"Get the fuck out!" Scarlet shrieks in between laughter.

Sometimes when life decides to laugh at you, you find that you have no option but to laugh at you too. That's what Scarlet did as soon as the tray had slipped from her hands, as she's unable to shed any more tears. How come her own life is one big mystery? How come it's her that lost her memory? How's it her baby lying unconscious in a hospital?
How come these two men, the men she thought she could always count on, trust, are nothing but frauds and it seems like she doesn't know them at all?

Theo's shocked wide grey eyes stare at her, his mouth opening and closing but emitting no words.

"Scarlet," Victor says.

As if following some kind of command hidden in the sound of him saying her name, Scarlet's laughter immediately dies down like it never happened. Her blood runs cold and she stiffens as a strong shudder ripples through her spine. The same way she felt that one time when Victor said her name. She doesn't understand why, but even in her state of subconscious disorientation, Scarlet manages to dig deep inside of her for a sound, a voice, however small and...broken.

"L-leave Vic," she hears herself whisper, voice trembling. "Please, I'll call you," she begs.

Victor nods. Tugging at the sides of his coat, he turns around and walks out of Scarlet's presence. As soon his footsteps fade, against her will, Scarlet feels herself relax.

She shouldn't, not with Theo around. Not around a man that has shown her life, taken her places, showed her the sunset. Made her happy. All to gain whatever he came into her life for. None of the things they did together for the past three weeks or ever since they met has been genuine.
She can't help it when her mind takes her back to that one time when for their date evening, Theo took her to an orphanage, she had been surprised, pleasantly surprised. She'd felt the last little bits of her heart melting at how compassionate and very admirable that side of him was. The easy, unusual grin that kept spreading on his face whenever he was talking to the kids. The way that blue in his eyes was more visible when he looked at them. He'd been so gentle, so cute and loving with those kids that Scarlet felt like somehow, her attraction to him was justified. That he's a beautiful man inside out. Boy was she wrong.

Everything they did, all the places they visited, all the smiles, the way they always somehow ended up holding hands, the long walks and talks.  To him it all meant nothing, it was all a facade.
For what? She doesn't know. Neither does she want to. Theo's deep sigh brings her back to the bitter reality.

"Scarlet I-" he begins but she raises a palm.

"Didn't you hear me? I said leave Theo. I meant the both of you."

"Scarlet," Rubbing the back of his neck, Theo sighs. "I can explain," he says.

"Explain? Explain Theo? I don't want your fucking explanations! I want you out of my house, out of my life, forever. I never want to see your damn lying face again. Do you understand?" She hadn't even realised how her voice is rising with each word she spits out. She doesn't care.

"It's not what you think it is. You know nothing." Theo raises his voice too.

"It isn't? Well guess what Theo? You had five fucking months to tell me what it is. I don't know everything? That's fucking fine Theo!" Nearing him, Scarlet throws her hands at him, hitting his chest vigorously, her loose hair flying everywhere as she lets out all her pent up anger on him, her baby, her trust, those fucking feelings she has for him that have no name. Theo does nothing to stop her as she continuously hits him, until she feels ready to speak again.

"Because guess what?" Her hands eventually fall limply at her sides and her voice becomes more quiet this time, breaking. She's tired, inside out. She takes a few tentative steps away from him, knowing that being this close to him, her feet might give out and let her fall to the ground.
"You had every second of every evening for three weeks with me, if you really wanted to explain, you should have done it then. I don't even care anym-"

Roughly shoving Scarlet against the nearest wall and grabbing both sides of her face, Theo clamps his lips down on Scarlet's, and kisses her.

He kisses her, his mouth swallowing up the remaining part of her sentence. Scarlet did not see it coming, and neither did she see him moving. But she feels him, right there in her personal bubble, invading her, devouring her whole; body in the form of her lips and her soul in form of the words that could have been said in this moment.

Her heart jumps out of her sealed mouth and up all the way to the Milky Way. But still, her first instinct is to push him off yet her resolve is torn to pieces and her hands fall limply at her sides when realisation hits her that this, might be something she's been wanting all this time.
Theo's mouth continues to claim hers, kissing her, asking her to let him in, speaking volumes and saying words that Scarlet can't quite place. Somehow, she finds herself kissing him back. Her skin tingles, their breaths mingle, and continuous shudders run through her spine.
Fisting the sides of his shirt, Scarlet resists the overwhelming urge to wrap her hands around his neck, pull him even closer and never let go. Yet, the more her fingernails dig through the fabric into her palms, the more the reality of this all hits her.

Wrong.

This is all so wrong. This man, the man she's kissing lied to her. Even in her state of memory loss, or repressed memory, or whatever, Scarlet thought she now knew everything there's to know about Theo. That's what he told her. Lies.
With all her strength, or lack thereof, Scarlet brings her hands up to shove against Theo's chest just as he stops the kiss. His breathing, just like hers, is laboured. He rests his forehead on hers, one strong hand wrapped around her waist and the other holding the side of Scarlet's face.

"You don't know everything Scarlet," he whispers after a while of looking right into her eyes, then her lips, then her eyes again. His warm musky scented breath hitting Scarlet's nostrils, his eyes like a stormy sky, full with promises of explanations, of words Scarlet knows she would've given anything to hear a week ago. But does she want to hear them now? She doesn't.

Or does she?

"Well then explain," Scarlet whispers back against his face, her fists resting softly on his chest as her resolve crumbles to the ground beneath their feet. She wants to hear him out, there must be more.

Theo sighs. "I wish I could Scarlet, but I can't. Not now."

Rage burns hot inside of her stomach, he isn't even willing to explain anything. How stupid can she get? She was actually giving him a chance, willing to hear him out but he threw it right back in her fucking face.  "Leave," she barks.

"Please?"

"I said leave."

"Scarl-"

"Go away Theo!" she screams, shoving him away. "Get the fuck out of my life. I don't ever want to see you again!"

Theo's eyes momentarily move across the room.

"Brother,"

Scarlet hears two startlingly familiar voices, same yet different say in sync. It's kind of creepy.

"She said leave. You can talk to her another day."
Shirley says, his tone pleading as he appears in Scarlet's living room. Theo and Shirley glance at each other, their eyes as if in some kind of silent conversation that makes Scarlet feel like an intruder. Finally, with one last longing look in her direction and a murderous glare from Scarlet, Theo nods in his brother's direction and retreats.

He kissed her.

Scarlet can't believe Theo kissed her. But he did, she felt it, it was real, and it felt like a first kiss. She remembers the day Shirley touched her, it'd felt like no man had ever touched her like that before. Yet with Theo it's different, with Theo, Scarlet always feels like there's been others before him. But she only wants him, only him to touch her, only him to kiss her, only him to hold her forever. Only Theo.

Why did he kiss her though? What did he mean by that? Why? What about Ivy? Does he...but...no...Could he..?

No! She tells herself. You don't want to know, you don't care. That was another of his ways to manipulate your thoughts.

It was. Yet for that very short moment of contact with him, of being kissed by him, Scarlet had felt alive. It might have lasted a minute or less, but it's the longest she has felt alive in the last four days.

Tiredly sliding down the wall, Scarlet sits down on the linoleum, pushing her knees up and hugging them with her hands. She subconsciously rocks back and forth, trying to make sense of the last twenty or less minutes, of the last four days. How did everything just spiral out of control? How did she get here?
Her baby in the hospital? Theo? Victor? What are they hiding? Is she overreacting? Why did Theo come into her life? To make her happy so he can turn around and break her heart at the most vulnerable of her moments.

Break her heart. But that's impossible, how can Theo break her heart unless...? No, she didn't. Scarlet is screaming inside, mentally shaking her head, denying it. But even as she does, she knows denial can only last so long. Yet, she will hold on to it for as long as lasts.

"You kissed." It's not a question but a statement, yet Scarlet can only think about how that voice sounds so much like Theo. She doesn't give the words a second thought, she's just thinking about how much she would have loved it if it were really him, talking to her, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her, comfortingly squeezing her hand like Shirley is right now.

She may have kicked him out, but she feels weak, empty without him. How come she lost him before she even had him? Why now, when she isn't sure she has Celine either?

"Jesus Christ!" Raking a hand through his hair and simultaneously interrupting Scarlet's reverie, Shirley sighs. "You two are so middle school! I honestly thought you guys were past that. What have you been doing this whole time? Holding hands?"

On any other day, Scarlet could've found his words funny, or at least, blush worthy but not now. She just gives him a dry look, which causes Shirley to sigh again.

"Scar," he begins, grabbing both of her hands in his and giving them a gentle squeeze. "I like you, you know that, right?"

This time Scarlet's face does turn beet red, she glares at him. "Really?!" she huffs. Of all times, Shirley found this day appropriate for confessing his undying love for her? Men!
But she does know, he'd made it more than obvious not once. If that wasn't enough, he even told her the day he took her out on a date. The thing about Shirley is, unlike Theo, he speaks his mind. It's up to the person on the receiving end of his words to take them however but he's straight forward. Scarlet likes that about him.

"Just answer the question Greene." Shirley grins and Scarlet can't help cracking a small smile too. There's something about Shirley that makes everything in the world seem so easy, so smooth Scarlet finds herself cracking a joke, however lame.

"Of course you do," she says. "I mean have you seen me? What's there to not like about me?"

"Right?" Shirley rolls his eyes. "But seriously Scar, my brother is a good guy-"

Scarlet scoffs. Right. He's just great

"Believe me," Shirley ignores her. Staring at her face, his blue eyes concentrate on her lips and Scarlet squirms under his gaze. "With how much I like you, I wouldn't have let him have you without at least putting up a fight, especially with Ivy and all."

Oh! Scarlet muses. So the Steiner twins know that Ivy actually does exist? Could've fooled her. "He doesn't have me."

"But, Theo is a great person Scar," Shirley ignores that. "he has the biggest heart I have ever seen, and always goes out of his way for the sake of his loved ones, not that I'm one of them."

Scarlet chuckles under her breath.

"And I'm not saying this because he's my brother. If anything, I as a responsible brother should be badmouthing him but I can't, he's that great. And there's a reasonable reason behind each of his actions.

"I don't know what happened between you two, and I don't want you to tell me. I understand that you're hurt, that's why I asked him to grant your wish and leave, but promise me that the next time you see him you'll give him a chance to explain. Hear him out, because Theo never does things to hurt anyone. In fact, he's always sacrificing his happiness for everyone else's." Shirley grimaces, as if replaying a distasteful memory.

Scarlet is curious about what it is suddenly but doesn't pry. "Yeah, because he's very much willing to explain," she snorts.

Shirley smiles softly. "I'm pretty sure he'll be by the time you see him again."

Scarlet rolls her eyes. "Sure."

"Now," he says on an exhale. "I heard about...Cee, I'm--"

"Please!" Scarlet exclaims. "If I hear someone say they're sorry one more time I might do something we will both regret!" she groans, her heart lurching, all the pain hitting her all over again, anew.

Shirley gives her a sad smile. "Okay then. I need you to take a shower, get dressed and come down, I'm going to make you breakfast."

"Yeah," Scarlet says, her lip tilting marginally at the corner. "Because I was totally going to come down naked after the shower."

Getting up and pulling Scarlet up with him, Shirley chuckles and winks at her. "Keep smiling baby, keep smiling."

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A/N:Fiiiinaaaallyyyy! I swear this chapter must've taken me like...one year to write. Ugh! Romantic scenes or whatever are so hard to write and so flipping frustrating!

Tell me though, what do you think about the Scarlet and Theo kissing scene?

Xx Gracie.

Ps: Next chapter coming right up! ;)