Chloe and Tabi sat down on Chloe's bed. "Well, today was interesting." Chloe said.
"What do you think of Belle and Philip being together?" Tabi was pretty sure she knew the answer but figured she may as well ask.
"I'm happy for both of them. I can now be with Brady without having to worry about Philip while he and Belle enjoy their time. And since Shawn has you everyone is happy." Tabi blushed at the mention of Shawn. "So are you going to see him tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we're going out with Belle and Philip."
"Wait a minute." Chloe thought and Tabi realized she'd let something slip. "You never talked about that. You knew! You knew about them and didn't tell me." Tabi nodded, laughing. "Well, I guess I shouldn't have expected you too. I do understand."
"Don't think Belle told me, because she didn't want anyone to know. Shawn and I walked in on them making-out in her living room. Shawn already knew but I kinda figured it out." Chloe and Tabi chatted amicably for another hour before Tabi went to her own room to sleep.
Tabi lay in bed happily thinking about Shawn, Chloe, and all her new friends. She may actually like this place. Meanwhile Chloe's thoughts were only of Brady. After denying her feelings for so long she was glad to be rid of the burden. It was like they'd been together forever when he kissed her, so different from Philip. With Philip she was always afraid she was doing it wrong, or that he was judging her, with Brady it just felt so natural and there was no doubt that she was definitely doing it right. How could I ever have confused my feelings for Philip with love? The word came rolling off her tongue when directed at Brady. It had been so hard to admit her feelings to Philip but once again, with Brady it just felt right. Chloe thoughts were quite corny when it came to Brady but she couldn't help it. She fell asleep smiling and began to dream. She was transported to a fairy tale like castle. She was walking around a corridor dressed in a long blue velvet dress. It had long sleeves and a lace up corset top. Her long hair had been curled and was hanging freely. She continued to walk and slowly music became audible. She followed the sounds and found herself in a huge, mirrored ballroom filled with people. A man approached her and they began to dance. She moved from one man to another circualting the room until she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Brady standing there. The two began to waltz as the rest of the crowd moved back to give them room. The lights began to darken and soon all of the people disappeared. They continued their dance even as the music faded. They were now alone, in a dark expanse. Slowly Brady stopped their dance and pulled back. He stared at her and moved his hands to the lacing on her corset. He pulled the string and her heart began to beat faster. She could hear it's pounding. His voice came to her. "Chloe..."
"Chloe wake up." Nancy knocked once more on her daughters door.
Slowly, Chloe was shaken from her reverie and began to wake up.
"Chloe it's 12:30. You shouldn't be in bed anymore."
"I'm awake." Chloe mumbled. Damn, that was turning into an interesting dream too. Chloe pulled herself out of bed and shuffled off towards the bathroom. She turned the knob but the door was locked. What the hell? I'm the only one who uses this bathroom. Nancy and Craig have their own. She realized the shower was running. She was more confused as she heard singing coming from inside.
Tabi rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, singing all the while. "Burnt out ends of smokey days. The pale, cold smell of morning."
OK, Chloe thought. This is really weird. There is someone in my shower singing "Memory" from Cats . Then she remembered. "Morning Tabi." She yelled through the door but her sister was unable to hear her.
"Touch me, it's so easy to leave me, all alone with the memory, of my days in the sun..."
Chloe laughed and padded downstairs. She would eat and then take a shower. This would be something she would have to get used to. Strange smells hit her nose as she approached the kitchen. It registered in her mind, Bacon and Eggs. She opened the door and Nancy turned to her. "Good morning. Here you go." She found a plate of breakfast food shoved into her hands. "I decided to make breakfast this morning. Go ahead, have a seat and try it." Chloe looked at Craig who was already seated. She raised her eyebrows questioningly but he only shrugged. She sat and took a small, nervous bite. She was shocked to find it was actually pretty good. "Well?" Nancy looked at her expectantly.
Chloe wrestled with her conscience. Part of her wanted to deny it's decency just to hurt Nancy but the other said she should tell the truth. "It's good Nancy." From the expression that crossed her mother's face Chloe thought the woman was going to pass out. Either that or cry.
"Why thank you Chloe. That means so much to me."
"Um, you're welcome."
They were saved from the unavoidable awkwardness by Tabi's entrance. "Good morning." She said a bit uncomfortably. "Sorry for hogging the bathroom, Chloe." She sat down and was handed a plate of food.
"No problem. I'm going to go hop in the shower now."
"You aren't going to finish your food?" Nancy said sadly.
"Oh, yeah, I'll do that first."
"Hey," Tabi said, sounding a bit surprised, "This is pretty good." Nancy smiled proudly and Chloe leaned over to whisper conspiratorily to Tabi.
"Better than that brownie, huh?" Tabi laughed as did Chloe. Craig and Nancy eyed their daughters suspiciously. Nancy was beeming though.
"Isn't this so nice? To finally all be together again?"
With that simple statment the 50's sitcom-esque mood was broken. "It could have happened sooner if you had acknowledged our existence." Chloe snapped.
"Now Chloe..."
"Don't act like we are suddenly a normal family Nancy, because we are far from that. After seventeen years the three of us are finally together but that doesn't make us a family. We don't even know who our father is for goodness sake." Chloe dropped her utensils onto her plate and stalked out of the room.
Nancy turned to Tabi. "Don't mind her, she just overreacts a bit."
"I think she was far from overreacting. She was definately a hundred percent right." Tabi too got up and left.
