The Pain of Silence
Chapter 18
"Hey, Mom?" Brooke looked at her mother who was watching the television.
"Yes, honey?"
"Who are all of these gifts from?"
"Well," Morgan looked around the room. Over two days' time, more and more gifts had arrived. "Those flowers there are from your Uncle Rick. Who, by the way, said he'd be visiting in a couple days. He wasn't able to get coverage for his shifts or else he would have come down by now.
"That teddy bear and those flowers are from the Hardys. Tony bought you every thing else."
"Everything? Even the balloons? Or did someone else bring those?" Brooke asked as she looked at the one balloon that said 'I love you'.
"Yes, honey, he brought them."
Brooke smiled. "I can't wait to get out of here."
Brooke recovered faster than anyone had expected. Five days later, the doctor told her she could go home the next day if she felt up to it. Brooke made sure she felt up to it! 'Home' meant the Benders' house for the time being.
"Don't move!" Tony told Brooke, who was trying to sit up. "What do you want?"
"Fine," she pretended to sulk. "Just some water please," she said and leaned back on the sofa as he went into the kitchen. "You'd think a girl could get her own drink."
Joe laughed. "Hey, appreciate it now while you can. I wish I got that kind of treatment."
Vanessa playfully nudged her boyfriend. "What was that, sweetie?" she asked.
"Nothing. I'm kidding! You know I love ya!" he said and kissed her.
"Actually, I want something to eat. I'm starving." Brooke started to stand up and Joe jumped from his seat.
"Let me help you." He offered his hand and she accepted his help and stood up.
"We just don't want you to strain anything. Your mom said you were still sore," Vanessa told her.
"Thanks, Joe. I do appreciate it, guys," Brooke said and slowly made her way to the kitchen.
A couple minutes later, Joe decided he wanted something to eat as well, and followed her.
Tony had gone to the kitchen to get Brooke her water. "Hey Frank, when will Callie be here? You're still going to the movies, right?"
Frank was washing a glass he'd used. "Oh yeah, we are. She's running a little late. What are you and Brooke going to do tonight?" he asked, putting the glass in the drainer.
"Just watch a movie. That's about it. I don't want her to overdo. The doctor said two weeks of resting," Tony said as he got a glass of water.
"So, you two are doing good, I take it?"
Tony smiled. "Of course. It couldn't be better."
"That's great. I heard something through our little grapevine. Something Joe said to Vanessa, who told Callie and then Callie told me. So…" Frank was curious and knew everyone else was too.
"Let me guess. It has to do with all the gifts I bought Brooke and a certain object that happened to float in the air?" Tony laughed, knowing everyone had wanted to know what was going on. "Yes, I care a lot about her, Frank. You can tell everyone in our little grapevine."
"Joe wanted me to ask. So did the girls," Frank admitted.
"I got that vibe a while ago," Tony grinned.
"You love her?" Frank smiled, and so did Tony.
"Yeah, I do. Frank, you and I both know that I've always cared about her. We always talked about her and I hoped one day she'd come back...and my wish came true. I'm happy and I hope she is too."
Frank glanced behind Tony and smiled. "I'm sure she is very happy."
Tony was about to respond when someone entered the kitchen.
"Brooke, sorry!" Joe said as he came around the corner. "Did you get something—" Joe looked at Frank's surprised expression. Tony's back was to him and he didn't turn around. "Did I miss something?"
Frank held back a laugh. "No, you didn't." Frank walked over to his brother. "Callie will be here in a couple minutes. Let's check with Vanessa and see what movie she'd like to go see." He grabbed Joe by the arm and tried to get him to leave the room.
"I wanted something to eat—" Joe protested.
"In a minute!" Frank nudged him and glanced at Brooke, who was still standing there.
Joe looked back and forth from Brooke to Tony, trying to figure out what was going on and gave up. "Fine…"
Brooke slowly walked into the kitchen. "Tony?"
He turned to face her. "Here's your water," he said and handed it to her. "How come you got up…you didn't have to…"
She stopped right in front of him. "I was hungry and wanted a snack."
"Oh, well, what do you want?! I can…" he stopped when she leaned forward and kissed him. When she pulled back, he smiled. "Did you hear everything?"
She nodded. "Yes. Thank you so much for taking care of me. It means a lot."
"Well, it's my pleasure. I love spending time with you." He stepped aside, still embarrassed. "So, what do you want to eat? I can make you something or did you want a sna—"
"Ti amo," she said so quickly he barely heard her.
"What?" He was pretty sure he knew what she said, and she blushed.
"That's how you say it, don't you? Ti amo."
He nodded. "Si."
"Get over here," she demanded, with a smile. "I love you too, Tony."
He leaned forward, gently cupping her chin, and kissed her.
knock knock
They ignored the sound and seconds later someone came into the kitchen. "Ahem," Vanessa said. "Sorry to interrupt! Brooke, you have visitors!"
"I wonder who," Brooke said and Tony took her by the hand, walking into the living room.
"You're Joe Hardy! Oh my gosh! It's so nice to finally meet you!"
Brooke smiled. Samantha.
"Um, nice to meet you too," Joe said, shaking the girls hand.
"I met your brother last week…BROOKE!" Samantha went over to her cousin and gently hugged her, while a baffled Joe watched curiously, shaking his head.
"Hi Brooke, how are you feeling?" Rick Tyler asked, walking over and giving her a hug.
"I'm better. Thanks. It's so nice to see you again! It's been a long time. Tony, this is my Uncle Rick and my cousin Samantha. It seems like you two already know the Hardys and that's Vanessa Bender. This is her house. Uncle Rick, this is Tony Prito."
"Nice to meet you sir," Tony said. He noticed Frank telling Joe something and glancing at Samantha.
"So Samantha, I hear you're a big fan of the Hardy boys here?" Vanessa asked, knowing Frank was warning Joe about her interest in them.
"Yes! They are like heroes! That reminds me!" Samantha pulled something from her pocket and walked over to Joe. "Joe, can you sign this for me?"
Joe looked questioningly at Frank and his brother just smiled at him.
Brooke let out a giggle.
"The guys and their girlfriends are seeing a movie tonight. Tony and I are staying here. Mom should be back shortly."
Joe took the paper and Samantha also gave him a pen to sign with. He noticed his dad's signature and Frank's and tried to keep from laughing. He signed his name and handed it back to her.
"Thank you!" the excited teen exclaimed.
"You're Vanessa, correct?" Rick asked her.
"Yes sir."
"Would you mind if I ordered a couple pizzas and had dinner with my niece? I promise not to make a mess."
"Sure, that's fine. We'll be back around nine. You're more than welcome to stay…" Vanessa glanced over at Samantha who was staring at Joe in fascination, then she looked at her boyfriend who seemed to be weirded out by their new fan.
"Thank you very much," Rick said.
Tony sighed a little. He'd looked forward to having some time alone with Brooke. Having her uncle and cousin here certainly was going to spoil those plans! But they'd have other times.
Lights flashed in the window. "Callie must be here," Frank said.
Joe almost dashed for the door. "Have a good night, everyone. See you later," he said and went out the door.
Frank laughed. "Okay. See you later, guys. Good to see you again, Mr. Tyler, Samantha," he said, and left, followed by Vanessa.
A week later, Morgan found a house to buy, for herself and Brooke. They hired a moving company, and managed to move all of their belongings from their old house to their new one.
Rick and his family now made frequent visits to Bayport. As time progressed, Brooke felt as though her life was going back to normal.
Over the next several weeks, Scott Tyler went to trial and was found guilty of numerous charges, and was sentenced to serve jail time. At Brooke's request the judge also decreed that Scott would receive help from a doctor for his problems. Brooke wanted to be able to visit her father some day, on better terms – once he received the help he needed.
It did turn out, once Scott began therapy, that the doctor declared his abuse and anger stemmed from experiences in his past. Morgan brought Brooke to the prison for her first visit to her father. To their surprise, it went well. For the first time in years, Brooke heard 'I'm sorry,' and knew her father meant it.
The End.