Author's Note – Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope everyone is doing great. I have to admit this chapter was very difficult to write. It took me at least three rewrites just to get it to the way I wanted it to be. Thanks to everyone for reading. I hope you enjoy it. Happy New Year!
On an unrelated note, for those who watched Squid Game – Season 2, please don't tell me what happened. I haven't watched it yet. Thank you.
Chapter 90 – Plans to Rekindle – Part 1
We see quick scenes of Brandon and Kelly being together after the party. We see Kelly undressing Brandon and helping him in the bathtub. Later, Brandon is naked and sitting on his bed. Kelly is drying off his body with a towel. We see Brandon getting dressed and Kelly tucking him into bed.
"Comfortable?" asked Kelly standing beside Brandon's bed.
"Yes. Thank you again," replied Brandon in bed and under the covers.
"You're welcome," said Kelly.
"I know this isn't our normal birthday routine but thank you for helping me out here," said Brandon.
"It's ok. I'm just happy to be here for you," said Kelly.
"Well…," said Brandon.
"Well…is there anything else?" asked Kelly.
"No, I think I'm good," replied Brandon.
"Ok. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then," said Kelly.
"Sounds good. Good night, Kel," said Brandon.
"Good night, Brandon. Happy Birthday," smiled Kelly.
"Thank you," said Brandon.
Brandon smiles back at Kelly.
Kelly leans in and gives Brandon a quick kiss on the lips.
Brandon is surprised by the kiss but keeps his emotions calm.
Kelly continues to smile at Brandon. She leans in for another quick kiss before pulling away again.
Brandon is surprised again but again continues to smile at Kelly without saying a single word.
Kelly leans in again and this time kisses Brandon slowly before slowly pulling away.
Their eyes stay on each other.
She slowly leans in again and this time, Brandon puts his arms around Kelly pulling her onto the bed and share a passionate kiss.
They break the kiss and Kelly eases herself under the covers. Brandon scooches over to make room for Kelly. They smile and as they stare at each other.
"Good night," said Kelly.
"Good night," said Brandon.
Kelly reaches and shuts off the lights. Kelly rests her head on Brandon's chest and closes her eyes. Brandon puts his arms around Kelly and closes his eyes.
It's the morning after. The camera goes from the window open window and shows Brandon and Kelly in bed together asleep.
Kelly turns around and faces Brandon and sees that he's still asleep.
She smiles. She starts to slowly get off the bed without waking up Brandon. No success. Brandon starts to stir.
"Hey; good morning," said Brandon still half asleep.
"Good morning; go back to sleep," said Kelly.
'Where are you going?" asked Brandon.
"I just want to check on Winnie. I'll be right back," replied Kelly.
"Ok," said Brandon who closes his eyes.
Kelly smiles and walks to the Winnie's room. The camera stays with Brandon. Kelly returns to Brandon's room a minute later. She starts to get her things. Brandon starts to wake up and notices.
"How is she?" asked Brandon.
"Still asleep," replied Kelly.
"Good," said Brandon.
"Yeah, that means, we better go back home before she wakes up," said Kelly.
"No, that means, I get to spend some more time with you…so why don't you get back into bed and join me?" asked Brandon.
Kelly smiles. She puts her stuff down and climbs back into bed next to Brandon. They face each other and smile at each other. They sit up on the bed.
"Happy Birthday," smiled Kelly.
"Thank you for staying," said Brandon.
"You're welcome. Thank you too," said Kelly.
Brandon has an odd look on his face. Kelly notices.
"Is it odd to be thank you for that? I don't want to come off like something inappropriate here," said Brandon.
"Don't worry, it's not. Last night meant a lot to me too," said Kelly.
Brandon has a surprise reaction on his face. Kelly notices.
"Something wrong?" asked Kelly.
"No, something's great. I just wasn't expecting you to say that; that's all," said Brandon.
"Brandon, I don't want to get your hopes up. Being with you in your arms last night was great but I still don't know if we can go back to us yet," said Kelly.
"Oh," said Brandon disappointing.
"I'm sorry," said Kelly.
"It's ok. I'm used to it," said Brandon.
Kelly gives Brandon a weak smile.
"It doesn't mean that I don't care about you because I do. I really do…and I always will," said Kelly.
"I care about you too; I hope you never forget that," said Brandon.
"I won't," said Kelly.
"I know that it's not exactly what you want to hear. But I just don't want you to wait around for me to decide. You deserve to be happy and I feel like I'm holding you back," said Kelly.
"Actually, I feel like I'm the one holding everyone else back. The only person to blame is myself. If I hadn't overreacted with Winnie, maybe we could've worked things out, I wouldn't have gotten hurt; and Brenda and Dylan wouldn't need to postpone their wedding," said Brandon.
"Brandon, you have to stop blaming yourself about that. I was blaming myself for taking the principal job. I felt horrible about what you saw with me and the teacher," said Kelly.
"How do we move on from this?" asked Brandon.
"I think us finally talking about it and being truthful is a good start. What do you think?" asked Kelly.
"I agree. It's good to be honest with one another," replied Brandon.
"I feel like this is the best we've gotten along in a while," said Kelly.
"Yeah. Thank you," said Brandon taking Kelly's hand.
Kelly gives Brandon a weak smile, leans in and kisses him on the cheek; and pulls him closer to her shoulder. She wraps him close to him.
"I know it wasn't like how we used to spend my birthdays," said Brandon.
"I mean, it's just bad timing that's all," added Brandon.
"Hey hey; don't say that about yourself. You'll be 100% in no time," said Kelly.
"Knowing that it was going to be our last time, I would've loved to be able to pleasure you one last time. I lost you because of me," said Brandon getting emotional and sad.
Kelly leans in closer to Brandon and holds him.
"You didn't lose me. I'm still here…I will always be here," said Kelly.
"Just not with me, right?" asked Brandon.
Kelly doesn't answer.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that," said Brandon.
"It's ok. I meant what I said. I'll always be here for you," said Kelly.
"In one way or another," added Kelly.
"Ok…I guess I should just enjoy the moment?" asked Brandon.
"I think you did. I saw how you felt last night," replied Kelly smiling.
"And how was it for you?" asked Brandon.
"The talk afterwards was really good," replied Kelly.
"And the other part?" asked Brandon.
"It was….good. I enjoyed it," replied Kelly trying to put on a straight face.
"I'm sorry; I couldn't be at my best," said Brandon.
"Brandon, you got to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Last night was great. The entire day was. We got to be together with friends and family. We kept our tradition alive," said Kelly taking Brandon's hand.
"And we talked about a lot of things. I feel very relieved knowing we're both in a good place," added Kelly.
"Can I ask you something?" asked Kelly.
"Sure," replied Brandon.
"How do you feel about Tina?" asked Kelly.
"She's a good friend," replied Brandon.
"What if she wants to be more than just friends? "asked Kelly.
"Then I'm probably going to be as confused as you are right now," replied Brandon jokingly.
Kelly smiles and laughs.
"You're probably right. But she seems to make you pretty happy. At least that's what I'm seeing," said Kelly.
Even though Kelly didn't want to admit it, what she said hurt her.
"Yeah, we get along. I don't know how she feels. Plus, there's just too much stuff going on right now for me to do anything about it," said Brandon.
"Ok," said Kelly who looks a little relieved.
"We probably shouldn't tell anyone about our talk till after the wedding. I don't want to ruin anything," added Kelly.
"I agree," said Brandon.
Brandon releases himself from Kelly. Kelly lets go of Brandon. Brandon sits back up on the bed.
"I have a proposal for you," said Brandon.
"What is it?" asked Kelly.
"How about when I'm 100%, we'll give last night another shot?" asked Brandon.
"What? Why?" asked Kelly confused.
"Just so that we can be together one more time," replied Brandon.
"Brandon, I don't know. I don't want to do anything that will make things more confusing and weird for us. I felt like I've done too much already," smiled Kelly.
"Kel, c'mon. You have been so good to me and you made me feel so good. And I feel bad about not being able to make you feel the same way," said Brandon.
"Unless you don't want to," added Brandon.
Kelly doesn't answer right away.
"No, I want to. I'm just afraid. I don't want to…. damage anything," said Kelly.
"You won't. I promise. You know I can go slow before I can go fast," smiled Brandon.
Kelly smiles.
"You know what I mean. We just talked about moving on from each other and you're asking me to do something that will bring us closer," said Kelly.
"Ok. I understand. I just didn't want it to end the way it did last night. I want our last experience together to be the best and satisfying till the very end," said Brandon looking down.
Kelly notices Brandon is disappointed.
"Well, seeing how we're still married and all, I guess it wouldn't be such as a bad idea to rekindle some romance, "said Kelly.
Brandon turns and looks at Kelly with optimism.
"If you agree to not make it more than what it is; which is just a time together; then yes; I would love to," smiled Kelly.
"Really?" asked Brandon smiling.
"Yes; and only if you be careful and go slow," smiled Kelly.
"Oh, I can go reeeaaaaalllllyyyyy ssssssslllllllllooooooowwwwwllllyyyy," said Brandon.
"Ok, maybe not that slow," laughed Kelly.
"But is it a deal?" asked Brandon.
"Ok, it's a deal," replied Kelly leaning over and giving Brandon a kiss.
The camera shows Kelly driving up the driveway to her house. We see Silver sliding the window curtains over from the inside to see that it's Kelly.
Kelly parks the car. She gets out of the car carrying Winnie in a basinet and walks up the steps to the house. She opens the door to the house.
"Good morning," said Silver driving some coffee.
"Morning Silver," said Kelly.
Kelly comes in and walks to Winnie's room. She puts Winnie in her crib. She smiles at her as she sees Winnie is still asleep. Kelly walks over to her room.
She takes her shoes off and sits on her bed.
We hear a knock on the door.
"Come in," said Kelly.
Silver walks in.
"So where you have you been all night, young lady?" joked Silver.
"Ha ha; very funny," said Kelly who doesn't look to be in the mood.
"So how did it go?" asked Silver.
"It was fine. I just stayed over at Brandon's," replied Kelly.
"Did you guys, you know?" asked Silver.
"Silver…that's a very personal question," replied Kelly.
"Nice. So, did you wear him out?" asked Silver.
Kelly gives Silver an odd look.
"I'm not too sure if I'm comfortable answering these questions," replied Kelly.
"Well, I think I deserve an explanation after you were out all night long," said Silver pretending to be a parent.
"Look, nothing happened; it wasn't like our usual birthday tradition. It was different but nice. We just stared at each other and fell asleep in each other's arms," said Kelly.
"That's all?" asked Silver.
"Yeah. Actually, I wasn't even going to stay overnight; but….let's just say that I really enjoyed our goodnight kiss," replied Kelly.
"What are you kids in? high school?" asked Silver.
"No, but you are," replied Kelly.
"Ok, so what did you talk about?" asked Silver.
"Everything; we talked about us and the past and the present. And how we felt about moving forward into the future," replied Kelly.
"And how are you feeling?" asked Silver.
"I feel good about us. I mean, maybe this is the best place for us right now. And I left it open for him to explore other opportunities," replied Kelly.
"So, you ended it?" asked Silver disappointed.
Kelly doesn't answer for a moment.
"No….kind of. It just felt like a good moment to tell him since we were both sharing things with one another. I made it clear to me that I'm not sure about what to do about our relationship at this point," replied Kelly.
"Even though I was afraid of how he would react, I knew I had to tell him eventually; and last night it felt like the right time to tell him; we were really honest with each other," added Kelly.
"And he was honest with you?" asked Silver.
"Yeah, I guess so," replied Kelly.
"Sounds like he made it pretty clear that he wants to be with you," said Silver.
"I just don't know if I really see us going back to the way things were," replied Kelly.
"I told him how I felt and how I'm feeling and that I'll always be here for him as a friend. But he's free to be with whoever he wants," added Kelly.
"You didn't bring up Tina, did you?" asked Silver.
"I did," replied Kelly.
"Why did you do that?" asked Silver.
"It's not like it's some kind of secret. We all can see that she likes him," replied Kelly.
"Yeah, but if he hears this from you; it'll make it seem like he's got your stamp of approval to be with Tina," said Silver.
"He does," said Kelly.
"I was afraid that you were going to say that," said Silver.
"I mean, I thought the whole point of you staying over last night was to get him to forget about Tina," added Silver.
"It started out that way. I was with him and he was happy. And staying up and talking to him just gave me the urge to tell him – and I was relieved knowing that we can be alright as just friends," said Kelly.
"So you're ok with seeing him with Tina?" asked Silver.
"I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm not going to say that it's going to be easy – it's never going to be easy," replied Kelly.
"Yeah, I know. I feel the same way about seeing Dixon with another girl after we broke up," said Silver.
"I know our relationship isn't as monumental and tumultuous as yours and Brandon's," added Silver.
"But you get it, right?" asked Kelly.
"Yeah, I get it," replied Silver.
"Thank you. Oh, and by the way, Brandon and I don't want anyone (especially Brenda and Dylan) to know about last night," said Kelly.
"Ok. But you told me," said Silver.
"Yeah, you got it out of me," said Kelly.
"You think Brandon's going to go Tina?" asked Silver.
"I don't know. But if he does, he has my blessing. He said he's has a lot to think about it at the moment," replied Kelly.
"He actually wants to be with me one more time when he's all better," said Kelly.
"What? As in like friends with benefits?" asked Silver.
"No, we'll still be married by then," replied Kelly.
"Kel, it doesn't seem like Brandon's moving on from you," said Silver.
"Yeah, a part of me knows this isn't ideal…but I miss being with him. Plus, it was his birthday. This would just tradition," said Kelly.
"And by saying that, it sounds like you're not over him either," said Silver.
"Of course, I'm not over him. He's the father of my children. I loved him and when you love someone, it's hard to move on, especially if I see him every day. I just want to give him a chance to move on," said Kelly.
"How is he going to move on if he's thinking he's still going to have sex with you?" asked Silver.
"I don't know. I just hope that he'll understand that'll just be sex…just one more time," replied Kelly.
"And if he doesn't understand? And what makes you think this is the final time?" asked Silver.
"I don't know," replied Kelly with a worried look on her face.
"You know with Brandon, it's always going to be more about just sex," said Silver.
Kelly sits down on her bed and puts her hands on her face in frustration.
"God, why do these things have to be so damn complicated?" said Kelly.
"Because you two care about each other and unless you two are completely in the same place, having sex may not be appropriate," said Silver.
"This entire situation is overly complicated," said Kelly.
"You'll make a good psychologist one day," added Kelly.
Silver laughs.
"Does this make me sound like some kind of slut?" asked Kelly.
Silver looks up at her.
"As a good psychologist who wants to keep her clients happy, I wouldn't say that," smiled Silver.
Kelly smiles back and they hug again.
Kelly drives up to a parking spot. We see her park the car, get out of the car, and walk into Lakeshore Physical Therapy. As soon as she opened the door, she hears loud cheering and workout music. It was unlike any other time she was there. She slowly walks in, not knowing what's going on. She sees the receptionist, Susan and waves hi. Susan waves back at her. Kelly walks to Susan.
"What's going on?" asked Kelly.
"What?" asked Susan not being able to hear Kelly through the commotion.
"What is this?" asked Kelly louder.
"It's Brandon; look," replied Susan pointing at Brandon.
Kelly looks at Brandon who is doing a workout exercise. We see Bill is next to Brandon coaching him and cheering him on.
"C'mon, Brandon, you can do it," said Bill.
We see people around Brandon clapping their hands rooting for Brandon.
"Alright; you passed the strength endurance test. One more task to go. All you got to do now is to make it from one end to another end and then back again," said Bill.
Brandon slowly starts to walk towards one side of the room.
"You can do it, Brandon," said someone from the room.
Brandon makes it to the first end of the room.
"Yeah!" cheered Bill.
"Alright; all you have to do now is make it back and it'll all be over," said Bill.
Brandon looks very tired and sluggish. He takes one step and almost falls over. Everyone including Kelly has a worried look on their faces.
Brandon stands still to catch his balance.
"You ok, Brandon?" asked Bill.
"Yeah, I'm ok. Let's finish this," replied Brandon.
"You sure?" asked Bill.
"Yes," replied Brandon.
"Alright, you heard him. You can do it, Brandon. We all believe in you, everyone here at Lakeshore Physical Therapy believes in you! Isn't that right?" asked Bill loudly.
"Yes!" replied many people.
"Brandon…Brandon...Brandon," said Bill trying to get everyone to chant in unison.
Everyone starts to chant along with Bill.
Brandon takes a deep breath and slowly makes his way to the end.
"Yeah!" cheered Bill.
Everyone starts to clap in applause. We see Kelly smiling and clapping along. Many people in the room go and congratulate Brandon by shaking his hand.
"Thank you," said Brandon to everyone as he tries to catch his breath.
"Brandon, you just completed your exit exam. How do you feel, Brandon?" asked Bill.
"Ummm…I'm very tired," replied Brandon.
Everyone laughs.
"But I feel great. I feel like a brand new person. Thank you, Bill. You're a great coach. Thank you, Tina. You've been a great friend. Thank you everyone. I like to dedicate this accomplishment to everyone I've met at Lakeshore Physical Therapy. You have been nothing but humble, understanding, and supportive. I definitely couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much," said Brandon.
Everyone claps.
"You deserve it, Brandon. Great job," said Bill.
"Thanks Bill," said Brandon.
"Now that you've graduated, what are you going to do now?" replied Bill joking.
"I'm going to take a shower," replied Brandon.
Everyone laughs.
"Before you go and shower, we have a few things we want to give you," said Bill.
Brandon has an unexpected look on his face.
"First and foremost, here is your certificate of completion," said Bill who starts to hand it to Brandon.
"Oh wait…I forgot to sign it," said Bill.
"Oh yes, you better do that first. Thanks," said Brandon.
Everyone laughs.
Bill signs the certificate and gives it to Brandon.
"Thank you," said Brandon.
"And second, this is something we do for everyone who leaves this place; it's a book showing your progress – and most of all, your hard work and dedication," said Bill handing the book to Brandon.
"Plus, we all wrote some comments and sign it too," said Bill.
"Wow, this is great. Thanks everyone," said Brandon flipping through the pages.
"Thank you, Brandon. Good luck with everything. Take care of yourself," said Bill.
"Thank you, Bill," said Brandon.
They lean in and hug.
Everyone claps.
"I gotta go…I'm getting teary eye too," said Bill who emotionally walks away.
Everyone claps.
We see Tina in her wheelchair coming towards Brandon.
"Congratulations, Brandon," said Tina.
"Thank you, Tina. I had no idea that this was going to be like this," said Brandon.
"Yeah, it's a pretty big deal here when someone graduates from this place," said Tina.
"How come you didn't tell me?" asked Brandon.
"And ruin the surprise? C'mon," replied Tina smiling.
"Well, it's been one tough journey; I can't believe I'm done," said Brandon.
"Yeah, and you got your legs back, I see," said Tina.
"Yeah. I hope it was ok for me to give you a little shout-out there. I was caught off guard and I wanted to thank you," said Brandon.
"It's ok. I appreciate it. Thanks Brandon," said Tina.
"I mean what I said; I couldn't have gotten through all this without you. You've been such a great friend to me. Thank you," said Brandon.
Brandon slowly kneels and hugs Tina.
Tina smiles. Tina sees Kelly in the front of the room and breaks the hug.
"Looks like your ride is here," said Tina.
"What?" asked Brandon confused.
"Kelly's here," replied Tina.
"Oh," said Brandon. He turns around and sees Kelly. He waves at her. She waves back.
"Bye Brandon," said Tina.
"I hope you stay in touch," said Brandon turning his attention back to Tina.
"Sure, that'll be nice," smiled Tina who obviously is a bit disappointed to see Brandon go.
"You have my contact info and I have yours," said Brandon.
"Great," said Tina.
Brandon smiles.
"Take care, Brandon," said Tina who turns around and starts to wheel herself to the other side of the room.
"You too," said Brandon who has a sad look on his face. Unbeknownst to Brandon, Tina starts to cry as she wheels away.
Brandon slowly walks to the front of the room where Kelly is.
"Hey," said Brandon.
"Hey, you were looking good over there," said Kelly.
"Thanks," said Brandon.
"I'm glad I didn't miss all of it. Why didn't you tell me it was going to be this big elaborate event?" asked Kelly.
"I didn't know. They just surprised me with this," replied Brandon.
"Well, congratulations. You did great. I'm so proud of you. I'm so glad to see you walking again," said Kelly who hugs Brandon.
During the hug, Brandon turns and looks at Tina who is looking at him.
"Why don't we go home and celebrate? Everyone's ready," asked Kelly.
"Great. Is it ok if I shower here first?" asked Brandon.
"Sure, I'll wait," replied Kelly.
"You sure it's ok? I won't take long," asked Brandon.
"Yes, it's ok. Take as much time as you need, replied Kelly.
"Thanks," said Brandon.
Brandon slowly walks to the back towards the shower room.
Kelly sees that Tina is still looking at Brandon.
To Be Continued….