will interrupt us."
The temptation was too great. Whitney took a small step forward, pushing the shed door open even further. Then, taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.
Whitney gasped at what she saw inside the shed. "I don't believe it..."