Chapter 10

After a night for Philip and Gram's words to sink into his taxed heart, Shawn took a breath, before he punched the elevator key. He closed his eyes, listening to the chimes, which signaled each level. The doors finally slid open, so that he could cautiously step out onto the top floor.

For J.T., promised Shawn. He rang the doorbell and seconds later the door opened.

"Hey, Shawn," greeted a surprised Brady, before he bear-hugged his friend.

"Whoa," said Shawn, patting Brady's back, "What's up, man?"

Brady dropped his friend back onto the ground and gestured in welcome. "Sorry, we missed you at the funer-the other day," he quickly amended, "You kinda looked like you could use some time to yourself."

His friend only nodded. After taking a cautious scan of the room, Shawn stepped inside with nervous eyes darting upstairs.

"So, how are you doing?" asked Brady, jarring his friend to attention.

"I'm fine," replied Shawn, who wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans, then turned to face Brady. And gaped. "What happened to you?"

Brady's eyes looked slightly upward and around, as if he could see the ugly fading bruises across his brow, cheek, and recovering nose. Then, with a pompous smirk, he stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. He plopped down on the armchair and clicked on the stereo with a remote.

Shawn's eyebrows rose, when Chopin filled the penthouse. He lifted his chin in Brady's direction, "That have something to do with Phil and Jase?"

Brady almost laughed. "Aw, did they come running to you with their sob story?"

Shawn's eyes narrowed in confusion. "You wanna tell me your version?"

Brady scoffed, "Whatever. If they wanna be babies and run to their little girlfriends, so be it."

Eyes wide and mouth open, Shawn carefully asked, "What exactly happened with you guys?"

"Look, I saw him trying to hurt my sister, then Jason jumped all over me, trying to double-team me-"

"Wait," he interrupted, with hands gripping air, "Your sister… Who was trying to hurt Belle?"

"Phil, man. I come running downstairs, because I hear her screaming, and there he was with his hands all over her. Then, next thing I know we're punching the shit out of each other. Jason tried to get me from behind. He ended up on our coffee table."

Shawn then noticed the shiny new coffee table in the middle of the living room and remembered Jase's black eye. Then, he shook his head in disbelief, "No way, man. There must be some serious misunderstanding, because Phil, man, he'd never hurt Belle."

"Look, Shawn, I saw it with my own eyes, ok? Belle was just talking to Chloe-"

"Chloe was here, too?" Shawn asked, growing more confused by the minute.

"Yeah, and Belle must have said something to piss him off. Either that or he can't stand Chloe having any time for anyone else but him."

"What?" exclaimed Shawn, totally flabbergasted now.

"That guy is jealous of his own damn shadow, ok? Then, he goes back crying, so she can feel sorry for him. And Jase gets Mimi to baby him-"

"What? Mimi was here, too? Jeez," sputtered Shawn, running a rattled hand through his hair. "When the hell did all this happen?"

"That night, when Chloe found you."

"What? You mean, right after?" In his mind, Shawn pulled together the details of that murky night, when he'd stumbled, hopeless and desperate, upon Chloe on the pier. "They came to tell you about me, didn't they? And then," he continued, when Brady tried to speak, "Something got mixed up-"

"Nothing freaking got mixed up, ok?" Face reddening, Brady rose with a growl. "Phil's been trying to get me back, ever since he found me with Chloe."

"What?" gasped Shawn, shocked.

Chloe blinked up at the slow drifting flurries. It would seem that winter was not through with Salem yet. Blowing at a mischievous snowflake, she smiled and walked to the next store window, bedecked with red, pink, and white. Normally, she'd sneer at the ridiculous cherub with the bare bottom, armed with an amorous bow and arrow. She'd roll her eyes at the big heart-shaped box of chocolates, wrapped in what was essentially glittery red plastic wrap. And those sappy songs over the radio - positively nauseating.

Reflected on the windowpane, a girl accepted an early daisy and jumped into the ready arms of her obviously besotted suitor. Chloe turned to watch with a romantic sigh. Surprised at herself, she shook her head. Then, she simply shrugged and indulged in another sigh. Who was she fooling? For the first time in her young life, she knew exactly what that girl was feeling. Instantly, a disarming pair of Kiriakis dimples flashed in her mind. Unbelievable as it was, Chloe Lane was hopelessly and blissfully in love.

Reveling in that warm swirl in her heart, she smiled and strolled down the walk to the next store. This would be her first real Valentine's Day. So, what does a girl get for a guy that has everything? Times a billion.

She shook her head. Chalk that one up, she thought, as a disadvantage of dating the heir of an insanely wealthy and powerful business mogul. Whatever she chose, her present couldn't beat his, price-wise anyway. But she knew, what a present cost never mattered as much as what a present meant.

She passed an optical store and remembered his reaction, when she'd given him a slender box, which held her thick, dark glasses that her eyes had never needed. Her fears had. She'd been so afraid of believing in people, because all she'd known was disappointment and betrayal. Then, she'd met her friends and Philip and realized love and happiness were more than worth the risk. So, one emotional night, she shed the glasses and conquered her fear by believing in Philip and what they might share. Speechless, he'd pulled her into his arms and simply held on, she remembered, so overwhelmed was he by the gift and its significance.

Then, there was the framed picture of their magical night at the Last Blast Dance, which was displayed prominently on his desk. She'd finally given it to him several weeks after the exposed bet.

And that night, when he'd sung to her. All the riches in the world couldn't compare. How close they'd grown since then.

She sighed again and turned to look into another store window. And stopped in her tracks. A smile blossomed across her cheeks. She'd found it. Her feet were headed for the store's entrance, when she noticed the reflection on the windowpane. She turned around to see Mimi with defiant hands on her hips, speaking with a tall bulky guy in a thick letter jacket.

"Must be my lucky day," grinned the towering giant, before he leaned lustfully toward Mimi with his cocky arm stretched up the nearby pole. "Fancy bumping into you again, little Missy."

Mimi rolled her eyes in derision. "Well, that makes it my unlucky day, doesn't it? Excuse me." With that, she turned to walk away, when he took hold of her arm. Here we go, again, thought Mimi.

A latte. That's all she'd wanted, before she'd go to check up on Belle and ever so subtly spill her guts out about last night's phenomenal but hopefully meaningless kiss with Jason. Of course, along the way, she'd have to run into this dumbass again. "What is your problem? Read my lips. I'm not interested, so let me go, or I'll embarrass you right here."

He only chuckled, confident in his own appeal and obvious size advantage. "Come on. You can be up front with old Kev. Your boyfriend ain't here, so how about we get to know each other a little better, eh?"

"Sorry, I don't associate with alcoholic, retarded animals. Now, at the count of three, I'm going to start screaming. One…" she began, after she tried to pull away again.

The first signs of temper appeared across his features. "You know, you've got a real attitude problem."

"Two," she warned, preparing her voice to shatter glass, if it had to.

His fingers tightened on her arm. "Someone ought to teach you some manners-"

"Miriam," called out a rapidly approaching Chloe, "I've been looking all over for you." She'd watched from across the court, as Mimi tried to get away from her persistent admirer. She took Mimi by the other arm and granted him a feigned apologetic glance, "Excuse us," and tried to pull her away, but he only turned her attention to her while keeping his grip on Mimi.

"Well, hello there," he slobbered, as he took in another beautiful girl.

Chloe shot him a look, sharp enough to slice steel. "Don't even go there. As I was saying, my friend and I need to be leaving, so would you be so kind, as to give her her arm back?"

"Man, is this like bitch day or what?" he sneered.

With a cold glare of pity, Chloe said, "Do you really have to personify every unflattering stereotype of the intellectually challenged, chauvinistic male, who picks on women, as a result of his skewed sense of self-worth, not to mention reality?"

Not entirely sure of what she'd just said, Kevin only pulled Mimi closer to him. "Well, I'm not done talking to her, so unless you're into a threesome, sweetheart, scram."

Fuming, Mimi hissed, "Why you-" and reared back and smacked him as hard as she could.

Only slightly dazed from the impact, he grew angrier, "You little bitch," squeezing his powerful fingers into her arm.

Mimi cried in pain.

Frantic, Chloe swung her bag with all her might at his head. "Let her go!"

"And I'm tired of your shit, too," he shouted, batting the bag aside and backhanding her with enough force to knock her to the ground.

With her throbbing cheek on fire, Chloe would only remember a furious howl, before a force suddenly collided with Kevin, sending him flying off his feet. Skull struck pavement. Then, she heard the wild rhythm of fists meeting flesh.

"You son of bitch!" he screamed, through that red haze of murder.

Stunned, Mimi stood and watched, as Kevin's face became a mass of blood. She finally stumbled over to pull back his descending arms. "Philip, stop."

But he continued to pulverize the man that would dare lay hands on Chloe.

Dizzy, Chloe managed to regain her unsteady feet and reached to pull Philip back. "Please, Philip. Stop. Stop." She took hold of his chin and forced him to look at her. "Please, Philip."

Her voice finally reached him. He released Kevin, who collapsed lifelessly against the pavement, unconscious. Philip stood and held Chloe to him.

"I'm okay, Philip. I'm okay, I'm okay," she repeated over and over again, as his arms tightened to a frightening degree around her. "I'm okay."

Finally, he drew back and raised a trembling hand to her quickly purpling cheek. For someone to touch such a beautiful face… "Son of bitch," he said, the rage rising again so fast and consuming, it came out a harsh whisper.

Chloe placed a calm hand to his cheek. "Philip, I'm okay. Please." Her big blue eyes pleaded with his.

He pulled her against him again and let out a breath, for Chloe's sake. Later, he thought. A Kiriakis would settle this later.

"Hey, Phil!" Jason ran over, when he spotted the crowded gathering around his friends, then the body on the ground. "What the hell happened?" He got a better look at the bloody face, and his eyes narrowed in recognition. "You. Asshole from the pool party. Son of a bitch." Then, he saw Mimi shivering to the side. In three strides, he pulled her to him and turned her shocked face away from the mess on the ground.

Chloe reached for Philip's abused knuckles. She pulled off her scarf and wrapped them gingerly to staunch the bleeding.

Soon, mall security arrived, and Chloe pulled an intensely quiet Philip back into her arms.

"What did you just say?" demanded Shawn.

Brady would have smacked himself in the forehead at his carelessness. If Chloe hated him before, she'd without doubt despise him now. "Oh, shit. Look, forget I said that, ok?"

"Are you telling me that-that you and Chloe-" Shawn sputtered at the unimaginable possibility that Chloe had cheated on Philip.

"Hey, Brady! Could you turn that down?" shouted Belle, who emerged from her room to look down from the top of the curving staircase. Her face fell, when she saw who else was in the living room. "Shawn," she whispered.

His eyes hesitated, before they met hers. His mouth opened as if to say something, but nothing came out. Then, he averted his gaze. It was all still too much, especially now with everything he'd learned today. He just wasn't ready for any of this. He wasn't ready for her.

"Uh, I gotta go," he muttered.

With teary eyes, Belle watched him stand abruptly and walk out of the penthouse without another word.

In the mirror, Chloe fingered the raw mark across her cheek and sighed. Life never seemed to let up. After the ambulance had arrived to cart off the awake but incoherent Kevin to the hospital, police took statements from the teenagers and various witnesses, who corroborated their story of Philip defending the girls against a physically abusive bully. Meanwhile, onlookers mumbled about football players and violence. After their parents arrived and initial statements were recorded, parents shuffled them home. Minutes before, Chloe had practically shoved a hysterical Nancy out of the room after another hour of warm soup and ice bags. And another tirade about Philip.

"That boy's nothing but trouble," she'd screeched, "This is the second fight this week and now look at my baby."

Despite Chloe's reassertions that Philip was only trying to protect her, her mother remained hotly unconvinced. So, the frustrated daughter pushed Nancy out of her room and locked the door, so that she could change into her soft cotton nightgown for bed. Exhausted, she gave her hair a final brush, before she climbed under her covers and turned off her bedside lamp.

A familiar soft knock against her window awakened her. Rubbing her eyes, she rolled out of bed and padded toward the sound. Outside, perched on the tree was her hero. With a sleepy smile of welcome, she pulled open her window to let him in. After he was safely inside and the window closed, Chloe hugged him, despite his snow-covered jacket. She giggled, when he swept her up in his arms and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. Because she was shivering from the chill, he shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the bedpost. Then, he drew the blanket around them both.

His gentle palm cupped her cheek to reveal the bruise in the dim light. His eyes glinted like ice.

With eyelids heavy from weariness, she sighed, raising his bandaged knuckles to her lips to kiss them. Her warm hand encircled his wrist and tightened to comfort, before she pressed her lips against his for a soothing kiss that they both needed. Nuzzling her neck, he ran a loving hand down her arm to her waist to her knee. She sighed, as she settled against his chest. Never before had she felt so safe or cherished. And so, she fell asleep, listening to his heartbeat.

Watching her lashes flutter in slumber, Philip kissed her forehead and whispered, "No one's ever going to hurt you again. I promise."