Truth Out Of Darkness
Chapter 22
Chloe looked at Brady in surprise, trying to decipher the meaning of his words.
"I mean, You're just perfect the way you are. I've always told you that." Brady corrected. Now was not the time to tell her he loved her.
"Oh, okay." Chloe said, a little saddened by his clarification. See, he just thinks of you as a friend, Chloe. Remember, you feel the same way? "So... are you going to tell me what happened now?" she asked. They had reached her room and Brady had put her on her bed, while he sat down in her chair.
He paused a moment, wondering where to begin. "What did your mom tell you?" he asked.
"She and Craig were gone when I woke up; they are very busy at the hospital. Something about a train wreck. Nancy's called a few times to check on me, but no one's told me anything."
"What do you remember about last night?"
"Not much. I know you and I went out - mainly because my dress was out this morning and I kind of remember being with you. This may sound crazy, but I seem to remember spending a lot of time in your arms. It's all a jumble of blurry images and whirlwind emotions." she said frustrated.
"Do you remember ending things with Phillip yesterday after school?"
"Yes,... I finally broke up with him, and you and I went out to celebrate." she said deep in thought.
"Do you remember where we went?" he asked questions to jar her memory.
"We were in a concert hall...They played Beethoven!" Chloe closed her eyes and smiled at the memory of the beautiful music.
Brady smiled. "Then what did we do?"
"We... went to a restaurant. Maggie Horton was there? We went to Tuscany! Wait a minute.... Maggie came by this morning and gave me this." Chloe grabbed a video tape from her nightstand. "This is surveillance footage from the security cameras. She said the cameras recorded everything. Whatever that was."
Brady slowly took the tape from her hands in shock. They had captured it on film? "Have you watched it yet?"
"No, I had a feeling it was important - I wanted to watch with someone else." she said.
DING DONG
Chloe looked at her clock. "Oh! That's Belle and Shawn." she moved to get up.
"I'LL get it." Brady said. "Belle and Shawn will be old and grey by the time you get there." he teased.
Chloe stuck out her tongue at him. A minute later Brady, Belle and Shawn were up in Chloe's room.
Belle leaned down to hug her friend. "How are you feeling?" She winced in sympathetic pain at Chloe's bruises.
"Fortunately, I look worse than I feel." she answered while Shawn also hugged her.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Phillip looks almost as bad as you do." Belle said, trying to cheer Chloe up.
"Phillip? What does he have to do with it?" Chloe asked, puzzled.
"Chloe doesn't remember what happened. I was just in the middle of telling her." Brady told them.
"Will someone just tell me?" Chloe asked in exasperation.
"I'll do better than that. I'll show you. I think seeing what happened will help you remember faster than me telling you." He popped the tape in the VCR and hit play.
This particular camera had been stationed in front of the ladies room because that's where a lot of pocketbook theft had occured. The four of them watched as Chloe entered the restroom. Several minutes went by and she had yet to emerge.
"Um, Chloe? Not to be crude, but what took you so long?" Belle asked.
Chloe was deep in thought, remembering her incident in the bathroom. When she answered her voice sounded distant.
"It happened again. I lost time."
"You lost time? Wait, Did you have another episode?" Belle asked.
Brady stopped the tape and turned to Chloe. "What episode?" he asked, suddenly feeling anxious. He was thinking of her breakdown last night.
"Chloe told me on Tuesday that Monday night after the party, something weird happened. She was getting ready for bed and somehow 20 minutes went by that she has no memory of. We've been trying to figure out if she blacked out or something. Did it happen again?" Belle asked, concern visible on her face.
Chloe nodded her head. "Yes, I had gone into to restroom to clear my head and as I was leaving, I looked at my face in the mirror. It felt like only a couple of seconds had passed, but it turned out to be 10 minutes. When it happened before, I thought maybe it was just exhaustion and I fell asleep standing up or something. Now, I don't know. The feeling of both occurances was like a waking dream. Like the dreams I've been having every night lately. Since Saturday, come to think of it." she added thoughtfully.
"Saturday? Oh,... since the attack." Brady said softly, realization dawning on him.
"What attack?" Shawn asked, concerned.
Chloe looked at Belle.
"I hadn't yet told him. I didn't know if you would be okay with it." Belle explained.
"It's okay, Belle.... Well, the short story is that Saturday night after you guys left, I didn't have a ride. So, like an idiot, I decided to walk to Brady's" Chloe looked down at her hands and inhaled deeply. "These guys attacked me and... tried to .. rape me. But Brady saved me." She added quickly.
"Oh my God!" Shawn cried out. Just the thought of someone trying to rape her made his blood run cold. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks to Brady." Chloe said smiling at him. "These dreams and blackouts I'm having are probably just an after effect of the attack. My mind's way of dealing with the shock."
"You think so?" asked Belle, still not convinced. Chloe was not the type of person to admit to needing help. "Maybe, you should talk to my mom." she suggested.
"I'm sure it's nothing, but if they don't go away soon, I'll talk to her."
"You promise?"
"Promise. I pinky swear!" Chloe said, linking her pinky up with Belle's
"Can we get back to the tape now?" Chloe asked, anxious to get off this topic and also to find out what happened.
They started the tape again and saw Phillip come up to the restrooms and wait behind the door. Chloe soon came out and they saw Phillip ambush her from behind. He was talking to her and it was obvious he was upset.
"No sound?" asked Shawn.
"Guess not. Chloe, do you remember what he said to you?" Brady asked her.
Again, Chloe looked lost in thought. "He said we've been seeing each other for awhile. That we've been playing games with him. He.... accused me of sleeping with you, and called me a whore." Chloe shivered at the memory.
They all watched in stunned silence as Phillip lashed out at Chloe. They saw her fall backwards, saw her head collide with the wall, saw her sink to the floor. The tape finished playing and they were all silent, letting it sink in.
It hit Belle and Shawn hard. They had still wanted to believe deep down that there was a mistake, that Phillip didn't do it, that it had been an accident. But there was no mistaking his crazed rage, his violent attack.
Brady looked over at Chloe to see how she was handling it. Her eyes were distant. "I remember... I was so afraid of him. I tried to get away from him...to find you." Chloe began to cry. "I was so scared!" She sobbed softly, her shoulders shaking up and down.
Brady hugged her to him closely, guilt racking his heart. He had failed to protect her. "Hey, it's okay. Phillip is never going to hurt you again." Brady promised to himself as well as Chloe. I will protect her.
"Yeah, Shawn made sure of that!" Belle piped up. Chloe looked at Shawn. He looked down at the floor sheepishly.
"It was great. You would've loved it!" Belle was acting overly perky in order to make Chloe feel better. "Shawn was all like 'You come near Chloe and I'll finish what Brady started.' and WHAM! throws his fist into a locker. It was great! I heard later that Phillip wet his pants, but that may have been exageration. Oh! he has a huge black eye. It's all swollen and nasty." Belle said, making a face.
Chloe laughed. Belle always did know how to cheer her up.
"See? Phillip's taken care of." Belle said optimistically.
Chloe's face fell. "I wish that was the case."
"What makes you say that?" Brady asked. If Phillip has done anything else to Chloe, he was going to pay. In blood.
"Since I broke up with him yesterday, I've gotten 2 threatening phone calls from someone. He doesn't identify himself and he's disguised his voice, but still I know it's him. First of all, no one else has this #. It's unlisted. Secondly, he said things like - I belong to him, he's going to make me his. The second time he called, which was today, he asked how my head was and said that I can't get rid of him that easily." Chloe said, a cold chill running up her spine.
Belle closed her eyes sadly. Phillip, you've totally lost it.
Shawn and Brady were deadly quiet, a cold fury sweeping through them.
Chapter 22
Chloe looked at Brady in surprise, trying to decipher the meaning of his words.
"I mean, You're just perfect the way you are. I've always told you that." Brady corrected. Now was not the time to tell her he loved her.
"Oh, okay." Chloe said, a little saddened by his clarification. See, he just thinks of you as a friend, Chloe. Remember, you feel the same way? "So... are you going to tell me what happened now?" she asked. They had reached her room and Brady had put her on her bed, while he sat down in her chair.
He paused a moment, wondering where to begin. "What did your mom tell you?" he asked.
"She and Craig were gone when I woke up; they are very busy at the hospital. Something about a train wreck. Nancy's called a few times to check on me, but no one's told me anything."
"What do you remember about last night?"
"Not much. I know you and I went out - mainly because my dress was out this morning and I kind of remember being with you. This may sound crazy, but I seem to remember spending a lot of time in your arms. It's all a jumble of blurry images and whirlwind emotions." she said frustrated.
"Do you remember ending things with Phillip yesterday after school?"
"Yes,... I finally broke up with him, and you and I went out to celebrate." she said deep in thought.
"Do you remember where we went?" he asked questions to jar her memory.
"We were in a concert hall...They played Beethoven!" Chloe closed her eyes and smiled at the memory of the beautiful music.
Brady smiled. "Then what did we do?"
"We... went to a restaurant. Maggie Horton was there? We went to Tuscany! Wait a minute.... Maggie came by this morning and gave me this." Chloe grabbed a video tape from her nightstand. "This is surveillance footage from the security cameras. She said the cameras recorded everything. Whatever that was."
Brady slowly took the tape from her hands in shock. They had captured it on film? "Have you watched it yet?"
"No, I had a feeling it was important - I wanted to watch with someone else." she said.
DING DONG
Chloe looked at her clock. "Oh! That's Belle and Shawn." she moved to get up.
"I'LL get it." Brady said. "Belle and Shawn will be old and grey by the time you get there." he teased.
Chloe stuck out her tongue at him. A minute later Brady, Belle and Shawn were up in Chloe's room.
Belle leaned down to hug her friend. "How are you feeling?" She winced in sympathetic pain at Chloe's bruises.
"Fortunately, I look worse than I feel." she answered while Shawn also hugged her.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Phillip looks almost as bad as you do." Belle said, trying to cheer Chloe up.
"Phillip? What does he have to do with it?" Chloe asked, puzzled.
"Chloe doesn't remember what happened. I was just in the middle of telling her." Brady told them.
"Will someone just tell me?" Chloe asked in exasperation.
"I'll do better than that. I'll show you. I think seeing what happened will help you remember faster than me telling you." He popped the tape in the VCR and hit play.
This particular camera had been stationed in front of the ladies room because that's where a lot of pocketbook theft had occured. The four of them watched as Chloe entered the restroom. Several minutes went by and she had yet to emerge.
"Um, Chloe? Not to be crude, but what took you so long?" Belle asked.
Chloe was deep in thought, remembering her incident in the bathroom. When she answered her voice sounded distant.
"It happened again. I lost time."
"You lost time? Wait, Did you have another episode?" Belle asked.
Brady stopped the tape and turned to Chloe. "What episode?" he asked, suddenly feeling anxious. He was thinking of her breakdown last night.
"Chloe told me on Tuesday that Monday night after the party, something weird happened. She was getting ready for bed and somehow 20 minutes went by that she has no memory of. We've been trying to figure out if she blacked out or something. Did it happen again?" Belle asked, concern visible on her face.
Chloe nodded her head. "Yes, I had gone into to restroom to clear my head and as I was leaving, I looked at my face in the mirror. It felt like only a couple of seconds had passed, but it turned out to be 10 minutes. When it happened before, I thought maybe it was just exhaustion and I fell asleep standing up or something. Now, I don't know. The feeling of both occurances was like a waking dream. Like the dreams I've been having every night lately. Since Saturday, come to think of it." she added thoughtfully.
"Saturday? Oh,... since the attack." Brady said softly, realization dawning on him.
"What attack?" Shawn asked, concerned.
Chloe looked at Belle.
"I hadn't yet told him. I didn't know if you would be okay with it." Belle explained.
"It's okay, Belle.... Well, the short story is that Saturday night after you guys left, I didn't have a ride. So, like an idiot, I decided to walk to Brady's" Chloe looked down at her hands and inhaled deeply. "These guys attacked me and... tried to .. rape me. But Brady saved me." She added quickly.
"Oh my God!" Shawn cried out. Just the thought of someone trying to rape her made his blood run cold. "Did they hurt you?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks to Brady." Chloe said smiling at him. "These dreams and blackouts I'm having are probably just an after effect of the attack. My mind's way of dealing with the shock."
"You think so?" asked Belle, still not convinced. Chloe was not the type of person to admit to needing help. "Maybe, you should talk to my mom." she suggested.
"I'm sure it's nothing, but if they don't go away soon, I'll talk to her."
"You promise?"
"Promise. I pinky swear!" Chloe said, linking her pinky up with Belle's
"Can we get back to the tape now?" Chloe asked, anxious to get off this topic and also to find out what happened.
They started the tape again and saw Phillip come up to the restrooms and wait behind the door. Chloe soon came out and they saw Phillip ambush her from behind. He was talking to her and it was obvious he was upset.
"No sound?" asked Shawn.
"Guess not. Chloe, do you remember what he said to you?" Brady asked her.
Again, Chloe looked lost in thought. "He said we've been seeing each other for awhile. That we've been playing games with him. He.... accused me of sleeping with you, and called me a whore." Chloe shivered at the memory.
They all watched in stunned silence as Phillip lashed out at Chloe. They saw her fall backwards, saw her head collide with the wall, saw her sink to the floor. The tape finished playing and they were all silent, letting it sink in.
It hit Belle and Shawn hard. They had still wanted to believe deep down that there was a mistake, that Phillip didn't do it, that it had been an accident. But there was no mistaking his crazed rage, his violent attack.
Brady looked over at Chloe to see how she was handling it. Her eyes were distant. "I remember... I was so afraid of him. I tried to get away from him...to find you." Chloe began to cry. "I was so scared!" She sobbed softly, her shoulders shaking up and down.
Brady hugged her to him closely, guilt racking his heart. He had failed to protect her. "Hey, it's okay. Phillip is never going to hurt you again." Brady promised to himself as well as Chloe. I will protect her.
"Yeah, Shawn made sure of that!" Belle piped up. Chloe looked at Shawn. He looked down at the floor sheepishly.
"It was great. You would've loved it!" Belle was acting overly perky in order to make Chloe feel better. "Shawn was all like 'You come near Chloe and I'll finish what Brady started.' and WHAM! throws his fist into a locker. It was great! I heard later that Phillip wet his pants, but that may have been exageration. Oh! he has a huge black eye. It's all swollen and nasty." Belle said, making a face.
Chloe laughed. Belle always did know how to cheer her up.
"See? Phillip's taken care of." Belle said optimistically.
Chloe's face fell. "I wish that was the case."
"What makes you say that?" Brady asked. If Phillip has done anything else to Chloe, he was going to pay. In blood.
"Since I broke up with him yesterday, I've gotten 2 threatening phone calls from someone. He doesn't identify himself and he's disguised his voice, but still I know it's him. First of all, no one else has this #. It's unlisted. Secondly, he said things like - I belong to him, he's going to make me his. The second time he called, which was today, he asked how my head was and said that I can't get rid of him that easily." Chloe said, a cold chill running up her spine.
Belle closed her eyes sadly. Phillip, you've totally lost it.
Shawn and Brady were deadly quiet, a cold fury sweeping through them.