Chapter Nine

(Very Early, the Next Morning)

Chloe finished off the last crumbs of her bagel in a hurry. She had taken a shower, changed her clothes and promised Craig that she would grab a quick cup of coffee and something to eat in the hospital cafeteria. But, Brady was alone and she wanted to hurry so she could be back at his side where she had spent most of the night.

His family had come back a few hours after they had left yesterday evening and stayed for a while. But, they had left late in the night, promising to return this morning. She knew they were due back soon, but Chloe would take no chances when it came to leaving Brady alone.

Chloe stood, took her empty plate to the counter, and refilled her coffee before she exited the cafeteria. It had been another long night, but she was feeling pretty well considering. She had made sure to sleep any place that she could lay her head, and Nancy had made sure that she was eating right all day yesterday.

She turned down the hallway towards Brady room and took another sip of her coffee. Healthy for you or not, coffee was a saving grace in a situation like this. It was the only thing that kept her energized enough to try and urge Brady on to recovery.

Chloe reached Brady's closed door and paused in surprise. She saw a figure standing by the bed, and realized that it was Phillip. Chloe smiled slightly, glad that he had done as she asked of him.

She slowly opened the door and crept inside. Phillip did not turn, so he must not have heard her. Chloe stood and tried to listen to what Phillip was saying, his voice obviously broken up by tears.

"I'm so sorry, Brady. Sorry for everything. I never meant for this to happen."

Chloe's forehead creased as she stared intently at the back of his head. She felt another strange shiver crawl up her spine, and her heart began pounding in her chest as he continued on.

"I only wanted to keep you away from Chloe, but I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to kill you, I swear. I just wanted to tell you to stay away from my girlfriend."

The entire room began spinning around Chloe and she thought her insides were going to burst. She felt the styrofoam cup in her hand fall in slow motion towards the floor. The hot coffee splashing all over her white tennis shoes as it bounced on the linoleum beneath her.

She could barely rasp out just one sound. "Phillip..."

Phillip jumped in surprise and turned to face her. "Chloe... I didn't hear you come in."

"Oh my God, Phillip. What did you just say? What did you do?"

Phillip's blue eyes filled with fear and he shook his head in denial. "I didn't say anything... I didn't do anything."

Chloe marched towards him angrily, her face turning hot as she raised her voice to him. "Yes, you did. You did this. You tried to kill him, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't... I didn't mean to."

"Damnit, don't you dare lie to me. I heard you. You wanted him out of the way. You wanted him away from me, so you tried to kill him. Tell me the truth, Phillip. PLEASE. Tell me what is going on."

Phillip looked downward and nodded. "It's true. But, it's not what you think. I went there to talk to him, to tell him to stay out of your life... And, something happened... I guess I snapped or something. I didn't even know what I was doing, I just did it. And after it was over... I couldn't remember that it had happened. It only came back to me after we left the hospital the night that it happened. I saw my car in the garage, my dad didn't see the damage, but I did. And, it came flooding back."

Chloe felt her stomach turn, and she was afraid she was going to be sick. "Why? Why would you even go down there in the first place? If Brady wants to be a part of my life, he will be. There was NEVER anything you could do about that."

"I don't know. I lost my mind. God, Chloe... I love you. I did this because I love you."

"You don't even know what love is, Phillip. You never have. This... What you did... It is not about love. It is about hate and pain and jealousy."

Phillip tried to lay his hand on her arm but Chloe pulled her arm away before he could even touch her. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm so sorry."

Chloe shook her head and glared at him with more anger than she had felt in her entire life. "Don't you touch me ever again. And don't you dare try to apologize for what you have done. You disgust me. You make me sick to my stomach. Now, pick up the phone, call the police and turn yourself in before I have to do it for you."

Phillip's eyes widened in fear and he shook his head in denial. "No, I can't do that."

"Then I'll do it." Chloe moved forward to reach for the phone but Phillip grabbed her arms and roughly pushed her against the wall. He pinned both of her arms down so she could not push him away and glared at her like a man possessed by the devil. Chloe felt her soul shaken to the core, as she realized that this was probably the same look he had when he ran down Brady only thirty-six hours earlier.

Phillip's voice sounded desperate as he kept his eyes locked with hers. "NO. I said NO. The police will not find out about this."

Chloe had felt a myriad of emotions towards Phillip in the past, but this feeling was new to her. She had never been truly afraid of him before. Chloe had never feared that Philip could hurt her physically, but now she knew the truth. He was completely capable of violence, and she knew he would not hesitate to hurt her now.

Chloe tried to retain a cool head, even though she was suddenly filled with fear. "Even if I don't tell them, you won't get away with this. They have enough evidence to find out that you did it, Phillip. And when they do, you're going to jail."

Phillip shook his head, his tone sounding more and more frightening to her. "I'm not going to jail. I'll leave town... and you can come with me. We can be together. We'll be happy... far away from Salem, far away from Brady."

Chloe was stunned by how disconnected to reality he had become. "You are sick, Phillip. You need help. You have some sort of mental disorder and you need to see a doctor."

"No, I don't. I don't need a doctor. I need you. That's all. If I have you, then everything else will be okay. I won't be sick anymore, I'll be fine."

Chloe spoke with confidence instead of fear, even though she knew her words might only provoke him further. "Phillip... You will NEVER have me. You never had a chance to get me back, and you never will. It's been over for a long time. I don't want to be with you. The sight of you makes me sick. Please open your eyes and figure that out before you do something to me that you will regret later."

Phillip's eyes flashed with anger. He pressed her arms down harder and moved his face closer to hers. "Don't make me hurt you, Chloe. Please stop. I don't want to hurt you."

Chloe stared at him with all the hatred that she had in her body, her eyes narrowing as she did. "It's too late. You may have killed the man that I love. So, you've already hurt me. And it hurts worse than any physical pain you could cause me."

Phillip's gaze did not change, he kept his eyes fixed on her as she spoke and when she reared back to spit in his face, he pulled her away from the wall and then pushed her back into it forcefully. Chloe cried out in pain as her head smacked the wall loudly. Phillip pulled back his fist as if to punch her, and Chloe cringed in fear.

Chloe closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable. She waited for the blow to come, but it never did. Phillip was pulled off of her and she opened her eyes to see what had happened. Shawn had come running in, with Belle behind him, and had seen him throw her against the wall. He yanked Phillip away from her and threw him to the floor.

"What the HELL are you doing, Phillip?"

Phillip got back on his feet and tried to come after Shawn. Thankfully, Shawn was quick and pounded his fist into Phillip's face. Phillip dropped to the floor and fell unconscious. Chloe exhaled sharply, a near gasp of relief that they had come in to save her when they did. She slid down the wall slowly until she was in a sitting position.

Shawn kneeled down next to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Chloe... Are you okay?"

Chloe nodded slightly, but did not speak. Belle looked at her in shock and confusion and inquired. "What happened here?"

Chloe blinked her eyes rapidly and surveyed the scene. She looked back at Belle and spoke softly. "Phillip... He... He did this. He was the one that hurt Brady. I... I... I tried to get him to turn himself in, but he snapped. He snapped just like he did when he tried to kill Brady."

Shawn looked up at his girlfriend, his own face wearing a similar expression of shock and surprise. "Belle... Go get hospital security. I'm going to call my dad at the station."

Belle nodded and ran out the door. Shawn turned back to Chloe and pulled her close for a comforting hug. "It's okay now, Chloe. Everything is going to be alright."

Chloe nodded slightly and let go of him. "I can't... I can't believe it. I knew Phillip had problems, but I never thought he'd go this far."

Shawn stood and nodded in understanding. "I don't think any of us did."

Shawn turned and grabbed the phone on the bedside table. He dialed his father's number and waited for an answer. Chloe watched him as he spoke to his father, but his words sounded fuzzy to her. She turned her gaze away from Shawn and looked at Phillip's unconscious form on the floor in front of her.

Chloe wanted to cry this time. She wanted to let out all of the anger and pain she had been feeling in the past day and a half. But, she couldn't do it. She felt numb again, physically and emotionally. And for the first time since all of this had begun, she truly wanted to cry, but was in too much shock to let the tears fall.

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(More soon...)