Theresa let out a sigh as she walked around the town. It had changed, but remained the same at the same time. The sights, the smells, the look. She missed all of it, but not enough to actually want to stay there. She mostly didn’t want to be there because of Ethan. Why did he do that to her? Why did he want to bring up so many painful memories again? Did he want to punish her for leaving?

She walked aimlessly until she stopped in front of the book café. Boy, was she in the mood for a nice cup of hot chocolate. She stepped inside and walked to the barista, looking back to the times she spent here.

“I’ll have a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top. Thanks.” Theresa smiled as she walked over to a chair to set her coat down on the chair.

As she paid for her hot chocolate, a familiar voice came through the door. It was Whitney. Her best friend, or former best friend, rather.

“Theresa, I warned you of what would happen if you associated yourself with Alistair. Everyone did.”

“Thank you so much, Whitney, for making me feel even worse than I already do.” Theresa sighed as she eyed her bowl of chocolate chunk ice cream. It hurt to know that not only was she being violated that people practically said that it was her fault that she was raped.

“Honey, you have to understand. Ethan is married to Gwen. He is not going to leave her.”

“What about Jane, Whitney? Am I just supposed to stand by and watch them raise my daughter from the sidelines?”

“How do you think you got into the situation in the first place? You filed the charges against Gwen. If you hadn’t done it, and if you had given up on your sick fantasy to get Ethan, you would have Jane.”

Theresa slammed the spoon down into the bowl before getting up from her chair. “You know what, Whitney? I am sick of this! I am sick of you chastising me for everything! Can’t you for once support me?”

“Theresa, I am supporting you.”

“No, Whitney. You’re criticizing me! You always throw my misdeeds in my face like it’s nothing. Who are you to judge me? At least I didn’t try to starve my brother’s child, pass him off as someone else’s, and give him up for adoption.” Theresa retorted as she saw the look of shame on her face. She couldn’t help but get a little satisfaction from that look. Finally, the Ice Queen has been put in her place.

“Theresa, that situation was different.”

“How, Whitney? How? You starved your child throughout your pregnancy. You manipulated Fox and let him believe that your child of incest was his. You lied to his face, and you felt no remorse over it. If anything, you’re worse than me. At least I never pretended to be some saint who judges other people for having flaws. The worst part is that when you told me all of this, I never judged you for a second. I was a shoulder to cry on. I never said that you were a bad person. I understood your pain and I respected your wishes. You’ve never done the same for me.”

Whitney looked down at the ground as she thought about the fact that Theresa was telling the truth. When she needed Theresa, she was always there for her, especially. On the other hand, all she did was criticize her. “I should go.”

“Yes, you should, and don’t come back.” Theresa said sternly as she opened the door to her house, watching as Whitney walked out with her head hanging in shame.

Theresa looked over and glanced at her talking to Simone when Whitney suddenly returned her gaze. Not really knowing how to react, Theresa silently went back to her chair to sip her hot chocolate.

“Theresa.”

She raised her head at the sound of her voice to see that it was Whitney there standing in front of her. “Whitney.” She replied emotionlessly, watching her with cool guarded eyes.

“I’m sorry about Pilar. She was a fantastic woman.”

“Thank you.” Theresa replied before taking a sip of her hot chocolate maintaining her cool.

“How have you been? It’s been five years.” Whitney smiled as she nervously rung her hands together.

“Good. I’ve been away from here. Anything is better than that.”

“Oh.” Whitney murmured as she looked down at the floor before meeting Theresa’s gaze. “Theresa, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for everything that happened, and I know it’s five years late, but your words really did stick with me for a long time. I wasn’t a good friend to you. I thought that I was just trying to protect you.”

“You’re lucky you’re not Ethan, Whit.” Theresa said as she chuckled softly. “He actually tried to apologize to me, and long story short, he got laughed at.”

“Theresa, I know I don’t expect us to be best friends again, but I would like us to be friends. Start new. Can we give it a try?”

“I guess. It’s been too long to keep this going.” Theresa sighed as the cold exterior she kept started to melt away slightly. “I should get going, but it was really good seeing you, Whit.” She replied as she stood up and slipped her coat on. She gave her old friend a hug before walking out of the café.