You Belong To Me
Chapter
Four
The three girls entered the pub where Brady and Phillip were already waiting for
them. Brady stood from the table and pulled Belle into his arms.
"Heya Tink... How was your flight?"
"Ohhh, you know... Long... Very very long. But, I'm used to it by
now."
Phillip stood and hugged her tightly too. "It's good to have you home,
Belle."
Belle winked at him and smiled, "You know... I never get tired of hearing
how glad everyone is to have me here. That's why I don't live here. You can't
miss me if I'm here all the time."
Brady looked at her strangely. "We'd still rather have you here
though."
Their conversation was interrupted when Caroline Brady spotted Belle's entrance.
She came running up and squeezed Belle tightly. "Belle Black... it is so
good to see you. You get more grown up every time I see you."
Belle smiled sweetly and looked Caroline over. "And you, Mrs. Brady... you
never age a day. You're still as beautiful as you were when I was a baby."
Caroline waved a hand at her. "Oh stop it, you're just saying that so I'll
get you a free cheeseburger... which you would get anyway."
Belle shook her head and crossed her heart with her index finger. "No
way... I only speak the truth. But, if being honest gets you free cheeseburgers,
then sign me up."
Caroline laughed and nodded. "Absolutely... one of the usual for you,
anytime."
The group settled in at the table with Belle sitting between Brady and Phillip.
Phillip looked at Belle uneasily, "So you're okay with eating here?"
Belle shrugged in confusion. "Why wouldn't I be? Nothing says home like a
Brady Pub cheeseburger."
"I meant, because of..."
"Because of Shawn?" Phillip nodded and Belle continued, lying through
her teeth as she spoke to him, "I'm fine. If he happens to show up here,
then I can handle it. We're all adults now, and there's nothing to worry
about."
Brady interjected, "So you're not freaked because he's my best man?"
Belle shook her head. "No, I'm not. I'm not going to freak at all... You
and Shawn are like brothers to each other, and I'm glad that he's a part of
this. It might be a little awkward, but I'll get over it."
"Well, if you start to freak... then you find me, and I'll fix it."
Belle sighed and patted him on the knee. "That's really sweet, Brady. But
this week, it's not about me... It's about you and Chloe. I am so happy for both
of you, and you shouldn't worry about me. Just focus on each other, and your
love. Don't even think twice about me. I am FINE."
Brady nodded in understanding and Mimi tried to change the subject, "Hey
Belle... now that you're a college graduate, what are you going to do? Are you
going to stay in London?"
Belle shrugged. "I don't know. I got a job offer if I want to stay there,
but maybe I'll travel some more before I settle down. I haven't really decided
yet."
Chloe grinned at her. "Oh you're such a world traveler... lucky girl."
"Oh stop, Chloe... you've seen plenty of the world. My brother makes sure
of that."
"I know. But, you're the only person I know who took a year off of school
to see the world. I don't think anyone pegged you as the world traveler in the
group."
Belle nodded in agreement. "I know... but the opportunity was there, and I
took it. It taught me a lot more about myself and life in general. More than I
learned in 4 years of college."
Mimi interjected, "And since you did it all alone..." Mimi stammered,
realizing that once again she was drudging up bad memories. Time to open mouth
and insert foot. "You... uhm, well, you... you learned to be more
independent."
"Right... something like that. Uhm, could you guys excuse me for a minute?
I'm going to go to the little girl's room and wash up."
Belle nervously stood from the table and headed towards the ladies room. She ran
into the first stall and locked the door shut. After she threw the lid down and
sat down on top of it, covering her face with her hands and letting the sobs
come naturally. She had been holding them back all day but now she let the tears
flow like rain down her face.
*****FLASHBACK*****
(Two months after Last Blast, 2002)
Belle stood outside the door to Shawn's room and knocked timidly. She heard his
muffled voice tell her to come in, and she slowly opened the door. Shawn was
putting away his laundry and turned to look at her standing in his doorway.
"Hey Belle..."
"Shawn... I have a surprise for you."
Shawn cringed slightly. "A bad surprise?"
"I don't think so. I think it's a good surprise. But, sit down
anyway."
Shawn sat on the edge of his bed and Belle joined him. She pulled an envelope
out of her backpack and shyly handed it over to him. Shawn looked at her
curiously and slid something out of the envelope. He looked at her in confusion.
"It's two plane tickets to Paris."
Belle nodded and pointed at them. "One in your name, and one in mine."
"Why?"
Belle sighed softly. "My parents... they thought it would be a good idea
for me to get out of Salem for awhile, see the world, get an education in the
'ways of the world'. But my dad wasn't really keen on the idea of me going
alone, and neither was I, so he talked to your parents... My dad bought the
tickets this morning and told me to surprise you with them."
Shawn nodded. "Well, I'm definitely surprised."
"It's not just to go to Paris. He made arrangements for us to travel all
over Europe. England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, France, Greece...
anywhere we want really. The world is our oyster... or something like
that."
Shawn laid the tickets on the bed between them and looked downward. "I
don't know if this is a good idea, Belle."
Belle stared at him in shock. "Are you kidding? It's a great idea. It's the
BEST idea. This has been the hardest two months we've had, and I just think that
if we got away from everything here... then we still have a chance to survive
it. We can put all of this crap behind us, just you and me together traveling
the world."
"What about school?"
Belle shrugged. "I'm going to take a semester off, maybe two. They'll all
wait for me, I've got guaranteed admission to the four schools that I want.
Besides, the things I can learn by traveling far outweigh what I can learn in a
classroom. You HAVE to go, Shawn."
Shawn sighed. "I don't think I can. I need to be here, to help take care of
JT. And, I don't know if I can not start school in the fall... I'm not like
you."
Belle felt her anger rising. "Now, you're just making excuses, Shawn. JT is
FINE, he's going to be fine. When I came in, your mother told me that the doctor
said today that he's in perfect health and there's nothing to worry about in the
immediate future."
Shawn shook his head. "I don't know... I just can't leave."
Belle stood and crossed her arms. "You can, but you don't want to. You
don't want to be with ME. That's the problem. You can't let all of this ruin
what we have. The stuff with Stefano DiMera, it has NOTHING to do with us... but
you're acting like now that we know the truth about him, than we can no longer
be together."
"Belle, I do love you..."
Belle turned her head away from him painfully. "You know, you keep saying
that... but I can't help but think that if you loved me, you'd fight for US.
But, you're not... you're just giving up."
Shawn ran his hands through his dark brown hair in frustration. "I'm
sorry... I just feel like, nothing is the same anymore, and nothing ever will be
again. I don't know how to deal with it."
Belle couldn't bear it anymore. "Shawn, you have shut down inside... and I
have been trying SO hard to help you, but you won't let me get through to you.
And, I can't hardly bear to watch this anymore... You're not yourself at all. I
thought this trip would help you, but apparently NOTHING will."
Belle grabbed the plane tickets off the bed and stuck them back in her backpack.
Shawn looked up at her solemnly, but did not say a word. She walked to the
doorway and turned around to look at him, "Listen, I'm not getting a refund
on these tickets. I'm going to go, with or without you, but I'd rather it be
with you. You have a month to make up your mind. Please go, Shawn."
Shawn still did not say a word and Belle just sighed and walked out the door.
*****END FLASHBACK*****
Belle laid her head against the wall of the bathroom stall and tore some toilet
paper from the roll. She slowed her sobs down and wiped the tears off her face.
The door to the bathroom creaked open and she heard Chloe's voice on the other
side of the stall.
"Belle... are you alright?"
Belle sniffled slightly and replied, "Yeah, Chloe... I'm fine. I just need
to wash my hands and I'll be right out."
"Okay, I just wanted to let you know the food is at the table. Are you SURE
you're okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in about two minutes."
"Okay, okay..." Chloe walked out and shut the door behind her.
Belle stood from the seat and walked out of the stall. She stood in front of the
mirror and stared at her pathetic looking reflection.
"Geez, Belle... what is wrong with you? Why are you letting the past get to
you like this?"
Belle shook her head in confusion and quickly washed up. She headed back into
the restaurant, with one thought gnawing away at her. She knew exactly why she
was letting all of these memories get to her, but she was too afraid to admit to
herself.