Unchained Melody
Prologue: Chapter 3
Chloe's opened one eye, looking up at the tiled ceiling. She slowly followed with her other eye and sat up quickly. The sudden movement resulted in a head rush, and quite a large one at that. Hours of lying dormant in a strange environment startled Chloe, though she did not know it had been hours. Her eyes took in the room, from the small beside table to the leather one-seaters to the large window, covered half-way by a translucent salmon curtain. She had a vague recollection of falling into something, but she could not quite recall what it was. Though that was hardly her biggest worry. She moved a strand of dark hair from her eyes and sat up more slowly, still unaware of where she was.
A steady beam of light shone in through the window out of the darkness. The moon stood high in the sky. Chloe's eyes rested on the clock set on the wall directly across from her. Feeling her throat constrict at the realization that it was after nine o'clock. Could it be that she was on a plane, well on her way to New York? She looked out the window again. A solid looking row of building sat motionless beneath the twinkling stars. She turned back slowly to the clock and stared at it for a few more minutes. Maybe it was a trick.
The more she watched that clock and heard the faint bustling outside her door, the more she came to realize that she was not on a plane to Julliard. She realized also that she was going to miss her Master's audition. What else did she notice? That there was a sharp pain shooting up the palm of her hand whenever it touched the soft mattress she was sitting on.
Chloe lifted her hand slowly so that her palm was facing upward. Where she expected to find a scratch or a cut, she found a bruise. And it was the fact that she had a bruise in the palm of her hand, the unlikeliest of all places, was what suddenly scared her. She was not in a plane, nor in some secret room in her home that she had never seen before. She looked over at the unused IV sitting beside her bed. She was in the hospital.
Brady sat silently in the lounge with a few other people, waiting patiently in the midst of a building full of sick people. They must have been here before, Brady thought, wondering how they could be so calm. Brady was more scared than he had ever been in his life. Chloe hadn't only fainted this time…she had had a seizure right in his arms. It was a frightening experience to have to go through, and any other would probably have dropped the person on the spot. Brady on the other hand had refused to put her down on the hospital bed when he and Nancy had arrived there. For some strange reason he felt as if he would be letting her go into a world she couldn't comprehend. He needed to be there for her, because he knew that there was something seriously wrong with her.
Brady shuffled in his seat and fell asleep for a while, for a time leaving the world and drifting off into some other place.
[i] "What is this?" Brady asked, picking up a small sheet of paper. On it was a phone number, that he knew. But he could not read the numbers because they jumped across the page. Nancy's voice could be heard talking somewhere, off in the distance. She appeared beside him and gasped when she saw the sheet of paper he was holding.
"Brady Black!" She screamed. "How could you do this to my daughter! You've just signed her death warrant! You Kirkiakises are all the same! I hope this makes you happy because it's the last happy moment you'll ever have!"
With that the enraged woman disappeared into thin air, her voice echoing off into nothingness. Brady dropped the paper and stepped into the mist surrounding him. He could see a dark form in the distance. As he neared it, it became clearer and clearer until he could see exactly what it was.
Chloe's lifeless form, lain peacefully in a bed strewn with flower petals. Her skin was pale and her face was guant. He wanted to run, but something held him there. Chloe's eyes opened slowly. She sat up mechanically and looked over at Brady. She grinned before falling to pieces. [/i]
Brady's eyes shot open instantly. He remembered his horrific dream part by part. Rubbing his tired eyes, he stood up. He would not sleep again, not if that was what he was to see. But what did it mean? It must have meant something. It had to have.
He walked slowly through the halls. Visiting hours were way over, and only half-crazed patients and family members plagued the corridors.
"Craig! Show me the results now!" Nancy screamed. Brady whirled around to see Nancy yelling at her husband down the hall. Craig held a blue folder in his hands while Nancy tried frantically to take it from him. "She's my daughter! I need to know what the results are!" Craig placed a finger to his lips.
"Come into my office."
"You're office?" Nancy said, drawing back from his husband. She knew in that moment that it was something bad, Brady felt that too. Nancy immediately quieted and looked more like a scared little girl as she entered Dr. Wesley's office. As soon as the door closed, Brady hurried over to the door. As soon as he got there he heard Nancy start screaming at the top of her lungs. He stepped back from the door. Craig had told her what the results were. He needed to know, too.
Nancy's shrieks eventually turned into a steady wailing. Brady walked slowly back towards the lounge and sat down. He didn't know why he was so concerned about Belle's friends, but he was. Though not one of them as mattered as much to him as Chloe Lane did. He couldn't explain it either. It was an instant connection, one he wasn't sure he could handle. It seemed he was always worrying about her. Now he knew he would have an ever bigger task to accomplish.
Though being with Chloe could have been stressful, it was the best five minutes of his day…or however long he chose to spend with her. It didn't surprise him that he slowly began to fall in love with her over the summer, when all her friends had gone off on their summer trip. Though he denied it, he knew that a lot of people could see right through him. Basically, that was everyone except for Chloe. She still saw him as a good friend, nothing more. But still, that would not bother Brady at that moment, because at that moment, they both had much more important things to worry about, like someone's health.
Chloe sat quietly in the hospital bed, looking down at her hands. She was going to miss her audition. She wasn't going to make it into her Master's class. She couldn't even stand up out of her bed. Her palm was bruised. She was dizzy.
She needed help, and a lot of it. That she could see. No longer could she deny this sickness. She waited for someone to pull her out of that hospital bed and take her to Julliard. She needed to get to New York. She needed to get better.
Most importantly, she needed someone to help her get through it all.
Prologue: Chapter 3
Chloe's opened one eye, looking up at the tiled ceiling. She slowly followed with her other eye and sat up quickly. The sudden movement resulted in a head rush, and quite a large one at that. Hours of lying dormant in a strange environment startled Chloe, though she did not know it had been hours. Her eyes took in the room, from the small beside table to the leather one-seaters to the large window, covered half-way by a translucent salmon curtain. She had a vague recollection of falling into something, but she could not quite recall what it was. Though that was hardly her biggest worry. She moved a strand of dark hair from her eyes and sat up more slowly, still unaware of where she was.
A steady beam of light shone in through the window out of the darkness. The moon stood high in the sky. Chloe's eyes rested on the clock set on the wall directly across from her. Feeling her throat constrict at the realization that it was after nine o'clock. Could it be that she was on a plane, well on her way to New York? She looked out the window again. A solid looking row of building sat motionless beneath the twinkling stars. She turned back slowly to the clock and stared at it for a few more minutes. Maybe it was a trick.
The more she watched that clock and heard the faint bustling outside her door, the more she came to realize that she was not on a plane to Julliard. She realized also that she was going to miss her Master's audition. What else did she notice? That there was a sharp pain shooting up the palm of her hand whenever it touched the soft mattress she was sitting on.
Chloe lifted her hand slowly so that her palm was facing upward. Where she expected to find a scratch or a cut, she found a bruise. And it was the fact that she had a bruise in the palm of her hand, the unlikeliest of all places, was what suddenly scared her. She was not in a plane, nor in some secret room in her home that she had never seen before. She looked over at the unused IV sitting beside her bed. She was in the hospital.
Brady sat silently in the lounge with a few other people, waiting patiently in the midst of a building full of sick people. They must have been here before, Brady thought, wondering how they could be so calm. Brady was more scared than he had ever been in his life. Chloe hadn't only fainted this time…she had had a seizure right in his arms. It was a frightening experience to have to go through, and any other would probably have dropped the person on the spot. Brady on the other hand had refused to put her down on the hospital bed when he and Nancy had arrived there. For some strange reason he felt as if he would be letting her go into a world she couldn't comprehend. He needed to be there for her, because he knew that there was something seriously wrong with her.
Brady shuffled in his seat and fell asleep for a while, for a time leaving the world and drifting off into some other place.
[i] "What is this?" Brady asked, picking up a small sheet of paper. On it was a phone number, that he knew. But he could not read the numbers because they jumped across the page. Nancy's voice could be heard talking somewhere, off in the distance. She appeared beside him and gasped when she saw the sheet of paper he was holding.
"Brady Black!" She screamed. "How could you do this to my daughter! You've just signed her death warrant! You Kirkiakises are all the same! I hope this makes you happy because it's the last happy moment you'll ever have!"
With that the enraged woman disappeared into thin air, her voice echoing off into nothingness. Brady dropped the paper and stepped into the mist surrounding him. He could see a dark form in the distance. As he neared it, it became clearer and clearer until he could see exactly what it was.
Chloe's lifeless form, lain peacefully in a bed strewn with flower petals. Her skin was pale and her face was guant. He wanted to run, but something held him there. Chloe's eyes opened slowly. She sat up mechanically and looked over at Brady. She grinned before falling to pieces. [/i]
Brady's eyes shot open instantly. He remembered his horrific dream part by part. Rubbing his tired eyes, he stood up. He would not sleep again, not if that was what he was to see. But what did it mean? It must have meant something. It had to have.
He walked slowly through the halls. Visiting hours were way over, and only half-crazed patients and family members plagued the corridors.
"Craig! Show me the results now!" Nancy screamed. Brady whirled around to see Nancy yelling at her husband down the hall. Craig held a blue folder in his hands while Nancy tried frantically to take it from him. "She's my daughter! I need to know what the results are!" Craig placed a finger to his lips.
"Come into my office."
"You're office?" Nancy said, drawing back from his husband. She knew in that moment that it was something bad, Brady felt that too. Nancy immediately quieted and looked more like a scared little girl as she entered Dr. Wesley's office. As soon as the door closed, Brady hurried over to the door. As soon as he got there he heard Nancy start screaming at the top of her lungs. He stepped back from the door. Craig had told her what the results were. He needed to know, too.
Nancy's shrieks eventually turned into a steady wailing. Brady walked slowly back towards the lounge and sat down. He didn't know why he was so concerned about Belle's friends, but he was. Though not one of them as mattered as much to him as Chloe Lane did. He couldn't explain it either. It was an instant connection, one he wasn't sure he could handle. It seemed he was always worrying about her. Now he knew he would have an ever bigger task to accomplish.
Though being with Chloe could have been stressful, it was the best five minutes of his day…or however long he chose to spend with her. It didn't surprise him that he slowly began to fall in love with her over the summer, when all her friends had gone off on their summer trip. Though he denied it, he knew that a lot of people could see right through him. Basically, that was everyone except for Chloe. She still saw him as a good friend, nothing more. But still, that would not bother Brady at that moment, because at that moment, they both had much more important things to worry about, like someone's health.
Chloe sat quietly in the hospital bed, looking down at her hands. She was going to miss her audition. She wasn't going to make it into her Master's class. She couldn't even stand up out of her bed. Her palm was bruised. She was dizzy.
She needed help, and a lot of it. That she could see. No longer could she deny this sickness. She waited for someone to pull her out of that hospital bed and take her to Julliard. She needed to get to New York. She needed to get better.
Most importantly, she needed someone to help her get through it all.