Don't Walk Away
Chapter
Twelve
Chloe found herself walking on a long, empty beach. She paused close to the
water and stared out into the vast ocean before her. A soft breeze hit her face,
swirling strands of her long dark hair around her face. The ocean air smelled
comforting to her, for some reason she could not explain, and she inhaled it in
deeply.
She sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. Listening
to the waves gently crashing against the shore, she felt content for the first
time in many days. She began to sense something else nearby, and opened her eyes
to look behind her. He was standing ten feet behind her with his hands in his
pockets, grinning. Still wearing the same blue jeans, but now in a white tank
top.
Chloe turned all the way around and walked a few feet towards him. "You...
You changed your shirt."
Brady looked at his tank top and then back at her. "Well, the other one was
getting kind of rank."
"I... I haven't seen you since..."
"Since the last time you saw me?"
Chloe rolled her eyes and moved even closer to him. "Since before Phillip
showed up at the hospital."
Brady nodded in understanding and smirked slightly. "Boy, who would have
guessed that one, huh? Ol' Uncle Phil popped his cork finally. It's too bad he
had to do it when his car was pointed right at me. Crazy bastard couldn't wait
until he was somewhere without dangerous objects to endanger the lives of
others."
"Brady, this isn't the time to be joking around..."
"Oh really? What is it the time for? It's certainly not time for tears... I
don't think you've shed any, have you?"
Brady's words stabbed at her heart and her face contorted with regret.
"I... I can't. I have to be strong."
Brady rolled his eyes and imitated her speech pattern. "I know. I have to
be strong. I can't let anyone see me cry. Crying is for the weak. Blah blah
blah."
Chloe's face dropped and she turned her back on him. "Jesus, Brady. Did you
come here just to say things to hurt me? To make fun of me?"
Brady sighed softly and moved towards her. He wrapped his arms around her from
behind and kissed her cheek. "Of course not. I'm sorry if I hurt you... But
you need to listen to me, Chloe. Crying is not for the weak. In fact, it takes a
strong person to be able to cry in front of someone. You need to let it all out.
Let out all of the pain, the anger, the fear... everything you've been feeling.
That's the only way you can get back what you've lost."
Chloe whirled around to face him, her eyebrows raised curiously. "What I've
lost?"
"Yes, you've lost two things, Chloe. And the only way your life will get
better is if you find them again."
"And the things I've lost would happen to be what?"
Brady smiled at her and tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger.
"Hope."
Chloe wrinkled her nose up as if his touch tickled and looked at him in
confusion. "Hope? I've lost hope?"
"Yes, you've lost hope. I did say it clearly, didn't I?"
"Yes, you spoke perfectly clear. But, I still don't understand. I've tried
to be hopeful, I really have. I've been doing everything I can to be optimistic,
but--"
Brady shook his head and interrupted her abruptly. "You haven't tried hard
enough, Diva. Sure, you say things like, 'He'll make it, I just know it.' But
you're not really meaning them. I can see inside your heart, and I know the
truth. You've been spending so much time worrying about how miserable your life
is, that you haven't stopped to see how beautiful it is too."
Chloe's eyes widened and her words came out more angrily than she had expected
them too. "Beautiful? My life is beautiful? Are you insane? There's nothing
beautiful about any of this, Brady. I love you, and I might lose you. There is
NO beauty in that. The man that I used to love, or thought I loved, tried to
kill the love of my life. That's not beautiful, that's ugly and hateful,
and..."
"Exactly. That's the spirit. Keep going."
"What?"
Brady laid his hands on her arms and locked eyes with her. "You're keeping
all of these feelings locked up inside you, and it's unhealthy. You need to let
them out. Tell somebody. Rinse all of it away, so you can focus on other
things."
Chloe raised one eyebrow. "On other things?"
"Yes. Wash the negative things away, and focus on all the wonderful things.
You have so much to be happy about, even with all that's happened. You have a
family that loves you, and friends that would do anything for you. You are
beautiful, intelligent and you have an amazing talent, Chloe. You will have a
wonderful future no matter what, as long as you don't let yourself get mired
down in all of the bad things that life has shown you."
"But, I don't have you, Brady."
He shrugged slightly and kissed her on the forehead. "You have me. We may
not have been lovers in life, but no matter what happens, you will always have
the memories that we shared together. And, if you swear that you'll never give
up hope, then we will have a long and happy future together."
Chloe sighed softly and frowned at him. "The future is never certain. What
if I do exactly what you say, and you still don't come back to me. What
then?"
"How about... You let ME worry about that. Do what I told you, find that
little glimmer of hope inside you, and I'll take care of the rest."
"Is that a promise?"
Brady shook his head and smiled at her. "Promises are broken all the time.
I'd rather call it... a bargain. A deal. So, do we have a deal?"
Chloe bit her lower lip for a second. "I will try."
"Do or do not, young Jedi. There is no try."
Chloe laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. "The second Yoda reference in two
dreams? You and I really need to get out more."
Brady laughed along with her and nodded in agreement. "I'd love to, as soon
as I get over this 'hit by a car' thing."
"Brady... Out of curiosity, what's the other thing?"
"Huh?"
Chloe groaned in frustration and continued. "You said that I've lost two
things. One of them is hope, what's the other one?"
Brady nodded in understanding. "Ohhhh, right, now I remember. I can't tell
you."
"You can't tell me?"
"Nope, not yet. You have to figure it out for yourself, Diva. But, you
will. In time..."
Chloe sighed and looked towards the sandy ground beneath them. 'In time', he
said. She didn't want to be patient, she wanted to know now. She wanted Brady
awake and in her arms now, not 'in time'. She heard the waves crash behind her
and then looked back up at Brady.
"So... Why are we here? We're not in the hospital like the last two times.
Why here?"
Brady shrugged in confusion and looked around at the beach, and the rocky cliffs
nearby. "Beats me. It's your dream, not mine."
Chloe stuck her tongue out at him teasingly. "Stop saying that. It may be
'my' dream, but you're apparently the one who is all-knowing and
all-powerful."
Brady grinned and put his hands on her waist, pulling her close to him.
"Wow... I am so glad you finally decided to recognize my amazing powers of
intuition and the depth of my wisdom."
Chloe grinned back at him and shook her head. "Or perhaps, it was your
insanely large ego that I couldn't miss from a hundred miles away."
"No, no... I think it's the other thing. You've just finally opened your
eyes to how brilliant I really am."
"Or how crazy you really are."
Brady chuckled softly and leaned in close to her, he gently laid his lips on
hers and she reciprocated without hesitation. Part of her hated knowing that
this was only a dream. Knowing that she would wake up and he would still be
bruised and broken, still in a coma. But, the rest of her could not resist his
touches and his kisses, praying that someday she would be able to experience the
real thing.
Brady broke away from her and tapped her on the nose again. "Time for you
to go."
Chloe pouted at him. "Already? But... I haven't seen you in days, and we
haven't even been here that long."
"I know, but I can't make these visits any longer than they already are.
You have things to work on, lots of things, Chloe. And the next time I see
you... please have hope in your heart."
Chloe nodded and kissed him quickly. "I will."
Brady smiled sweetly at her and put his hand over eyes. "Then close your
eyes."
Chloe did as she was told and felt the ocean breeze hit her face once more. When
she opened her eyes, she was back on the couch in Craig's office. She sat up
with a loud yawn and looked around her.
She stood and wrapped her arms around herself; part of her still felt like Brady
was standing right there with her. She smiled and spoke quietly to herself.
"It's time to find hope again."