Don't Walk Away
Chapter
Six
Chloe stood in the elevator and sipped the last of the coffee that Craig had
gotten for her. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slowly slid open.
Craig walked out first, motioning for her to follow him down the hallway.
She followed Craig until they saw Shawn and Marlena standing against the wall
across from a closed door. Chloe caught a brief glimpse into the window on the
door and saw John and the back of Belle's head. Brady was obscured by his
sister, so Chloe just turned to greet Shawn and Marlena.
"Hey... I'd say good morning, but there's not a lot of things good about
it."
Marlena nodded in agreement. "Not this morning. But soon... Brady's never
been the type to give up easily."
"I hope that doesn't change this time."
Shawn shook his head and crossed his arms over her chest. "It won't. Brady
is a Black AND a Kiriakis. That's a pretty strong combination."
Chloe nodded and smiled weakly at him. "So, did you guys get any
sleep?"
"A little. Craig was nice enough to set up cots in an empty room for
us."
Shawn nodded to Craig in appreciation and Craig smiled back. "We usually
aren't able to do that for patient's families... But, this is definitely a
special case."
Marlena smiled slightly and nodded. "It's hard to sleep though... with all
of this going on."
Chloe sighed softly and looked downward. "Shawn... Has your dad found out
anything else about the driver of the car?"
"Not yet. They're running a check with the DMV to see how many people in
Salem have that make and model of car. Then they'll just have to check on ever
name on that list, see if anyone is a possible suspect."
"What about the surveillance video? There has to be some way to figure out
who was driving that car."
Shawn shrugged slightly. "There is. But, it takes a little time. They can
zoom in on it and make it clearer, but it's just a complicated process. But they
will do it, and hopefully before whoever it is flees town or something."
Chloe nodded in agreement. She was startled slightly by the sound of Belle's
voice behind her. "Hey... I think our turn with Brady is over. Who's
next?"
Marlena stood up straight and motioned towards Chloe. "Chloe... Would you
like to have a moment alone with Brady?"
Chloe stared at her in surprise. "Me? Are you sure you don't want to go in
next? Brady's your son..."
"I'll have plenty of time with him. You go ahead."
Chloe smiled in appreciation. "Thank you... Thank you so much."
Chloe turned to Belle and hugged her tightly. "How are you holding
up?"
Belle sighed and shrugged slightly. "I've been better, that's for sure. How
about you?"
"I'll be fine. I'm just worried about Brady." Chloe was lying through
her teeth, and Belle probably knew it too. She wasn't fine, and she knew she
wouldn't be until Brady was.
Belle nodded and let her go. "Me too."
Chloe walked past Belle, and John stopped and rested his hand on her shoulder
before she passed. "Chloe... Thank you for being here."
"There's nowhere else I would be."
"I know..." John smiled reassuringly at her and they closed the door
to the room, leaving Chloe by herself.
She stepped tentatively towards the bed, and nearly toppled over as she got her
first glimpse at Brady broken body. His head was wrapped in white bandages from
his hairline up, and she knew that they had most likely shaved his head so they
could try to fix his brain injuries. His face was swollen and black and blue.
One arm was in a cast, and even though they were under the blankets, Chloe could
tell that both of his legs were wrapped in braces or casts. His eyes were
closed, and aside from all of the injuries he looked peaceful and content.
Chloe kept her tears inside and took the chair at the side of Brady's hospital
bed. She found his hand that was not in the cast and held it gently in hers. She
placed his palm in her own, and then slowly caressed the top of his hand with
her other hand.
"Hey there... You probably can't hear me, right? You don't even know I'm
here. But maybe... maybe part of you does. Because, I have a lot to say to
you."
Chloe exhaled slowly to keep from letting the dam of tears behind her eyes burst
open. "When I called you last night, I told you I had something important
to tell you. And then just my luck... just OUR luck... this had to happen. I was
finally ready, Brady. Finally ready to open up my heart to you, to tell you how
I feel. And, then for some reason that I can't understand... God decided to let
this happen to you."
Chloe paused and tried to smile. His appearance was shocking to her, but she
knew that beneath all of the bruises and cuts, his heart and spirit were still
thriving. "I don't know why any of this happened. It's certainly not fair,
and you didn't deserve this... but life is hardly ever fair, right? But, I do
know one thing. You are the strongest person I have ever known. You also happen
to be the most stubborn person I know. And as much as that quality has annoyed
me in the past, you need it more than ever now. No matter what your body or mind
is going through, you can't give in to it. You have to fight more than you have
ever had to before. So many people love you, and need you..."
Chloe sighed softly, her sentence trailing off in the air. "I need you,
Brady. I wanted to tell you last night. I wanted to tell you how much I love
you, and how much I need you in my life... for the rest of my life, and for the
rest of yours. This world, and my world especially, is a much better place with
you around. So, I'm begging you to do whatever it takes to come back to
me."
Chloe leaned forward tentatively and gave a quick, but gentle kiss on his lips.
She moved away and sat back down in her chair with a sigh. "I guess the
Sleeping Beauty trick won't work with you, right?"
She shook her head sadly, and kept her grip on his hand. "I don't know how
my words are going to do to save you. I don't even know if you can hear them.
But, I made a promise to myself to never leave you, and I won't. So please don't
leave me."
Chloe stayed there in silence until it was Marlena's turn to see Brady. The
hospital had strict rules about limiting the number of visitors, and the amount
of time they were allowed for critical cases. But, Chloe promised to stay true
to her word. Every moment that she was allowed to be there would be spent at
Brady's side.