MI AMADO - PART ONE

Téa's footsteps slowed along the rough and overgrown path back toward the lodge. Vicky and Kevin, who once were right in front of her, receded into the shadows and darkness of the woods.
Turning around slowly Téa scanned the trees and shrubs around her,the humidity of the night pressed up against her making her feel like she was stuck in a life size pressure cooker.
Dragging her hand through her hair she turned back towards the clearing where she had last seen Todd. It had only been a few minutes ago but the memory was etched in her mind as if it were the last time she would ever see him. As if the sight of him with blast caps strapped around his stomach was the only memory of his she would have to hold on too, the last photograph in an album full of memories that she would carry with her the rest of her life.
Reentering the clearing Téa examined the shadows and shapes around her searching for any signs of movement in the environment that would point out his presence and scream to her that he wasn't gone for good.
And then, he was there. No sound or movement amongst the trees or surroundings announced it she just suddenly felt his presence like the shifting of clouds as a storm approached. She could not make out his form amongst the woods but she could feel him as sure as she felt her hear beating in her chest.
"Tea," a voice said startling Tea out of her reverie. She hadn't even heard his footsteps. Reminded her of all the nights she had heard him walk by her bedroom door on his way to tuck Starr in.
"Hey Téa" Todd said pulling on her arm. Her eyes focused on him but she said nothing as he stared at her. "Come on, lets get outta here" Todd said pulling on her upper arm again.
Téa's anger returned to her in a sudden rush as she remembered the long hours spent in the lodge.
"Where Todd?" Tea said trying to jerk her arm out of his grasp "Where are we gonna run now....Alaska? Nebraska? Hawaii?" Tea added finally pulling free of his grasp.
"I was thinking more like Mexico..." Todd said ignoring her obvious anger "I mean I can't talk that Salsa speak but you could translate" Todd added letting a grin spread across his face. "You can teach me how to say 'gimme a double' in Spanish" he added as he reached for her arm once again.
" You can't run Todd. What about Starr!? " Tea said shaking her head.
" She'll like Mexico.... she can learn to be bilingual or whatever..."
"What about Blair?" Téa asked stepping toward him with her palms stretched open, "You would rip Starr out of her mothers life?"
Todd paused, his mouth worked as if to speak but no sound found its way out from between his lips. "She'll have you Téa..... and we can be a normal family" he said as if to give Téa a gift. As if they were the words she had always wanted to hear and now he had finally granted them to her.
"A normal family..." Tea repeated feeling a tear stream down her cheek. "We'd be on the run Todd, watching our backs at ever turn. Uprooting Starr every few months... moving from place to place just so we wouldn't be recognized."
"Well it's better than her being fatherless because I'm locked up in Statesville!" Todd fired back, raising his eyebrow as if to question her reasoning, as if she were the irrational one.
"Todd.... you have to face the music on this one." Tea said stepping toward him. Watching his tense and strained features Téa slipped into her lawyer mode. She knew very well that she had to sell him on this pitch or he would be gone before her last syllable hit the ground.
"I think Sam and I can get the charges reduced and you'll only have to spend..." Téa was cut off
"I'm not going back to jail," Todd said raking his hand through his stringy hair. Starting to pace around her now she could feel his tension mounting. Taking in a ragged breath Téa closed her eyes briefly. Feeling the panic in him building she rushed to throw out another option to him.
"It's possible that Sam and I could get the charges dropped completely. I mean, Kevin did assault me."
"Assaulted you?" Todd asked
looking at her confused.
"Pointing a gun at an unarmed person is aggravated assault. Never mind the attempted murder charges that we could throw at him for shooting at you in the woods," Tea said stepping around Todd.
"Téa... How does this help me any?" Todd said obviously getting aggravated with his own lack of understanding. "It means that we have a bargaining chip. We can promise to not press charges against Kevin in return for the charges being dropped against you" she explainedmatter-of-factly.
"Oh yeah right., Like the Buchanan's are gonna let me slip away. They've got the noose tied around my neck Téa and they're just dying to kick the stool out from under and watch me swing" Todd snarled.
"I think that Asa and the rest of the Buchanan's will see that it's in Kevin's best interest that they drop the charges," she replied.
"They don't need to bargain they can just pay one of the judges they have in their back pocket off and that little momma's boy Kevin is off scott free!" Todd said pacing now.
Téa could feel that she was losing the battle with his paranoia.
"If you think that I'm gonna go back to that hell in a cell...." Todd let his voice trail off."Come one, we gotta get out of here before our acting police commish starts sniffing around" he said as he once again grabbed her upper arm.
"No Todd," Téa said pulling her arm out of his hand, "not this time... I'm not going to enable you to keep running," Téa said feeling another tear run down her cheek.
Todd's eyes narrowed as he stepped up to her, "Tea, if we stay here they're gonna have me up on charges of hostage taking and kidnapping. Never mind the fact that in this state, doing anything to a Buke, is grounds for capital punishment."
Face to face now, Téa swallowed heavily and stared into his eyes. The fear that resonated in his beautiful hazel eyes overcame her, their connection so deep that she could feel the adrenaline and lack of sleep corrupting his logic. She could feel the fear pressing down on him and the extreme sense of urgency pumping through his veins.
Instinctively she lifted her hand to his face, running her fingers along his cheek bone, watching his eyes soften under her touch. His eyes became wide and open as they communicated without talking, Téa's fingers affirming her devotion to him, the person he could be and the part she knew she had to play in order to get him there.
Todd jerked back from her touch, back into the stranglehold of fear and irrational thought that had been consuming him the last few weeks.
"Mi Amado" Téa said touching the tips of his hair before letting her hand drop. "Not this time" she said stepping back from him. Téa felt her heart sink at the idea that if Todd left without her, he might never reenter her life. But it was the only card she had left to play, that might keep him in Llanview. Keep him from spinning off into the void of chaos and paranoia that he had been teetering onfor the past few weeks.
"No." Todd said backing away from her with a grin, that masked his hurt. "There isn't anywhere you can run Todd, everything will catch up to you eventually," Téa started to say as Todd shook his head,stepping back farther from her.
"And you said you loved me Téa" he spit out with a sarcastic expression on his face. She tried to reply but he cut her off. "You love me but you would let them lock me up? Let them send me up theriver for trying to get the truth out of those... hypocrites!"
"You held people hostage Todd!" Téa said firmly.
"You should be thanking me, the killer confessed! If I hadn't held those HOSTAGES your amado husband would be kicking back in the pokey right now chewing on murder charges" Todd ranted, his eyes flamingwith a sudden rage that she hadn't anticipated.
"The farther you run, the more trouble you're going to be in when they catch you, especially if you take Starr. When they catch you, you could lose her forever!" Téa tried to explain.
"They're not going to catch me. They're not going to ever put me back in that cage" he growled.
"Suddenly its all, 'you can't run anymore Todd' and 'you can't escape.' Whatever happened to 'we' huh?" Todd spat turning back on her "Or were we ever a 'we'? Was this always some sort of sick game of yours? Was I your pet project or something? Let's see if we can turn Llanview's resident Dark Prince into a Prince Charming" Todd said working himself up into an intense rage.
"What are you talking about Todd?" she asked in total disbelief.
"Yeah... yeah... that's it! You want them to lock me up... put me away for good" Todd said turning on his heel and coming back towards her.
"What?!" Tea nearly shouted, blind sided by his attack of paranoia.
"Lock me up so crazy Todd is out of your life forever" he replied,twirling his fingers around his ears.
"Todd that's insane. I wouldn't be standing here right now if I didn't want to be with you, want you to be safe." Téa said firmly,knowing that there was almost no reasoning with him in his current state.
"Yeah... all tucked away nice and safe in the Bukes big house" Todd spat as he totally ignored her attempt at reassuring him.
"Oh, so now your thinking that I'm out to get you too, huh? You actually think that I would put up with your paranoid delusions and emotional warfare if this was just a game to me?" she asked incredulously as tears started to stream down her face once more. "I fought hard for us... I'm fighting hard for us... and you think this is just a game to me?" Tea spat back at him as her fear and anger started to get the best of her. "You have to trust me Todd. You say you do and then you accuse me of betrayal at every turn."
"Well you managed to forget all that trust stuff when you called Sam in Niagara Falls and when you told 'rock em sock em' Kevin about the bomb," Todd shot back.
"I didn't betray you in Niagara Falls...I was trying to help you... to help us. And if I hadn't told Kevin about the bomb he would have shot you, shot you dead right in front of my eyes... " her voice started to break as the thought of what had happened only a couple of hours ago nearly stopped her heart cold.
"I just bet you would have just loved that... my brains all over your nice expensive shoes. Tell me how much of my five million dollars did you spend on those?" he growled at her.
"Listen to what you're saying Todd! Listen to yourself.... Do you actually think that? huh?!" Tea said hitting him hard with her closed fist on his chest. "Do you really think so little of me?!" Tea screamed as she felt herself lose control and slap him repeatedly across his upper body.
Her rage was so blinding that she didn't feel his hands restraining her wrists until she had slumped to the ground and he loosened his grip.
The quiet and the sound of her ragged breathing were the only things that filled the night air.
Téa stared at the ground for what felt like an eternity until Todd finally spoke. "I don't know what to believe about you anymore Téa" he simply stated. Looking up at him Téa saw his mask of anger melting,his eyes growing large as he stared at her revealing something resembling hope.
After taking a deep breath Téa spoke softly to him.
"Believe in me. Believe that I know what I'm talking about when I say that you can't run. Believe that I love you and that I want what's best for you... for us..." she pleaded as he crouched down in front of her, his large hazel eyes revealing that he was listening.
Todd let out a large swell of air as he unclenched his teeth. "I... " he began but stopped at the sound of dogs barking. Téa took a sharp intake of air and swore inwardly.
Todd's whole body tensed suddenly at the sound. Téa watched as every nerve, muscle, and joint twisted up in him. "I hear voices over there!" a male voice shouted. Tea's eyes widened as she recognized the sounds of the police and their search dogs.
"You!" Todd said quietly as rage filled his soul once again.
Grabbing her by the wrist he yanked her off the ground and on to her feet. Téa let out a loud gasp as his narrowed eyes turned on her.
"You were stalling me the whole time... playing your little mind games with me!" Todd snarled at her.
"Let go!" Téa shouted using all her strength to try and pull out of his grasp as he started for the wooded area around the clearing. But it was no use, his grip on her arm was too tight for her to wiggle or pull out of. Struggling helplessly against Todd's powerful grip; Tea could feel the trees and bushes slap against her as he dragged her back into the darkness of the woods.

TO BE CONTINUED