Righteous Love
Chapter One
(At Belle's urging, Chloe & Phillip get back together after the trip to Puerto Rico. Still, Chloe & Brady spend a lot of spare time together and become closer than ever. But is it TOO close? At the beginning of this story, Phillip & Chloe have been back together for a little over 3 months, and in my universe Chloe DID go on the trip.)
Chloe
Lane stood in the restroom of the Tuscany Grill all alone.
She didn't actually have to use the restroom, she had only used that as
an excuse to leave Phillip alone for a moment.
It was Phillip's grand idea to take her out for a Friday night on the
town. Dinner and dancing at one of
Salem's nicest restaurants. Sure,
it was a nice thought, but Chloe wondered if it was really just a feeble attempt
at rekindling the spark that they hadn't been able to find in quite awhile.
She
stared at her reflection in the mirror. What
she should have seen was a deliriously happy, and completely in love teenage
girl. But, she only saw the
opposite. Chloe's reflection didn't
look sad by any means, just lost. Whatever
had been lost between Phillip & Chloe when they broke up, had yet to be
regained. Chloe frowned at the girl
in the mirror. "What is wrong
with you? Why can't you either fix
things with Phillip or just break up?"
She
stopped frowning and sighed deeply. She
knew exactly why. She didn't want
to hurt Phillip, and besides, he was the only good thing that had ever happened
to her. Even if it wasn't
perfect, maybe it was still worth fighting for.
Chloe shook her head, "Stop that, Chloe.
You know that's not entirely true. Phillip
wasn't the only good thing she had. She had Belle, Shawn.... and Brady."
Chloe
tried not to think about Brady. Thinking
about Brady and Phillip in the same sentence was not something she enjoyed to
do. The two got along on all
acounts, except for when it came to Chloe.
Phillip was jealous of their friendship, and Brady still couldn't stand
the fact that she had given Phillip another chance.
Chloe
shook all thoughts of Brady Black out of her head, re-applied her lipstick and
headed back to her table with Phillip. When
she got back, the dinner dishes had been cleared and Phillip was looking
downward absently mindedly fiddling with his napkin.
She smiled as she watched him, and took her seat across from him.
"Hey
Phillip... Deep in thought there?"
Phillip
put the napkin down and looked up at her, "Mmmm... Uhhh.
No. Just... uhm, glad you're
back."
Chloe
smiled at him and grabbed his hand across the table. It seemed more cold to her than it used to, and the familiar
twinge that she used to get with even the slightest touch seemed to be
non-existent now. She smiled
anyway, hoping that this wasn't some kind of permanent condition.
Phillip smiled back at her and stood up, kissing her hand on his way up from the table. "Dance with me, Chloe. Please?"
Chloe
nodded silently and stood up. Phillip
led her to the dance floor and they joined each other in an embrace.
The band was playing a slow jazzy tune, and other couples began filling
up the dance floor around Phillip & Chloe.
The two swayed to the music, but Chloe felt as if she was just going
through the motions. She hardly
noticed the music, and only moved because she was robotically following
Phillip's movements. He leaned in
and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. She reciprocated, but it was as if she could feel nothing.
Phillip wasn't a bad kisser, it was her that had the problem.
The kiss that she used to crave, was now barely enough to register with
her senses and emotions. Phillip
broke the kiss off and noticed that a single tear was falling down Chloe's right
cheek. He reached his hand up and wiped it off for her.
"Chloe...
what's wrong?"
Chloe
smiled weakly, not ready to tell him what she was thinking.
There was no way she would have "the conversation" that was
looming over their heads right now in the middle of Tuscany.
She just sighed softly, and said, "It's nothing, Phillip.
Just hold me."
Phillip
held her closer and she put her head on his shoulder.
He gently stroked her hair as she fought back the tears.
The sparks may have not been there anymore, but the caring was.
She still felt loved when she was in his arms, but it just didn’t have
the magic that it used to.