Chapter Two
"Brandon wh-what are you doing here," Sami questioned far too stunned to think this moment to be real as she blinked back at him half expecting him to vanish into thin air before her. She stood up straighter wondering if happiness had brought her to this delirium, but as she tried to will away the image before her, she found it all the more real as his eyes cascaded over her appreciatively.
"Is this a bad time," he questioned, his eyes peering into her apartment with obvious curiosity as she opened the door wider to allow him inside despite the surprise that carried over her.
"No, not really," she blurted out before thinking watching him walk back into her apartment and into her life after so very long when she'd thought that she'd never be able to experience something like this again.
"It sure looks like you were busy," Brandon noted spinning around to face her once again, "were you expecting company?"
"No, well yes, but no…but…yes, I mean…" she stammered at a loss feeling her stomach now doing flip flops as her tongue was clearly tied in knots, "I mean…I guess what I'm saying is, Brandon what are you doing here?"
"I was in Salem, so I thought," he started with a simple shrug of his shoulders.
"Yes I realize that, but why?" she questioned interrupting him as her pulse raced in her chest furiously, "Why are you in Salem?"
"I came to see you," he admitted honestly as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Come again," she blinked back at him, "what did you just say?"
"I said that I came to town to see you Samantha," he stepped in towards her as his dark eyes penetrated her in such a way that Sami had forced herself to forget after he'd left town and walked out of her life forever.
"But why…" she questioned at a complete loss as she found herself moving in closer to him, "Why come here after what you said about not wanting to ever see me again? After the way in which you wouldn't let me contact you…"
"I'm sorry that I did that as it was cruel and callous of me to treat you that way," he sighed poignantly shaking his head at the memory, "but at the time I felt so betrayed and…"
"I never meant to hurt you Brandon. I was just so desperate and…"
"Feeling trapped," he added with a knowing expression, "I realize that now Samantha and I should've taken that into consideration with the way that I'd been treating you during that time frame. I became an inconsiderate jerk who took for granted the special lady in his life and in turn I brought all of that on by allowing you to feel threatened…"
"Even so, I shouldn't have done what I did," she began again hating the sins of the past as they'd haunted her for so very long, "I should've just been open with you about my fears and expressed just how much I…"
"Samantha, I was in the wrong. I'm the one who caused you to have those fears and I made so many stupid, foolish choices that ultimately destroyed our relationship. While I know I placed the blame on you when I left town, that's because deep down I knew how very wrong I was and I was too much of a stubborn jerk to face up to the fact that I screwed up," he continued painfully, "I'm what destroyed us as I helped turn you into something you swore you never wanted to be."
"Brandon no. You can't blame yourself for my actions as I was the one who jumped the gun and went to extremes…" she started remorsefully.
"No, Samantha I was wrong and for that, I need to apologize as you deserved so much more from me. You deserved better and now…" he trailed off extending his hand out towards her before dropping it down at his side as a sigh escaped from his lips, "God, you look incredible."
"Thank you," she felt a blush tickling in over her cheeks, "You don't look so bad yourself Brandon."
"Well, truth be told I've been a complete mess since I left Salem--at least for most of the time I've been away," he answered honestly as he spoke to her with a heartfelt emotion he'd buried long ago, "as I've been a wreck without you in my life."
"Oh Brandon," she began to reach for him, stopping herself short as she cleared her throat once again straining to remain focused as she brushed past him, "so, what really brings you back to Salem again?"
"I needed to speak with you as you and I have some unfinished business between us that we can't avoid any longer," he began taking in a slow, nervous breath, "as I think it's time that we…"
"Oh beautiful," Lucas's voice broke through the moment as Brandon spun around to see Lucas standing in the now open doorway with a bouquet of red roses before him, nearly covering his face completely as he entered the apartment, "I'm home and you won't believe the things I have in mind for you tonight."
"Lucas," Sami gasped his name finding herself paralyzed in the moment as Lucas lowered the flowers just enough to reveal the bright grin that spread over his features, but almost as soon as it expanded, it shriveled when he saw Brandon standing before him.
"Brandon," Lucas frowned in response, "what are you doing here?"
"He just came back to Salem," Sami offered up suddenly finding her voice as she stepped up between both men.
"Really," Lucas questioned wearily, "when?"
"Tonight," Brandon answered clearing his throat once again as he felt an awkwardness in the moment, "as I came to speak with Samantha."
"You did, did you," Lucas stood taller as something that resembled jealousy sparked behind his eyes, "what about?"
"We were just getting to that when you came in," Sami explained cracking her knuckles nervously as she shifted on her feet. She looked to Brandon with questioning eyes as she took in a slow breath wondering what had brought her old lover back to her doorstep tonight of all nights, "So what was it you had to speak with me about?"
"Actually I," Brandon started biting on his lower lip before he looked to Lucas again, "I am interrupting, aren't I?"
"No, not at all as Lucas and I were…" Sami started desperately needing to hear what Brandon had to say.
"About to share a romantic evening at home with one another," Lucas finished stepping up towards her as he handed her the bouquet, "as there's no point in hiding what we're doing to Brandon as we're in the company of old friends here, aren't we?"
"Well yes, but…" Sami's blue eyes drifted back to Brandon as she could clearly see the pain behind his eyes.
"So what was it you came to talk to Sami about, Brand-o," Lucas questioned again with obvious curiosity.
"I came here to tell her…" Brandon paused shaking his head, "maybe this can wait as you two seem to have a busy night ahead of you and I don't want to intrude."
"I'm sure whatever you have to say won't take too long and we can get back to our plans," Lucas replied kissing Sami's cheek gently, "Isn't that right beautiful?"
Sami remained silent for a long moment before finally nodding, "Of course. I don't mind taking the time to hear what you came all this way to tell me Brandon."
"Well, in that case," he hesitated once again, "I came here tonight to talk about the divorce papers."
"Divorce papers," Sami's eyes widened in surprise as her jaw dropped.
"Yeah," Brandon nodded motioning towards Lucas, "as I can see you've moved on with your life, so maybe it's time that you and I started fresh and got back to where we should be in our lives."
"I think that's an incredible idea," Lucas agreed enthusiastically, "as Sami was going to send you back those annulment papers, but they kind of got lost in the shuffle with all the things that have been happening around here. Come to think of it, didn't we come across them not so long ago Sami?"
"I lost them," Sami blurted out feeling another sense of loss filling her up inside altogether different than the one she was speaking of as she realized that at this moment it was her husband standing before her--that even after all this time and moving forward, she was still Brandon's wife. That left a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as she took in another slow breath.
"Well, I'm sure we can find them if we search hard enough," Lucas piped in breaking through her thoughts, "and then you two can work on putting all of that craziness behind you."
"Actually, you don't need to bother with finding them," Brant suggested once again, "as I've got a copy with me back at my hotel. I was planning on spending some time around town a little bit as Nikki and I were going to catch up with one another."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about you and Nicole being related," Lucas chuckled as if he was talking to an old friend who'd stopped in to talk shop with him, "How's she doing these days?"
"I suppose she's surviving," Brandon answered emotionlessly as his eyes were drawn to Sami once again.
"Aren't we all," Lucas added stepping in towards him, "but hey now that we got all of that settled we can finally move forward with our lives and not look back. You can get back to whatever it is you've been keeping up with and Sami and I, well this is a huge breath of relief for us as once the technicalities behind the divorce are over, it opens up a new door for us."
"I'm sure it does," Brandon nodded once again, "and I'm sure Will's very happy about that."
"He's beyond ecstatic," Lucas added in Sami's silence, "and hey while you're in town, you should come back and pay him a visit as I'm sure he'd like to see you again--you know to see how things have been going."
"Yeah sure," Brandon decided finally turning his attention away from Sami, "I'll be sure to say hello when I bring back the papers for Samantha…"
"Well actually you could probably send them to her Uncle Mickey, right Sami?" Lucas suggested with an eager expression, "as I'm sure he can deal with whatever they have to say and then she can sign them and you'll be on your way."
"If that's what Samantha would prefer," Brandon offered up glancing over at her once again.
"No," she began quickly--almost too quickly as Lucas offered up a surprise expression, "I mean that won't be necessary. I'm sure that whatever they have to say, it'll be just fine. I can just sign them and then we can put this behind us as that's really what would be best."
"Absolutely," Brandon agreed halfheartedly, "as I've always wanted what was best for you Samantha."
"Well she has it now," Lucas promised him stepping over to the door and opening it up for Brandon to exit, "So we'll be seeing you around pal."
"Yeah sure," Brandon replied with a half smile turning away from Sami before he finding himself stealing one last look at her, "You're a lucky man, Lucas."
"Don't I know it," Lucas beamed with enthusiasm watching as Brandon left the apartment and Sami sank down upon the back of the couch too stunned to say much of anything. Lucas locked the door behind him gauging himself for Sami's expression as a nervous breath overtook him. He rubbed his palms together gently as he spoke up once again in a tentative voice, "So, how ironic is that with him showing up on our anniversary and all? I mean who would've thought that guy would've come into town like that?"
"Who knew," Sami forced a smile as she tried to focus on all the plans she'd made for her romantic evening with Lucas.
"I guess fate was just dealing us another hand of luck there," Lucas suggested stepping in towards her and pulling her up off of the couch and into his arms, "as it seems that we're finally going to be able to work on making things official with one another once your marriage is dissolve and then," he touched her cheek gently sliding his fingers into her golden tresses, "well then nothing is going to stand in our way of the happily ever after we were meant for."
"No it's not, is it," Sami forced another smile as he pulled her into an embrace and she held him tightly wondering if things were really going to be as easy as Lucas wanted them to be as in having Brandon return to Salem it opened up a whole new can of worms that she was almost afraid she wouldn't be able to put a lid back on and as she clung to Lucas she feared for that part of her that realized she may never want to.
"Brandon wh-what are you doing here," Sami questioned far too stunned to think this moment to be real as she blinked back at him half expecting him to vanish into thin air before her. She stood up straighter wondering if happiness had brought her to this delirium, but as she tried to will away the image before her, she found it all the more real as his eyes cascaded over her appreciatively.
"Is this a bad time," he questioned, his eyes peering into her apartment with obvious curiosity as she opened the door wider to allow him inside despite the surprise that carried over her.
"No, not really," she blurted out before thinking watching him walk back into her apartment and into her life after so very long when she'd thought that she'd never be able to experience something like this again.
"It sure looks like you were busy," Brandon noted spinning around to face her once again, "were you expecting company?"
"No, well yes, but no…but…yes, I mean…" she stammered at a loss feeling her stomach now doing flip flops as her tongue was clearly tied in knots, "I mean…I guess what I'm saying is, Brandon what are you doing here?"
"I was in Salem, so I thought," he started with a simple shrug of his shoulders.
"Yes I realize that, but why?" she questioned interrupting him as her pulse raced in her chest furiously, "Why are you in Salem?"
"I came to see you," he admitted honestly as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Come again," she blinked back at him, "what did you just say?"
"I said that I came to town to see you Samantha," he stepped in towards her as his dark eyes penetrated her in such a way that Sami had forced herself to forget after he'd left town and walked out of her life forever.
"But why…" she questioned at a complete loss as she found herself moving in closer to him, "Why come here after what you said about not wanting to ever see me again? After the way in which you wouldn't let me contact you…"
"I'm sorry that I did that as it was cruel and callous of me to treat you that way," he sighed poignantly shaking his head at the memory, "but at the time I felt so betrayed and…"
"I never meant to hurt you Brandon. I was just so desperate and…"
"Feeling trapped," he added with a knowing expression, "I realize that now Samantha and I should've taken that into consideration with the way that I'd been treating you during that time frame. I became an inconsiderate jerk who took for granted the special lady in his life and in turn I brought all of that on by allowing you to feel threatened…"
"Even so, I shouldn't have done what I did," she began again hating the sins of the past as they'd haunted her for so very long, "I should've just been open with you about my fears and expressed just how much I…"
"Samantha, I was in the wrong. I'm the one who caused you to have those fears and I made so many stupid, foolish choices that ultimately destroyed our relationship. While I know I placed the blame on you when I left town, that's because deep down I knew how very wrong I was and I was too much of a stubborn jerk to face up to the fact that I screwed up," he continued painfully, "I'm what destroyed us as I helped turn you into something you swore you never wanted to be."
"Brandon no. You can't blame yourself for my actions as I was the one who jumped the gun and went to extremes…" she started remorsefully.
"No, Samantha I was wrong and for that, I need to apologize as you deserved so much more from me. You deserved better and now…" he trailed off extending his hand out towards her before dropping it down at his side as a sigh escaped from his lips, "God, you look incredible."
"Thank you," she felt a blush tickling in over her cheeks, "You don't look so bad yourself Brandon."
"Well, truth be told I've been a complete mess since I left Salem--at least for most of the time I've been away," he answered honestly as he spoke to her with a heartfelt emotion he'd buried long ago, "as I've been a wreck without you in my life."
"Oh Brandon," she began to reach for him, stopping herself short as she cleared her throat once again straining to remain focused as she brushed past him, "so, what really brings you back to Salem again?"
"I needed to speak with you as you and I have some unfinished business between us that we can't avoid any longer," he began taking in a slow, nervous breath, "as I think it's time that we…"
"Oh beautiful," Lucas's voice broke through the moment as Brandon spun around to see Lucas standing in the now open doorway with a bouquet of red roses before him, nearly covering his face completely as he entered the apartment, "I'm home and you won't believe the things I have in mind for you tonight."
"Lucas," Sami gasped his name finding herself paralyzed in the moment as Lucas lowered the flowers just enough to reveal the bright grin that spread over his features, but almost as soon as it expanded, it shriveled when he saw Brandon standing before him.
"Brandon," Lucas frowned in response, "what are you doing here?"
"He just came back to Salem," Sami offered up suddenly finding her voice as she stepped up between both men.
"Really," Lucas questioned wearily, "when?"
"Tonight," Brandon answered clearing his throat once again as he felt an awkwardness in the moment, "as I came to speak with Samantha."
"You did, did you," Lucas stood taller as something that resembled jealousy sparked behind his eyes, "what about?"
"We were just getting to that when you came in," Sami explained cracking her knuckles nervously as she shifted on her feet. She looked to Brandon with questioning eyes as she took in a slow breath wondering what had brought her old lover back to her doorstep tonight of all nights, "So what was it you had to speak with me about?"
"Actually I," Brandon started biting on his lower lip before he looked to Lucas again, "I am interrupting, aren't I?"
"No, not at all as Lucas and I were…" Sami started desperately needing to hear what Brandon had to say.
"About to share a romantic evening at home with one another," Lucas finished stepping up towards her as he handed her the bouquet, "as there's no point in hiding what we're doing to Brandon as we're in the company of old friends here, aren't we?"
"Well yes, but…" Sami's blue eyes drifted back to Brandon as she could clearly see the pain behind his eyes.
"So what was it you came to talk to Sami about, Brand-o," Lucas questioned again with obvious curiosity.
"I came here to tell her…" Brandon paused shaking his head, "maybe this can wait as you two seem to have a busy night ahead of you and I don't want to intrude."
"I'm sure whatever you have to say won't take too long and we can get back to our plans," Lucas replied kissing Sami's cheek gently, "Isn't that right beautiful?"
Sami remained silent for a long moment before finally nodding, "Of course. I don't mind taking the time to hear what you came all this way to tell me Brandon."
"Well, in that case," he hesitated once again, "I came here tonight to talk about the divorce papers."
"Divorce papers," Sami's eyes widened in surprise as her jaw dropped.
"Yeah," Brandon nodded motioning towards Lucas, "as I can see you've moved on with your life, so maybe it's time that you and I started fresh and got back to where we should be in our lives."
"I think that's an incredible idea," Lucas agreed enthusiastically, "as Sami was going to send you back those annulment papers, but they kind of got lost in the shuffle with all the things that have been happening around here. Come to think of it, didn't we come across them not so long ago Sami?"
"I lost them," Sami blurted out feeling another sense of loss filling her up inside altogether different than the one she was speaking of as she realized that at this moment it was her husband standing before her--that even after all this time and moving forward, she was still Brandon's wife. That left a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach as she took in another slow breath.
"Well, I'm sure we can find them if we search hard enough," Lucas piped in breaking through her thoughts, "and then you two can work on putting all of that craziness behind you."
"Actually, you don't need to bother with finding them," Brant suggested once again, "as I've got a copy with me back at my hotel. I was planning on spending some time around town a little bit as Nikki and I were going to catch up with one another."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about you and Nicole being related," Lucas chuckled as if he was talking to an old friend who'd stopped in to talk shop with him, "How's she doing these days?"
"I suppose she's surviving," Brandon answered emotionlessly as his eyes were drawn to Sami once again.
"Aren't we all," Lucas added stepping in towards him, "but hey now that we got all of that settled we can finally move forward with our lives and not look back. You can get back to whatever it is you've been keeping up with and Sami and I, well this is a huge breath of relief for us as once the technicalities behind the divorce are over, it opens up a new door for us."
"I'm sure it does," Brandon nodded once again, "and I'm sure Will's very happy about that."
"He's beyond ecstatic," Lucas added in Sami's silence, "and hey while you're in town, you should come back and pay him a visit as I'm sure he'd like to see you again--you know to see how things have been going."
"Yeah sure," Brandon decided finally turning his attention away from Sami, "I'll be sure to say hello when I bring back the papers for Samantha…"
"Well actually you could probably send them to her Uncle Mickey, right Sami?" Lucas suggested with an eager expression, "as I'm sure he can deal with whatever they have to say and then she can sign them and you'll be on your way."
"If that's what Samantha would prefer," Brandon offered up glancing over at her once again.
"No," she began quickly--almost too quickly as Lucas offered up a surprise expression, "I mean that won't be necessary. I'm sure that whatever they have to say, it'll be just fine. I can just sign them and then we can put this behind us as that's really what would be best."
"Absolutely," Brandon agreed halfheartedly, "as I've always wanted what was best for you Samantha."
"Well she has it now," Lucas promised him stepping over to the door and opening it up for Brandon to exit, "So we'll be seeing you around pal."
"Yeah sure," Brandon replied with a half smile turning away from Sami before he finding himself stealing one last look at her, "You're a lucky man, Lucas."
"Don't I know it," Lucas beamed with enthusiasm watching as Brandon left the apartment and Sami sank down upon the back of the couch too stunned to say much of anything. Lucas locked the door behind him gauging himself for Sami's expression as a nervous breath overtook him. He rubbed his palms together gently as he spoke up once again in a tentative voice, "So, how ironic is that with him showing up on our anniversary and all? I mean who would've thought that guy would've come into town like that?"
"Who knew," Sami forced a smile as she tried to focus on all the plans she'd made for her romantic evening with Lucas.
"I guess fate was just dealing us another hand of luck there," Lucas suggested stepping in towards her and pulling her up off of the couch and into his arms, "as it seems that we're finally going to be able to work on making things official with one another once your marriage is dissolve and then," he touched her cheek gently sliding his fingers into her golden tresses, "well then nothing is going to stand in our way of the happily ever after we were meant for."
"No it's not, is it," Sami forced another smile as he pulled her into an embrace and she held him tightly wondering if things were really going to be as easy as Lucas wanted them to be as in having Brandon return to Salem it opened up a whole new can of worms that she was almost afraid she wouldn't be able to put a lid back on and as she clung to Lucas she feared for that part of her that realized she may never want to.