chap26

Belle eventually let herself finish bathing and got out of the shower. She stared at her reflection as she brushed out her blonde hair. At least the heat from the shower had kept her eyes from becoming puffy from her tears. She tucked her towel tightly around her and slowly went to the door to Shawn's room, unlocking it for him. With some hesitation, she opened the door and then turned to walk back into her room. He jumped up with a start at the noise and hurried to the doorway, only to see her towel-clad figure softly close her bedroom door behind her. With a sigh, he entered the bathroom and also showered, unable to get rid of the chill that ran throughout his body. He finished and toweled off, wrapping it around his waist. There was no noise coming from her room when he gently knocked so he quietly opened the door. All the lights were out but a flash of lightning revealed her in her bed. She was curled up on her side, her knees drawn up high, and clumps of wet blonde hair stuck to her forehead. He sat down on the edge of her bed and pushed the hair off her face.
"Come on, Belle" he whispered to her. "Don't push me away...please" She slept on and he got up with a sigh, pulling the covers around her more tightly and letting himself out. He went back to his room where he pulled on a pair of mesh shorts and an old t-shirt. He went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of juice, where he found his parents.
"Hey Shawn D" his mom said, pulling him close for a hug.
"Hey guys, what are you still doing up?" he asked, noticing the tired expression on his mom's face.
"Your little brother or sister here isn't ready to go to sleep yet" she said, patting her belly. (I know Hope had the baby like a million years ago but she was pregnant when I started the fanfic and it would be weird to just have the baby just appear) He smiled and bent over slightly, letting his ear rest on her stomach. He laughed as he could slightly hear and feel the baby moving.
"Yup, definately a Brady" he said, straightening up. They laughed as he poured himself a glass of juice and sat down next to his parents at the table.
"Dad, sorry again about the little fiasco I almost caused at the pier" he said, after a few minutes of silence.
"It's alright..." his dad started.
"Hey, all's well that ends well" his mother interrupted. "We're just happy that you're ok"
"Belle seemed a little shaken up by it though" Bo said, carefully watching his son.
"Yeah, well, she's emotional like that" Shawn said, carefully chosing his words.
"Seemed like a little more than that" his dad added.
"She looked upset when she got home too" Hope said.
"I don't know, she's acting weird" Shawn said, embarrassed to be discussing this with his parents.
"Weird, like what?" Hope asked, giving Bo a quick look.
"Like, girl weird" Shawn said, and Bo laughed. "What? That's what it is"
"Shawn, explain yourself" his mom said, sitting back.
"Well, she was all upset when the accident happened" he said. "Like crying and shit"
"Shawn..." Hope said.
"And stuff...sorry" he continued. "But as soon as I acknowledged it, she pulled away from me. Not like physically but mentally. I went to talk to her and she totally blew me off. Asked me to leave and slammed the door. And that's not like Belle"
"Did you try to talk to her again?" Bo asked.
"I did the one time and she got upset and asked me to leave" Shawn said. "I tried again after I showered but she's asleep" Bo shot Hope a knowing look. "What, you know what's going on?"
"We've had our suspicions" Hope said, taking Bo's hand over the table.
"What then?" Shawn asked. "Cause I have no idea"
"Well, son" Bo said. "That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself"
"What?" Shawn said. "You're my parents, you're supposed to help me"
"But it's not in our place to help you here" Hope said. "You have to figure it out for yourself. Go talk to her-either tonight or tomorrow. But don't blow her off-trust me."
"So that's all you're going to say?" he asked.
"Yup" Bo said.
"Great" Shawn said. "That was enlightening...I'm going to bed"
"Night Shawn" Bo said.
"Night sweetie" Hope said, as he gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"Night guys" he said, walking down the hall. "Some help they were" he muttered. He went into his room and the full force of his exhaustion hit him. He quickly peeled off his shirt and dropped his shorts on top of it, crawling into bed and falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He awoke awhile later to a female scream. He lay there, fully awake, when he heard something sounding like a struggle from another room.
"Belle!" he said, jumping up out of bed. He grabbed his shorts and stumbled to pull them on as he tried to run to the door. He ran through the bathroom and threw her door open. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the light but no one else was in the room. He heard another gasp and saw her lying in bed, tossing frantically.
"Just a nightmare" he said, his heart already starting to stop pounding. He sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her a minute, tossing and turning with her eyes squeezed shut tightly.
"No..." she mumbled in her sleep. "No...please, no" He took her arm and gently tried to shake her awake.
"Belle, sweetie, wake up" he said. "You're dreaming"
"No, don't leave me, please no" she continued, getting louder.
"Belle, hun, it's Shawn" he said. "Wake up" With a final gasp her eyes shot open and an utter look of terror washed over her face.
"Belle" he said, as he gently stroked her arm.
"Shawn, why did you do it?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
"What?" he asked, confused. "What did I do?"
"Why did you leave me?" she asked, tears now pouring down her face.
"Belle, I didn't" he said, touching her cheek but she pulled away.
"Yes you did, you left me just like everyone else left me" she said. "I needed you and you left me!"
"Shh" he said, as her voice got louder. "Sweetie, it was just a dream"
"A dream?" she asked. "But it was so real"
"Yeah, hun, I heard you call out so I came over" he said. "You had a bad dream-a nightmare" She looked up at him, still crying, and looking helpless. He reached over and held her close, gently rubbing her back.
"I was so scared Shawn, so scared" she said, into his chest.
"What did you dream about?" he asked, trying to comfort her. She pulled away, shivering, and he pulled the sheets around her tighter.
"Shawn, you left me..." she said, getting upset again. "Just like everyone else"
"Calm down" he said, crawling behind her on the bed. He settled himself against the wall and pulled her in his arms, but this time she didn't pull away. "Now start at the beginning" She took a ragged breath before she began to speak.
"We were at the beach here but the sky was all dark, like it was going to storm" she said, snuggling up against him. "I was swimming in the water but the waves got really rough and I started to get pulled further and further out. I got scared so I yelled out to you guys. Everyone was standing on the beach-Mom and Dad and your parents and everyone. I screamed and yelled but everyone just stood and watched me. No one came to help me, Shawn!" She shivered then and he pulled her closer. "And then everyone turned and walked away from the water-except you"
"What happened then?" he asked her gently.
"I called for you, Shawn, over and over" she said, her lower lip trembling. "And you just stood there and watched me. You didn't help me! And then you just left me there...you just walked away. You left me Shawn!" she said, getting angry.
"You know I would never leave you, Belle" he said, trying to reassure her. "It was just a dream-a bad dream. Cause I would never leave you"
"Honest Shawn?" she asked, leaning her head against him.
"Honest, Belle" he answered. "I'll always take care of you" He wrapped his arms around her tighter and she snuggled into his grasp. She slipped her tiny hand into his and he squeezed it, physically showing that he wasn't going anywhere. He put his head on top of hers and waited until he heard her breathing slow. He peeked down and saw that she was sound asleep against him. He shifted himself from underneath her and laid her gently back against her pillows. The sheets had been tossed around in her terror and he gently tucked them back around her. Her hand was still tightly in his and he loosened his grip, starting to set her hand down on her stomach when she started to toss around again.
"NO" she murmured, her eyes squinting up. "Shawn, you said you wouldn't leave me"
"I'm not, doll, I'm here" he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed again. She opened her eyes and he gave her a small smile, while running his hand through her hair. "Go back to sleep"
"Alright" she said, her eyes already closing. "Don't go, Shawn"
"I won't" he said, smiling at her. "I'm here" She quickly fell back into a deep sleep and Shawn groaned. *Now what?* he thought. *I can't stay here-John will shit a brick if he finds me sleeping in Belle's room. But it's impossible to just sit here all night-I'm exhausted* His eyes traveled over the room, weighing his options, finally settling on a large armchair near the bed. Stretching her arm to the limit, he could reach it and he drug it over to the bed. He pulled her extra pillow off the bed and sat it on the chair. It wasn't as comfy as his bed but he'd deal with it for Belle. He settled onto it, stretching his legs out onto her bed. He kept his right hand clasped tightly in hers as he tried to make himself comfortable for the long night ahead.