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Never Said Goodbye Chapter 16 (final)
by Rebel Goddess (no login)
I can't believe I'm posting this (again). Weird chapter. Re-reading it, I realise I come off a little homophobic, but I'm not. It's just... You have to read the chapter to see. Sorry if I offend anyone. I don't mean to.
I disclaim. This is one freaky chapter.
The beautiful banner is courtesy of AndieMc.
Chapter 16
One week to go until her high school Graduation, and Belle Black was miserable. She thought her boyfriend, Larry, was cheating on her. Shawn was distant with her, and spent all of his time talking to some people on a message board called Fan Fics and Chatter, or e-mailing his Kitty in Paris. Brady was at college, and she hadn’t seen him since Easter. Mimi was wrapped up in her romance with Kevin. Philip and Chloe were attached at the lip. God only knew what was going on with Jason and Jan. Pink was forever talking on the phone to Marco, her student boyfriend, in London or day dreaming about him. Only Megan was her usual self, and she occasionally acted totally weirdly.
Belle pushed her hair back into a ponytail and looked at the clock. She had told Larry she was going to the Brady Pub that night, and she was already late. She knew why Shawn was being odd with her, but she wished she could just confide in someone and hear them say, ‘No, Belle, you’re just being silly. Larry loves you. He’s not running around with Cindy, or anyone else,’ but it wasn’t about to happen. She knew perfectly well that Larry was cheating on her. She only stayed with the guy because otherwise Shawn would say ‘I told you so’ and she really didn’t want to hear that, least of all from him. It was his fault that she was in this appalling relationship, where she could neither love nor respect her boyfriend. The guy was a brainless jerk who was constantly trying to get into her pants. She was going to break up with him the day after Shawn left to join the Merchant Marines, and that day was only eight days away. Belle sighed as she walked down the stairs of her house, past her mother and out of the door. Salem was enjoying a warm summer, but it felt cold to Belle without Shawn. She wished she had known that it hadn’t been him Pink was kissing before she had begun to date Larry. She hadn’t found out until two weeks later why Shawn had got on the flight with a killer hangover, and then she regretted that she had told Larry she would be his girlfriend only the night before.
“Hey,” Megan came up behind her as she rounded the corner to the Brady Pub.
“Hey,” Belle was still down in the dumps. She couldn’t help it. Megan was cheerful for two reasons, one public, and one so private that no one else knew it or even suspected it. The public one was that she had finished all of her finals and from the expressions of the teachers as she wandered around the school, she had done well. The private one was that Brady would be home soon, and he didn’t have a girlfriend. Megan hoped she could fill that role in his life. It had been months since their kiss, but she dreamt of him every night, wrote to him once a week and honestly believed she had fallen in love with Belle’s older brother and that he might love her back.
“Larry coming tonight?” Belle looked at the grinning Megan.
“No, he’s not. I have dance committee tonight. We’ve got so much to do before next week. I can’t believe they decided to put the Prom the night before Graduation.” Belle regretted saying yes to being on the dance committee. It was so much work, and she really didn’t have the energy anymore, not without Shawn.
“Nuts, isn’t it?” Megan was still smiling.
“Absolutely. Is Shawn around?” Belle wanted to see her Tough Boy again. She couldn’t believe she wouldn’t see him every day after the next week. She was desperate to spend every moment with him.
“I’m not sure. He was going to take the Fancy Face 2 for a sail this afternoon, but I thought he’d be back by now.” Megan’s brow crinkled for a moment, then she smiled again as she saw a rather tired looking Shawn making his way across to the Pub.
Inside the Pub, Mimi and Kevin, Jason and Jan, and Chloe and Philip were all locking lips and slobbering over each other. It made Caroline and Grandfather Shawn glad that Shawn D didn’t have a girlfriend so they wouldn’t have to witness such a disgusting spectacle. As the door swung open, and Shawn saw all of his friends trying to get to know their partner’s throat a little better, he felt very alone.
He went over to the piano, finding his salty fingers itching to play, and sat down at it. His grandmother smiled at him, and he smiled gently back. He wasn’t really in the mood for talking. Instead, he flipped open the piano, felt his fingers touch the ivories and began to play from memory ‘Without You’.
He was murmuring the words in a low voice as Belle came in with Megan, and though only she knew the true significance of what he was saying, she didn’t say a word.
No I can’t forget this evening,
Or your face as I was leaving,
But I guess that’s just the way the story goes.
‘It’s too bad our story went that way, Isabella,’ Shawn thought sadly, his only hope being that when he returned to the bridge in Paris, she would be there waiting for him, with Larry forgotten forever.
You always smile but in your eyes your sorrow shows,
Yes it shows,
‘She can’t honestly believe that I can’t see how unhappy she is with Larry, the guy’s a moron.’ Shawn’s mind began to wander, but his fingers still produced beautiful music.
No I can’t forget tomorrow when I think of all my sorrow,
When I had you there but then I let you go.
“Worst bloody night of my life,” Shawn muttered to himself.
And now it’s only fair that I should let you know,
What you should know,
“Listen to me, Belle, if you have ears to hear.”
I can’t live, if living is without you.
I can’t live, I can’t live anymore.
I can’t live if living is without you.
I can’t give, I can’t give anymore.
“Poor Belle doesn’t know how true this is, I’ll die if I have to live without her.” Shawn was muttering to himself, unaware that he had gained an audience for his music. He was playing for himself, and himself alone. He finished the song, and at the end there was applause, but he wasn’t listening. When he turned around, he saw a glistening pair of blue eyes. Her blue eyes. He couldn’t take it. Not her at that moment. He had spent all afternoon trying to forget what she looked like, and as soon as he turned around she was back. God knew that he had been trying to be happy for her, but how could he be happy for a girl who so obviously wasn’t happy herself. He didn’t wait for her to speak. He ran from the Pub, from his emotions, from her. It was too much.
Belle wanted to cry as she watched him go. It felt like eight months before when he had returned just before school had started with Megan after his summer in New York and had disappeared after playing ‘Piece of my Heart’ by Janis Joplin.
Megan put her arm around Belle’s shoulders, not really understanding what was going on, and helped her to a seat. Brady would be back in a week, ironically coming the same day as Shawn was leaving. He would be able to help Belle.
Caroline watched as her grandson’s heart received another battering and sighed. She couldn’t understand why Belle and Shawn weren’t together when it was so obvious that they were in love with each other. She knew Belle had a boyfriend, but she didn’t think much of Larry, who seemed like a bit of a loud mouth git to her.
“Oh, well, they’ll sort it out in time. His parents certainly did.” She went back to cleaning glasses and forgot about it.
Two days before the senior Prom, Shawn and Megan were the only two in their group who didn’t have someone to go with. Shawn wished Kitty could come from Paris for the night, but he knew it was impossible. Megan equally wished Brady could come home a few days early to go with her, but he wouldn’t, she knew.
Jan and Jason had officially broken up, but were still going together as Jan had decided it was even lamer to go to the Prom alone than it was to go with your on - off boyfriend.
After taking a lot of flack from their friends, Shawn and Megan eventually decided to go to the Prom as each other’s dates. They had decided to go together after a particularly bitchy conversation with Jan and Chloe who had been taunting Megan about her lack of a date. She had refused several offers because she didn’t want to go with just anyone, and like Belle had before her, she was waiting impatiently for Shawn to ask her.
“You two are ridiculous. Rebel teens without clues. I can’t believe your both going to the Prom stag. It’s so sad.” Jan was in a good mood as Jason had been a good boy the night before and taken her to the movies instead of just the back seat of his car.
“Honestly, you’d think the entire human race was diseased from the way you act.” Chloe sneered, putting on her ‘Harlot Red’ lipstick.
“What, you mean you’ve been sleeping around again?” Megan muttered under her breath, replying to Chloe’s face, “I don’t care about the Prom. It’s one stupid night in my whole life that most people will be too drunk to remember anyway.”
“Oh come on, Megs,” Megan hated that nickname but Chloe insisted on using it anyway, “You know that Prom night is one of the most memorable occasions of a girl’s life.”
“Yeah, that and losing her virginity.” Jan added, staring nastily at a freshman girl who had made the mistake of looking at her.
“Well I guess only Chloe has a problem with that,” Megan really couldn’t be bothered to be nice anymore. She would shortly never see the girls again, if she could help it, so it didn’t matter what she said to them. “After all, she’s been dating Philly boy for what, two and a half years now? She isn’t keeping him much longer.”
The virginal - though the fact was hard to believe considering her recent sluttish behaviour - Chloe Lane scowled at Megan.
“At least I have a boyfriend,” she retorted angrily.
Megan’s anger flared. She was sick of this pair after a school year of listening to them whinge and plot. “Yeah, one who dumps you at the first chance the poor boy gets. You may act high and mighty, but you are more of a heinous bitch now than you ever were as a Ghoul Girl, and if possible, the kids find you even more repulsive now than they did then. Why do you think you weren’t even nominated for Prom Queen, Miss Popularity? Philip’s up for King, and I’m going to love seeing him dance with his Queen when he wins.”
“You little slut!” Chloe screamed at her and slapped Megan across the face.
Megan’s eyes were dark and brooding. Half of Salem High were there as she let rip. The right hook that had floored football players and would be attackers was let loose on Chloe Lane, queen bitch of the school. Megan would have done more, except when Chloe was on the floor, Shawn grabbed her by the arms and physically restrained her.
“Don’t even think about it! Do you want detention for the last day of school?” Shawn hissed in her ear, bodily carrying her away from the body she had laid out.
“Put me down!” Megan yelled. “I’m not through with the lying bitch yet!”
Shawn stopped listening as Megan attempted to pound him with her feet. He carried her all the way to the pool and dumped her in it fully clothed. “Cool off before the Principal gets here, Megan. If you’re suspended for fighting now, you’ll miss the Prom.”
Megan yelled in frustration, punched the water a few times, and calmed down. Belle helped her out, as Shawn had disappeared, knowing that Megan would have more than a little to say to him when she found him.
Megan had forgiven him for throwing her in the swimming pool by the end of school, and as a way to make it up to his Star Child, Shawn had promised to take her to the Prom. Belle was going with Larry, or Shawn would have got up the nerve to have asked her. Belle was upset that she couldn’t go with Shawn, as she had always intended to do ever since she knew there was such a thing as a Prom.
Belle had wanted to tell Larry that she wouldn’t go with him, so she could have one perfect high school memory of being with Shawn at a social event, but he had been so sweet and bought her so many roses as a gift to go along with his proposal that they went to the Prom together, Belle couldn’t bear to tell him no. She could still dance with Shawn, if she loaded Larry off onto whatever girl he was cheating on her with.
Nevertheless, she determined that even if she wasn’t going with Shawn, she was going to look beautiful at the Prom, and after a lot of persuading, managed to haul Megan, Pink, Susan, Mimi, Chloe and Jan into the local beauty salon after school on the day of the Prom. They were in there for hours. Megan was bored out of her mind, and her only distraction was teasing Mimi about her relationship with nerd come babe Kevin. She was ignoring Jan and Chloe, who had a black eye from where Megan had punched her, though she was desperately trying to cover it with make up. Chloe kept scowling at Megan, but when Megan did deem to notice her, she always smiled sweetly at the Chloho, knowing that would annoy her even more.
When they were finally done at half past six, primped and primed to the nines, in their dresses with long coats over so the boys would know what they looked like before they came to pick them up, Belle laughed. “You know, we look like those French courtesans Mme Simone was telling us about. The ones who went to the court to find men, and I don’t mean as husbands.”
“Belle Black has such naughty thoughts? Who could have guessed?” Henry’s voice rang out from behind her. Belle turned and stared at him without warmth. He was staring at her, no leering at them all. Henry was disgusting. He had given up any pretence of being a nice guy and was now a lecherous mauler. He was blackballed by practically every girl in the school, and would have been a social pariah except there were boys worse than him, and he was very rich, or rather, his father was.
“So, Henry, who’s your date tonight?” Mimi had all the gossip and knew that every single girl Henry had asked had turned him down flat. Even the ones who were generally considered easy wouldn’t go with him.
“Ah,” Henry was desperately racking his one brain cell trying to think.
“You don’t have one.” Henry ran after that, seeing the light in Megan’s eyes that was just daring him to lie and the tone of her voice that told him if he did he would regret it.
“That was fun.” Megan stated, then turned and started to walk to the Brady’s house.
“Bye!” They called to her, and she waved.
“I’m going home now, Mimi, are you coming?” Belle asked her politely.
“Yeah.” Mimi straightened her coat and started walking.
“Bye,” Belle said to Chloe and Jan, leaving Susan and Pink to make their own way home.
“Whatever.” Chloe replied, stomping off into the night.
“What’s her problem?” Mimi was not amused.
“I don’t know, and at this point, I don’t care. Come on, dinner will be ready.” Belle took her best friend by the hand and walked her home to the Blacks’ penthouse.
At half past seven exactly, Shawn was standing at the foot of the stairs, waiting for his Megan to come down. He was gorgeous in his tuxedo, though he wasn’t really smiling as his mother arranged his tie again.
Megan was a vision of loveliness in her long ball gown, her hair curled into bouncy waves and her usually make up less face shown to be beautiful in lipstick and powder.
“Hey,” Shawn managed to stutter out. He wasn’t used to Megan looking like this. She was usually in jeans, so to see her once again in a skirt was a bit of a shock.
“You ready?” She asked him, trying to get her breath back from wherever it had gone to after she saw him in that tux.
“Pictures first, remember?” Marlena said to Belle and Larry as they stood at the foot of the stairs, resplendent in their finery.
“Yes, Mom,” Belle said, wishing that the arm around her waist was Shawn’s.
The bulb flashed as Belle and Larry smiled. They both wanted to get going, looking for their loves that night already at the Prom.
The expensive black limousine Philip had borrowed from his father picked up Shawn and Megan first, then Mimi and Kevin, then Chloe, then finally Belle and Larry. The expression on Shawn’s face was, for the briefest fleeting moment, of complete love for Belle when he saw her in her beautiful ball gown. Then it was gone, replaced by a look of blank indifference to the world.
Everyone else was at the Prom already, dancing to the local popular rock band ‘Bleeding Eardrums’ in the gym that Belle had helped to decorate. The girls all looked so beautiful, and the boys so suave in their tuxes. Nobody could guess what was going to happen when the time for the Coronation of Prom King and Queen came.
“Hey, Megan,” Shawn said softly as they went in, “I know this isn’t really a date, but would you do me a favour and not leave my side for an instant. I really don’t want to dance with anyone but you tonight.”
Megan smiled at the compliment, but added knowingly, “And Belle.”
“No, not even her.” Shawn shook his head, and she realised that more was going on between the pair than even she could guess. “Dance with me?”
“Of course.” The song was fast, and immediately all the teenagers were grooving to the tunes.
“Hey look, there’s Susan!” Belle waved past Larry’s shoulder at the once fat girl who had lost significant amounts of weight, and though not actually thin, was now known more for her personality than her size.
“I didn’t know she was coming with Aaron.” Larry said, noticing the second richest guy in school on Susan’s arm.
“Mhm, he apparently asked her after a study session together. She really likes him,” Belle was happy for her friend. Susan deserved to some happiness after the way the kids at Salem High had treated her when she first came.
Belle kept trying to catch Shawn’s eye so they could dance together, but he was avoiding her, dancing with no one but Megan and starting several rumours about them. She sighed as she watched Megan rest her head on Shawn’s chest, and wished that was her. She hadn’t been exclusive in dancing with Larry. He had left her for a minute to get a drink, and she had been dancing with Philip. Then the lights dimmed throughout the gym and a spotlight started on the stage. It was finally time for Prom King, and more importantly, Queen to be announced.
The Principal, Mr Atkins, stood on the stage with an envelope in his hand. Mimi was standing by Belle’s side, and the girls held onto each other’s hands excitedly. Chloe and Jan were by the side of the stage, with Philip and Jason bringing them their drinks.
“This is the moment you have all been waiting for, it’s time to announce the Prom King and Queen of this year!” Mr Atkins half shouted into the microphone that the lead singer of ‘Bleeding Eardrums’ had been singing into a moment before.
Immense cheering followed Mr Atkins’ announcement, and all of the senior girls began to get overexcited, some jumping up and down in their happiness.
“Shut the Hell up!” Mr Atkins yelled into the microphone. In the now silent gym, he opened the envelope and read the contents. “Don’t blame me if you don’t like it, you guys voted for this. The new Prom King is Shawn Brady and Prom Queen is Isabella Black!”
The noise was incredible for about three seconds. The most popular girl in school and the most dreamed about boy had made it as King and Queen. It was a fairytale come true in Salem High. Larry was forgotten as everyone remembered how Belle and Shawn looked at each other all the time, and how they flirted constantly. Then two gunshots rang out and the gym went deathly silent for another five seconds after the screaming stopped. People were scrabbling at the exits, trying to get out, but all the doors were locked.
Chloe was standing on the stage, having just blown away the Principal with her .44 revolver. She turned to face her classmates, and pointed the gun randomly over the crowd. She spoke into the microphone in that familiar voice of cold indifference she had used so many times before, usually when making up with Philip. “Shut the Hell up! I’ve had enough of this. High school is meant to be fun. You have turned it into a terrifying experience. Don’t even try to get out of here. This gym is rigged with dynamite. The doors are locked. Why couldn’t you just accept me, damn it? Don’t try to rush me either, I may have a gun in my right hand but in my left I’ve got the trigger for the bomb that is going to blow this school sky high.”
“Chloe, honey, put the gun down,” Philip was trying to reason with his psychotic girlfriend but she was having none of it.
“Why, so you can break up with me again without me blowing your head off? Not a chance, Philip.” Chloe was really angry. She was meant to be Prom Queen with Shawn, to take him in her arms and dance with him in front of the whole school, not Belle. The plan changed. “You want mercy? After everything you’ve done to me you honestly believe that I can just forgive and forget, that a single word of apology will make it all OK? You are crazy. No, I want justice, and it’s coming to you tonight. All of you. Don’t think you’re getting out of this. Philip, get your ass up here now,” Chloe cocked the gun again and pointed it at Jason’s head, “Or we can all have a good look at Jason’s brain.”
Philip pushed his way through the crowd, who were cowering back from the psycho diva with a gun. The band were hiding at the back of the stage, trying to work out how to get out of there. Belle tried to rush forwards, but Chloe’s voice rang out once again, “No Belle, you stay where you are.”
Philip was by Chloe’s side, a few feet away from her, and instantly she turned the gun on him. No one dared breath as Philip stared down the barrel of the weapon.
“Chloe, why are you doing this?” Philip’s voice was quiet and calm, but Chloe’s reaction was hysterical.
“Don’t you know? Can’t you see? No one has ever loved me, not my mother who gave me up, no one. Well, I’ve found my father now and he’s making it all alright again.”
“Chloe, can’t you see this isn’t right? You can’t kill all of these innocent people. Let them go. Please Chloe.” Chloe thought about this.
“Kneel and beg.” She pointed the gun more directly at his head.
Philip got down on his knees, and put his hands together in prayer. “Chloe, I’m begging you, let them go.”
“Let me think about this. No!” She slammed the butt of the gun into the side of Philip’s head and rolled his recumbent body off the stage. He fell with a dull thud. “Nobody mess with me.” Chloe was pointing the gun at Larry’s head now, finding him in the midst of the crowd.
“Now Larry,” she cooed, “come up here and confess all you dirty little secrets. The ones you don’t want anyone to know.”
“Chloe, stop this, please!” Belle was begging her.
“Well if it isn’t little Miss Perfect, Belle Black. Why don’t we hear just what your boyfriend’s been up to when he’s not with you? Larry, don’t be shy. Tell Belle. I know all of your secrets.” Chloe’s gun was pressed against Larry’s temple as he stood beside her on the stage, her voice gentle and sweet with just a hint of menace.
In the confusion, trying to be silent, Shawn slipped to the back of the crowd and, with a little help from some of his old boarding school sneak out skills, jimmied open one of the doors. Grabbing the first guy who tried to push his way through, he said, “Call the cops and ask for my Dad, Detective Bo Brady. We need some serious help.” Then he was gone, making his way back through the crowd, trying to get the kids to move out inconspicuously so Chloe wouldn’t notice her diminishing audience.
“Larry!” Chloe’s voice was more threatening now, and she pressed the muzzle harder into Larry’s temple. “Tell her or you die now. Don’t forget our deal, Larry.”
“Fine!” Larry screamed out in fear, “I’ve been having an affair with Jason Welles! I’m gay! Don’t kill me, please!”
The sound of another gunshot rang out, and Larry’s dead body followed Mr Atkins to the floor. “I hate when people beg,” Chloe spat. “Jason get your no good cheating ass up here!”
She was pointing the gun at his head, and Shawn tried to work out how many more bullets she had. It didn’t matter. As long as she had one and a hostage, she could get out and still kill them all. He had seen the dynamite beneath the bleachers. There was enough to blow up the school and leave a crater where it used to be easily.
“So you’ve been cheating on Jan, have you?” Chloe’s voice was cold again, but her eyes were blazing.
“I swear, it meant nothing.” Jason was practically wetting himself in his fear.
“Kiss me.” Chloe demanded. She grabbed him by his bow tie and kissed him hard on the mouth, keeping his hands well away from the gun. “You can live.”
Then she shot him in the pelvis. In screaming agony, Jason fell off the stage and across Philip. Jan ignored him, worried about Chloe’s reaction. There were significantly fewer kids in the room, but Chloe hadn’t noticed. None of the people she hated most were out yet, and she was concentrating on them.
She turned the gun on Belle’s blonde head with a deadly accuracy. “Belle, come up to the front and bring Shawn and that little punching bitch Megan with you.”
What was left of the crowd parted before them as they made their way up to the front. When they got there, Shawn pushed the girls behind him, spreading his arms out to cover as much of them as possible.
“How noble!” Chloe spat. “Always so noble, Brady. You can never leave Belle alone, can you?”
Only Chloe, Jan, the two knocked out boys, and the three at the front remained in the gym, everyone else had rushed out while her attention was off them, but Chloe was too far gone to tell. “This is so sweet, the Brady and the Black family united. Step forward, Shawn. I want to look at you properly. You don’t recognise me, do you?”
“What the Hell are you talking about, Chloe?” Shawn asked her slowly and angrily. He felt Belle squeeze his hand and he tried to calm his Irish temper.
“Then again, why should you? I didn’t exactly look like a teenage girl when I left, did I? Then, you all knew who my father was. Dear Daddy, he always did hate you. I remember when he had you kidnapped, Shawn Douglas. That was amusing.”
Shawn swallowed, remembering more of the past than he cared to. “You’re Stefano Dimera’s daughter?”
“Oh no,” Chloe threw back her head and laughed. “It’s so much better than that. I’m his son.”
Philip stirred slightly at the foot of the stage, but Jason was still out cold from the blood loss. Belle was beginning to be seriously worried about him.
“Oh,” Shawn thought for another moment, “it’s Elvis, isn’t it?”
“You guessed! O how wonderful! Father always said you inherited your mother’s brains!” Elvis had stopped laughing. “Come over here, Jan. I want to show you what true fear looks like.”
Jan walked over, unafraid of the gun wielding maniac. It was one of the perks of having no imagination. You couldn’t think of all the horrible things that were about to happen to you.
“Of course, Elvis. Your wish is my command.” She hissed between her teeth as she took her place beside Megan.
“It is, you’re right. Someone stop Jason bleeding everywhere. It’s really quite disgusting of him.” Elvis was staring at Shawn as he spoke, but it was Belle who moved forwards to help. “Good. Now we can get on with business. Plastic surgery does a lot for a girl, doesn’t it Jan? Then again, I don’t need you and your connections anymore, perhaps I will just shoot you now.” Elvis raised the gun and Jan fell to the ground with blood pouring out of her side.
“Chloe! This is the police! Put down the gun and come out with your hands up!” Roman Brady’s voice rang out through the gym.
“Oh, I see the cavalry has arrived.” Elvis said coldly. “I wondered when they would get here. I suppose the entire Brady clan is out there too. Shall I sing you an aria? I know a beautiful one about a young girl mourning the loss of her lover.”
“Elvis, just stop this. Let us go. Please!” Belle begged from Jason’s side.
“Shut your little whore up, Brady, before I do it for you!” Elvis was angry. He had finally noticed the empty gym. To make a point, he fired at the ground next to Belle’s leg. “I missed deliberately,” Elvis assured her. “It must be good to know, dear Belle, that your father was the one to rig the bomb that is going to blow up the school. He’s so very good at being Soldier Black don’t you think?” He was sneering at her, throwing her family in her face, not realising that it actually made Belle feel a little better. She knew that if her father was back under Stefano Dimera’s evil grasp that he might not be blamed for everything that had happened recently.
“I’ll trade you, Elvis, whatever you want for their lives.” Shawn gestured at the floor where Belle was desperately trying to stop Jason from bleeding to death, Philip was trying to come round, and Jan lay dying. Elvis stared at him coolly.
“You still don’t understand, do you?” He snarled at Shawn. “All I’ve ever wanted is you! From the first day I came to Salem, you were there, and if it hadn’t been for Perfect Girl Belle Black, you would have been mine a long time ago.” Elvis’s eyes were burning red. “We would have ruled the Dimera empire together. I may have the body of Elvis Dimera, somewhat modified by Rolf I hasten to add, I even have his memories, but long ago I became Chloe Lane. I’ve been Chloe for years. Before Nancy Wesley even came back to the orphanage I had taken over Chloe’s life. She’s alive, the real Chloe Lane, Father would never have killed his daughter like that, only she’s a little troubled. The poor girl is in an insane asylum. I took her personality, and with a few modifications, became the girl you know and love. I wanted you Shawn, not to kill you, but to love you. You never wanted me, though. That’s why Belle is about to die.”
Shawn realised he had one bullet left. “You want me so badly, you can have me. If you let the others go.”
Elvis stared at him not believing what he was saying, “But I already have you Brady.”
“No, you don’t. I’ll kill myself the first chance you give me if you do this. You know I will, Elvis.” Shawn’s voice was sincere and quiet. It wasn’t a show of bravado, it was a statement of fact. Megan and Belle were both trying to stop Shawn, but they knew it was pointless. Elvis was controlling him in ways that Stefano never dreamed of doing.
“Deal. Philip, I know you’re awake, pick up Jason and carry him out of here. Megan, Belle, take Jan. Shawn is coming with me.” Elvis was grinning insanely, thrilled at the way his plan had turned out. He had never dreamed it could be this good. Shawn climbed up the side of the stage and stood on one side, with Elvis pointing the gun at his head to ensure the others’ good behaviour. Philip lifted Jason up and started his staggering walk towards the door.
“Elvis, no more arias either.” Shawn didn’t think he could bear listening to the prima donna sing. Elvis pouted, an expression very familiar to Philip. Chloe had pouted whenever she didn’t get what she wanted. There was something grotesque in the expression now, incongruous as it was with the blood and the dead bodies on the stage.
“Chloe! Come out with your hands up!” Roman’s voice rang out again, louder than the first time, but they all ignored it. Elvis wasn’t worried. The Salem police never managed to capture Dimeras. Their back up plans were too good.
Outside, in the warm fresh air, Bo was pacing the ground with Hope and Marlena hanging onto each other for dear life. They were so worried for their children, and every time another shot rang out, they became a little more distressed.
Megan started lifting Jan by the shoulders, but in a moment of insanity, Belle turned from her and started towards Elvis, with murder in her mind. No one was taking Shawn away from her. She was on the stage before Elvis could react, and within inches of his throat. Then he turned, the gun pointing directly at Belle’s heart.
“No!” Megan screamed out, but she could do nothing. She was too far back. Shawn leapt forwards and pushed the gun up as Elvis fired. Then there was the sickening sound of a bone cracking and two bodies slumped to the floor. Elvis was one of them.
Belle had taken the microphone stand and hit him across the head with it, knocking him out cold.
Shawn lay on the ground too, blood streaming from his chest, staining the white shirt of his tux dark red like Philip’s favourite cummerbund. Belle and Megan screamed out together, racing to him.
Shawn’s eyes focused for a moment on his Perfect Girl’s face as she cradled his head in her bloody lap. “Belle?” He whispered as the world went black.
“Shh, Shawn, I’m here.” There were tears streaming down Belle’s beautiful face.
Philip had got Jason out of the building, and was with the cops, explaining the situation. Megan left Shawn’s side and raced out of the doors, forgetting Jan and Elvis in her hurry.
“You have to help him!” She screamed as she got out of the doors. The paramedics ran forwards, with Hope, Marlena, Bo and the rest of the Brady clan close behind. Megan ran back in to the gym, and saw the bloodbath that lay within. Her eyes blinded by tears she stumbled and was caught by one of the paramedics.
Belle’s world was crumbling. It was her fault. It was all her fault.
Hope saw the dark head nestled in Belle’s lap and broke down in Bo’s arms. The paramedic gently moved Belle out of the way.
“What the Hell is going on here?” Roman demanded as he saw Chloe’s figure lying unconscious on the stage and the other bodies scattered around.
“Chloe is really Elvis Dimera, whoever he is,” Megan sobbed out as she watched the paramedics check Shawn for a pulse. “He just went crazy and started shooting people. Shawn did a deal where he would go with him, if, if…” Megan took a deep breath and tried to regain enough control to finish, “if Elvis didn’t shoot anyone else. He was letting us out, and then he shot Shawn!”
Megan’s tears flowed freely down her cheeks, making rivers on her face, only slightly relieved by the paramedic calling out, “He’s alive!”
Belle collapsed into her mother’s arms as Shawn was lifted onto a gurney and carried out of the gym, with two paramedics working on him. Elvis was carried out on another gurney, followed by Jason.
“Bo,” Hope said slowly.
“I know, Fancy Face, come on.” He took his wife by the hand and led her out of the gym into a waiting car which drove them to the hospital.
Marlena took the girls and Philip to another paramedic, thanking God that they were still alive. Philip was treated for concussion and taken to Salem general for observation. Megan and Belle, though unharmed, followed close behind with Marlena, Roman and the Brady clan to see how Shawn was doing.
Belle couldn’t get her own stupidity or the image of Shawn with a hole in his chest out of her mind. It had been so horrible, and she had been so stupid. How could she have thought that she could have killed a Dimera? Everyone knew that the Dimeras were harder to kill than even John Black. Just when you thought one was gone forever, they rose from the ashes like a phoenix.
In the hospital, Hope was desperately holding onto Bo as they waited for news of their son. Every shot that had sounded had terrified them both for their son, and all of the other kids in the gym. There had been a cop on the scene after the first shot was reported, but it wasn’t until a guy had said that Chloe Lane was shooting people in the gym and that Shawn had begged him to call Bo that Salem’s police came out in force. It was known that the Principal and Larry were dead, that there was a bomb in the building, and that it was soon known that several kids had been shot quite soon after they arrived.
Belle and Megan were hanging onto each other for dear life as they ran into the hospital followed by half of Salem.
“Where is he?” Belle gasped out, desperate to know about her Tough Boy.
Hope’s head was buried in Bo’s chest, so he was the one to turn to the girls and say, “He’s in surgery. He lost a lot of blood. Jason and Jan are going to be fine, though.”
“Time for prayers and donuts,” announced Shawn’s great grandmother Alice.
“Oh God!” Said the rest of the family. Grandpa Shawn was holding onto Caroline and Belle and Megan held onto each other a little bit harder.
“Mr and Mrs Brady?” A doctor in surgical scrubs walked towards them.
“Yes?” Bo said calmly, as Hope turned to face the surgeon.
“How’s my son?” She asked in tremulous tones.
“He lost a lot of blood, and the bullet shattered one of his ribs, but he’s going to be just fine.” The surgeon smiled at them. “He’s a very lucky young man. An inch lower and it would have hit his heart. As it is, he didn’t suffer too much damage. He’s going to be in a lot of pain for a while, but we’ll give him some drugs for that. Would you like to see him now?”
Hope and Bo followed the doctor out of the waiting room and into Shawn’s room. Belle wept tears of joy, and there was a great sigh of relief from the rest of the group.
“He’s OK,” she whispered to herself again and again, “he’s going to be OK.”
Philip came out, rather white, from his examination and seeing Belle’s happy face smiled. “So my favourite nephew not only saved the day but is also going to be just fine, huh?” He asked Megan jokingly, thrilled that Shawn would live.
She was about to reply when there was a tremendous boom and the floor shook beneath them. It felt like an earthquake, but it stopped too quickly for that.
Running outside, they looked across town and saw a massive cloud of smoke rising into the air.
“There goes the school,” Megan said slowly.
“Huh,” Philip shrugged. “We were graduating tomorrow anyway, but after tonight no one is ever going to forget our year.”
“Yeah, we’ll be legendary.” Belle said.
“Either that, or we’ll be blamed for wrecking the gym!” Megan joked. After a night of the most horrible tension, the three teens clung onto each other and laughed hysterically, glad to be alive, glad to be graduating and glad to be together.
Shawn woke in his room with his mother and father by his side the next morning. They were smiling, but he thought that something was wrong.
“Dad?” Shawn said slowly, aware of the biting pain of the hole in his chest. “Where’s everyone?”
“They’re all here, Sailor man.” Bo said slowly. “They’re outside.”
“Oh, my poor baby, are you OK?” Hope resisted the urge to hug him fiercely, but he looked so vulnerable in his bandages that she felt tears spring to her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Shawn was suddenly afraid. Something horrible had happened. “Is it Belle? Is Megan OK? Did Philip wake up properly?”
“Calm down, Shawn,” Bo said, “Your friends are all going to be fine. Except Larry, he’s dead.”
Shawn nodded, not surprised. He had known that the moment when Elvis had pulled the trigger. There was no way he could have survived that. It would have been physically and medically impossible.
Bo took a deep breath and went on, “It’s Chloe.”
“You mean Elvis.” Shawn corrected his father.
Bo and Hope looked at each other confused. “Elvis?”
“Elvis Dimera had plastic surgery to make himself look like Chloe. There was a Chloe Lane, but she never came to Salem. Ask Megan or Belle if you don’t believe me.” Shawn knew he wasn’t crazy. His shoulder hurt too much for him to be insane.
“Elvis then. He’s dead, Shawn.” Bo’s voice wasn’t particularly emotional. Elvis had shot Shawn, and quite a few other people. “He took a suicide pill right after the school blew up last night.”
Shawn nodded. He was wondering if Stefano had ordered Elvis’s death for failing, but decided that even Stefano wasn’t that evil. “I can believe it.”
“Shawn, are you OK?” Hope was suddenly very worried about her son’s state of mind.
“Hmm? Yeah, I think. Can I see my friends now?” Shawn didn’t want to talk about the night before, now the nightmare was over, he didn’t want to relive it.
Hope and Bo went out of the room, arm in arm, and told the waiting group that they could see Shawn. Belle and Megan rushed in, desperate to see their friend, Mimi, Philip, Jan, Jason, Pink, Susan and Kevin behind them. Shawn felt a little strange as Megan related the rest of what had happened, after Mimi, Pink, Susan, Kevin and the rest of the kids had gone out, and Philip, Jan and Jason had become unconscious. He didn’t feel like a hero. He knew he had saved Belle’s life, all of their lives because he had been willing to give up his own, but just when Megan was getting to the bit when he was shot, he felt a tight pain in his chest and thought he was choking.
“Shawn? Shawn?” Belle was starting to get worried as her friend struggled to gain his breath.
“Get a nurse or a doctor! Now!” Megan rubbed Shawn’s back as she ordered Philip to find someone.
Belle shooed their other friends out of the room as Shawn started to feel faint. Two nurses and a senior doctor came charging into the room, moving Belle and Megan out of the way and began their work on Shawn. Hope and Bo, suddenly frightened for their son, came back into his room. One of the nurses turned away from Shawn and sent them out again.
It felt like hours but was in reality minutes later when Shawn’s doctor came out again, followed by one of the nurses.
“I’ve examined Shawn, and I believe the cause of the attack was a reaction to the drug combination we’ve been giving him. It’s rare, but it does happen.” The doctor smiled gently. “I’m sorry you were all so worried. He’s fine now we’ve changed the drugs combination. It’s probably better if he rests though.”
“Thank you Doctor.” Hope felt infinitely relieved, glad that her eldest boy would be OK after the panic of his being unable to breathe.
Belle relaxed a little, feeling the tension ease out of her body as she realised Shawn was going to be OK. Then she thought of Larry. She didn’t hate him because he was gay, though the fact that he was would have been a major obstacle in their relationship, but because he had lied to her. She felt sad he was dead, but not particularly miserable about it. He had been a mindless, selfish jerk who in some way had been in league with Chloe Lane aka Elvis Dimera. That was enough that she could not mourn his death too much, or at all.
Shawn knew that something was going to happen. The school had blown up, Chloe was dead, as was the Principal and Larry, but there was something left to come. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like it one little bit. There was something horrible to come, distinctly horrible he felt.
A week later, he was better friends with his small group of companions than ever before, and out of the hospital. Whatever it was that was coming hadn’t hit yet. Jan and Jason had broken up permanently and Graduation had been postponed from the day it was supposed to be to tomorrow.
Shawn was thinking about how strange his life had become since his return from boarding school when Megan joined him out on the porch. School had been over for a week, for the obvious reason that the place had been blown up and there was nowhere for classes to take place. The Graduation ceremony was to take place in the town hall, and Larry’s diploma was to be accepted by his older brother. Shawn was tired of Salem, tired of his life there. He was ready to move on. He knew he would have been gone a week ago under normal circumstances and his prolonged stay was getting on his nerves. There was something wrong in the Brady household, like a perfectly cut diamond with a flaw in the middle. He knew that he would be gone soon, but he wished he didn’t have to leave everyone behind. Every time he looked at Belle it reminded him that he was that much closer to leaving her. The summer was going to pass quickly where he was going, and then it would only be a few months before he could see her in Paris. If she came.
Megan watched him carefully as he brooded. She knew his moods, knew when she could talk him out of a bad one and when it was best to leave him alone. Now it was time to leave him alone. She settled next to him with a book on her lap and read, allowing their afternoon to slip by.
The next morning was beautiful, full of sunlight and warm. The senior kids were all shaken after the last week, some accepted counselling, others just furious that the girl they had accepted into their midst had turned out to be so cruel and so heartless. The boys she had kissed were trying to regain their manhood by denying that they had ever been attracted to her, but everyone understood that it had been impossible to tell that Chloe had not been a girl at all. It had explained, however, why even though she was a total slut in every other way, she had remained a virgin. There was a short speech about the deceased Principal, and a shorter one about Larry. Then the diplomas were handed out. Shawn was given a special medal for bravery and courage in the face of appalling circumstances. The seniors knew they owed their lives to the dark haired rebel with attitude and a soft spot for the most popular girl in school. There hadn’t been a day when someone hadn’t visited Shawn to thank him, talk to him, or bring him presents while he was in hospital. When they were pronounced as graduates and the hats had been tossed, Shawn was carried off by a group of football jocks on their shoulders to the wild applause of his fellow students. The incident had been on the national news and Shawn had been declared town hero. He couldn’t wait to get out of there and leave it all behind him.
“Party at my place tonight!” Philip yelled as the crowd dispersed, “Say goodbye to Salem High!”
There was nearly as much cheering for one of Philip’s famous parties as there had been for Shawn. The kids were ready for some fun. The police weren’t investigating the matter any further as Elvis was dead there was no one to prosecute and as there would be no trial, none of the kids would have to testify and they could get on with forgetting it and the rest of their lives.
Belle caught Shawn’s eye as he was carried off and winked. She had a calendar and was counting down the days until she and Shawn could be together. It was going to be some party that night, and she was on her way home to get ready when she passed Henry.
“Hey Belle.” He came running up behind her.
“Yes?” She said him without warmth. She had forgiven him, but she couldn’t forget.
“Will you come with me to Philip’s party tonight?” Henry leered at her.
“No, Henry. I won’t. Goodbye.” Belle was about to walk off when Henry grabbed her arm.
“Why not, Belle? Am I not good enough for you?” He was nearly snarling now, and Belle was a little afraid of him.
“I’d say that was about right,” Shawn had not escaped from the football jocks, they were standing behind him, menacingly cracking their knuckles at Henry. “Get away from her, you slimy little toad.”
“I’m going. I’m going,” Henry backed off, and Belle gratefully leaned on Shawn’s arm, taking one of the football players by the hand and starting a conversation with him as they walked off.
“You’ll regret that, Belle Black. You should have been nicer to me.” Henry growled after her as she walked away from him. “I’m not going to be nice to you anymore.” Henry stalked off into the shadows, a plan of revenge fermenting in his mind.
Philip’s party was really rocking. He had the entire mansion to fill with seniors, beer and loud music. He had hired another local band to play in the ball room and the kitchen was full of delicious things to eat. The pool was full of girls in bikinis, and when Belle arrived at eight o’clock, there were already drunks falling in it.
“Hey Phil, great party,” she called across the hall. Philip was dancing with some girl, but he didn’t look very happy. He was missing Rose. He had hated being back with Chloe, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time. He wondered if he called Rose, if she would be able to fly back or not.
Philip nodded to accept the compliment and went back to the brunette he was dancing with. She looked like his Rose, but didn’t have the same sparkle to her. When the song ended he left her to find a drink.
Shawn looked at himself in the bathroom mirror at home. The wound from the bullet had healed nicely, though leaving a slight scar. He redressed the wound after his shower and prepared to go to Philip’s party with care. He chose blue jeans, a tight white T-shirt and took his leather jacket off the hook on the door. Very James Dean. He looked just like he had when he had first come back from boarding school, rebellious and cool.
He had been struggling with himself for a week about this, ever since that shot had rung out and he had thought he was about to lose Belle. Now he was decided. Leaving a note for his mother, he raced down the stairs and out of the door, thinking he was ready for what was to come.
Megan touched Belle on the shoulder. “Do you want a drink?” She shouted to her above the music.
“Thanks,” Belle answered with a nod. She looked fabulous in a bodice top without straps and a leather skirt.
Megan walked over to the bar where Philip was standing. It was quieter there and she no longer had to shout. “I heard this rumour.” She started.
“What was it?” Philip felt sad without his Rose.
“Give me two cokes and I’ll tell you.” Megan knew Philip would be over the moon when he found out.
He handed over the drinks. “Now what is this rumour?”
“I think you’ll like it, because I know it’s true.” Megan was smiling at him in a peculiar way.
“Well?” Philip was getting impatient. He had some serious partying to do.
“Turn around.” Megan ordered him.
He did. There was his beautiful Rose standing in the door way, her brown eyes shining with happiness.
“Rose!” Philip yelled and ran to her, picking her up and spinning her around in his arms. Megan thought they looked like something in a movie she had once seen.
“I told you you’d like the rumour. Rosebud’s in town!” Megan called after him.
“When did you get here?” Philip demanded. “Can you stay? Do you know I missed you?”
“About an hour ago, all summer baby, and don’t I know it!” Rose answered him in between kisses. “I have to tell you something. I knew Chloe was up to something, and I had a call from Victor…”
“My Dad?” Philip suddenly looked worried. Things got complicated when his father was involved. “How do you know my father?”
“He visited Shawn at boarding school once, we met and later he gave me a part time job in the Paris division of Titan. That’s not the point, the point is that he told me that he thought Chloe was dangerous. I was so worried about you after that. He said he thought it might keep you safe if you were her boyfriend rather than her ex. I didn’t want to break up with you, but I was worried Chloe might do something dangerous if I didn’t.” Philip held her beautiful face in his hands and kissed.
“I love you, Rose. We don’t have to worry about Chloe anymore.” He was gazing into her eyes again happily.
“I know. Megan called me.” Rose told him in between more rapturous kisses. “I’m so happy!”
“Dance with me?” Philip asked.
“Don’t even think about dancing with anyone else, baby,” Rose warned as they walked through the mansion. “Now I’ve got you back, I’m never going to let you go.”
“Ahh,” Megan sighed to herself happily, “another happy ending. Hey Belle! Cokes are up!”
Henry watched the touching reconciliation scene between Rose and Philip, and was untouched by it all. He watched attentively as Megan handed Belle her drink and then as Belle put it down so she could dance, he slipped across the room and mixed in a white powder. He retreated again and smiled as he watched Belle make her way back to her drink and down it in one as the song ended.
Belle didn’t notice the slightly odd taste to her coke, she was too happy to think about it.
“Hey Megan,” she called across the room, “is Shawn coming tonight?”
“Are you kidding? He wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Megan called back to her, dancing with a handsome blonde boy who looked rather like Brady but didn’t have his fantastic physique or piercing blue eyes.
“Good,” Henry quietly said to himself. “It’s payback time, and I know just the way to do it.”
Belle put her hand to her head as she felt a little weak. “Megan, I’m just going upstairs to freshen up. Tell Mimi and Shawn that I’ll be down in a little while.”
Megan nodded and then put her concentration back on the blonde boy in front of her. If she half closed her eyes and concentrated, she could make him into Brady, or a very close brother of his. She was smiling as she moved a little closer, but she always remembered that this boy was only a copy, and nothing to the real BVB.
Shawn came in through a different entrance and found himself faced with Rose and Philip getting into a serious make out session. “Hey, Rose, nice to see you back.”
Rose gave him a hand signal as she moved a little closer into Philip’s mouth and ran her fingers through his thick blonde hair. They were back together, and Shawn figured that Philip’s face wouldn’t emerge from that kiss for several hours.
Chuckling, he walked on trying to find Belle. He saw Megan with a blonde guy, and asked her if she knew where Belle was.
“Freshening up, she said. Upstairs bathroom.” Came the response as Megan pulled away from the latest Brady look alike. “Is it time for the search party, do you think? She got lost last time she went to the bathroom alone in this place.”
“Ah, I always wondered why girls went to the bathroom in groups, and now I think I know. They get lost otherwise.” Megan scowled then giggled and went to find her drink.
Shawn ran up the stairs two at a time, desperate to find Belle. He had decided that their promise to stay away from each other was stupid. Life was too short. Chloe had proved that last week. He almost lost her then, and he wasn’t about to risk losing her again.
He pushed open door after door in his search for her, but he couldn’t find her in any of the bathrooms. Thinking that she might have gone into one adjoined to one of the guest bedrooms, he started on those, the red roses he had bought her gripped so tightly in his hand that they were beginning to draw blood.
He pushed open the door to the room that Belle usually slept in when she stayed over at Philip’s and saw her beautiful blonde head resting on the pillow. His Perfect Girl was sound asleep and smiling. He opened the door a little further so that he could go in and realised that Belle was not alone. Henry’s naked chest was showing above the covers, his arm wrapped around Belle’s stomach in the most intimate way.
Things that he thought he would never think about Belle flashed through Shawn’s mind. Belle. In. Bed. With. Henry. Naked.
His heart broke in his chest. He ran, he didn’t know what else to do. He could hardly confront her with what she had done when they had sworn to each other not to become involved for another year and told each other that they could see other people. He hadn’t realised that Belle was going to sleep with another guy. Another guy who happened to be Henry the slimy toad. The jerk. The guy he had saved her from before.
Pounding down the stairs, he passed Megan and raced outside. He ran home, all the way without stopping and without noticing the pain in his hand as the rose thorns bit into his skin. He thought Belle had broken his heart and hurt him as much as ever could before when she had run from him on New Year’s Eve. He was wrong. This was a thousand times worse. At least then she had remained on her pedestal, now he realised his Perfect Girl had feet of clay.
He was panting hard by the time he reached his house. Resting for a moment before he opened the door he heard his parents arguing inside.
“This was a stupid plan, Bo! It nearly got our son killed!” His mother sounded furious.
“I keep telling you, the commissioner wouldn’t let us tell anyone about this! The FBI were involved and the whole thing was this huge mess that nobody had control of. Don’t you think I wish I could’ve told Megan and Shawn that Chloe was dangerous? That she wasn’t who she said she was? That, just possibly, Stefano was her father?” Bo’s voice was more reasonable than Hope’s, but he too sounded angry.
“So Shawn was nearly killed for what? Some twisted scheme that the FBI came up with? You could have at least hinted to Shawn that something was wrong with Chloe! You kept this all a secret, Bo! Don’t you dare blame this on anyone else! Brady men and their stupid stubbornness!” Hope was screaming at Bo, really furious with him.
“Don’t start lecturing me on secrets! You were the one who knew I wasn’t JT’s father and that John was for months before I found out!” Bo’s voice was getting louder, and Shawn could hear JT crying in the background.
“Oh, so we’re back to this, are we? Bo, that was a year ago! Can’t you give it up now?” Hope’s voice dropped and she sounded angrier than Shawn had heard for years.
“Not while Stefano is still controlling John, no, I can’t.” They were snarling at each other like a pair of dogs now. Shawn pushed open the door and looked at his parents arguing. They didn’t notice him as he silently ran upstairs to comfort his little brother. He felt like JT, Kitty and Megan were the only two in the whole world who hadn’t betrayed him recently, and even JT was the product of deceit.
Shawn quietened JT, and left him in his crib with a kiss on his head. Without really knowing what he was doing, Shawn walked back down the stairs again. His parents were really getting into it. Just as he reached the last step, the door swung open and Megan came in. She had found herself a lift, but even so it had taken her a while to get back to the Brady residence. At last, Bo and Hope became aware of their surroundings. A fuming Hope turned and saw her son standing at the foot of the stairs with an unreadable expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, Sailor man, we didn’t know you were home.” Hope was trying to be apologetic while staring fiercely at her husband.
“What’s going on?” Something about the tension in the room was making Megan very nervous.
“My dear father,” Shawn spat the words, “has been keeping secrets it seems. He knew that Chloe was up to no good.”
“Shawn,” Bo started weakly.
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear more excuses for why you two are always lying to me. I’m gone.” Shawn was out of the door before anyone could stop him. Megan raced after him, desperate to stop him doing anything stupid on that hot, humid summer night. Shawn was running, but not far. He jumped onto the back of the motorbike that his parents had given him for his graduation present, and kick started it. He didn’t care about the thunderstorm gathering around their heads as he started the powerful bike and felt it throb in rhythm with his pounding heart. He felt Megan’s arms go around his waist, and felt joy that she was there. He shoved the spare helmet into her hands, his signal that her company was accepted, and ignoring the shouts of his parents, rode off into the night with the rain that had just started pouring down on them.
Shawn could barely see the road ahead of him, and would have cried aloud if Megan’s comforting arms had not encircled his waist. More betrayal, more lies, his life was infected with them. He had to go, get out, leave Salem and all that it held in his dust. That Megan was with him was a slight balm to his wounded soul. He kept seeing Belle underneath Henry’s arm, hearing his parents argument, tasting Belle’s deceitful lips on his from New Year’s Eve. He didn’t really know where he was going. They were in the middle of nowhere already.
The sudden rainstorm had made the road a slippery nightmare, the lightning was bringing down trees and he could hear the thunder above even the engine of the bike, resounding all around them. The truck ahead of them skidded on the wet road and stalled in the middle of the road. It burst into flames as it hit a tree, covering half the road and the burning mess filled the air with scorching fumes.
Suddenly Shawn realised that there was no way from them to get round the truck, that they would either slam into the side of it, certain death, or… Shawn took the or. Slamming on the brakes of the bike, he threw himself and Megan into a skid, feeling himself lose control of the bike and thrown out across the road away from it. He lost his touch with Megan’s body, but then it didn’t matter any more. There was a screaming pain wracking his body, and the world went black for the second time in less than a month.
Belle woke alone in the bedroom where she had decided to take a nap. Making her way slowly down the stairs, she looked at the clock and realised she had been asleep for about two hours.
“Great, I bet Shawn’s been here for ages, and what have I been doing? Sleeping! Oh my head!” Belle put her perfectly manicured hand up to her aching head and looked around the mansion. Everyone was still having a great time, though they were all a bit drunker than they had been, but she couldn’t see Shawn anywhere. She spotted Philip removing his tongue from Rose’s mouth so that she could go off to the bathroom. She felt a vague sense of surprise that Rose was in Salem, but it passed quickly. “Hey Philip, have you seen Shawn around?”
“He was here a while ago, but I haven’t seen him since.” Philip was watching Rose’s ass wiggle its way out of the room.
“Are you sure? Megan said he was coming, I thought.” Belle’s head was hurting her horribly, but she felt that it was desperately important for them to find Shawn. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.
“Well, I haven’t seen either of them for a while,” Philip took his attention away from Rose for a few seconds. The look on Belle’s face was frightening. The girl was afraid, but of what, Philip had no idea. “I think they might have left,” Philip’s memories outside of what he and Rose had been doing for the past hour were a little hazy and he couldn’t offer Belle much comfort, “but if they did, they never said goodbye.”
