Chapter 2


Well, this is it. It's over between Philip and I. I can finally move on with my life but that was easier said than done. I moped around my house for a few days until I got sick of my self-pity party and went out for a walk with Brady. A week had passed since I'd heard that message from Philip. A week, since he had let me go as he put it. Things were getting back to normal, I was getting back into my sarcastic bantering with Brady but anyone who knew me would know that I was slowly dying inside. All of a sudden I felt like the tragic lead in one of my favorite operas. Yet I put up this façade for the entire world because this was what they expected of me. And I did enjoy spending time with Brady. He got my mind off Philip and made me smile again. We have so many things in common. I feel like I could be myself with him but who was that exactly? I had made a grave mistake when I once mentioned to Brady about not being myself with Philip. Does that mean I was playing a part in that romance? No, because he did have my heart, all of it. I just didn't realize how much until now. I'm still the same girl who likes Operas. But with Philip, I knew I had found something that could take me away from my lifelong dream and that scared me. My love for Philip scared me. It still does.

"You're thinking of him aren't you?" Brady said. It wasn't a question rather a statement. He always knew when she was thinking of Philip. She had this distant look in her eyes. But she also had an emotion he didn't want to admit to, the look of love. As painful as it was, he knew he and Chloe could never work. He was starting to fall for her and who knows with enough time, she might reciprocate those feelings. But he was Brady Black and he either came in first or not at all. He didn't want to be Chloe's choice because she wasn't Philip's. He deserved better, they both did.

Chloe looked at Brady sadly thinking the same thing he probably was. She had to be honest with him

"Yes I was. Brady, you've been a great friend.."

"Ah say no more, not the best friend speech, even a guy know what that means." Brady got up from the park bench and looked towards the kids playing baseball across the street, anywhere but at Chloe.

Chloe walked to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's not what you think, Brady. I mean, it is but, ugh just listen to me, okay?"

"Okay." He said reluctantly.

"I will always be grateful to you for what you've done for me these past few weeks. But we were deluding ourselves. I was using you to try and forget Philip and that was wrong of me. It's only been a few weeks Brady and my emotions is still raw about everything that's happened. I'm still angry with him for what he did but I can't help loving him Brady. I'm starting to think that love may never go away. I forgave him when I saw that videotape apology. I felt his love wrap around me like a cocoon. But I was so hurt and felt so betrayed that my pride kept me from telling him how I felt. Now it's too late, he wants nothing to do with me. But that doesn't mean I should substitute that loss for something that could only lead to disaster. And you know it will, Brady."

He could only look at her, reality setting in.

Chloe sighed and continued. "It may be over between me and Philip but I'm not ready to move into another relationship. Not now. It wouldn't be fair to the both of us. We have so many things in common, similar childhoods that I mistook it for something more. The more I heard about you, the more intrigued I got. I like knowing there was someone out there who may have gone through similar experiences like I did. I think we have something special and in a way I'm glad we had this summer to figure out exactly what that is. And that is a unique friendship. I'm so sorry if I may have lead you on: I didn't mean to."

Brady couldn't let her blame herself for what were mostly his actions. "No, Chloe you didn't lead me on, not at all. I knew you were still in love with Philip; I just didn't want to see it I guess. So I would belittle it as a crush or some teenage angst just to erase those doubts I had. But from the moment you told me about his message on your answering machine, I knew it was over." He laughed. "Of course we never had a relationship to get over but I got a reality check that night. I watched you closely and for the first time I saw a girl in love. Your eyes looked so empty and cold, it scared me. You had your hands wrapped around your body like you were protecting yourself from the outside world. I'd never seen you react with such passion to anything Philip had done till that night. I knew it was only a matter of time. That this 'thing' or whatever it is that we had was a ticking bomb waiting to go off. You were brutally honest and it needed to be said."

Chloe breathed a sigh of relief; she honestly didn't know how Brady was going to react to her admission. But he surprised her; many things were doing that these days. Philip's call came to mind and she tried shaking those thoughts from her head. She smiled, "thanks for understanding Brady, though I knew you..." But he interrupted before she could finish.

"Forget about it Chloe, that's all water underneath the bridge. Lets' start all over, okay?"

"Okay."

They started walking towards his black Suv. "C'mon let me take your home."

Once home Chloe got out the car and walked towards her front door. She heard Brady calling her name and turned around to see him leaning his head out the car window.

"And one more thing, my uncle was foolish to let ever let such a diva like you go." With that he started the ignition and drove away.

"We were both foolish, Brady." She stood on her porch looking at the clear blue sky, birds humming. She made herself a solemn promise. It was time to get on with her life with or without Philip Kiriakis.


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(Somewhere on the island)


"OMG mom, are you sure?" Belle refused to believe it, this couldn't be happening. She didn't know how many times she'd asked her mom to confirm this news. But she just couldn't digest it. She was glad she had Shawn but she knew he needed someone to confide in also. He was trying to be strong for her but she could see the devastation written all over his face.

After reassuring her mom that she would come home right away; she hung up the phone and leaned in Shawn's arms. They held unto each other as they both cried over their loss.

*************************************

Chloe sat in her room, contemplating what had happened hours earlier with Brady. She knew she'd made the right decision. But it was still a difficult one; she didn't like hurting anyone feelings. She also came to an important realization about Philip. She was not ready to give up on their relationship, not yet. She was going to fight for him, for the love she knew they still shared.

"I love you, Philip and I am not giving up on us that easily." With a renewed sense of hope, she started packing her belongings placing a photo of Philip amongst her things.

She'd called the airlines. A flight departing for Puerto Rico was leaving in one hour. And she would be on that plane. Ready or not, here I come Philip. She was about to lay her heart on the line and tell him how she truly felt.

She was in love with him.

Smiling she picked up her bags and headed downstairs. She was so glad that Nancy and Craig had agreed on such short notice to let her go on the field trip. She heard distressing voices coming from the living room, and wondered what Nancy and Craig were arguing about now.

"Oh Craig, how are we going to tell her this?"
"I don't know, baby. I just don't know." Craig said as he pulled his wife into a hug. It was times like these that he was glad he had her to turn too. Love was such a fragile thing.

"Tell me what, Nancy?"

They both turned and saw Chloe standing in the doorway. She was packed and ready to go. But what couldn't go unnoticed was the look on her face. She hadn't looked that refreshed and alive for weeks, since the breakup. They memorized her face, wondering if this would be the last time they would ever see her look this way.

"Sweetheart, could you please come here and sit with us for a little bit? Craig and I have some news to tell you."

Chloe was getting impatient. She held unto her bags tightly, hoping her mother hadn't changed Craig's mind as usual.

"Nancy, can't it wait. I have a flight to catch, I don't want to be late." She was already headed towards the door when Nancy's words stopped her.

"Chloe, Philip was in an accident."

Chloe looked at Nancy not quite believing what she had just heard. "What, what did you just say?" she stammered.

"We just got off the phone with Victor, Philip was in a plane crash. Apparently he had called his father wanting to come home. There was turbulence in the air and the plane was lost from the radar screen."

Chloe was staring at Nancy in shock, slowly shaking her head in disbelief.

"Sweetheart they just found the crash site an hour ago. Philip was on the plane, Chloe. He was one of the confirmed.."

"No", Chloe yelled at her mother. "Don't you dare say it, Nancy!!" She had pushed Craig away from her and was leaning on the banister for support but to no avail.

Nancy choked back tears as she broke her daughter's heart. "Philip's dead, Chloe."

"Nooooo," Chloe wailed, as she slumped to the floor and fainted.

To be continued