chap28

    Tears threatened to spill out over her eyelashes as she watched Shawn's retreating form. Dropping the towel that she was still clutching, she hurried after him. He heard her call out after him and dropped his brisk pace, now breaking into a run. Belle too broke into a run as they wove through the families that watched them.
"Shawn, wait!" she called out, apologizing for almost knocking over a small child. Shawn continued jogging down the beach, never turning to see her following him.
"Shawn, I can explain!" she tried, one last time, as she stopped. Her bathing suit wasn't made for running and it was constantly riding up, threatening to expose her body. She sighed and tugged down on it. Tears now came in full force, rolling down her cheeks and she tried to roughly wipe them away but they kept coming. People stared at her but she ignored them all, only watching the red-trunk clad boy as he disappeared down the coastline. Soon he was lost in the crowd and she turned to trudge slowly home.
      All day she sat on her blanket and waited for his return but he never came. Only once did Eric persuade her to the water and she stood in the water up to her waist and stared out into the mesmerizing water. Every tall, dark-haired guy that walked down the beach drew her attention but each time she was disappointed to see it wasn't him. Shawn's disappearance didn't seem to concern his parents, who were used to him always running off but always came back, safe and sound after he had burned some energy. Only Belle was worried when he didn't arrive back by the time everyone began to pack up to go back to the house. She shook out her towel and once again peered down the shoreline but was startled by a hand on her shoulder. Jumping, she turned to see Eric. He stared down at her with concern written all over her face-she had barely moved off her towel all day and had only spoken a few words to anyone all day long.
"Maybe he's up at the house already" he offered, as a gleam of hope spread over her face. She quickly gathered up her things and rushed up to the house. She ran up the front steps and into her own bedroom. She threw open the bathroom door and was delighted to see that the door to his room was open. She knocked quietly on it and when there was no answer, she knocked again, this time louder. No answer came so she peeked in to find the room empty-he wasn't back yet.
     She crept out of his room and went back to the kitchen to throw herself down at the table where preparations for dinner were taking place. She sat and sulked as everyone bustled around them to get dinner ready.
"Here, Belle, make yourself useful" her mom said, handing her some carrots and a knife for the salad. With a sigh, she began the mindless work but her heart jumped at a slamming of the front door. Footsteps pounding up the stairs and soon a stone-faced Shawn made his appearance at the top of the stairs.
"Hey Sailorman, glad you made it in time for dinner" Bo said, nonchalantly. Shawn's eyes made a silent path over the people in the kitchen and finally rested on Belle, a shiver running through her at the coldness in his eyes.
"I'm not hungry" was his curt reply.
"You have to be, you haven't eaten all day" his mom said, stopping to study him.
"Just let me be, I have a headache" he said, finally breaking his gaze with Belle and walking off. A few seconds later they heard his bedroom door slam. Marlena and Hope turned to look at Belle with questions all over their faces and she couldn't stand their gazes. Throwing down the knife, she stood up and rushed off to her own room. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and decided a long, hot shower would clear her mind before dinner. She grabbed a few things from her bedroom and went in to shower. When she finally stepped out, she quickly pulled on her tank top and panties when she realized she had left her shorts in her bedroom. She also noticed that his door was unlocked. Peeking in the mirror at herself, she decided to go ahead and talk to him now before the opportunity was lost-at least the outfit covered more than her bathing suit did.
   Clutching the doorknob, she decided to let herself in without knocking so he had no chance to not let her talk. She pushed the door open while she rapped lightly on it. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the pitch darkness of his bedroom.
"Shawn?" she asked, noticing the body stretched out on top of the bed.
"What" was his reply.
"Ummm...can we talk please?" she asked, as he turned his head slightly to look at her and almost gasped out her outfit. All she had on was a tight black tank top over a pair of black panties. The shirt rose slightly to show a touch of skin and the color made her tan stand out. He quickly adverted his gaze back to the ceiling so he wouldn't show her any emotion.
"So talk" was all he said, breaking the silence.
"Shawn, I want to know what I did to make you so angry at me" she said, her voice waivering but she forced herself to stay calm. "I need to know so I can fix it"
"Nothing, don't worry about it"
"But I'm going to worry about it" she pleaded. "Please tell me what's wrong"
"Nothing is wrong" he said.
"Shawn..." she started.
"Belle" he interrupted. "Please leave"
'What?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
"I have a headache and...and...you're not helping" he said, putting his hand over his face so she wouldn't see the tears forming. "Please go" Stunned, she stared at him for a moment before she turned to leave. Silently, she closed the door behind her and went back to her own room.
"You really did it this time, Belle" she said, out loud, as she pulled on her khaki shorts. "Any chance you had with Shawn Brady is gone" She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and went out to get dinner. They all sat down to eat and she remained silent the whole time while everyone laughed and joked around her. Their happiness angered her-didn't they know that her whole world has just crumbled at her feet?
      After dinner, she cleared the table and sat down at the table again to stare at the ocean through the picture window. A slam of a door brought her back to life and she looked up to see Shawn come bounding down the hall.
"Hey, what's for dinner?" he asked, not noticing her tucked away in the corner.
"I can heat you up some leftovers" his mom offered, already taking out a plate.
"Great" he said, opening up the fridge.
"How's your headache?" Hope asked, arranging his dinner on a plate.
"I never had one" he said, straightening up, and the words went through Belle like a knife. She stared at him as he grabbed his plate and turned to sit down at the table, finally noticing her.
"I think I'll eat on the porch" he said, as he broke his gaze from her. He grabbed his drink and hurried out onto the back porch facing the ocean. Greta and Eric watched from the sink as Belle stood up and rushed off into her room, her door slamming shut a minute later.
"Wow" Eric commented, staring at Shawn's back.
"You can say that again" Greta said. "But I'm not letting them do this"
"What?" Eric asked. "Greta, this doesn't involve you"
"As both of their friends, yes it does" she said. Eric started to protest but he could tell by the way she set her lips that she was determined to fix things.
"Alright" he said, with a shrug. "What can I do to help?"
"Go out there and keep Shawn on the porch" she instructed. "I'm going to go talk to Belle"
"Good luck" he said, heading to the porch. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back for a quick kiss.
"Thank you" she said. "I'm going to need it"