Don't Walk Away
Chapter
Two
(Later)
Chloe laid the novel she had been reading aside and stretched her arms above
her. She rolled over on to her back and stared at the clock on her bedside
table. The time was glaring at her in red block letters. 8:52. He was late, very
late, and it was beginning to worry her.
Brady Black had never been late for anything since the day she had met him. If
anything, he was often early or at the very least, disgustingly on time. Chloe
tried not to think the worst. She imagined he had gotten stuck at work and
hadn't had the time to call and let her know.
It would be highly unlike him to not call her and tell her he was running late,
but Chloe knew it was a possibility. Even the most punctual and responsible
people slipped sometimes.
Chloe shrugged her worries off and decided she'd call and bug him. She first
dialed the number to his office, but only got his voicemail.
"Alright... Maybe he's on his way now." Chloe dialed his cell phone
and waited for an answer. It only rang once, bringing her to his automatic
message.
"Hey, this is Brady Black. Leave me a message and I'll call you back as
soon as I can."
The tone sounded and Chloe paused tentatively before continuing. "Uhm,
Brady. It's me. You were supposed to be on your way at 7:30, and it's now 8:52
and you're not here. Please call me back or you know I'll start to worry."
Chloe ended the call and stood to stretch her legs. "Who am I kidding? I'm
already worried."
She put her phone back on the receiver and strolled into her bathroom for a
glass of water. Chloe wondered if maybe she had told Brady why she asked him
over, he would have come rushing here as fast as possible.
Tonight was the night for THE talk. The talk she had been rehearsing in her head
for weeks. Tonight was the night she was going to tell Brady that she had fallen
in love with him. He had nearly admitted the same to her on numerous occasions,
and Chloe had been perceptive enough to see what he was trying to say, even
though he could never say it. But, Brady had always backed off, and Chloe
figured she knew why. He was afraid that Chloe's feelings for Phillip were too
strong to allow her to love him.
Chloe sighed as she stared at her reflection. She casually pulled her long dark
hair into a pony tail, then poured herself a glass of water from the tap. Chloe
sipped it slowly, wondering if it was some sort of punishment that she was
finally ready to be with Brady, and for some reason he couldn't show up here so
she could tell him.
She took a final gulp of her water and headed back into her room. Chloe picked
her book up from her bed and laid it on the night table. She was nearly startled
right out of her skin when her phone rang loudly.
Chloe snapped it up immediately. "Brady?"
There was a brief pause on the other end, and she could hear the caller inhale
sharply before speaking. "Chloe... It's Belle."
Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and felt her body tense up with fear. She could
hear tears in Belle's voice and she knew something was wrong without even having
to ask. "It's Brady. There's something wrong with Brady, isn't there?"
"Chloe, you need to get the hospital right now. Please hurry."
Chloe didn't even ask what had happened, she just replied instantly. "I'll
be right there."
She hung up the phone and let it drop from her hand. She slipped on a pair of
sandals and ran down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her. Nancy must
have heard her stampede down the stairs and she came into the entryway to see
what Chloe was in a hurry for.
"Chloe... What's wrong?"
Chloe's face had gone pale, and she looked stricken with panic. Her world was
spinning around her and she could barely get the words out of her mouth. "I
need a ride... Something happened to Brady. He's at the hospital. I have to go
now."
Nancy nodded in understanding and patted Chloe on the arm reassuringly.
"Let me get my keys and I'll take you."
Nancy hurried into the other room and left Chloe standing in the entry way
alone. She quietly muttered under her breath. "Please God, let him be
okay."
Chloe felt like the floor was about drop out from underneath her, and she
wondered how she was kept from toppling over. She had only just found Brady, and
she was determined not to lose him now.