Chapter 20

Walking around town with Brady's younger sister was quite an experience. Belle had to go into every store and try on every outfit. Chloe's feet were killing her, and she kept getting the distinct feeling she was doing something wrong, the way Mimi kept glaring at her. Belle insisted on buying Chloe a new outfit for her trouble, and no matter how much she protested, Belle would not give up the idea.

In one of the changing stalls trying on some silver number, Belle began to pump out multiple questions to Chloe. Belle meant well. She just wanted to make sure her brother was okay, but it was a lot for Chloe to take in.

"So, how well do you know my brother?"

"We're friends."

"Is that all? Because from what I saw on the dance floor, it looked like more than that to me."

Mimi sulked in the corner, rubbing her feet and barely paying attention to the conversation.

"To tell you the truth, your brother is a complicated guy, and I really don't know what's going on between us."

"Yeah, Brady's like that. He keeps things to himself a lot of the time. He doesn't get along with our dad and he and my mom aren't the best of friends either. He's always been the loner type."

"I sensed that. Why don't they get along?"

"Mostly because Brady isn't my mother's real child, at least not biologically. He's a constant reminder that our father once loved someone else. I think Brady and my dad find it hard to be around each other because it reminds them what they've lost. I mean, Brady never knew his mother, and no one ever talked about her. He just feels cheated, I guess. My dad just can't bear it. He looks at Brady, and he sees Isabella. It's just too painful. I don't think he means to hurt him, but he doesn't know what else to do. My dad can be real...stubborn, just like Brady. They used to butt heads over everything," Belle said, walking out of the stall and looking at herself in the mirror.

"I never knew things were that bad."

"When Brady was a boy, before he went away to boarding school, he used to run away all the time. He'd be gone for hours, even in the winter."

"He did? Where would he go?"

Belle picked up a few outfits and held them against herself as she began to speak. "It's a little hard to remember, being that I was so young, but he always went to the same place. He went to his mother''s grave. I guess that was the only place he felt safe. Brady took me there when we were kids. It always had to be a secret. One time when he didn't come home, Dad went looking for him. We all went for the car ride. They couldn't get me to be quiet until they took me with them. So we went all around town, looking. But I knew where he was all along, and I think my parents did too. It was just too hard to bring themselves there. I remember my dad got out of the car and walked slowing into the cemetery. He found Brady lying down beside his mother's grave, asleep. He carried him to the car. Brady didn't even wake up. He slept the whole way home, and even when my dad carried him to his room, he didn't wake up," Belle continued, walking into one of the dressing rooms, with her selection.

"Brady always had trouble going to sleep. He was so restless. That wasn't the last time we had to do that. He seemed to go there more frequently the older he got. One night, when he and my dad got into a huge screaming match, Brady said some things that he had been feeling for a long time, really dark thoughts. He accused my mom of hating him and that my father wished he was dead. A little while after that, Brady was sent away."

"That must have been hard on you."

"It was. It was hard on him, too. We were so close. He just shut down." Belle opened the door and strutted around the room in an outfit. "So what do you think?"

"It's great." Chloe smiled.

Belle turned to the saleslady, smiling. "I'll take this one, too."

"So tell me about your guy."

"Shawn!?" Belle said, her eyes lighting up like a firefly at night. "Shawn's great. Caring, considerate, loving." She beamed.

"But you don't trust him?" Chloe asked cautiously, trying not to get more personal than Belle wanted.

Belle noticeably cringed. "It's not that. There were just some things that happened a while back, that really put us in a standstill for a while. Things were complicated, but they're resolved. The truth came out. But sometimes the past is hard to forget, know what I mean?"

Chloe nodded absently. How could she not understand? She'd spent her whole life trying to forget her past.

Mimi looked up finally. "Is anyone else hungry?"

Belle and Chloe laughed. "Why don't we see if Brady and Jared want to come out to dinner with us? I'll just get changed, and then we'll make our way to the shop. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds great." Mimi beamed. She wanted to spend as much time with Jared as she possibly could until the trip was over.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They sat together in a booth at the local diner. Brady had pulled up a chair and currently straddled it. He ate the rest of his french fries, while Mimi and Chloe got up to use the bathroom.

"Jared, could you give me and Brady a minute alone?"

"Anything for you, Belle," he said, standing up and winking at her.

"Thanks."

Brady watched Jared walk over to the video games and slid a quarter into the slot. "So...?"

"I just wanted to talk to you for a minute, just the two of us."

"Go ahead, but I feel a lecture coming on."

"If I lecture you, it's for your own good. What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Brady asked, stunned.

"With Chloe. Why does it seem like you're keeping her at a distance?"

"Really, Belle, that's none of your business."

"Maybe so, but I see the way she looks at you. I've caught you too, Brady. I see you watching her. I know you care more than you let on."

"Chloe's a great girl...but..."

"But what? You're a chicken shit? You're so scared to let anyone in. I know you are, and I know why."

"Oh yeah, oh wise one? Why don't you tell me?"

"Because you're afraid if you get too close, she'll leave. I've seen it before, Brady. You keep everyone from getting inside your head and your heart. You need to let someone in. I want you to be happy. I want you to be loved. I know you've never had that, and I want you to. I want you to count on someone."

"Thank you, Dr. Freud, but I run my life the way I want. I don't need advice from you."

"Do you want to be alone forever?"

"No," he told her, absently stirring his straw inside his glass of coke.

"Then let her in, Brady. Show her that you care, before she gives up on you."

"Why does this matter to you so much?"

"Because you're my brother, and I know how much you need this. I know what a great guy you are, and I want to see something good happen to you for once. Do you remember when we were kids, and you used to take care of me when I scraped my knees, or when I fell off my bike, or even when I was afraid of the dark?"

"I remember," he smiled.

"So do I, but I also remember that there was no one there for you. You didn't have anyone to kiss your cuts better or pick you up when you fell, and you had no one to comfort you when you cried yourself to sleep."

Brady looked up from his plate, turning his attention to Belle. "How did...?"

"I knew you were so alone. I knew you hurt so badly when we were growing up. I wish you had the kind of love that I did. You can never know what you meant to me back then, what you mean to me now," Belle said, catching the tear before it left her eye. She took his hand in hers. "Let her love you."

"I'm not sure I can," he whispered.

"She's the one, Brady."

"What, you can tell that from just spending a few hours with her?"

"She knows you, and I sensed that she has been through some of the same rough stuff as you. You can heal each other."

"You know Belle, you really have grown up." Brady took her in his arms from across the table and kissed her forehead.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mimi and Chloe walked out of the washroom together. Chloe grabbed the back of Mimi's shirt, halting her.

"What?" she asked, turning around.

"Let's just give them another minute," Chloe told her quietly, touched by the tenderness she saw in Brady at that moment. Chloe and Mimi joined Jared around the video games. Chloe watched Brady with his sister while Mimi and Jared flirted mercilessly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Brady, I know things will never be perfect between you and Dad, but can't you just give him another chance?"

"Belle, don't. Stop trying to fix things, please. We can't go back. There's no sense bringing up the past, and there is no way I can pretend things didn't happen. I've been on my own for a long time. I don't need Dad or Marlena."

"Brady, why can't you just try?"

"I've tried my whole life. You can't make people something they're not."

Belle didn't pursue the subject any longer. She knew Brady would not cave on the issue.

After a while, all three returned to the table.

"Why don't we all go out to another club and just dance the night away?" Belle asked the crowd of four.

"Actually, I think last night was enough for me. I'm just going to go home, but if Jared wants to take you ladies out, I'd have no objections," Brady told them.

"Please, Jared," Mimi and Belle begged.

"Sure, why not? I'll have to go home and change first. I don't think these dirty old overalls are appropriate," he laughed.

"How 'bout you, Chloe?" Belle asked.

"No. I think I'm just going to go home and curl up with a nice book."

"Then this works out perfectly. Brady can bring you home, and Jared can take us to get changed."

Everyone agreed. Belle mischievously whispered into Brady's ear, "Don't worry. I won't wait up," then laughed at his reaction.

Belle and Mimi shoved their bags and boxes into Jared's car, while Chloe took her new outfit and put it inside her backpack while she climbed onto the motorcycle with Brady.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brady walked Chloe to her apartment, holding her bag for her. She opened the door and invited him in.

"I'm surprised that you only have one bag. Usually when people go shopping with Belle, they wind up with half the store."

"Well, actually she insisted on buying me this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought anything. I'm just not used to splurging on myself."

"Let's see what you bought then," Brady said, smiling at her. Chloe pulled the outfit from the bag and held it up for him to see. "Why don't you go try it on?"

"Now?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, wait here, and I'll be out in a minute."

"Do you have anything to drink?"

"Check the fridge," she called behind her as she walked towards her room.

Brady stood up and walked to the kitchen. He surveyed the fridge contents and took out two bottles of water.

Chloe smiled on her way to her bedroom, knowing the outfit would knock Brady's socks off. The room felt cold, and she realized the window was open. She knew she hadn't opened it, and she began to panic. Then on her bed, she saw an envelope, and she knew someone had been in her apartment earlier. Putting her new clothes down on the bed, she sat on the edge. Taking the envelope in her trembling hands, she ripped open the seal and reached inside. She drew out the contents, and her eyes immediately clouded and brimmed with tears.

Brady was wondering what was taking Chloe so long. He walked down the hallway and heard her muffled sobs. He opened the door fully and knelt in front of her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Chloe only handed him the paper, and he read it, still confused. "Chloe, this newspaper clipping is over two years old. What does it mean?"

Chloe looked into his eyes, trying to give him the answers he wanted, but her brain couldn't seem to function. Her lips could not form the words she needed to explain to him what was wrong. She simply took the paper and flipped it over in his hands. On the back, in large, bold, red letters was the word SOON. "He's coming, Brady. Oh God, he's coming," she sobbed and collapsed against him on the floor. "I'm not strong enough for this. I can't let it happen again," she choked out.

Brady let her fall into his arms, stroking her long hair, kissing the top of her head. "Whatever it is, I'll be there for you."

"NO! NO! Not again! You have to get away from me," Chloe yelled, thrashing in his arms to get free. She pushed against his chest, but he held her closer.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong," he said calmly against her ear.

"It's him! It's the man from the night in the alley."

"He's the one that sent this? Is that why you're so afraid?" he asked, taking her face in his hands and forcing her to look him in the eyes.

She nodded, huffing out unsteady breaths. "You don't know what he's capable of."

"Come on. Grab your stuff. You're staying at my place tonight."

Chloe looked into his eyes, and she knew he meant business. Slowly, she got up and began throwing some of her things into a bag haphazardly. Brady and Chloe left the apartment with the promise that they would come back the next day, put bars on the windows, and change the locks.