Chapter Six
Chloe woke up to a completely empty room. She had slept so deeply that she didn't hear Brady get ready for bed, or get up this morning and leave. Knowing Brady, he had probably left to go get breakfast or coffee or something. At least, that's what the growling noise in Chloe's stomach hoped he had done. She rolled out of bed and grabbed her hairbrush out of her luggage. She had made the dreadful mistake of falling asleep with a towel on her head and now she was going to pay for it with tangles.
Chloe sat on the edge of her bed and starting brushing through the tangles in her long brown hair. Minutes later, she grunted in frustration as she pulled the hairbrush through the last thick tangle as Brady unlocked the door and stepped inside. He was holding several bags of food, and a drink carrier full of different beverages.
"Goooooood morning, beautiful. I, uhh, didn't know what you wanted for breakfast, so I brought almost everything. McMuffin thingies, pancakes, some sort of steak on a bagel thing... And, your choice of breakfast beverages... Coffee, Milk or Orange Juice... or all three."
Chloe laughed out loud as he put the food on the bed next to her. She dug inside and pulled out an egg mcmuffin and grabbed the coffee cup out of the drink carrier. "Well... I'll have this to start... but I'm pretty hungry so you came prepared."
Brady sat down next to her and took some food for himself. "So, how did you sleep?"
Through a bite of her breakfast, Chloe muttered. "Like a rock. Didn't even hear you leave or anything."
Brady took a bite of his biscuit and nodded. "I'm glad... so, how ya holding up?"
Chloe shrugged slightly. "I'm fine... I guess. I mean, I haven't forgotten about it, but it helps when I realize that I'm actually pretty lucky. Lucky that it didn't turn out worse than it was. It'll just take some time to get over it, but I will."
Brady wiped a few crumbs off his lips and kissed her on the cheek. "Well, I'm always here for you if you need me."
Chloe smiled at him. "I know... and that's what is getting me through it." Chloe paused for a second, grabbed Brady's wrist and looked at the time. "Brady... it's almost eleven already... geez."
"Yeah, I know. And let me tell you... I had to practically beg those McDonalds people to serve me breakfast. They are so uptight over that 'Breakfast served until 10:30' rule."
"That's not what I'm talking about... Why did you let me sleep so late? We've got a lot of driving to do."
Brady grinned at her. "Well, Rip Van Winkle... I couldn't bear to wake you up when you looked so darn cute like that. But don't worry about it, you said you were okay with getting to Boston late... so this still gives us plenty of time to get there and check into a hotel for the night."
"I know... Sorry I'm so tense. Just hurry and eat."
Brady complied and between their two empty stomachs they made quick work of devouring the food. They quickly gathered their stuff, turned in the key and headed out for another long day of driving.
***
They arrived in Boston around 10 o'clock that evening. Thanks to Belle's overloading of the food and drinks, they had only needed to stop for bathroom breaks and to stretch their legs.
Chloe took a final look at their local Boston map as she directed Brady to a nearby motel.
"Wow... your sister scares me. Not only does she cater our entire trip, but she color codes our maps for us and includes a list of motels on the route that we're going."
Brady laughed and nodded. "Yeah, and to think this is for a trip she's not even on. She may always be running late, but as you can tell, it's for a good reason. Heck, she's probably learned how to speak Spanish fluently already so she can fit in on with the locals in Puerto Rico."
Chloe laughed out loud. "No kidding... Wait, here it is, Brady... turn right. This is it."
Brady pulled the van into the motel parking lot and parked it close to the office. Both of them got out and went inside. Chloe poured herself a complimentary cup of coffee as Brady went to the front desk to pay for a room. She idly sipped her coffee as she stared out the window.
A few minutes later Brady came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face him and he waved a room key in her face. "Here ya go... only thing is, there's only one bed... so I'll sleep on the floor."
Chloe smiled widely. "Cool... let's go."
They headed out of the office together, gathered their stuff from the van and found their room for the night. This room didn't look all that different from the one they had stayed in the night before, and Chloe silently wondered if all hotel rooms looked exactly alike. It certainly seemed like it. The only difference in this one was the king-sized bed instead of the two double beds.
Chloe laid her suitcase down and sighed. Brady came over to her and put his arm around her waist. "Got a long day ahead of us, tomorrow, don't we?"
Chloe sighed and nodded. No words could prepare her for what may lay ahead of her in the next few days. She moved away from Brady and unzipped her suitcase to pull a pair of pajamas out.
"Well... I'm worn out again. I'm going to go get ready for bed."
Brady nodded. "Me too."
Chloe went into the bathroom to prepare for bed, while Brady did the same. He quickly changed out of his clothes and prepared a makeshift bed on the floor beside where Chloe would be sleeping. He grabbed a pillow off of the bed and laid it on the floor as Chloe walked out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
Brady kneeled on the floor in front of her and gave her a deep kiss. "Good night, Chloe."
Chloe smiled gently at him. "Good night, Brady."
They both got under their separate covers and Chloe turned out the light. Brady rolled away and faced the wall instead of the bed. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep to the sound of Chloe's breathing. He was just about to drift away when he heard Chloe's voice behind him.
"Brady...?"
"Mmm-hmmm."
"Do you think I'm ready for the truth?"
Brady rolled over and put his hand up, searching for hers until he found it and clasped it tightly. "I think you already know the answer to that one."
"I do?"
"Yeah. Of course you're ready Chloe... You're a strong, intelligent, brave person and you'll be able to handle the truth, whatever it is. Besides, good or bad - you deserve to know."
"I know..."
Brady stroked her hand lazily with his index finger. Chloe sighed softly at his touch. "Brady?"
"Yesssss..."
"You can sleep in the bed, y'know. I trust you not to do anything that I don't want done."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, I am. You know that nothing comes out of my mouth unless I mean it."
Brady repressed the urge to chuckle and gathered his blanket and pillows and laid in the bed beside her. Chloe rolled over so that they were facing each other and smiled.
"I have to thank you for something, Brady..."
"No you don't... You don't need to thank me for anything."
Chloe shook her head. "Yes, I do. I don't even have the right words to thank you for everything that you mean to me and everything you've done for me."
"You don't have to thank me, because I already know."
"You do?"
Brady smiled and stroked her cheek with his hand. "Yup. I can read you like a book, Chloe Lane. For every day that we're together, I learn about one of your gestures or one of your facial expressions. I can tell by a movement of your face when you're sad, or happy or thankful."
"Wow... I guess I can't keep anything from you."
"Nahhhh... I'm still a guy, and even the most observant guys are still clueless about some things."
Chloe chuckled softly. "And some are just clueless about everything."
"Ohhhh yeah... I'm clueless about a lot of things, I know... but not you, Chloe. I know you by heart."
Chloe sighed and moved in to kiss him. When the kiss broke off, she took a deep breath. "Brady... I..." She so badly wanted to tell him that she loved him, but as usual something inside stopped her. "Nevermind..."
Brady gave her a concerned glance. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just... I have this brick wall in my mind about sharing certain feelings, and I don't know how to break through it."
"I understand..."
"What am I going to do? It's not fair to just bottle these things up inside, is it?"
"No... but... don't you think that maybe you need to find closure with your mother, and identity of your father before you can break down this wall?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Chloe. You've been abandoned by your mother, and countless other people throughout your life. Not only that, you've had the truth about your father and your birth withheld from you for your entire life. You need to deal with your past, before you can deal with commitment or the future or anything like that."
"Wow... I guess you're right."
Brady grinned in the darkness. "Of course I'm right, I'm always right... and that's because I'm the greatest boyfriend in history."
Chloe laughed out loud. "Well, I tend to disagree with the first part of that... but the second part is a definite possibility."
Brady pulled her closer to him and she nestled herself against his chest. He gently kissed her forehead and used his free hand to stroke her hair gently. Chloe sighed into his chest and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
***
Chloe woke up to a completely empty room. She had slept so deeply that she didn't hear Brady get ready for bed, or get up this morning and leave. Knowing Brady, he had probably left to go get breakfast or coffee or something. At least, that's what the growling noise in Chloe's stomach hoped he had done. She rolled out of bed and grabbed her hairbrush out of her luggage. She had made the dreadful mistake of falling asleep with a towel on her head and now she was going to pay for it with tangles.
Chloe sat on the edge of her bed and starting brushing through the tangles in her long brown hair. Minutes later, she grunted in frustration as she pulled the hairbrush through the last thick tangle as Brady unlocked the door and stepped inside. He was holding several bags of food, and a drink carrier full of different beverages.
"Goooooood morning, beautiful. I, uhh, didn't know what you wanted for breakfast, so I brought almost everything. McMuffin thingies, pancakes, some sort of steak on a bagel thing... And, your choice of breakfast beverages... Coffee, Milk or Orange Juice... or all three."
Chloe laughed out loud as he put the food on the bed next to her. She dug inside and pulled out an egg mcmuffin and grabbed the coffee cup out of the drink carrier. "Well... I'll have this to start... but I'm pretty hungry so you came prepared."
Brady sat down next to her and took some food for himself. "So, how did you sleep?"
Through a bite of her breakfast, Chloe muttered. "Like a rock. Didn't even hear you leave or anything."
Brady took a bite of his biscuit and nodded. "I'm glad... so, how ya holding up?"
Chloe shrugged slightly. "I'm fine... I guess. I mean, I haven't forgotten about it, but it helps when I realize that I'm actually pretty lucky. Lucky that it didn't turn out worse than it was. It'll just take some time to get over it, but I will."
Brady wiped a few crumbs off his lips and kissed her on the cheek. "Well, I'm always here for you if you need me."
Chloe smiled at him. "I know... and that's what is getting me through it." Chloe paused for a second, grabbed Brady's wrist and looked at the time. "Brady... it's almost eleven already... geez."
"Yeah, I know. And let me tell you... I had to practically beg those McDonalds people to serve me breakfast. They are so uptight over that 'Breakfast served until 10:30' rule."
"That's not what I'm talking about... Why did you let me sleep so late? We've got a lot of driving to do."
Brady grinned at her. "Well, Rip Van Winkle... I couldn't bear to wake you up when you looked so darn cute like that. But don't worry about it, you said you were okay with getting to Boston late... so this still gives us plenty of time to get there and check into a hotel for the night."
"I know... Sorry I'm so tense. Just hurry and eat."
Brady complied and between their two empty stomachs they made quick work of devouring the food. They quickly gathered their stuff, turned in the key and headed out for another long day of driving.
***
They arrived in Boston around 10 o'clock that evening. Thanks to Belle's overloading of the food and drinks, they had only needed to stop for bathroom breaks and to stretch their legs.
Chloe took a final look at their local Boston map as she directed Brady to a nearby motel.
"Wow... your sister scares me. Not only does she cater our entire trip, but she color codes our maps for us and includes a list of motels on the route that we're going."
Brady laughed and nodded. "Yeah, and to think this is for a trip she's not even on. She may always be running late, but as you can tell, it's for a good reason. Heck, she's probably learned how to speak Spanish fluently already so she can fit in on with the locals in Puerto Rico."
Chloe laughed out loud. "No kidding... Wait, here it is, Brady... turn right. This is it."
Brady pulled the van into the motel parking lot and parked it close to the office. Both of them got out and went inside. Chloe poured herself a complimentary cup of coffee as Brady went to the front desk to pay for a room. She idly sipped her coffee as she stared out the window.
A few minutes later Brady came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face him and he waved a room key in her face. "Here ya go... only thing is, there's only one bed... so I'll sleep on the floor."
Chloe smiled widely. "Cool... let's go."
They headed out of the office together, gathered their stuff from the van and found their room for the night. This room didn't look all that different from the one they had stayed in the night before, and Chloe silently wondered if all hotel rooms looked exactly alike. It certainly seemed like it. The only difference in this one was the king-sized bed instead of the two double beds.
Chloe laid her suitcase down and sighed. Brady came over to her and put his arm around her waist. "Got a long day ahead of us, tomorrow, don't we?"
Chloe sighed and nodded. No words could prepare her for what may lay ahead of her in the next few days. She moved away from Brady and unzipped her suitcase to pull a pair of pajamas out.
"Well... I'm worn out again. I'm going to go get ready for bed."
Brady nodded. "Me too."
Chloe went into the bathroom to prepare for bed, while Brady did the same. He quickly changed out of his clothes and prepared a makeshift bed on the floor beside where Chloe would be sleeping. He grabbed a pillow off of the bed and laid it on the floor as Chloe walked out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed.
Brady kneeled on the floor in front of her and gave her a deep kiss. "Good night, Chloe."
Chloe smiled gently at him. "Good night, Brady."
They both got under their separate covers and Chloe turned out the light. Brady rolled away and faced the wall instead of the bed. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep to the sound of Chloe's breathing. He was just about to drift away when he heard Chloe's voice behind him.
"Brady...?"
"Mmm-hmmm."
"Do you think I'm ready for the truth?"
Brady rolled over and put his hand up, searching for hers until he found it and clasped it tightly. "I think you already know the answer to that one."
"I do?"
"Yeah. Of course you're ready Chloe... You're a strong, intelligent, brave person and you'll be able to handle the truth, whatever it is. Besides, good or bad - you deserve to know."
"I know..."
Brady stroked her hand lazily with his index finger. Chloe sighed softly at his touch. "Brady?"
"Yesssss..."
"You can sleep in the bed, y'know. I trust you not to do anything that I don't want done."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, I am. You know that nothing comes out of my mouth unless I mean it."
Brady repressed the urge to chuckle and gathered his blanket and pillows and laid in the bed beside her. Chloe rolled over so that they were facing each other and smiled.
"I have to thank you for something, Brady..."
"No you don't... You don't need to thank me for anything."
Chloe shook her head. "Yes, I do. I don't even have the right words to thank you for everything that you mean to me and everything you've done for me."
"You don't have to thank me, because I already know."
"You do?"
Brady smiled and stroked her cheek with his hand. "Yup. I can read you like a book, Chloe Lane. For every day that we're together, I learn about one of your gestures or one of your facial expressions. I can tell by a movement of your face when you're sad, or happy or thankful."
"Wow... I guess I can't keep anything from you."
"Nahhhh... I'm still a guy, and even the most observant guys are still clueless about some things."
Chloe chuckled softly. "And some are just clueless about everything."
"Ohhhh yeah... I'm clueless about a lot of things, I know... but not you, Chloe. I know you by heart."
Chloe sighed and moved in to kiss him. When the kiss broke off, she took a deep breath. "Brady... I..." She so badly wanted to tell him that she loved him, but as usual something inside stopped her. "Nevermind..."
Brady gave her a concerned glance. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I just... I have this brick wall in my mind about sharing certain feelings, and I don't know how to break through it."
"I understand..."
"What am I going to do? It's not fair to just bottle these things up inside, is it?"
"No... but... don't you think that maybe you need to find closure with your mother, and identity of your father before you can break down this wall?"
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Chloe. You've been abandoned by your mother, and countless other people throughout your life. Not only that, you've had the truth about your father and your birth withheld from you for your entire life. You need to deal with your past, before you can deal with commitment or the future or anything like that."
"Wow... I guess you're right."
Brady grinned in the darkness. "Of course I'm right, I'm always right... and that's because I'm the greatest boyfriend in history."
Chloe laughed out loud. "Well, I tend to disagree with the first part of that... but the second part is a definite possibility."
Brady pulled her closer to him and she nestled herself against his chest. He gently kissed her forehead and used his free hand to stroke her hair gently. Chloe sighed into his chest and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
***