Fallout
Chapter Three
Chloe slowly made her way up
to the door of her home. She
silently prayed that Craig & Nancy would be in bed already or out for the
night. She had already been through
enough; she didn't want to have to deal with Nancy right now.
She hesitated at the door, a
light was on inside, which was expected because they wouldn't want Chloe coming
home to a dark house and stumbling around in the dark.
She listened for noise, conversation - the television.
But, all she heard was the voices of her teenage tormentors.
<Ghoul Girl! Ghoul Girl! Give
me an H! Give me an O!
What does that spell? HO!
I can't hear you! HO!>
She took a deep breath, and
finally mad her way into the house. Craig and Nancy looked up from the living room.
Nancy looked at Chloe oddly, and put the book she was reading on the
couch beside her.
"Chloe.
You're home early. Is everything alright? Did
something happen at the dance?"
"I don't want to talk
about it, Nancy. I REALLY don't.
Sorry." Chloe couldn't
even look her in the eyes. She just
turned and headed up the stairs to her bedroom in silence.
Once inside her room, the
first thing Chloe did was take off her beautiful blue dress and laid it on the
bed. She changed into a pair of
pajamas, took off all the makeup and quickly washed her hair in the sink.
As she was drying her hair with a towel, she took one last long look at
the dress lying on the bed. That
dress had meant so much, and now it only stood for torment, hatred and pain.
The promise of a night that was supposed to be special, but had turned
into the worst night of Chloe's life. She
put the towel down and picked up the dress and shoved it far into the back of
her closest. Best keep it there
until she can burn it and put it out of its misery.
As she was closing the
closet, she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door.
"GO AWAY!
I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK!"
From behind the door, came a
muffled male voice, "Chloe, its Craig. I know you don't want to talk about it. I just want to make sure you're okay. Please let me in for just a minute, and then I'll leave you
alone."
Chloe stepped over to the
door, and sighed heavily. She
unlocked it and opened it to let her stepfather in.
"Listen Chloe, I'm not
going to force you to talk about things if you don't want to.
I just want you to know that I'm here if you need me.
I care about you a lot Chloe, and I hate to see the hurt in your eyes
like this. Nancy cares too. I know she shows it in funny ways, but she loves you Chloe.
So do I."
Chloe just nodded.
She was too weak to even force a smile.
"Thank you. I may take
you up on that eventually. After
tonight, I'm not sure I have any friends anymore."
Craig sensed a break in her
voice. He knew she was trying to
hold back her emotions. <That's
our Chloe. Strong on the outside,
but crying on the inside.> He sensed her pain and took her in a comforting
embrace.
"It's alright, Chloe.
You haven't lost me."
<Not yet.> She thought.
<Just wait until Nancy find out about those pictures, she'll probably
get rid of me again.>
Despite the thoughts in her
head, Chloe looked up and Craig and somehow managed a weak half-smile.
"Thanks, Craig."
"Anytime..."
He smiled back at her, and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead.
"I'll leave you alone now. If
you need me, you know where I am."
Chloe nodded, and watched as
Craig backed out the door silently. She walked over to the bed and laid down, making sure to turn
over the picture of her and Phillip together at Bo & Hope's wedding.
She'd just trash it tomorrow, but for now she was too drained to even
think about it. She didn't know if
she'd be able to sleep tonight, but maybe if she laid here and closed her eyes -
she'd be able to think about something else besides Phillip Kiriakis.
<Not likely. Not likely at all.> She rolled over and curled herself tightly under her covers. Praying into the darkness that tomorrow she would wake up and find out that tonight was just a terrible nightmare.