We Ended Up Together (11 page)

"How did I confuse her?" Brad asked, confused himself.

"You put the idea in her head that she needed to leave. Now she's getting a divorce!" Philip shouted.

"Chloe made that decision on her own. She was miserable and she felt trapped in her loveless marriage. She wasn't happy so she came and found me," Brad explained. Chloe had never actually used the term “loveless marriage” but his email friend did and he thought it worked for Chloe as well.

"Who do you think you are? You don't have the right to say all these things," Philip stated, venomously.

Brad didn't know how to respond. Chloe's father continued to stare at him with a look that could only be described as a predator eyeing its prey.

Brad stood there paralyzed by Philip's beyond-angry stare.

Chloe's father was a scary man, and his expression frightened Brad to the very core. Philip's glasses only enhanced the wild look in his eyes. His nostrils flared and the veins in his forehead were enlarged.

Philip had never looked so intimidating to Brad, but then again Brad had never seen him this angry.

Meanwhile, Chloe sat on Brad’s bed with Jake. She tried to hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes for Jake's sake; she didn't want him to see she was upset.

After hearing Philip yell, Jake became quite disturbed. Chloe hadn't even noticed how affected he was until after she picked him up to bring him with her to Brad’s room. She had been so caught up in the tension of their heated argument.

Chloe just held Jake close to her chest, both her arms holding him consolingly. She slowly rocked him as his little body shook with sobs. Chloe hated that Jake had to witness the whole event. But, being in Chloe's arms seemed to calm him down quite a bit.

Chloe couldn't hear any sounds coming from outside the bedroom. She wasn't sure if it was because she had closed the door or because her father left; she hoped it was the latter. She didn't want to face her father again, not today at least.

Jake was soothed after a while and he fell asleep in Chloe's soothing embrace. She decided to put him in his crib.

Chloe half expected to still hear her father's voice or Brad’s voice when she entered the hall. But the apartment was silent. However, Chloe knew something was going on; the air was still thick with tension. Chloe was concerned, but she didn't want to check the living room and risk facing her father again, if he was still there.

After a few minutes Philip had calmed down, to some extent, and he began looking less intense. Brad nervously and awkwardly stood in the hallway against the wall opposite his door. His path into his apartment was blocked by Chloe's father. Brad tried to focus his attention on anything but Philip.

Philip exhaled an irritated sigh. The whole time after Chloe left, he had been waiting for her to come back and he was also waiting for Brad to respond. When neither of his expectations happened, he made the decision to leave.

Without saying another word he turned and began walking down the hall.

Suddenly a moment of bravery took over Brad’s judgment. Before his mind could comprehend what he was doing, he was running after Doctor Etienne.

"Wait! Doctor Etienne," Brad called, as he got closer to Chloe's father. They were far down the hallway now. Philip stopped and slowly turned back around.

Philip's eyes bored into him with annoyance. Brad’s throat became dry when he saw his face.

"Yes?" Philip questioned, treating Brad like he was being a waste of his time. Brad’s mind went blank, and he quickly began losing his nerve. But he swallowed hard and cleared his throat before saying his first thought.

"I wanted to, um, ask you if you heard James’ side of the story," Brad said. Philip crossed his arms, waiting for him to continue. "James cheated on Chloe," Brad said, truthfully.

"What?" Philip shouted, irritated by Brad.

"James cheated on Chloe," Brad stated more confidently. He began to feel better, now that he had gotten his first thought off his chest.

"How do you know that?" Philip criticized.

"Chloe told me," Brad said as he braced himself for Philip to yell. Surprisingly, he just looked shocked.

"James didn't tell me that," Philip said slowly. Brad was thrilled that he actually seemed hurt instead of angry. Maybe his cold, hard exterior had a soft spot after all.

"I think James failed to tell you a lot of things. Like how he forbade Chloe from going out because he was worried she would ruin their reputation. Chloe was stuck inside day in and day out all alone," Brad explained. Philip absorbed this information for a while before speaking again.

"Why are you telling me these things?" Philip asked, curiously eyeing Brad’s face.

"I want you to know these things. And Chloe is too scared to tell you the complete truth on her own," Brad replied, seriously.

"What are you getting at?" Philip asked confusedly.

"Doctor Etienne, I don't want you to be mad at me. You're wasting your energy by being angry with me. I was there for Chloe when she needed to get away from the terrible marriage she was in. I helped her when James didn't seem to care. So if you're going to be mad at someone, be mad at him," Brad stated, his temper rising. Philip watched him intently.

Brad braced himself for Philip's response. But the anger Philip had been filled with all evening never came.

"Brad I'm… I'm sorry about how I treated you before. I guess I was just trying to make my little girl happy, but I ended up doing the exact opposite. I realize now how awful James was to Chloe, I'm really glad you were there for her," Philip explained honestly. Brad had to stop his jaw from dropping. He was speechless.

"Thank you," Brad replied, astonishment clearly in his voice.

"Why did you take her in Brad?" Philip asked.

"She called me and told me she had nowhere to stay," Brad said. Philip could tell there was something more behind his reason.

"Do you love her?" Philip asked bluntly. Brad debated over how to respond, but in the end he decided to be truthful.

"I do, sir," Brad responded. He glanced down at the floor preparing for the outburst that would surely hit him any moment.

However, to Brad’s surprise, Philip smiled. He then placed a hand on Brad’s shoulder, which caused Brad to look up at him.

"I don't have a problem with that Brad. As long as you take care of her. I was wrong about you; you're a great guy. Sticking up for my daughter against her unpleasant, old father," Philip laughed. Brad smiled back at him.

"Thank you. And I promise you, I will take care of her," Brad said. Philip held out his hand for Brad to shake. Brad gladly shook it.

"I'll talk to you soon," Philip said, before he let go of Brad’s hand and left.

"Goodbye Doctor Etienne," Brad responded. "Thanks for believing me."

"No, thank you Doctor DeMarco," Philip said with a wink, before he turned and walked away.

Brad felt delight fill his entire body. He had actually found Philip Etienne's soft side, and not only that, he had gotten his approval too. Brad knew there was only one thing left to do. He marched back to his apartment, on a mission.

Brad strode into his bedroom, where he was certain Chloe would be. Sure enough she was on his bed. She was sitting in a ball with her arms wrapped around her folded legs. She was panic-stricken when Brad took a long time to come inside.

"Are you okay?" Brad asked softly.

"Am I okay? Are
you
okay?" Chloe asked, knowing how harsh her father was to him.

"I'm fine," Brad replied.

"Brad, can I talk to you for a second?" Chloe asked, worriedly.

"Sure," Brad replied, as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Please. Come take a seat," Chloe said as she patted a spot beside her on the bed. Brad climbed on the bed, but he sat cross-legged across from her. "Listen I'm really sorry about my father yelling at you. He's just mad at me for getting divorced and he's trying to find someone to take his anger out on."

"It's okay. After you left I talked to him," Brad responded.

"Wow. What happened?" Chloe said cringing.

"I told him the truth about what James had been doing to you," Brad explained.

"What?" Chloe asked confused by what she was hearing.

"I told him that James wouldn't let you out of the house, and that you felt trapped," Brad explained shyly.

"Brad, why would you do that? My father could have killed you," Chloe almost shouted, concerned for him.

"I wanted him to know the truth. He ended up apologizing," Brad explained.

"Brad, that's probably the kindest thing anyone's ever done for me. Well, besides you taking me in. Thank you," Chloe said, she gazed at Brad with tears in her eyes.

"Do you think you made the right choice divorcing James? Because, I mean, your father was mad," Brad stated.

"I don't regret it at all because I've found friends that appreciate me. I never would have had that with James," Chloe explained. "I love it here with you."

"I love it here with you too," Brad said. Then a thought dawned on him, "Is Jake in bed?"

"Yeah. He was really upset by my father's yelling, so I calmed him down. He fell asleep in my arms," Chloe explained.

"Was he good for you today?" Brad asked.

"He was incredible," Chloe responded, thinking about how he hugged her in the park. "I took him to the playground," Chloe mentioned.

"Thank you for looking after him. You're really great with him, you know," Brad admitted. Chloe smiled.

"No, thank you Brad. That means a lot to me," Chloe said. "All of this means a lot to me. You welcomed me into your home, you introduced me to your wonderful friends and you trust me with your son. I can't stress how much I look forward to being your roommate."

"You're already an amazing roommate, Chloe," Brad commented.

"Brad," Chloe whispered, feeling moved by his words. She was about to say more, when she froze. "I have to go to the washroom, but I'll be right back." With that, Chloe hopped off the bed and sauntered into the bathroom.

Brad inhaled deeply, gathering some courage to say what was on his mind. He knew this was the moment to tell her how he truly felt. He was ready to put everything on the line and tell her about his feelings.

He didn't have to think for twice about whether or not it was the right time to speak the truth. He knew that this was right for them. He didn't care if he jeopardized their roommate situation. It was important that she knew how he felt.

Chloe re-entered the bedroom. Brad had a strange look on his face. He looked serious and even a little nervous. Chloe sat back in her spot on the bed against the headboard.

"Is something wrong Brad?" Chloe asked, hesitantly.

"Chloe, can I tell you about something that's been on my mind for a while now," Brad said with a serious tone to his voice.

Brad reached across the distance between them. He took both of Chloe's hands in his own. Chloe immediately got butterflies in her stomach as she realized what was happening.

"Chloe. I don't want to mess up our roommate situation, but I can't help it. I'm in love with you and-" Brad began to confess, before Chloe interrupted him.

"You want to know if I feel the same," Chloe finished, with tears in her eyes.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Brad asked. He was using the words his friend had told him to say. How did Chloe know the rest of his thought?

Then it hit him. It suddenly all made sense; it all came together.

Chloe was the woman he was emailing.

She wanted to feel appreciated in a life she didn't fit into. She divorced her husband named James. She was living with a high school friend. Her father was angry with her. All of it added up.

"It's me," Chloe said with a smile.

"All this time we've been talking to each other?" Brad asked. All Chloe could manage was nodding since she was in tears of joy. "When did you find out?"

"Before I sent you my last email. I told you to do those things so I would know for sure it was you," Chloe explained.

"So the woman I'm in love with is the one I've trusted with my deepest secrets, and opened my heart to and also who I’ve been in love with since high school," Brad stated.

"I still can't believe you loved me back then," Chloe asked.

"I've had a crush on you since the ninth grade," Brad stated. Chloe smiled at him.

"Did you really mean all those things you said about your roommate in the last email?" Chloe asked randomly, with a smile.

"I certainly did," Brad answered. "Chloe, you're beautiful, you have a big heart and most of all I admire how courageous you are."

"Brad you are the nicest man I've ever met. Everything you do and everything you say captivates me. I love you so much," Chloe replied.

Before either of them could take another breath they were in each other's arms locked in a passionate kiss. Brad pulled Chloe across the mattress and encircled her waist with his arms, pulling her against his chest. Chloe put her arms around the back of his neck. Their lips moved against each other's as they enjoyed the emotion of the moment.

They had to pull away breathlessly. They both smiled as they caught their breath.

Brad rested his hands on her waist, slowly rubbing his hands in slow strokes on her sides. Chloe sighed against as his fingers raised goose bumps on her skin. Chloe's noises made his heart pound. He soon returned to kiss her with hunger. Their lips moved in perfect harmony like they were meant to do this all along.

Feeling Chloe's soft lips against his own sent Brad to an epiphany. He was finally with Chloe Etienne after all these years. He had endured all the years of waiting for her to notice him. He endured the years of countless fantasies and undying adoration.