Ok so my story here is called Undertow. It is a series, currently on Undertow2. It is written from the POVs of Philip, Chloe and Melanie, but there are tons of other characters involved that sometimes I wish I could write more about. So in anticipation of the changes in the fanfic section, I decided to post an outtake from Undertow2. This scene is between Brady and Nicole and it happened on the night that Philip and Chloe were together at the hotel.
I will be posting other outtakes in the future, and when Undertow3 begins I will be writing a companion parallel story featuring Chad, Sonny and Will. (Anyone that likes Will and Sonny together might want to check it out - also some stuff with Chad, Gabi and Melanie - should be fun, and it is parallel to my Undertow universe, so events will cross between both stories.)
Brady and NicoleBrady relaxed at the kitchen table, savoring his cold can of Pepsi. Parker had finally fallen off to sleep after filling his belly and corrupting his little brain with infomercials. He’d never seen a baby that was more interested in the fast talking salespeople on shopping TV than all the colors and music on Disney Jr. Maybe because Melanie talked so much Parker found comfort in a steady stream of words. There was no other explanation for his little cousin’s odd taste in entertainment.
Brady yawned as he noticed the clock on the microwave. It was approaching 1am. Melanie and Chad would probably be at the club for another few hours, and hopefully Parker would have mercy on him and stay asleep. He had put in a long day at Titan, numerous meetings had kept him busy, so fatigue was starting to set in, the siren song of the couch was getting hard to resist with each passing minute.
Just as Brady decided to go crash on the couch, there was a knock at the door. He peeped through the closed curtains on the kitchen door window. He sighed heavily when he saw who it was. Brady was far too tired for such an energetic visitor, but he knew she would keep knocking if he didn’t let her in, so he reluctantly opened the door.
“Nicole what are you doing here?” Brady asked standing in the doorway, but not letting his late night caller inside. “I told you I couldn’t talk tonight.”
Nicole smiled brightly, completely oblivious to Brady’s less than welcoming demeanor. “I came to get you to reconsider taking me to Philip’s party tomorrow night.” She brushed by him into the kitchen, along with a rush of cold air and the sweet scent of her perfume.
“I explained that on the phone.” Brady shut the door. Nicole had taken a seat at the table and started in on drinking from his can of soda. “Melanie wants things drama free.”
“I take it she’s staying home then, because that girl is a drama magnet. Two strokes of her pen and she messed up numerous lives,” said Nicole.
Brady joined Nicole at the table and took the can of Pepsi from Nicole’s hand just as she was about to put it to her lips again. “Be that as it may, it’s her party and her choice. I’m sorry.”
He did feel badly that Nicole wouldn’t be able to attend the party, he knew how much she cared about Philip. Things just wouldn’t be the same without Nicole there, she always managed to make everything more fun.
“I’ll remember this. That girl better watch her back,” said Nicole digging in her purse. For a moment, Brady wondered if Nicole had a voodoo doll in there and she was searching for it to exact her revenge. When Nicole pulled out her phone, and not a doll, he relaxed. “So…where’s the little angel?”
“Sleeping. This is a bad idea you know how Melanie feels about you being around Parker.”
The last thing he needed was a scene if Melanie walked through that door earlier than expected. It had taken Brady a lot to get Melanie to allow him to babysit Parker again, after the last time, when he let Nicole come over and help him, and Melanie found out.
Nicole flipped up her blond hair dismissively. “You think I care what Melanie thinks? Parker is my best friend’s son, I’m practically his godmother. Chloe wouldn’t mind if I spent time with Parker.”
“Chloe’s not here to say one way or the other.”
“No she’s not and it’s a travesty of justice, keeping a mother separated from her son.”
“She did put him in danger,” Brady said slowly. He hated thinking about what Chloe had done to Parker. It was almost surreal to think that Chloe could have endangered her own baby that way.
“Temporary insanity, caused by her PPD, she’s all better now.”
“The judge doesn’t agree, so until Chloe is able to tell me differently, I’m going to abide by Melanie’s rules. You need to go,” said Brady standing up.
“I can’t believe you’re taking her side over mine.” Nicole pouted, but didn’t budge from her chair.
“It’s not about sides. Chloe abandoned Parker, you kidnapped Sydney,” Brady grabbed Nicole by her arm and pulled her to her feet. “I don’t blame Melanie for being cautious.”
“Easy with the judgment there Brady,” said Nicole as she pulled away from him. “You’re not so perfect yourself. I remember when you were ready to put Vivian in a coffin.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly then,” said Brady leaning against the center island. Vivian had disturbed his mother’s grave, disrespected her memory, all for some stupid plot. He wasn’t going to let her get away with that. No one hurt his family.
“Good thing I talked you out of it, or you would have crossed over to the dark side for good.”
“She was going to put Maggie in there. Why that crazy woman was out to get Maggie I’ll never know.”
“She was worried Maggie would steal Victor away, which she did. It was about eliminating the competition. It was a crazy plan and you didn’t need to stoop to her level and retaliate that way. They would have reserved a spot in hell for you if you had.”
“Hell? Really? Some might say I was trying to do the world a favor, getting Vivian off the streets.”
“Entombing someone is pretty ghouly though. You’d definitely go to hell for it, not the highest level though, they’d send you to lower level with the politicians and the collection agents. The really evil people go to a separate place,” said Nicole very seriously. Brady almost wanted to laugh, she had given far too much thought to the levels of hell.
“Oh you mean the place where EJ has a standing reservation?” Brady asked with a slight chuckle.
Nicole gave him a sad smile. “EJ just might end up there, but so would I. EJ and I have things in common.”
Brady’s heart lurched, always hating when Nicole was so down on herself. She never gave herself enough credit. “You’re better than him Nicole. You’ve got a good heart.”
“And I have a devious mind.” Nicole reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, surrounding him with the faint scent of wool from her coat, and the sweet scent of her perfume. She kissed his cheek. “Thank you for always seeing the good in me, I love that.”
“You have so much good in you Nicole,” Brady said letting his arms settle around her waist. “Any woman that battles for my soul to save me from hell is a keeper.”
“You’re worth saving. You’re not really cut out for this bad boy stuff. EJ and I, we are the lost causes.”
Brady hugged her close, when he noticed the tears in her eyes.
“Why do you keep bringing up EJ?” asked Brady.
“I’ve just been facing a few things lately, coming to terms with who I am,” she said taking her arms away from his neck, trying to pull away from him. Brady wouldn’t let her go, he continued to hold her against him. “I always wanted to be good enough for you Brady, the kind of woman you could love.”
“You are good enough. You know how much I care about you.” He looked into her blue eyes and stroked her hair.
There was just something about Nicole that always pulled him in. There were secrets lurking beneath her surface, the answers to everything that made her unique, Brady longed to discover them all. Yet Nicole never seemed to let him get close enough.
“You’ve been a great friend to me these past few years, I’ll never forget all you’ve done for me,” she said turning out of his arms. This time he let her go, as he watched her hide the tears that were starting to fall.
“Okay you’re scaring me now. This is starting to sound like a goodbye.”
“It is,” she said facing him again, this time with a sunny smile. “Time for you to go out and find the right woman, someone to settle down with and start a family. Family is so important Brady.”
“Nicole, what’s going on?”
“EJ asked me to marry him again,” she said looking him straight in the eyes.
Brady was shocked. This had to be a bad joke. “Please don’t tell me you said yes to that creep.”
“Not yet, but I think I’m going to.” Nicole dropped her head. “It’s where I belong.”
“That’s crap Nicole, you don’t have to be with EJ,” said Brady grabbing her by the shoulders, forcing her to pay attention. “You have options. You can find someone else to be with.”
“Like you?” she asked, looking up at him.
Brady let go of Nicole and backed away. “We’ve talked about this. You and I…”
“I know.” She interrupted. “We never seem to quite fit, or to get it right.”
“Maybe we should try again. Give ourselves a real chance this time,” said Brady, the idea building in his mind.
They hadn’t been able to make a real relationship work in the past, but maybe they owed it to themselves to try. At the very least he owed it to Nicole, to save her from making this horrible mistake with EJ.
Nicole shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “We’re not Philip and Chloe, we don’t get infinite second chances. We’re not the fairy tale couple, we never have been. You and I are real and we…”
“Just don’t work.” She was right. It was no good between them. Sex was great, and their friendship he never wanted it to end. But a romance? A real relationship? That didn’t work for them.
“Be happy for me Brady. I think EJ and I are on the right track this time, we’re in it for the kids.”
“I wish I could ship that guy off to be with Vivian so he’d have to stay away from you.” EJ would be the perfect roommate for Vivian, with any luck they’d kill each other and make the world a better place.
“But if you did that I’d be all alone. EJ understands me in a way no one else does,” said Nicole.
Brady couldn’t argue, he had always known that EJ and Nicole had some sort of special connection that no one else could touch. It had always scared him a little, that Nicole could dance so close to fire, each time getting burned.
“Be careful Nicole, EJ has hurt you before.”
“I’ll be fine,” she caressed his cheek, and Brady leaned into her hand, relishing her touch. “I’m used to being hurt. Every man I’ve been with has hurt me, even you.” She kissed him gently, giving him one last look, then a hint of a smile.
“Nicole wait.” Brady started toward her, as Nicole grabbed her purse from the table, but she raised her hand, stopping him from.
“See ya Brady.”
There was nothing more to be said.
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Undertow 1 -
myhourglass.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=generalauthors&action=display&thread=1649&page=1Undertow 2 -
myhourglass.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=generalauthors&action=display&thread=3284&page=1
