Being (Read 26,292 times)

[Kpatch]

Oct 31, 2011 20:10:25 GMT -5 felineflash said:

“Good. Can you think of anything else you’re going to need? You know there’s soap in there, there are fresh toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, I even think there are razors in the bathroom…I didn’t really need to shave at that time,” Philip grimaced, “you’ve got drinks and I’ll bring you some breakfast in the morning. Can you think of anything?”
The TV works, you’ve got all the channels you could possibly want.

Philip sounds like he's ready to be head of guest relations at the Grand Waimea. LOL.

I loved how Philip went from being all serious and all business with Max, to being more relaxed and at ease and loving when it was just him and Chloe.

Great characterizations and dialogue. This chapter went so fast. Loved it and can't wait for the next one. Thanks Fifi.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks FF. I was thrilled to find a chapter here tonight. I can hardly wait for the next one.

[felineflash]

Philip sounds like he's ready to be head of guest relations at the Grand Waimea. LOL.

Ha ha! I hadn't even seen North Shore when I wrote that. I was just trying to think of stuff rich people would just naturally have on hand for house guests. Me, I'm like, hope you brought your own stuff.

[fluffysmom]

Oct 31, 2011 22:29:19 GMT -5 felineflash said:

Philip sounds like he's ready to be head of guest relations at the Grand Waimea. LOL.

Ha ha! I hadn't even seen North Shore when I wrote that. I was just trying to think of stuff rich people would just naturally have on hand for house guests. Me, I'm like, hope you brought your own stuff.

I like that. LOL I always have extra toothpaste and floss from the dentist but that's about it.

[felineflash]

Actually, I lie. I do still have a couple of hygeine kits that were given to us by charities after Katrina. So there's some unused, but old toothpaste, soap, a towel that hasn't seen a washer ever, a comb and a toothbrush. And plenty of MREs if anyone needs to eat. They're...um...super yummy, yes indeedy.

[felineflash]

And another chapter, which will finish up the first folder of Being...

---

Chapter 31 - Weak

“So much for going to bed early,” Philip laughed as they finally got into bed. He’d opened the windows, letting the cool night air in. “What a weird night.”

“It’s definitely been out of the ordinary,” Chloe agreed, breathing in his scent as he wrapped an arm around her. “But, Philip Kiriakis, before lights out, you’ve got some explaining to do.”

“I…what? What’d I do?”

“You didn’t tell me you got another note. What’d it say?”

“Just another lame threat from John. ‘You’ll pay for what you did’ or something stupid like that. He probably sent it because he didn’t make much of an impression during our meeting.”

“You’re sure it’s from John? What about Paul Hollingsworth? I mean, Morgan was at Chez Rouge.”

He felt it again, that strange feeling that there’d been a face in the crowd at Chez Rouge that he couldn’t quite place. It had to be Morgan. Or maybe someone I’ve seen before…some regular at the pub or Java Café or something. It’s just so weird. “I don’t think even Hollingsworth is that stupid. And honestly, he doesn’t need to wrack up any more jail time. Even he knows that.”

“Philip, John is very volatile, you know. Maybe you should take him more seriously.”

“Listen, I’ve got three guys sitting on him night and day. If he made a suspicious move, I’d know about it. Trust me, Chloe, he’s not a threat right now.”

“I hope you’re right.” She was silent for a moment, then asked, “Do you think Max killed Trent Robbins?”

“Do you?”

“No. But he doesn’t have much of an alibi, and if that witness--”

“If that’s what they are, and not the actual killer--” he interrupted.

“Right, if they are just a witness to his fight with Trent, he could be in very deep trouble. Especially since he ran.”

“This is true. Hopefully there’ll be some evidence that clears him.”

She sighed. “I’m worried about Nicole. I really hope she had nothing to do with this.”

“Me too. But you know, I just can’t see it. I mean, she was terrified of the guy, Chloe. She didn’t even want to face him to give him the money so that he would leave her alone. I really can’t imagine her killing him. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him. And, more importantly, why would she do something like that and jeopardize her future, now that she’s pregnant?”

“I hope you’re right.”

“A couple of years ago, I would have said, ‘Yeah, definitely, Nicole’s your killer’. But now? No. She’s just not the same person she used to be.”

“None of us are,” Chloe pointed out.

He nodded. Oh, yeah, we’ve all changed. I know I have.

“Well, I guess we can feel good about reuniting Stephanie and Max…you know, I know they’re not blood relations, but…”

“Yeah, it’s weird. Very weird,” he laughed.

“I shouldn’t judge. I’m sure my detractors like to point out that I have a certain affinity for the male branches of your family tree,” Chloe said sheepishly.

“Tell me you’re not thinking of hitting on my dad!” He laughed.

“Oh, Philip, please,” she giggled.

He shifted a little and they got more comfortable. Then, somberly, he said, “I’m glad you brought that up, though. When we were outside, talking about that damn room…you said everyone has one. You were talking about yourself, weren’t you? You meant that you had a place like that…and I know you weren’t talking about in high school, or when you were a kid. What did he do to you, Chloe? What did Brady do?” He looked into her eyes, but she looked away. Tell me what he did, and I swear, he will regret it. I always knew he’d hurt you in the end.

“Philip…”

“Please, Chloe, please tell me. I need to know. I know that I’ve hurt you. But I promise you, I will never hurt you again. Never. Please trust me,” he stroked her cheek, and she was taken aback at how he suddenly looked so much younger, softer, like the boy she’d known. That romantic boy who’d do whatever he could to see her soul.

“I don’t…I don’t know if I can explain it. I don’t know if I want to talk about it, Philip, it’s still so fresh. He just wasn’t the man I married. Or maybe he was, and I just thought I was marrying someone else. It started right before he started using drugs. We just stopped communicating. Stopped talking at all. He’d come home, and he’d lock himself away in his office, and then he’d come to bed after I was asleep. He’d leave before I woke up. I’d try to have a conversation with him, and he’d just criticize me. He’d call me names and accuse of me of outrageous things, and just take all of his frustrations out on me. And then when he started doing drugs, which, by the way, I didn’t know about…I know that’s stupid of me, but I really didn’t. It’s not like I ever really saw him anyway…” She paused.

“I’m sorry,” Philip kissed her head, “you don’t have to--”

“No, I mean, I might as well, I told Hope some of it tonight. Not all, I can’t go into all of it yet, but I’ll tell you what I told her. He was jealous, and possessive, but he had no use for me when he was around me. When he started doing drugs it just got worse. If I went out with friends he’d show up and drag me away in the most embarrassing way. He’d lurk around while I was rehearsing, insulting any of my male co-workers. He showed up once while I was on an audition and cost me the part. He hired someone to babysit me while I toured, to make sure I didn’t cheat on him. He…God, it sounds so stupid. I’m an adult. He took away my phone privileges, so that I couldn’t call my parents. He literally locked the phone away and would only let me use it when he was around to listen to the call. He controlled my bank account. He told anyone and everyone that I was incompetent of handling money or any other important matters, and of course, everyone listened to Brady Black. I felt…”

“Imprisoned,” Philip whispered harshly.

“Yes. And weak. I was weak. I let him do that to me. I should have been stronger, I should have stood up to him. But I felt so alone, and he was all I had in Austria, and I had no way to get out from under his thumb…”

“You are now. And he will never, ever hurt you again, Chloe. I promise you. I won’t let him,” Philip told her as he hugged her tightly. If I ever see Brady Black again, and I’m sure I will, he’s going to regret every last thing he did to Chloe. Every last one.

[Kpatch]

Oh yay. I'm so excited that you posted a chapter. I just wanted to say how excited I am. Once I stop hyperventilating, I'm actually going to READ the chapter. LOL. Thanks Fifi!

[MrsM]

Great chapter!!

[Kpatch]

I loved their heart to heart talk and how close they've become. And I love how protective Philip is with her. I'm glad she opened up to him.

Absolutely fantastic chapter. Thank you Fifi. I can't wait for the continuation!

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the chapter FF. I'm glad that Chloe opened up to Philip about her marriage to Brady. I can't wait for more.

[felineflash]

Chapter 32 - Hostage

Finally, a minute to think. Philip put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. Almost too far back, he had to catch himself before he toppled. Oh, yeah. That’s very rich tycoon of you Philip, busting your head open because you’re leaning back in your chair. Good one. I can see the headlines now. God, what a morning. It had been non-stop since he’d gotten up, early, to make breakfast for the fugitive lovebirds hiding out in his hellacious hidey hole. Hellacious hidey hole. I need to remember that. After feeding and watering Max and Stephanie, giving Max back his phone and escorting them out of the house, he’d barely had time for breakfast with Chloe himself. He’d had time for a piece of toast and a cup of coffee before he’d had to rush out to get here for his first meeting.

And now, a break. A nice, long break. He’d cleared his schedule to take a long lunch, he deserved it. While he pondered just what he was in the mood to eat, he heard a commotion in the outer office. Just what the hell was going on out there, he couldn’t tell, but from the sounds of it, it wasn’t anything good. I just wanted some quiet, damn it. He opened the door and couldn’t believe what he was seeing, or hearing.

“I want to see Philip Kiriakis now!” A vaguely familiar woman with long blonde hair and a faceful of freckles was demanding of his assistant, Andie. His blood ran cold when he saw that she was holding a butcher knife to his assistant’s neck as she was doing so.

This is not a good situation, at all. “Can I help you? I’m Philip Kiriakis,” he said calmly. He looked at Andie and tried to tell her to remain calm with his eyes. He hoped it was working. The important thing was to get Andie safely away, then he would deal with the crazy lady. I’ll deal with the crazy lady? OK, I’m bigger than her, and surely stronger than her, but she does have a knife, and she seems pretty willing to use it. OK, think, Philip, think, don’t panic, think…I can’t think. I can’t panic, or this one’s going to go completely nutso. Someone’s got to be sane here. OK. Think Philip, think. Just talk to her. It’s not like you’ve never been in her shoes.

“You?” The woman asked, surprised.

“Yes, I’m Philip. So, uh, why don’t you let Andie here get back to work, and tell me what it is I can do for you.”

She let Andie go, then grabbed a hold of him. Wonderful. And once again, I might die. Why does this keep happening to me? And why am I being so completely calm about this? A lunatic is holding a knife to my neck, and I’m making jokes.

“Get in the office and lock the door,” the woman ordered. Philip shot a glance at Andie, who was still hyperventilating but nodded. He did as he was told, and the woman let him go and shoved him into a chair. She stood in between him and the door, pointing the knife at him. “You’re Philip Kiriakis. I thought you were probably his brother. I didn’t think you were him. I wouldn’t have sat at the bar in that restaurant last night after I left the note if I’d know you were Philip.”

Wow. This is going to be fun. Looks like John's off the hook, though. If that even matters. “I’m Philip, and who might you be? You are holding me at knifepoint, so I think we can skip the small talk.”

“Marissa Reynolds,” she answered. She started flicking her thumb back and forth over the knife blade, seemingly subconsciously.

I don’t know if I should be hoping that blade is dull or sharp. She keeps doing that, she’s going to lose a finger if it’s sharp. But the blade being sharp does not necessarily bode well for me. “I’m sorry, Ms. Reynolds, I’m afraid I can’t place you.”

“Mrs. Reynolds!” She screamed at him. “My husband…you knew my husband. Brian Reynolds. Lt. Brian Reynolds, USMC.”

It dawned on him. Brian, yeah. A good friend out there. A very good friend. That’s how I know her face, he showed me pictures of her. Of course. But that doesn’t explain why she wants to slit my throat. “I remember Brian, we were good friends out there. He used to show me pictures of you all the time, Marissa,” he said kindly. “We didn’t stay in touch after I was wounded. How is he?”

Her thumb was bleeding now, quite a bit. Whatever was going on, this woman was clearly unhinged. “Dead. He’s dead. And now you’re going to die too. To make it even.”

Damn. Brian’s dead. And this is not going well. Not well at all. Talk her down, Philip, talk her down. Now is not the time to be scared. Be scared later, when you've actually lived through this. “I’m sorry, Marissa. What happened?”

“His stupid jeep flipped over. All this time in Afghanistan, not a scratch on him, he’s two months from coming home and his stupid jeep flips over and he’s dead…he’s dead!”

“I’m so sorry. I really am. Brian was a true friend. I know he saved my life. Marissa, why don’t you give me that knife, you’re going to hurt yourself,” he held out his hand, willing himself to keep it from shaking. Stay in control. You have the control. “Look, you’re bleeding already.”

She stared at her thumb as if it were an alien object, then looked up in rage, “No!” She shoved the knife up against his neck again. “It’s because of you he’s dead, and now you’re going to die too.”

Surely Andie’s called the cops by now, where the hell are they? This is really getting a little…hell, a lot…scary. I’m not really a big fan of this near-death experience thing. “Marissa,” he kept his voice as soothing and calm as possible, and was thankful to see her return to abusing her own thumb with the knife instead of thrusting it at his throat. “How am I responsible for Brian’s death? I lost touch with him a couple of years ago. I wasn’t there. I’m sorry, really sorry that it happened, but I had nothing to do with it.”

“If he hadn’t saved your life, he wouldn’t have been promoted, and he wouldn’t have been in that damn jeep. You should have died. You should have died!” She wailed as tears ran down her face. She swiped at them with the bloody hand, mixing the tears and blood, as she broke down into hysterics.

[Kpatch]

Oh god. You're leaving it there? Agh.

Poor Philip, alone with a lunatic. His thoughts are hilarious, but still. Nice job of alternating the drama and the humor Fifi. Otherwise, I'd be passed out right now.

Need. More. Being. ... Stat.

[felineflash]

Monday. I promise.

[fluffysmom]

A Saturday cliffhanger?! No... I guess I can try to make it until Monday. I loved the funny thoughts going through Philip's head. Why is someone always trying to hurt Philip? Thanks for the chapter FF.

[MrsM]

Holy craziness!!!!!!