Tangled Webs (Read 22,209 times)

[ghoulgirl]

NO change lol

[Kpatch]

TWO WEEKS LATER

Philip and Chloe were unpacking some boxes as they settled into a townhouse in downtown Salem, within walking distance from the Horton Town Square. Philip’s iPhone rang and he read the display.

Philip: It’s Justin. Hey Justin, what’s up?
Justin [on the phone]: I wanted to let you know I delivered the divorce papers to Belle. I don’t expect her to contest it.
Philip: That’s good news.
Justin: Is Chloe with you? I have something I need to tell her too.
Philip: Chloe, Justin wants to talk to you.
Chloe: Okay. Just put him on speaker.
Philip pushed the speaker button on the phone.
Chloe: Hi Justin.
Justin: Hi Chloe. I wanted to tell you that I delivered the divorce papers to Brady in rehab. But ... he won’t sign them. Except under one condition.
Chloe and Philip looked at each other.
Philip: What’s his price?
Justin: He wants to speak to Chloe. In person.
Philip: Absolutely not.
Justin: It can be a supervised visit. I’ll be with her. ... Chloe, if you want, Philip can be there too.
Chloe: But ... I don’t want to do anything to upset Brady.
Justin: I think it will be okay.
Chloe: Well, okay. Can you set something up?
Justin: Absolutely.


SALEM REHABILITATION CENTER, THE NEXT DAY

Chloe, Philip and Justin sat at a round oaken table, waiting for Brady. Philip impatiently drummed his fingers on the table and Chloe grasped his hand to stop him.
Chloe: You’re making me nervous.
Philip: Sorry. I just want to get this over with.

An orderly brought Brady into the room. He was dressed in a button down work shirt and blue jeans, and he looked like he had recently gotten a shave and a haircut.

Brady: Hi.
Chloe: Hi. You ... look great.
Philip shot her a sidelong glance.
Brady: Thanks, so do you.
Brady took a seat.
Brady: Justin. Philip.
Philip nodded and Brady took a deep breath. A long uncomfortable silence ensued. Chloe broke the silence in an effort to cut the tension.
Chloe: I heard that Nicole is getting out of the hospital in a few days.
Brady: I know. They’re going to let her come visit me here.
Chloe: That’s good news, Brady.
Brady: Um. I didn’t know Philip would be here.
Philip: I wasn’t about to let her come alone.
Chloe: Philip!
Brady: It’s okay. I don’t blame him one bit. I’d feel the same way if I were in his shoes.
Chloe: Um. You said you wanted to see me.
Brady: I did. I do. I ... I wanted to apologize to you.
Chloe: Brady, you don’t have to ...
Philip: Yes he does.
Chloe: Philip! Would you please stop it.
Brady: Philip is right. I do. In fact, I’m glad you’re here Philip, because I want to apologize to you too.
Philip: To me?
Brady: Yeah, I know it sounds crazy because you’re the one who was cheating with my wife ....
Justin touched Brady’s arm.
Brady: Right. Sorry. I’m drying out here and it’s really rough. Some days are hell. But, part of my rehab is going through the 12-step program and that means I need to make amends. With you guys.
Philip: Go on.
Brady: Chloe, I know our marriage wasn’t perfect, but I loved you. I really did.
Chloe: I know. I loved you too.
Brady: But I screwed up. I can’t tell you why I started doing drugs or why I kept doing them. Hopefully, by the time I get out of here, I’ll have a better understanding of all that. The drugs made me do things, Chloe. Things I would never have done under normal circumstances.
Chloe: I know.
Brady: I’m truly ashamed of myself.
Chloe: Oh Brady. It wasn’t all your fault.
Brady: Let me finish. Please. It doesn’t really matter whose fault it was. Bottom line ... you didn’t deserve to be treated the way I treated you. The things I said and the things I did to you ... I'm ashamed. And I’m deeply deeply sorry. I hope you can forgive me someday.
Chloe: I do forgive you Brady.
Brady: And Philip ...
Philip: Yeah?
Brady: We may be related by blood, but you and I were never the best of friends.
Philip: No sh!t.
Brady: We’ve both done things to each other. Bad things. Because we were in competition, both in business and in affairs of the heart. We were competing for one hell of a woman. And ... I think the better man won.
Philip sighed.
Philip: I’m not so sure about that. But ... thank you for saying that.
Brady: Justin, do you have those papers on you?
Justin: I do.
He took the divorce papers out of his briefcase and handed them to Brady.
Brady: Got a pen?
Justin searched his pocket for a pen, while Philip found one immediately and rolled it across the table to Brady. Brady and Philip looked at each other and, after an awkward moment, they laughed. Justin pointed to the signature lines and Brady signed his name. Justin then passed the paper and pen to Chloe, who signed her name to the divorce form as she wiped tears from her cheeks. Brady stood up from his chair.
Brady: Well, I guess that’s it. Thank you all for coming.
Chloe: Brady, wait.
Chloe rose from her seat and went over to Brady and hugged him. He closed his eyes and hugged her tight. Then he went over to Philip and extended his hand. Philip shook it.
Brady: Take good care of her.
Philip nodded.
Philip: You’re okay, Brady.
Brady left the room and Justin followed him. Philip saw a wistful look on Chloe’s face. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Philip: You okay?
Chloe nodded and put her arms around Philip.
Chloe: As long as I have you, I’ll always be okay.
Philip smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
Philip: You’ll always have me, Chloe, and that’s a promise. Ready to go home?
Chloe: Yes, I am.

With their arms around each other, they left the room.


The End

[djm]

What a wonderful ending. I had tears in my eyes. So happy that everyone is going to be ok. Brady is well on his way to recovery. Turns out the webs untangled and everyone is with who they are meant to be with.Thanks for the super story. Hope you have a wonderful and joyful Christmas.

[MrsM]

What a nice ending. I am glad they made amends.

[gapeach]

What a great ending to an absolutely fabulous story... Brady ends up with Nicole (sounds like a new story), Phillip and Chloe are together and Belle and Shawn-D are together.

I think there needs to be a Brady / Nicole follow-up story...

[sportsgirl]

Really nice ending except it had a Phloe ending... ;D I kid I kid! This story was tough for me as a Broe fan but I still loved it. Look forward to your next one and as Peachy suggested, maybe a Brady/Nicole story in the future?

[ghoulgirl]

That was an awesome ending. Loved it. Loved the whole ride.

Can't wait for the to begin!!

[fluffysmom]

Awesome story Kpatch! Loved the roller coaster ride. Thank you for sharing your talent with us!

[krw627]

Loved this story!!! Thanks so much!

[wendylou]

Awesome ending. Awesome story. Now when does the next one begin?

[Trey]

[DancingDays]

Even though he was a huge SOB for most of the story, I find myself feeling bad for Brady towards the end.

Any chance we'll see a follow up story that deals with Nicole and Brady in the aftermath? ;D

[Kpatch]

Thank you thank you thank you. I am sooo tickled that you all enjoyed this story as much as you did. To be honest, it kind of wrote itself. I had no idea that it was going to go in the directions it did. It was fun, wasn’t it? A big thank you to Fluffy for forcing encouraging me to write this sequel.

I’m working on a couple new story ideas right now and have a couple others in progress. I hadn’t really considered writing a Brady/Nicole story, but I’ll put it in the hopper and see what happens.

To answer the question about the next story, starting Monday I’ll be running a little 5-chapter holiday story that I wrote several years back but never posted here, so it will be new to most of you.

Then after the 1st (which I guess would be the 2nd), I will be starting to run my new favorite story. It’s an epic and it’s very different for me. I’ll post a preview and information about it as we get closer to the airdate. It will be available to members only, so you’ll have to be logged in to read it.

Thanks again guys for your loyal readership. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love reading your comments. Mwah.

[fluffysmom]

Forced is an accurate word for it Kpatch. This story was an awesome adventure. Thank you so much for writing it.

[MrsM]

So can't wait!!!