Brady went back to Chloe's the next night, but with decidedly less enthusiasm. It seemed as if she'd never realize she loved him. Hell, he wasn't even sure she did anymore. He walked up the steps. Chloe watched Brady out of her window as usual. She started to go down the stairs and then stopped as she noticed the way Brady was walking. His shoulders were slumped and his limp more pronounced. Chloe watched as he rang the doorbell. She went down the stairs and opened the door. She looked at him. Her heart ached as she saw the pain in his eyes. "Brady." She said.
"Hi, Chloe." He said softly, looking into her eyes with a mixture of love and hurt.
"Instead of going out, will you come up to my room so we can talk?"
Brady nodded. Chloe took his hand and led him up to her room. She motioned for him to sit on her bed. He sat down, looking at her sadly. Chloe fought back tears. She didn't like hurting him. Hurting him hurt herself. How could they have that strong of a connection? Chloe pulled up her computer chair and sat in front of him. She took his hands in hers. "Brady, you say that you love me, and I'm actually starting to believe you're telling the truth."
"I am, Chloe. I love you so much."
Chloe nodded. "If you really mean that then I'm sorry for you." She looked up into Brady's eyes and saw the panic there. "Why?" He asked quietly.
Chloe took a deep breath and said, "Because I'll never love anyone else but Phillip."
Brady squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. He didn't say anything. Chloe swallowed hard. It was so difficult to hurt him like this but she had to. How could she love Brady when she still had feelings for Phillip? She stood up, still holding his hands. "I'm so sorry, Brady, but I can't help what I do and do not feel." Brady's eyes snapped open in anger. He pulled away from her and stood up. "Maybe not, Chloe, but that is not the case here. The fact is, you're terrified to let someone actually love you for who you are. And you know you love me just as much as I love you , but you won't admit it. You would rather break my heart than break your own, isn't that right? You think that if you let me love you and let yourself love me back, that if you open up to me, that you'll get hurt. But God, Chloe-" He reached down and touched her face. "I'd die before I would ever hurt you." Chloe was silent. Brady pulled his hand away and looked at her, his strong jaw clenched tightly shut. "Or maybe you don't love me. Hell, I don't know anymore. Maybe Phillip is the only one for you. But that doesn't stop the way I feel. Maybe this connection between you and me is all in my head, maybe I made it up because I love you so much." Brady shook his head, looking down at the floor. "But I can't believe that. I can't accept that you don't love me." He looked at her and Chloe was absolutely shocked and saddened to see tears streaming down his face. "I love you, Diva. I will always love you." He leaned down and kissed her, and Chloe felt his tears wetting her face. She began to cry along with him. He pulled away from her and left her room. A few minutes later Chloe jumped as the front door slammed shut. She fell down on her bed and cried.
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Ok you guys, didn't mean to leave you hanging. This is NOT the end of the chapter. I accidentally posted half of it. Heres the other half. SORRY!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brady opened his eyes and looked at the clock. 12:00. It was already noon. He closed his eyes again. Belle was supposed to be coming back today. Which also meant Phillip was already at Chloe's. Pain sliced through him and he got up off the bed. Belle was probably already home. He ran his fingers through his hair and started downstairs. Belle met him on the way down and threw her arms around him. "Oh my God its so good to see you! I missed you so much!" Brady smiled and hugged her back, burying his face in her blond hair. It was good to finally have Belle back in the house. "I missed you, too, Tink." She pulled away, grinning, and then her smile faded. She touched his wet cheek. "Brady...what's wrong...Oh my God did something happen?"
Brady wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Nah. I just missed you, that's all." Brady mussed up her hair and traveled farther down the stairs. "Brady!" Belle called after him. He turned to look at her. "You might want to, uh, go put some clothes on-- Meems is here." Brady was just in his boxers. He shrugged.
"She's not in the kitchen, is she?"
"No, but-"
"Then she won't see me." He went into the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of coffee. He turned around and Mimi was standing there, staring unabashedly at him. "Hey, Meems." He said nonchalantly and brushed past her into the living room. Mimi followed, unable to stop herself. "Hey Brady." She said, sitting next to him. "What's up?" He asked, sipping his coffee.
Mimi cleared her throat. "Will you do me a favor?"
Brady looked at her. "Sure, Meems. What?"
"Kiss me." Mimi blurted, then turned a deep red.
Brady just laughed. What the hell? He thought. Why not? Chloe doesn't want me. Brady suddenly kissed Mimi. He had meant for the kiss to be a light one, but he began to imagine that Mimi was Chloe. He kissed her hard, darting his tounge into her mouth. Mimi gasped. Brady pulled away, snapping back into reality. He noticed Mimi was staring over his shoulder in awe. "What is SHE doing here?" Mimi asked, and Brady turned to look into Chloe Lane's face.