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Chapter Four
Sheridan didn't want to think about yesterday anymore, but she couldn't seem to erase the events from her mind.
She was in the kitchen, baking... something she liked to do when she was upset. She whipped the cake batter in
her bowl furiously, telling herself that Luis wasn't worth all this grief. All she wanted to do was forget about
Luis and Beth and the whole damn town of Harmony. She just wanted to stop feeling. Unfortunately that wasn't an
option, and neither was trying not to think about last night...
flashback
"Sheridan, I can explain..." Sheridan glared at
him, then turned away. The last thing she wanted to hear was how he and Beth were back together. "I don't
want to hear it Luis... just get out." "I'm sorry Sheridan, I was just with Beth" "Shut up
Luis!" she cut him off. "I said I didn't want to hear about it. I've had enough of this... more than
enough!" 'Don't you dare cry Sheridan,' she ordered herself, feeling the telltale prickling in her eyes. "You've
done nothing but use me and play me for a fool Luis, and I'm putting my foot down! No more! I will not be used
by any man, ever again, starting RIGHT now! Get out Luis!"
"Sheridan, I need to talk to you about Beth... she's in trouble." Sheridan felt as though a bus had just
hit her... pregnant... Luis meant that Beth was pregnant. The pain flowed through Sheridan... pain worse than anything
she'd ever felt before. She turned on Luis, "You Bastard!" "What?" Luis sounded confused. "How
could you? Get out! Out of my house and out of my life!" Her voice was so hard and cold that Luis began to
back up toward the open door. "But I..." Sheridan looked at him, her eyes filled with fury and disgust,
"Get out Luis! I never want to see you again! I hate you!" She shoved him as hard as she could with both
hands against his chest, pushing him backwards out the door. She slammed it quickly, turning the latch. Then, as
her heart shattered, she began to cry.
At that moment she knew, without a doubt, that she would never be happy again. How could one ever be happy without
a heart?
end of flashback
Suddenly Sheridan didn't feel like baking anymore. She took the bowl of batter and poured it down the disposal.
She needed to talk to someone... normally she would talk to Theresa... they'd become quite close lately. But in
this situation it just wasn't possible. She couldn't talk to Theresa about how much she hated her brother. She
dialed Gwen's number instead, and her future sister-in-law picked up on the second ring. "Sheridan!"
Gwen sounded thrilled to hear from her. "I was just about to call you. I wanted your opinion on some things
for the wedding. Are you busy? Can you meet me?" Sheridan was glad to have something to do... and if anything
was going to take her mind off her own problems it would be planning a wedding. "Sure I can. Where are you?"
"Ooops, I've got another call coming in, I have to go," Gwen said. "The Book Cafe... bye."
Sheridan was left holding the phone, staring at it as though it were a foreign object. "I can't go to the
Book Cafe... Beth is sure to be there." She dropped the phone and threw herself on the couch. "I can't
go... but I must! I won't let Luis' betrayal break me! If I avoid the Book Cafe he'll know how much he hurt me,
and I won't let that happen." She stood, glancing down at the jeans and white blouse she wore. Normally she
wouldn't change to go to the Book Cafe... the outfit looked just fine. But she didn't want to look fine. She wanted
to look fabulous, just in case Luis showed up. She wanted him to see what he'd passed up on.
She found a casual dress, red, her best color, and slipped it on. It was form fitting, above the knee, with spaghetti
straps. "Yeah, this'll do." She managed a grin for the mirror. She wasn't a vain woman, but she knew
she looked great. And Luis had always loved her in red. Her grin wavered and faded. She wondered, as tears welled
in her eyes again, what color he liked on Beth.
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