Truth Out Of Darkness
Chapter 24
Monday morning before school...
Shawn had arrived to take Belle to school. They were just about to leave when Brady called to them as he was coming down the stairs.
"Hey guys, wait up. Chloe's going to school today. I want you two to stick by her like glue. Phillip is to have nothing to do with her. He doesn't talk to her, he doesn't come near her, he doesn't look at her." Brady told them.
"Not a problem, man." Shawn said quietly. Brady had told them about the flowers and the note. Shawn was ready to kill Phillip.
"Does she have any classes that you aren't in?" Brady asked.
"One, Chamber singers." Belle answered.
"OK, you walk her to that class and pick her up afterwards."
"Are we being too paranoid about this? Phillip's under a restraining order. He can't break it, that's illegal." Belle said.
"Yeah, so's assault." Shawn answered cynically. "Phillip has threatened to KILL Chloe. We have to stop thinking of him as our friend, no matter how hard it is."
"I know. Well, we only have to worry about it for today and then we let out for Christmas break." Belle said.
"Oh, Belle? Tell Chloe I'm going to pick her up from school today, OK?" Brady asked.
"OK, Bye!"
"Hey, Shawn, there's Chloe. Oh my, she looks bad." exclaimed Belle softly. And with good reason. Chloe was dressed simply in dark somber colors, similar to the clothes she wore when she first came to town, when she was known as "ghoul girl". She did wear makeup, but that was mainly to cover the remaining bruises that hadn't yet healed. Most noticable were her eyes. They were puffy and red. Chloe was acting both jittery and withdrawn.
Belle and Shawn approached Chloe. "Hi Chloe, how are you feeling today?" Belle asked.
Chloe jumped at Belle's greeting even though they were standing right in front of her. As if she hadn't noticed their approach.
"I'm.... fine. Both my head and my jaw have healed.... they don't hurt anymore." Chloe had a hard time looking at them, a hard time focusing.
"Chloe, what's wrong? You're a wreck!" Belle cried.
"Bad week followed by a horrible weekend." Chloe replied. "Belle, I feel like I'm losing my mind. The flowers thing really shook me up. I can't concentrate and I have this feeling that someone's following me." Chloe took a deep, calming breath. "I got 5 more calls this weekend, each more threatening than the last. I'm afraid to answer my phone. And if all that wasn't enough, I'm having waking nightmares now." Chloe shuddered.
"Waking nightmares?" Belle asked. "What about?"
"I don't know. I don't even remember having them. But according to Craig and Nancy, every night I wake up screaming and crying, only I'm not awake - I'm still asleep and they can't wake me. I cry for an hour or so and then go back to sleep. I've had maybe 10 good hours of sleep this entire weekend. I'm exhausted, but I'm too afraid to sleep." Chloe smiled weakly. "Right now I'm on caffeine overload - that's why I'm so jumpy."
"That's it! I want you to see my mom." Belle cried.
"Belle..." Chloe hesitated. She didn't really want to see a shrink.
"No arguments. You pinky swore! Remember? Something serious is going on in that head of yours and Mom's the only one who can help. You're going to see her and that's final!"
During the girls' conversation, Shawn had been on full alert for Phillip. He felt extremely protective of Chloe. He would not allow Phillip to get any where near her. Shawn spotted Phillip at the end of the hall heading their way. He turned to the girls.
"Come on, let's head onto class. We have our remaining finals today."
Phillip rounded the corner heading toward his locker and stopped. There, down the hall was Chloe. Despite her makeup, he could see the bruising, the slight swelling on her jaw. Phillip wanted to cry. Even in her condition, she was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He felt drawn to her, and before he even knew what he was doing, he was walking toward her.
Phillip saw Shawn's warning glare and stopped. He watched as Shawn led Chloe away from him, a protective arm around her shoulder. Phillip caught his breath when suddenly Chloe turned back around for a moment. Their eyes locked for an endless second. Phillip saw the fear, the abject terror in her eyes and felt sick. He made no move as she turned and walked away from him.
Meanwhile…
Dr Marlena Evans Black was filing the paperwork on one of her patients when there was a knock on her office door.
"Come in." she answered. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Good morning, Craig." she said sweetly.
"Good morning, Marlena. I hope I have'nt come at a bad time." He looked tired and worried.
"No, no. Come in, sit down." Marlena took in Craig's appearance. "What's wrong, Craig? You look exhausted."
"I am exhausted." he replied yawning.
Marlena poured him a cup of coffee. "I was under the impression that things had slowed back down to normal here after last week's train wreck." She handed him the coffee.
"Thanks. It has. Nancy and I are back on our standard shift schedule."
"Then what has you so tired?" Marlena asked, concerned.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. It's Chloe."
Marlena listened intently while Craig filled her in on the latest events; the phone calls, the flowers and the nightmares. He told her how Chloe was becoming increasingly nervous and withdrawn.
"Do you want me to take Chloe on as a patient?" she asked.
"Could you? Do you have the time?"
"Yes, one of my regular patients had a major breakthrough and we've cut back on our sessions so there's room for Chloe." she answered, checking her date book.
"Thank you so much. I'll get with Chloe on scheduling."
"Ok, just have her call my assistant for an appointment."
Chapter 24
Monday morning before school...
Shawn had arrived to take Belle to school. They were just about to leave when Brady called to them as he was coming down the stairs.
"Hey guys, wait up. Chloe's going to school today. I want you two to stick by her like glue. Phillip is to have nothing to do with her. He doesn't talk to her, he doesn't come near her, he doesn't look at her." Brady told them.
"Not a problem, man." Shawn said quietly. Brady had told them about the flowers and the note. Shawn was ready to kill Phillip.
"Does she have any classes that you aren't in?" Brady asked.
"One, Chamber singers." Belle answered.
"OK, you walk her to that class and pick her up afterwards."
"Are we being too paranoid about this? Phillip's under a restraining order. He can't break it, that's illegal." Belle said.
"Yeah, so's assault." Shawn answered cynically. "Phillip has threatened to KILL Chloe. We have to stop thinking of him as our friend, no matter how hard it is."
"I know. Well, we only have to worry about it for today and then we let out for Christmas break." Belle said.
"Oh, Belle? Tell Chloe I'm going to pick her up from school today, OK?" Brady asked.
"OK, Bye!"
"Hey, Shawn, there's Chloe. Oh my, she looks bad." exclaimed Belle softly. And with good reason. Chloe was dressed simply in dark somber colors, similar to the clothes she wore when she first came to town, when she was known as "ghoul girl". She did wear makeup, but that was mainly to cover the remaining bruises that hadn't yet healed. Most noticable were her eyes. They were puffy and red. Chloe was acting both jittery and withdrawn.
Belle and Shawn approached Chloe. "Hi Chloe, how are you feeling today?" Belle asked.
Chloe jumped at Belle's greeting even though they were standing right in front of her. As if she hadn't noticed their approach.
"I'm.... fine. Both my head and my jaw have healed.... they don't hurt anymore." Chloe had a hard time looking at them, a hard time focusing.
"Chloe, what's wrong? You're a wreck!" Belle cried.
"Bad week followed by a horrible weekend." Chloe replied. "Belle, I feel like I'm losing my mind. The flowers thing really shook me up. I can't concentrate and I have this feeling that someone's following me." Chloe took a deep, calming breath. "I got 5 more calls this weekend, each more threatening than the last. I'm afraid to answer my phone. And if all that wasn't enough, I'm having waking nightmares now." Chloe shuddered.
"Waking nightmares?" Belle asked. "What about?"
"I don't know. I don't even remember having them. But according to Craig and Nancy, every night I wake up screaming and crying, only I'm not awake - I'm still asleep and they can't wake me. I cry for an hour or so and then go back to sleep. I've had maybe 10 good hours of sleep this entire weekend. I'm exhausted, but I'm too afraid to sleep." Chloe smiled weakly. "Right now I'm on caffeine overload - that's why I'm so jumpy."
"That's it! I want you to see my mom." Belle cried.
"Belle..." Chloe hesitated. She didn't really want to see a shrink.
"No arguments. You pinky swore! Remember? Something serious is going on in that head of yours and Mom's the only one who can help. You're going to see her and that's final!"
During the girls' conversation, Shawn had been on full alert for Phillip. He felt extremely protective of Chloe. He would not allow Phillip to get any where near her. Shawn spotted Phillip at the end of the hall heading their way. He turned to the girls.
"Come on, let's head onto class. We have our remaining finals today."
Phillip rounded the corner heading toward his locker and stopped. There, down the hall was Chloe. Despite her makeup, he could see the bruising, the slight swelling on her jaw. Phillip wanted to cry. Even in her condition, she was still the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. He felt drawn to her, and before he even knew what he was doing, he was walking toward her.
Phillip saw Shawn's warning glare and stopped. He watched as Shawn led Chloe away from him, a protective arm around her shoulder. Phillip caught his breath when suddenly Chloe turned back around for a moment. Their eyes locked for an endless second. Phillip saw the fear, the abject terror in her eyes and felt sick. He made no move as she turned and walked away from him.
Meanwhile…
Dr Marlena Evans Black was filing the paperwork on one of her patients when there was a knock on her office door.
"Come in." she answered. She smiled when she saw who it was. "Good morning, Craig." she said sweetly.
"Good morning, Marlena. I hope I have'nt come at a bad time." He looked tired and worried.
"No, no. Come in, sit down." Marlena took in Craig's appearance. "What's wrong, Craig? You look exhausted."
"I am exhausted." he replied yawning.
Marlena poured him a cup of coffee. "I was under the impression that things had slowed back down to normal here after last week's train wreck." She handed him the coffee.
"Thanks. It has. Nancy and I are back on our standard shift schedule."
"Then what has you so tired?" Marlena asked, concerned.
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. It's Chloe."
Marlena listened intently while Craig filled her in on the latest events; the phone calls, the flowers and the nightmares. He told her how Chloe was becoming increasingly nervous and withdrawn.
"Do you want me to take Chloe on as a patient?" she asked.
"Could you? Do you have the time?"
"Yes, one of my regular patients had a major breakthrough and we've cut back on our sessions so there's room for Chloe." she answered, checking her date book.
"Thank you so much. I'll get with Chloe on scheduling."
"Ok, just have her call my assistant for an appointment."