Post by Chrissy on Feb 27, 2004 12:30:02 GMT -5
Chapter 5
He barely had time to think before a large fist slammed into the side of his face. He toppled backward and fell to the ground. “You are one sorry excuse for a man Shawn!”
“Nice to see you too Brady.” Shawn rubbed his jaw and slowly pushed himself up. “It’s good to know that some things never change, like that time bomb temper of yours.”
Everyone in the restaurant was watching the scene that was unfolding with great interest. Shawn didn’t want to cause anymore of a scene and especially one in front of his grandparents. “Let’s talk about this outside.” He walked out the door with six people following close behind. “So I take it you aren’t going to welcome me home with open arms and a few gifts.”
“Oh cut the crap Shawn. Why the hell did you leave? Better yet, why did you bother to come back?” Brady asked, his anger flaring up again.
He knew he would have to answer the question eventually but he also knew that if he told Brady this right now it would be like signing his own death warrant. “I just had a couple of things that had to be taken care of.” He hoped his vague explanation would work. “I came back because of Belle.”
That was all he had to say to set off Rex. He grabbed Shawn by the collar and slammed him against the brick wall. “You stay the hell away from my sister. You’ve done enough damage.” He hissed through gritted teeth.
Mimi ran up behind Rex and pulled him away. “Rex calm down. Don’t kill him.”
“Well it’s nice to see someone around here is sensible.”
“Shut up Shawn. I don’t want to here any of your sarcasm. You’re just going to stand there, shut up and listen to everything I have to say.” Mimi inched closer to him. “You seem to think you can just walk back into town and everyone will be thrilled. What you don’t seem to get is how badly you screwed up. You hurt Belle. You hurt her so badly that she still cries herself to sleep. You hurt her so badly that she…..” Mimi trailed off after a nudge from Rex.
Shawn squinted his eyes and looked at the group. “What aren’t you guys telling me?”
“What’s it matter to you?” Rex scoffed. “It’s not like you’d give a damn anyways.”
“Try me.”
Eric stepped in front of Rex. “Shawn just leave it alone.”
Rex narrowed his eyes and stared at Shawn with intense hatred. “No Eric, why not tell him? Hell, it’s his fault. Let him know what he did to her.”
Brady jumped in, “Damnit Rex! Shut up! It’s not your place to say anything!”
“Honey, he’s right. If Belle wanted him to know she would tell him.” Mimi added.
“Oh Christ! It’s not like she would tell him. She knows he wouldn’t give a damn. She knows he wouldn’t think twice about it!”
Now Shawn was starting to worry. “For the love of God, would someone please tell me what the hell you’re all talking about?!”
Rex looked at him with a look that could kill. “Fine! You really wanna know Shawn?! You almost killed her! Are you happy now you bastard?!”
Shawn instantly paled. “What are you talking about?”
Chloe looked up at him. She knew she had to be the calm one in the group. “After you left Belle became extremely depressed. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink, she just laid there and cried all day, everyday. It got to the point where she became so dehydrated that we had to take her to the hospital. They said that if she had been brought in a few hours later she would have been dead. For a while, even in the hospital it seemed like she wouldn’t make it. She had just lost her will to live.” Tears streamed down her face as she remembered seeing her friend in such horrible condition.
Shawn stood there trying to process the information. Had he known his decision would have caused this much pain, he never would have left. “I gotta go.” He mumbled as he pushed past them.
Eric, Brady and Rex started to go after them but were soon stopped by Greta, Chloe and Mimi. “Let him go.” Greta said as she held Eric’s arm.
Rex tried to break free from Mimi‘s grip. “He hurt my sister. I wanna hurt him a lot more.”
Mimi held his arm tight. “I have a feeling what he knows now has hurt him more than what you three could do to him.”
Brady looked confused. “Why do you say that?”
Chloe knew the answer. “Because now he knows that he was responsible for almost killing the one person in the world he would have done anything to protect.”
The six of them stood there and wondered if maybe they had been too harsh in telling him the truth and all hoped that he now wouldn’t do something stupid.
He barely had time to think before a large fist slammed into the side of his face. He toppled backward and fell to the ground. “You are one sorry excuse for a man Shawn!”
“Nice to see you too Brady.” Shawn rubbed his jaw and slowly pushed himself up. “It’s good to know that some things never change, like that time bomb temper of yours.”
Everyone in the restaurant was watching the scene that was unfolding with great interest. Shawn didn’t want to cause anymore of a scene and especially one in front of his grandparents. “Let’s talk about this outside.” He walked out the door with six people following close behind. “So I take it you aren’t going to welcome me home with open arms and a few gifts.”
“Oh cut the crap Shawn. Why the hell did you leave? Better yet, why did you bother to come back?” Brady asked, his anger flaring up again.
He knew he would have to answer the question eventually but he also knew that if he told Brady this right now it would be like signing his own death warrant. “I just had a couple of things that had to be taken care of.” He hoped his vague explanation would work. “I came back because of Belle.”
That was all he had to say to set off Rex. He grabbed Shawn by the collar and slammed him against the brick wall. “You stay the hell away from my sister. You’ve done enough damage.” He hissed through gritted teeth.
Mimi ran up behind Rex and pulled him away. “Rex calm down. Don’t kill him.”
“Well it’s nice to see someone around here is sensible.”
“Shut up Shawn. I don’t want to here any of your sarcasm. You’re just going to stand there, shut up and listen to everything I have to say.” Mimi inched closer to him. “You seem to think you can just walk back into town and everyone will be thrilled. What you don’t seem to get is how badly you screwed up. You hurt Belle. You hurt her so badly that she still cries herself to sleep. You hurt her so badly that she…..” Mimi trailed off after a nudge from Rex.
Shawn squinted his eyes and looked at the group. “What aren’t you guys telling me?”
“What’s it matter to you?” Rex scoffed. “It’s not like you’d give a damn anyways.”
“Try me.”
Eric stepped in front of Rex. “Shawn just leave it alone.”
Rex narrowed his eyes and stared at Shawn with intense hatred. “No Eric, why not tell him? Hell, it’s his fault. Let him know what he did to her.”
Brady jumped in, “Damnit Rex! Shut up! It’s not your place to say anything!”
“Honey, he’s right. If Belle wanted him to know she would tell him.” Mimi added.
“Oh Christ! It’s not like she would tell him. She knows he wouldn’t give a damn. She knows he wouldn’t think twice about it!”
Now Shawn was starting to worry. “For the love of God, would someone please tell me what the hell you’re all talking about?!”
Rex looked at him with a look that could kill. “Fine! You really wanna know Shawn?! You almost killed her! Are you happy now you bastard?!”
Shawn instantly paled. “What are you talking about?”
Chloe looked up at him. She knew she had to be the calm one in the group. “After you left Belle became extremely depressed. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink, she just laid there and cried all day, everyday. It got to the point where she became so dehydrated that we had to take her to the hospital. They said that if she had been brought in a few hours later she would have been dead. For a while, even in the hospital it seemed like she wouldn’t make it. She had just lost her will to live.” Tears streamed down her face as she remembered seeing her friend in such horrible condition.
Shawn stood there trying to process the information. Had he known his decision would have caused this much pain, he never would have left. “I gotta go.” He mumbled as he pushed past them.
Eric, Brady and Rex started to go after them but were soon stopped by Greta, Chloe and Mimi. “Let him go.” Greta said as she held Eric’s arm.
Rex tried to break free from Mimi‘s grip. “He hurt my sister. I wanna hurt him a lot more.”
Mimi held his arm tight. “I have a feeling what he knows now has hurt him more than what you three could do to him.”
Brady looked confused. “Why do you say that?”
Chloe knew the answer. “Because now he knows that he was responsible for almost killing the one person in the world he would have done anything to protect.”
The six of them stood there and wondered if maybe they had been too harsh in telling him the truth and all hoped that he now wouldn’t do something stupid.