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Chapter Twenty-Three

Chloe finished unpacking her suitcase and threw herself on the bed with a sigh.  She slowly edged up towards the pillow and made herself comfortable.  Things with her parents had gone much better than expected, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.  She reached over and grabbed the phone off of her nightstand and carefully dialed the number to the Black penthouse.

She heard someone pick up after two rings, "Hello?"

"Hi Mr. Black... is Brady there?"

"Chloe?  Brady is taking a shower.  Do you want to leave a message?"

Chloe paused thought about it, "Uhm... no, that's alright.  I'll just call him later.  Thanks a lot."

"No problem.  Bye."

"Bye," Chloe heard a soft click on the phone and laid it back down on the receiver.  She sat up and smoothed her hair with one hand.  Looking around her bedroom, she realized how much she had missed seeing its familiar surroundings while she was gone. 

There was a soft knock at the door, and Chloe spoke up, "Come in..."

Nancy tentatively opened the door and stepped inside.  "You finished unpacking already?"

Chloe smiled and nodded, "Yup.  I figured I might as well get it over with."

Nancy nodded and closed the door behind her.  "Chloe... can I ask you something?"

Chloe scooted over and motioned for Nancy to sit on the bed beside her.  "Sure, go ahead."

Nancy sat down and breathed in deeply.  "Do you really care about Brady Black?"

"Yes, I really do."

"The same way that you cared about Phillip?"

Chloe shook her head, "No, not at all.  I loved Phillip, but..."

Nancy raised her eyebrows in confusion.  "You don't love Brady?"

Chloe sighed in frustration.  "It's not that at all.  I did love Phillip, but I never told him that.  And... I love Brady, but in a different way."

"Different how?"

"Just different.  A part of me will always care about Phillip, but it was an inexperienced, immature kind of love.  After the initial 'honeymoon' period where everything is perfect, and both of us were so in love with each other, things changed.  It just felt like two people playing their parts in the 'Perfect Couple Parade'.  What I feel for Brady is completely different, it's new, and it's deeper and much stronger.  I know that you don't like him, but..."

Nancy put her hand up and interjected, "It doesn't matter, Chloe.  My feelings about Brady may be wrong, I don't know.  What matters is how you feel about him.  And, if he's everything you say he is, then he is okay with me."

Chloe looked almost surprised.  "Really?  You never said that about Phillip.  What's changed?"

"You.  I want to trust that you know what's best for you.  At least in some situations..."

"Well, you can trust me on this one.  Brady is... the best thing that's ever happened to me, I guess.  I don't know how to explain it but... I never have to compromise myself when I'm with him.  I can just be me.  It's so easy being with him, I feel like I don't have to try hard to make things work, they just do.  But at the same time, it's still challenging and exciting and interesting.  And... does this make ANY sense at all?"

Nancy nodded and smiled, "It makes perfect sense, because that's exactly how I feel about Craig.  God knows that I am far from perfect and I am probably not very easy to live with either..."

Chloe laughed and nodded as Nancy continued, "But, Craig doesn't make me feel that way.  He accepts me for all my faults.  Now, does Brady know this is how you feel?"

Chloe sighed and shook her head.  "No, I don't think so.  I mean, I've never told him.  I have TRIED so many times to just tell him that I love him, but I can't seem to get it out.  I want to, but then I start think that it's just too soon and we've only been dating for a month, and so on.   I mean, when did you know that you loved Craig?"

Nancy smiled happily.  "The first time he kissed me, I knew.  We didn't say it to each other for awhile, but we both knew the whole time.  I think you know too, but you're afraid to admit it, right?"

"I don't know.  The two of us have always had a connection, and I've known that I care about him for a while now... but... I just I get scared that he won't feel the same way."

"Well, I can't tell you what is going on in HIS mind, but if this boy went out of his way to drive you all the way to Maine and back, and took care of you like you said... then, I have a pretty good feeling about it."

Chloe smiled hopefully at her mother.  "I hope you're right."

"There's only one way to find out.  He has to know how you feel... no matter how it turns out."

Chloe sighed and looked at her hands.  "I just hope I have enough courage to say it."

Nancy impulsively hugged her daughter closely.  "After what I saw today, I have no doubt that you have enough courage.  You have enough courage to do anything, Chloe.  If the time is right for it, you'll be just fine."

Chloe leaned out of the embrace and nodded.  "Thanks... thanks for the talk."

"My pleasure."

Chloe paused nervously and spoke, "I know that I'm probably grounded until my 40th birthday, but is there any possible way we can defer the punishment until tomorrow?"

"You want to go see Brady?"

Chloe nodded, "I promised him I'd get in touch with him some time today, and I really want to see him..."

Nancy nodded knowingly and smiled, "I'm alright with that.  Just don't stay out too late..."

Chloe smiled widely.  "I won't... thank you SO much."

Chloe stood and grabbed her purse off the nightstand.  Nancy stood from the bed and said, "Are you going to talk with him about all of this?"

Chloe shrugged and replied, "I don't know...  I'll just have to see when I get there."

"Well, good luck then..."

Chloe paused at the door and smiled.  "Thanks... mom." 

She quickly turned and ran down the stairs.

***

Chloe hesitated at the door of the Black penthouse.  She sighed softly and rang the doorbell.  The door opened and she came face to face with Marlena.

"Chloe... this is certainly a surprise.  Come on in."

"Thank you, Dr. Black..." Chloe stepped inside and smiled at Marlena.

"Dear, you can call me Marlena, you know."

Chloe nodded and replied, "I know... it's just force of habit."

Marlena smiled in understanding, "So you're probably here to see Brady?  He's upstairs in his room, I believe."

"Uhm... I am here to see Brady, but actually, I'm glad you're here.  I wanted to talk to you too."

Marlena gave her a surprised glance.  "To me?  Why is that?"

Chloe sighed nervously, "I need to talk to someone...  Like on a professional basiskind of thing.  I probably should have sought help a long time ago actually."

"Well, of course you can talk to me.  If you feel comfortable with me, that is... I don't want you to feel awkward because I'm Belle's mom and Brady's stepmom, so I can recommend someone else if you want."

Chloe shook her head, "No, I'll be fine.  I want to talk to you."

Marlena smiled and nodded, "Alright then, I'll have my assistant set up an appointment for you.  Just call my office in the morning, okay?"

"I will... thank you."

"You're welcome, Chloe."

Chloe smiled and turned to head up the stairs.  She walked down the hallway until she reached Brady's room and gently tapped on the door.

She heard his muffled voice call from beyond the door, "Come in..."

Chloe cracked the door opened and peered around it.  Brady was throwing dirty clothes in a laundry basket, and he paused to look up at her.

He smiled widely, "Chloe... you're here."

Chloe nodded and stepped all the way inside, "Well, when I called earlier you were in the shower... so I decided to just stop by."

Brady stepped towards her and pulled her into his arms.  He kissed her gently on the lips and ended it with a smile.

"I didn't know you'd be calling so soon.  Things must have gone pretty well."

Chloe stepped out of the embrace and sat down on the edge of the bed.  "REALLY well, actually.  Better than I could have ever expected."

Brady sat on the bed next to her and clasped her hand.  "So then you're not grounded for the rest of your life?"

Chloe nodded.  "Oh no, I'm in trouble.  BIG trouble.  I'm just out now on a 'special pass'.  But other than the fact that I ran away with an older, dangerous man, everything is surprisingly great."

Brady grinned and raised his eyebrows.  "Older and dangerous?  I kinda like the sound of that.  Either way, I'm really glad you're here."

"REALLY glad?"

Brady nodded and replied, "Very glad.  After spending every waking minute with you for the past 8 days, I kinda got used to having you around.  And now... I miss you."

"We've only been apart for like 3 hours, Brady.  You miss me already?"

"Yeah, I do.  You didn't miss me?"

Chloe smiled shyly, "Yeah, I did.  But just a little."  Chloe grinned and winked at him with her last statement.

"But besides that, I'm glad you're here because I wanted to show you something."  Brady stood and walked towards his closet.  He pulled a box off the top shelf and brought it back to the bed, opening the lid as he sat down.

"Well, I love show and tell, so go for it."

Brady smiled and pulled out a stack of pictures.  He handed the first one to Chloe, and she nearly sighed when she saw it.  It was a photo of a pale and weak Isabella Black holding a 6 month old Brady in her arms and smiling.

"Oh Brady, this is such a beautiful picture."

Brady nodded sadly.  "That was just a few days before she died, but she still looks beautiful."  Brady handed her a small stack of photos and continued, "But these are what I really wanted to show you."

Chloe laughed out loud at the first picture in the stack.  A very young Brady was dressed in a cowboy outfit and was holding the hand of a tiny blonde girl, presumably Belle, in a bumblebee outfit.  "Oh, Brady, this is adorable.  I assume this was for Halloween, right?"

"Oh no, we dressed like this every week."

Chloe chuckled and rolled her eyes.  "You two were so cute.  How old were you?"

"I think I was about six, so Belle would be like three years old in this picture.  I remember this Halloween really clearly actually.  Dad taught Belle how to buzz, so whenever we went up to someone's door she would say 'Bzzz, Bzzz.  I'm a bumblebee!'  Only she pronounced it wrong, so it came out more like bubblebee."

Chloe giggled at Brady's imitation of his sister.  Chloe moved on to the next picture of a slightly older Belle wearing a party hat and receiving a kiss on the cheek from a boy with chocolate brown hair.  Chloe grinned and looked up at Brady, "Is that Shawn?"

Brady nodded and replied, "Yeah.  That's from Belle's 8th birthday party.  Shawn's mom and Marlena both really wanted a picture of the two of them together, and she kept saying, 'Shawn Douglas, move closer to Belle.  Just give her a hug or something.' and then out of nowhere he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek..."

Chloe continued, "And the rest is history... right?"

"Pretty much."  Brady moved that picture away and pointed at the next.  "This is one of my favorites.  Camping at Green Mountain."

Chloe smiled widely, she could easily see why it would be one of his favorites.  A pre-teen Brady and Belle were asleep in their separate sleeping bags, but right beside each other. Belle's hand was lazily thrown over Brady's shoulder.

Brady continued, "My dad and I had made the mistake of telling scary stories around the fire that night.  Belle heard some noises while she was in her tent alone and freaked out.  She came running to me."

"And you protected her..."

Brady smiled.  "Of course I did.  Always.  She's one of the most important things in my life, and I swore that I would always protect her.  When Marlena woke up that morning, and found Belle's tent empty, she grabbed the camera so she could take a picture of us.  I guess everyone is cute when they're sleeping, right?"

Chloe grinned slyly and winked at him, "Not everybody, Brady."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Chloe chuckled and laid down on the bed with her head on Brady's pillow.  "Let me do a quick impression for you..." 

She laid on her side and closed her eyes, leaving her mouth wide open.  Chloe breathed in and out and snored loudly every other breath or so.  Brady frowned and laid beside her.

"That is not what I look like when I sleep, Chloe."

Chloe rolled over and opened her eyes to look at him. "Oh, I believe it is.  I don't understand how somebody who leaves their mouth that wide open can still snore loud enough to wake the neighbors."

"You're not funny.  Not funny at all."

Chloe laughed softly.  "Well, I think I'm very funny.  And, I'm also just kidding.  You are pretty cute when you're asleep."

Brady smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.  "That's better, thank you."

Chloe rubbed her nose and laughed.  "That tickled, but you're welcome anyway."

"Chloe... does it make you feel sad when I tell all these stories about growing up and show you these pictures?"

Chloe shook her head vehemently.  "No, not at all.  Maybe it should because I didn't have all that when I was a kid, but it doesn't.  I like the pictures, and the stories, the whole thing."

"Good..."

Chloe sighed quietly. "Did I ever thank you?"

Brady raised one eyebrow curiously, "Thank me for what?"

"For all the times that you've saved me.  I don't remember even thanking you for the night at the hospital.  When Nancy thought that Phillip had raped me, you showed up and saved me.  I don't know how you do it, but you always show up when I need you."

"Not always.  I didn't save you from Jan and Mimi at the dance, I didn't save you from the man who attacked you, I didn't stop your wrist from being broken."

"Those are things that are out of your control.  There is no way you could have prevented them from happening.  And that's not what I'm referring to... I meant, emotionally.  The only reason I can get through all of this is because of you, and that's what I want to thank you for.  That's why I'm here right now, so I could make sure you know how much your presence in my life means to me."

Brady smiled and kissed her gently.  "You're welcome.  And, you know, that's never going to change.  I'm always going to be here for you."

Chloe smiled back at him, "I know.  And, the same goes for me too.  I know that lately it seems that everything is about me and my problems.  And, I'm really sorry about that.  The things that you have done for me this week... nobody has EVER done something like that for me.  And, I hope someday that I can repay the favor."

"Just seeing you have happiness is enough payment for me, Chloe."

"You always know the right thing to say..."

Brady shook his head and sat up.  "Not always..."

Chloe sat up beside him and put her head on his shoulder.  "Well, it sure seems like it... Anyway, I just stopped by to give you an update and to thank you in person.  I should probably be going before Nancy calls out the SWAT team."

Brady chuckled and kissed her on the forehead, "Alright, you need a ride home?"

Chloe stood from the bed and laughed out loud, "Brady, you don't have a car anymore, remember?"

"Oh... Yeah.  Guess I have to go buy a new one tomorrow."

"Good luck with that.  I'll call you as soon as I'm not grounded anymore."

Brady raised one eyebrow and grinned at her, "So... I'll talk to you in about 10 years?"

"Something like that... I'll see ya, Brady."

Brady smiled weakly as he watched her go, "Bye..."

Chloe walked out and closed the door to Brady's bedroom behind her.  She took a few steps down the hallway, but hesitated for a moment.  Chloe felt like she had said the things that she had come here to say... everything but one important thing.  She sighed deeply and turned herself back around.  Reaching forward, she slowly turned the knob on Brady's door and opened it.  He was still sitting in the exact spot she had left him in and he looked at her in surprise.

"Chloe..."

Chloe gently shut the door behind her and looked towards the floor.  "Brady... I lied to you."

Brady's jaw dropped slightly, "You lied to me?  I don't believe that's possible."

Chloe shook her head but kept her gaze downward.  "It's true.  I didn't come here for the reasons I said I did.  I mean, I did want to tell you that things went well with my parents, and I did want to thank you... But, there's something else I wanted to tell you, and I just didn't have the guts to do it until I walked out this door."

"And it's something bad?  Is that why you lied?"

Chloe lifted her head and looked him in the eyes.  "I don't know if it's bad or not.  I think it's good actually, but you might disagree.  I'm not sure."

Brady shook his head in confusion, "Well, go ahead and say it then.  I'm listening."

Chloe sat down on the bed beside him and wrung her hands nervously.  "Okay... hold on.  I need a moment." 

Chloe shut her eyes and breathed deeply, she tried to let a feeling of calm wash over her.  She knew that she was strong inside, and there was no reason to let her nervousness overtake her now.  She took one last deep breath and opened her eyes to a still confused Brady.

"Alright, here I go.  What I really wanted to tell you was this... This may be too soon to say this, but now that I'm a little more free about my emotions, I think I should share this one that I'm having right now.  Actually, I have it all the time, not just right now.  Brady, you are so important to me, and I know I've told you that before, but I don't think you know how important you are.  And, the only way for me to really say it is to preface a very short, but very meaningful, sentence with all the words that I just said.  So, the important sentence is..."

Chloe's mouth felt as dry as the Sahara, and she knew her palms were sweating heavily.  She ignored it for the moment and smiled as widely as possible before continuing, "The important sentence is... I love you."

Brady blinked his eyes rapidly in shock, "You what?"

Chloe continued smiling, "I love you.  See, I said it.  Twice now.  And it feels good.  It feels surprisingly great.  I'm not afraid anymore, Brady.  I'm not afraid of loving someone, because I love you, and it doesn't matter if you don't feel the same way.  It doesn't change how I feel."

"Wow... Chloe... I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to.  I'm fine with that.  I said what I wanted, and I'm glad I did.  Don't feel obligated to say something you're not ready to say."

Brady shook his head and clasped her hand in his.  "No, I do have some thing to say.  I am so proud of you, Chloe.  I know that this wasn't easy for you, and I know why.  Because... I've been going through something similar myself."

Chloe's eyes widened in surprise, "You have?"

Brady nodded and put one hand gently on her cheek.  "I have.  You see, every time that you're out of earshot.  Like, when I drop you off at your house and I watch you walk inside, or sometimes when you're sleeping and I'm still awake... I say something to you that you can't hear.  And, if you can be brave enough to say it to me now, than I think it's only fair to return the favor.  I love you, Chloe... and three little words will never express how much I love you.  But, I'll say them anyway... I love you too."

Chloe smiled again and embraced Brady as tightly as possible.  She sighed deeply, as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.  "Oh Brady, thank God..."

"What?  You had doubts?"

Chloe chuckled, "Just a few..."

Brady leaned out of the embraced and placed an index finger on her lips.  "Don't ever doubt me again.  I love you Chloe, and I always will."

Chloe nodded in acceptance and smiled.  Brady leaned his face in to hers and kissed her forehead, her nose and then her lips.  Chloe melted in to him and their kiss intensified.  She softly and slowly broke the kiss off and smiled at Brady.

"Wow... If I had known it would make all the kissing that much better, I would have said it a long time ago."

Brady laughed and leaned back on his elbows proudly. "Yeah, well... it's like magic."

"Well, if that's magic... then you are like David Copperfield.  Best in your field."

Brady grinned slyly at her, "So, when do you have to be home?"

"I have to leave in like 15 minutes if I want to make it home before the 'Wrath of Wesley' hits."

"Well, come here then... let's not waste a single second of it."

Chloe smiled widely and moved towards Brady.  He laid all the way down on his back and she leaned over him.  Brady smiled at her and brought her towards him for a kiss.  A kiss that would last for the next 15 minutes, but had enough meaning behind it to last forever.

The End

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