"Wow, Heather, you sure know how to deflate a guy's ego," Brady said bitterly.
"Brady, we've only been back together for a day! You can't just go around proposing marriage whenever you feel like it!" Heather shouted, exasperated.
"Did you not listen to my speech?! The whole loving you for years thing?!" Brady yelled back.
"But it's different now," she pointed out. "We have to get used to being together again. Things changed and we need to adapt to that, you know?"
"And how long will that take?" Brady asked, crossing his arms impatiently.
Heather rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Brady, on the second Thursday of next month at exactly 5:23 p.m. and 12 seconds, I'll be used to you again," she answered sarcastically. Brady stared at her blankly. "Brady, how the hell am I supposed to know how long it will take?!"
"Well, you're the one setting all these rules! Who cares how long we've been back together? I told you, I've loved you for years. Besides, I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow. Just getting engaged."
"Just...getting...?" Heather repeated.
"That's not how I meant it," Brady sighed. "Heather, look, the bottom line is that I'm in love with you," he said gently. "You've been the only woman I love. I mean, you're the only one who made me realize how important life is. Heather, you changed my life for the better, more than once. I can't lose that. And I want to take the next step to make sure we'll be together forever," Brady said as Heather looked down, biting her lip. He was really serious about this...Brady Black was being loving, honest and...serious. She slowly picked the ring off of the couch and gave it back to Brady. Heather swallowed as Brady dropped down to one knee again. He slipped the ring on her left hand.
"Heather...will you marry me? Please."
Heather tried to fight back her grin but just let out an excited laugh and nodded. "Yes!" she shouted, throwing her arms around Brady's neck. At first, she wasn't sure if Brady could ever handle something so serious as marriage. But, she was willing to let him prove himself. Brady laughed and spun Heather around in circles. When he put her down, Heather gazed at her ring, which glistened as a fresh tear fell on top of it.
"Um...I know it isn't anything fancy or..." Brady started, noticing her staring at it.
"It's the most beautiful thing in the world," Heather said softly.
"Hello?" Philip breathed after diving for his phone.
"I am so sorry," a voice rushed out.
"Chloe," Philip sighed. "It's not your fault."
"Yes, it is!" she whispered. "I never should have invited you over!"
Philip cleared his throat. "Do--do you regret...what we did?"
Chloe shook her head and then realized Philip couldn't see her. "No, not at all. But I regret not getting you out the next morning."
"Yeah, so do I," Philip muttered.
"But you're not mad?" she whispered.
"No, of course not. But, um, why are you whispering?" Philip asked, furrowing his brow.
Chloe looked over her shoulder to her closed door. Craig and Nancy were probably pacing outside her room, ready to bust in if they heard Philip return to the scene of the crime. "If Nancy and Craig heard me talking to you, they'd probably lock me up in jail," Chloe answered softly.
"That mad, huh?" Philip sighed, disappointed. He wondered how long it would be before he could see Chloe again. A couple of weeks, maybe.
"Worse than mad," Chloe responded.
"Well, what's the punishment?" Philip asked, leaning against his desk.
Fast and simple, Chloe reminded herself. "I can't see you after school for the last week."
"Oh. Well, I mean, of course it sucks, but it's better than what I thought it--"
"And they're taking me to Maine for the summer."
Philip jumped from his desk. "For the entire summer?!"
"Yeah, the whole crappy summer," Chloe said quietly.
"Well, I'll just go to Maine, too! My dad will pay for it," Philip decided triumphantly.
"Philip, I'm going to be attached to Nancy 24/7. She's not going to let me out of her sight. There is no way it would work. Besides, if Craig saw you there, you might not get back to Salem for your senior year alive," she pointed out.
"This sucks," Philip moaned. "I hate this!"
"I know," Chloe whispered. "Me, too."
"Chloe!" Nancy's voice rang out. "Come on, I'm taking you to lunch! Get out here NOW!"
"BE RIGHT THERE!" Chloe screamed with an edge to her tone. "Nancy is forcing quality time on me now."
"More like Convince Chloe That Philip Is Evil time," Philip said bitterly.
"Well, I'm not talking to her. I hate her more than ever," Chloe decided.
"NOW, CHLOE!" Nancy shouted, pounding on her door.
"I have to go," Chloe whispered.
"I love you, Chloe. We'll get through this," Philip said.
"I know we will. I love you. Bye."
"Bye, baby," Philip said before hanging up. He sighed...he knew what was going on. Nancy would try her hardest to hook Chloe up with someone else in Maine. The fact that Chloe kissed Brady flashed through his mind but he shook it off. That was the past. We can get through this, he repeated in his mind. Philip looked at his framed picture of him and Chloe from the Last Blast Dance. He traced Chloe's image with his fingertip. "They won't take you away from me...my most beautiful thing in the world."
Jason shifted his feet awkwardly and Mimi looked down and blushed.
"Jason--"
"So--"
They both stopped and laughed nervously. "Um...you want this?" Jason asked with a smile, holding out the petal-less daisy.
Mimi crinkled her nose. "What am I going to do with that?"
"Kinda like a souvenir."
"What, sorta like those cheesy T-shirts? Jason Welles Decorated My Room and All I Got Was This Lousy Flower?"
Jason laughed and looked down. "Don't girls keep those shoeboxes and crap?"
"Shoeboxes and crap," Mimi repeated slowly. "Yes, we girls are suckers for that."
"You know what I mean," Jason said. "Like, girls put things in boxes to remind them of their boyfriends?"
"Boyfriend?" Mimi asked, looking up.
"Well...I th-thought...I mean..." Jason stammered, frantically waving the daisy around.
Mimi grabbed the stem to stop him, crushing the flower. "Jason...chill. You're Jason Welles, remember?" She took his hands in hers, bending the daisy. "Collected, funny, suave, gorgeous..." she smiled as her eyes twinkled.
Jason grinned. "Keep going."
"Great kisser, smart, resplendent..."
"Great kisser, check," Jason said with a mischievous smile as he drew an imaginary check mark with his finger. "Smart, check. Resplendent..." he bit his lip thoughtfully. "Well, I don't know what that means, but, if you say so!"
"Scratch smart from the list," Mimi teased.
Jason smiled slyly. "Oh? Oh, hey, you forgot expert tickler," he whispered, before tackling Mimi on the bed as she squealed.
"Ok, ok, I take it back!" she screamed.
Jason stopped and rolled Mimi ontop of him. Mimi propped her elbows on Jason's chest and rested her chin in her hands. "Do you really think I'm...stupid?" Jason asked softly.
"No," Mimi said without hesitation. "I was just kidding with you. Jase, you have so much potential, you know that? You just don't study. I mean, if you actually paid attention in class instead of sleeping everyday, you'd have a great GPA."
"You sound like my dad," Jason said.
Mimi rose her eyebrows. "Wow, I totally lost sexy points there."
Jason wrapped his arms around Mimi's waist. "It's impossible for you to be un-sexy."
"Really?" Mimi asked, her eyes lighting up.
"Yes," Jason asserted. "Mimi," he started, tapping her nose with the bent, petal-free daisy. "You are beautiful and you need to know that."
"No one gave me a chance to believe it," she said, averting her gaze.
"Look...Meems...um...well, you know I'm not the best with words. But I'm trying to tell you that you are the most beautiful girl I know. Because you don't need to buy designer clothes or wear a faceful of make-up to look pretty. You just are. Pretty, I mean," Jason stammered.
"Thank you," Mimi said softly. "That means a lot to me."
"So..." Jason said nervously. Sure, she basically admitted she liked him when she pulled that last petal off of the flower. But...did she want to be with him? Mimi's words repeated in his head. Collected. Suave. Resplen--whatever.
Mimi grinned. "Jason? Are you trying to ask me something?" she asked in mock-innocence.
Jason glared back at her. He knew she was trying to make him sweat. "Actually, I'm going to tell you something," he answered, regaining composure. "No more lessons, no more games, no more hidden meanings. I've liked you for a while, Mimi, and this whole romantic night thing actually came easily to me. 'Cause it was for you. And I'd be the happiest, luckiest guy ever if you were...my girlfriend."
Mimi smiled and ran her hand through Jason's hair. "If? Jason, you're stuck with me. Do I have to throw myself at you to make you realize that?" she joked.
"That would be cool," Jason decided with a wicked grin. Mimi laughed and looked down as tears threatened to fall down her face. Oops, bad sign. "Meems, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
"No," Mimi smiled through her tears. "You said everything right."
Jason smiled back and brushed Mimi's hair off of her forehead. "My girlfriend," he said, more to himself than to her, savoring the sound. "Ever the emotional one."
Mimi closed her eyes. As of now, she was officially Jason Welles' girlfriend. Months ago, she couldn't even stand him. Now, she couldn't get enough of him. Mimi opened her eyes and gently took the crushed daisy from Jason.
"Whatca doing?" Jason asked before reaching up for a kiss. Mimi responded and felt like she was going to faint. Jason had always been a good kisser but...this. This was different. It felt like heaven.
"Taking the flower," Mimi replied, after pulling away. "For my shoebox and crap."
"But it IS kinda...gross now," Jason laughed, looking at the daisy.
Mimi brought the flower...the first flower Jason ever gave her...up to eye-level. "Well, I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world."
Belle felt the tears run freely down her face and she felt like she was going to vomit. "You're...you're not going to kill me...are you?" she asked before she even thought it.
Sam stared at the knife. "Oh! Oh, God, no. I don't want you to die, sweetheart. I'm not a psycho." Could have fooled me, Belle thought as she closed her eyes in relief. "This is sort of something I can use to shut you up in case you start screaming. You know...you yell, you bleed."
"Start screaming?" she asked as she vainly tried to struggle beneath him.
"Yeah. I know you won't break up with your puppy dog," Sam said, rolling his eyes. "So I might as well take something from you that Shawn probably hasn't even gotten a piece of," he whispered as his eyes roamed over her body hungrily.
Belle instantly felt sick to her stomach again. He was going to rape her. Here she was, having just a normal day at school, then a relaxing day at home and some creep was just going to take advantage of her. And no one would be around to save her. Belle started sobbing as she tried even harder to push Sam off of her. Sam just laughed as he watched the tears fall down her cheeks and Belle raised her arm up, accidentally knocking the phone off of the table. The receiver rolled off the base and the sound of the dial tone gave Belle an idea. A small, desperate idea, but one nonetheless. As Sam just continued to stare at her with satisfaction, enjoying the view of her trying to escape him, Belle smashed her hand down on the base. She hoped it hit one of the speed dial buttons, maybe her dad's cell phone...anything.
Shawn tapped his steering wheel impatiently as he waited for the light to turn green. The coach had talked his ear off after school and Shawn hoped Belle wasn't mad at him for being late. Right on cue, Shawn's cell phone rang from the glove compartment and he sighed, practicing his apology in his head as he grabbed it.
"Hel--"
"HELP ME!" a loud scream rang into his ear. Shawn winced and pulled the phone away from his ear as the girl continued to scream for help. It was Belle.
"Shut up, you annoying--" the boy, who Shawn instantly recognized as Sam, stopped. "What, trying to call for help, Isabella?" Sam yelled.
Dial tone.
Shawn slammed on the gas, running the red light as passing cars honked their horns at him. Shawn didn't even notice...all he could think about was saving his most beautiful thing in the world.
Chapter 41
Heather pulled away from Brady's kiss when a knock came at the door.
"No, no, no," Brady murmured, pulling her back. "We need to celebrate."
"We can do that later," Heather promised, removing herself from Brady's grip with an apologetic smile. Brady let out a breath of frustration as Heather skipped to the door, throwing it open.
"John?"
"Perfect," Brady muttered under his breath. "Perfect moment for family quality time."
"Hey, Heath," John said, his line vision darting into the room. "I came to get Brady."
"Um...Dad?" Brady said, not bothering to hide his annoyed tone of voice. "I have a car. And...I don't want to go home yet. Heather and I have some great new that--"
John held up on hand. "That can wait. Shawn called the new Basic Black building."
Heather looked over her shoulder to Brady. "Why? Did something happen to Belle?" he demanded.
John nodded his head grimly. "He didn't say what, but he did say Belle was in trouble at the penthouse. And then he hung up."
Brady grabbed his jacket, thanking God silently that Heather lived so close to home. "Let's go."
"There's Shawn's car," Heather pointed out as John pulled into the parking lot.
"And there's Shawn," Brady muttered as they watched the teenager run past the doorman. John quickly got out of the car and the couple followed.
Sam brought the knife down closer to Belle's face as she cried out. "I thought I told you not to scream," he growled. "Do you want to get hurt?"
Belle shook her head as another sob ripped through her body. She cursed herself for not being more brave like Chloe...she'd never let this happen to her. Sam sighed and brushed the hair off of Belle's forehead. "I wish you would stop crying. It'll be hard to enjoy this when you're face is all crumpled up like that," Sam whispered, disappointed.
Belle closed her eyes. She guessed it had been ten to fifteen minutes since she used the speed dial and Sam still hadn't made a move to rape her. He mostly just stared at her. It was like he enjoyed watching her struggle, some sick joy of revenge for her not wanting him.
Sam's hand moved from Belle's forehead to her shoulder. Slowly, he made a trail to the first button on her blouse, his eyes fascinated with the way his hand slid down her skin.
"No," Belle whispered as the tears burned in her eyes. "Please, don't do this..." Sam began to unbutton her shirt, his eyes never leaving her body. He pushed her shirt open and Belle felt like vomiting when Sam licked his upper lip slowly in anticipation. Sam traced the edge of her bra with one fingertip and suddenly grabbed her breast roughly. Belle sobbed out loudly in pain, fear and disgust. Sam squeezed her harder and Belle closed her eyes again, praying he'd stop, he'd get it over with, he'd disappear. Anything but this. Belle reduced her sounds to a frightened whimper when she thought she heard footsteps stomping down the hall. Please, please, please... she chanted in her head as Sam unhooked her bra.
Shawn led the other three down the hall as they reached the Blacks'. He swung the door open, grateful it was unlocked, and nearly exploded with anger and concern at what he saw. Sam was trying to slip Belle's bra off of her as he kissed the side of her chest, and her tearstained face was dazed and staring at the ceiling. Heather gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth, and John and Brady stopped in their footsteps in shock. None of them ever thought something like this would ever happen to Isabella Black. Then again, no one ever thinks something like this would happen to them until its too late.
Sam looked up in surprise to see Shawn storm over. Shawn roughly grabbed the boy and shoved him across the room. Sam flailed his arms, off-guard, and landed on his butt. He yelped in pain as Shawn glared at him rage. Heather watched as John and Brady moved to either side of Shawn. She saw Sam's eyes hover down the line of Belle's father, boyfriend and brother. Heather crossed her arms...
This bastard messed with the wrong girl.
Heather looked over her shoulder to see Belle, still with her shirt off and her bra hanging off, with her head buried in her knees. Heather rushed over to Brady and grabbed his hand. "Don't," she rushed out.
Brady looked over at her in surprise. "Heather, this guy--"
"I know what he did. And I want to kill him, too. But what's more important? Throwing some punches or making sure your sister isn't traumatized?" Heather said slowly, tilting her head in Belle's direction. Belle was still in the same position and her body was shaking uncontrollably.
Brady's heart immediately softened as he ran over to his sister. Heather smiled to herself...that was the Brady she knew and loved. She rushed over to the phone to call Bo.
Brady touched Belle's shoulder lightly and her first reaction was to flinch away. But then Belle recognized the warmth of the touch and relaxed as Brady rehooked her bra. Belle hugged her shirt closed as Brady sat down next to her. He stared at his sister as she continued to sob into her knees. Brady felt his heart breaking for his Tinkerbelle and got struck with an idea. Brady watched Belle carefully as he began to hum a familiar song. Belle's cries softened more and more as Brady sang the lyrics.
The second star to the right
Shines in the night for you
To tell you that the dreams you plan
Really can come true
The second star to the right
Shines with a light that's rare
And if it's Never Land you need
It's light will lead you there
Belle lifted her head slowly and looked over to Brady, who continued to sing the Peter Pan song. Belle shifted her body and sank her head on to Brady's lap and he stroked her hair gently. Brady continued to sing as Belle mouthed the words through her never-ending tears.
Twinkle, twinkle little star
So I'll know where you are
Gleaming in the skies above
Lead me to the one who loves me
And when you bring him my way
Each time we say "Goodnight"
We'll thank the little star that shines
The second from the right
Shawn and John glanced at each other after Brady and Heather ran from their sides. Each pair of eyes were full of unstoppable rage. Sam stood up slowly and Shawn and John nodded curtly at each other. John threw one, clean punch to Sam's stomach and Shawn hit the boy hard across the face. Shawn wanted to break his nose so he could never smell Belle's coconut-scented shampoo again. He wanted to make Sam's lips needed surgery so he could never kiss Belle again. He wanted to break both of Sam's hands so he could never touch her again. He wanted to rip out his eyes so Sam could never enjoy Belle's beauty again.
John and Shawn each took turns hitting Sam anywhere their fists decided to go. Sam felt his body grow weaker as he instantly regretted dropping by Belle's penthouse. He had heard rumors about Belle's dad going out of control when in a bad situation, but little did he know that was a fact.
Shawn stepped back as John slammed Sam against the wall twice and then punched his face repeatedly. The sick sound of Sam's nose breaking filled the room. John moved over as Shawn threw Sam to the floor. Shawn pounced on him and roughly turned Sam's head to the direction of Belle.
"Look at her," Shawn growled. The girl was crumpled in Brady's lap, shaking and crying. "You did that to her. So, you'll be lucky if you get out of here alive by the time I'm done," Shawn said, letting his rage take control of his body as he threw punch after punch to Sam's face and stomach. John marched over and dragged Sam up from underneath Shawn and flung him down to the floor again. "Get up," he muttered. Sam curled up in a ball on the floor and John and Shawn each grabbed one of Sam's arms, pulling him up. They simatelously shoved Sam against the counter. Sam felt his consciousness slipping when Shawn and John went into round two of Repeated Punches that Hurt Like Hell.
Heather chewed her nails nervously as she paced around the room. She decided to use the phone upstairs as she didn't want to witness Shawn and John convert into pro wrestlers. Fighting wasn't exactly something she wanted to kick back with a bucket of popcorn and watch. She heard pounding on the door and sighed in relief. Heather had found Bo's cell phone number in Marlena's phone book. She just told him she needed help at the penthouse and to be prepared to make an arrest.
She bolted down the stairs, past Belle and Brady crying together, past Shawn and John kicking the crap out of the bastard that started this all. Heather opened the door to see Bo immediately react to the room in front of him. Bo rushed over to his son and friend and pulled Sam away from their angry hits. Shawn and John breathed heavily and glared at the bloody boy hanging onto Bo's arms. Roman entered the room after getting the story from Heather and sighed at Sam, who looked up at the man, begging for pity with his eyes.
"Sam Anderson," he said. "You are under arrest for the attempted rape and assault of Isabella Black."