Chapter Thirteen

(Instant Replay!)

Brady dropped her off in front of her house and after a quick goodbye, she hopped out and ran inside. She quickly went upstairs and grabbed the telephone off of her night table, dialing as fast as she could. The phone rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello..."

"Belle! I HAVE to talk to you... RIGHT AWAY."

"Jan? What is it? Are you okay?"

Chloe took a deep breath before replying, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just really want to talk to you. Are you busy?"

"No, I'm at Shawn's actually, but he was just getting ready to drive me home. I'll have him drive me to your house instead. Are you SURE you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I just have a problem, and I think you're the only one who might have some insight in to it."

"Okay, I'll be there in about 20 minutes."

"Just come straight upstairs when you get here. I'll be in my room."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few."

The phone clicked on Belle's end and Chloe hung the phone back up. She laid down on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. Chloe kicked off her shoes and got comfortable while she waited for Belle to arrive.
***

Belle peeked around the half-open door to Chloe's room and smiled at her, "Hey Jan... what's going on?"

Chloe sat up on the bed and motioned for Belle to come in. "Uhm... come on in. Have a seat."

Belle came all the way in and sat on the edge of the bed facing Chloe. "So, what's the big emergency?"

"It's Brady."

"Brady? What happened? Is there something wrong with him? Did he do something to hurt you?"

Chloe shook her head. "No, he's fine and he didn't do anything to me. It's just, as his sister and probably his best friend, there are a few things I want to ask you about him."

Belle looked slightly confused. "Ooookay, go ahead."

Chloe paused nervously and took a deep breath. "Perhaps it's best if I start from the beginning... The day of Chloe's memorial, I went down to the pier and I ran into Brady. He was upset, and we argued a little bit, but then he told me that I reminded him of a girl that he used to know. So, as our friendship has been progressing I've been finding out a little bit more about this mystery girl. Your brother loved her VERY deeply, but he never told her because she had a boyfriend already. I guess whatever happened, and now he's pretty much lost his chance to ever tell her how he felt. He's absolutely heartbroken, Belle."

Belle was stunned and asked, "And does this girl have a name?"

"That's kinda what I was hoping you would help me figure out. He's never mentioned her name... AT ALL. I have no idea who it could be. Did he ever talk to you about stuff like this?"

Belle shook her head in shock and shrugged slightly. "He talked to me about some of his ex-girlfriends or crushes, but he never mentioned something like this. A girl who had a boyfriend, and now he's lost his chance. I don't know, Jan. I'm stumped."

Chloe paused and absently ran a hand through her hair. She closed her eyes for a second to think and saw Brady's face in her mind, his blue eyes shining at her, his warm smile. A sudden wave of clarity washed over her and her eyes snapped open quickly. "Oh no... it can't be. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. Oh, I'm so stupid...."

Belle's eyes widened, both of them filled with confusion. "Figure what out? What did you figure out?"

"Just think about it, Belle. This is a girl that Brady spent a lot of time with, but they were just friends. He told me they fought a lot at first, but that they always had a connection."

Belle's jaw dropped in shock as she waved her hands wildly. "OH MY GOD! IT'S CHLOE!?!"

Chloe nodded calmly, but inside she was truly freaking out. "I know... I can't believe it. I should have figured it out a long time ago.

Belle placed one hand on her forehead. "Ohhhh... I should have known so long ago. I mean, I always suspected that he kinda had a crush on her, but I didn't think it was anything MORE than just that."

"You mean you suspected something?"

Belle nodded uneasily. "Well, sort of. Like I said, I thought it was just a crush, I didn't think he had fallen in love with her. I always likened it to more of a 'Brady thinks that Chloe is hot.' sort of thing. I didn't know that he was in LOVE with her. That's entirely different."

"Oh geez... how come I nev..." Chloe stammered nervously, "How come Chloe never noticed? You'd think if a guy were head over heels for you, you'd know it."

Belle shook her head. "Not necessarily. I mean, Chloe and Phillip were really wrapped up in each other. She probably never gave it a second thought. She loved PHillip, and Brady was just a friend... she probably never thought past that level."

Chloe sighed and nodded in understanding. "Wow... I guess that explains why Brady was so tore up by Chloe's death, and why he'll never be able to tell her that he loves her."

"Really makes you think, doesn't it? You should never hold back something like that, because you never know if that person is still going to be here tomorrow."

Chloe's expression became sadder. "He said that he didn't want to make her doubt how she felt about her boyfriend, that it wouldn't be fair to do that. And, he didn't think that Chloe would feel the same way."

Belle sighed sadly, feeling tortured over the pain that her brother must be going through. "It's so unfair... I wish he would have told her, I wish he could still tell her. She'd want to know, no matter what. Honesty was so important to Chloe."

"Yeah, she would have wanted to know for sure. I guess there's a lesson in here somewhere about never letting things go unsaid, right?"

Belle nodded in agreement. "No kidding... that's so sad. I just wonder how she would have reacted. Chloe was totally in love with Phillip, I can't imagine what this would have done to her."

Chloe bit her lip, deep in thought. "I know she would have been confused. But, if you had seen what I saw in his face tonight, the sound of his voice when he talked about her... it was amazing. He loved her more than I've ever seen anybody love someone. It's hard to resist something like that."

Belle raised her eyebrows curiously. "What happened tonight, anyway? What happened to make this conversation so urgent?"

"I think that he's trying to replace Chloe... with me. I don't think he realizes what he's doing, but it's starting to become clear to me." Chloe paused for a moment and thought to herself, he doesn't know it but he's replacing Chloe with the real thing.

"What makes you think that?"

"He's always saying how much I remind him of her, and he's been spending a lot of time with me, and... He kissed me."

Belle's eyes widened in shock. "He KISSED you? Whoa..."

Chloe nodded and shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, it wasn't like a 'Leonardo Dicaprio on the front of the Titanic' kind of kiss, it was just a quick kiss on the lips. No tongue or anything pornographic occurred."

"But still, he kissed you... Do you think he's falling for you now?"

"No, I think he still loves Chloe. And... He just sees some of what he loved about her in me, so he's growing an unnatural attachment to me because of his loss." Only, it wasn't a truly unnatural attachment, but she couldn't tell Belle that.

Belle nodded. "What about you? What did the kiss mean to you? Obviously, you freaked about it and that's why you called me... but do you think that maybe you might, you know, care about Brady?"

Chloe wrung her hands in frustration. "Well, honestly... I can't say that I was repulsed by the kiss. In fact, it was kind of nice. I do CARE about Brady, he's a very good friend, but I have never examined the possibility of there being anything more there. Until now..."

"So, there might be something there?"

"Maybe, I feel SOMETHING for him, although I'm not sure what it is. But, he still loves Chloe... he doesn't love Jan. There's a big HUGE brick wall there."

Belle groaned in frustration. "This just sucks. He never had closure with Chloe, and that's what he needs before he can move on with his life."

"Yeah, I need some of my own closure too. Maybe you can help me with my closure, and maybe I can help Brady get his."

"What kind of closure do YOU need?"

"I can't explain why, but I need to make peace with Phillip. I know things haven't been easy on him lately, but I need him to be okay around me. I'm tired of all this hatred and pain."

Belle sighed softly and nodded in agreement. "I am too. I hate seeing him like this... I know he's hurting, but he won't let anybody help him."

"Then maybe it's time for an intervention. You know, like people do for alcoholics."

Belle grinned and laughed out loud. "So, we all basically gather together so we can tell Phillip face to face what a jerk he's been."

Chloe laughed along with her and nodded. "Yeah, something like that. Maybe not in those EXACT words, but its time for him to realize that his actions are doing a lot more harm than he knows."

"You're right. We've tried to treat him like a fragile little thing that's going to break, but now I guess it's time for total blunt honesty."

Chloe nodded vehemently. "Absolutely... he needs to be woken up before he loses everyone that he cares about. And that's what he needs to be told."

"I couldn't agree more. And, I'm sure Shawn and Mimi will too. I'll talk to them at school tomorrow, and we'll plan something."

Chloe stood from the bed and slipped her bare feet into her shoes. "Cool... now let me grab my keys and I'll drive you home. It's the least I can do for making you come over here at this time of night."

Belle stood and checked her watch. "Yeah, it is getting late, don't want my parents to worry. And, don't worry about making me come over... if you need someone to talk to, you can ALWAYS call me."

Chloe smiled widely. "Thank you, I appreciate that. Could you do me one more favor though?"

"Sure... what is it?"

Chloe gazed at her pleadingly. "PLEASE, don't tell Brady that you came over here tonight. I don't want him to suspect that something is up."

Belle nodded in understanding. "Oh, no problem. My lips are sealed."

"Thank you... now, follow me please." Chloe led Belle out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Her head was still swimming, unsure of what she was feeling for Brady Black right now, but sure that her heart had seen a side of him she had never seen before. It was a side of him that she wished to see more often.
***