Bradin smiled, waving at his girlfriend from down the beach. His damp, salty bangs stuck to his forhead, covering his eyes. Callie laughed as he approached her, kissing her on the cheek. "How's it going, Cal?" Bradin asked, slinging his free arm around her shoulder. The other hand was occupied, of course, with his blue and black- striped surfboard.

"Not that great," Callie admitted, sifting the grains of sand through her fingers. Bradin cupped her face in his hand and brought her eyes up to meet his.

"What's the matter?"
Callie shook her head unwillingly. "Nothing," she lied, looking back down at the ground. "It's not important"

Bradin disagreed. Even though he and Callie had only been together for about three months, he was sure that she was the one for him. He'd never been able to talk so openly with anyone in his entire life, and if something was bothering her, then he wanted to know. "Cal," he pleaded, searching her eyes. "It's important to me"

"Well..." Callie considered telling him, leaning her head against his chest comfortably. "All right. It's just that... I... ran into this guy the other day... and"

She was breaking up with him. Bradin knew the feeling well. "And..." He was trying not to be too straight-forward, but Callie could tell he was still squirming.

"And he kind of... tried to... well, he..." Callie stuttered. Bradin thought she was trying to let him down easily.

"He what, Callie?" Bradin asked, concern apparent in his voice. "Did he kiss you"

"Well, not exactly. He kind of..." Bradin didn't want to rush her. He knew that Callie had a tendency to drag things out for an uncomfortably long time. But he had to admit that she was making him anxious.

Callie finally decided that she couldn't explain it to him in words, so she lifted up the hem of her turqoise, short-sleeve t-shirt to reveal a hideous, blistering bruise.

Bradin recoiled. "Callie, he..." He couldn't say it.

"He... he just kind of... punched me," she mumbled, refusing to look him in the eyes, as if she was ashamed and scared for the guy.

"Callie, when did this... happen, exactly?" Bradin wondered aloud. This creep had hurt his girlfriend, and he wanted information.

"Two days ago, when we were at Jay's shop," Callie finally spoke up. "You went into the back to get some stuff, and Adam just kind of... showed up. He was just in and out. He told me that he needed to talk to me. And I said 'Okay!' and then we just sat down. I-I don't even know why he hit me. He never even said anything. I'm so stupid, Bradin"

Bradin mentally kicked himself for making Callie feel insecure, and for leaving her alone, obviously making her vulnerable. "No," he said firmly, embracing her protectively. "You're not stupid, Callie. Not even close. Just promise me you'll never wait so long to tell me something this important, okay"
He felt Callie nod against his chest, and somehow Bradin knew that this Adam guy would pay.

--

Bradin wasn't surprised to find his little sister, Nikki, and her boyfriend Cameron on the back porch swing when he and Callie walked out, hand-in-hand.

"Mind if we take over?" Bradin asked, silently begging Nikki to leave. Nikki started to refuse, but when she saw that Callie's eyes were red and puffy, she knew that she had been crying, and, for once in his life, Bradin looked serious.

"Sure," Nikki agreed, pulling Cam into the house behind her. "Let's go Cam. Maybe we can find my two best friends: Ben & Jerry."

Cam laughed. "Whatever, Nik."

Bradin turned back to Callie, once the two were inside. "Okay, Cal. Tell me the whole story about this guy."

A/N: Okay, so basically I started writing this fanfic because I went to the Summerland page, and I couldn't really find any stories about Bradin and Callie specifically, and that made me mad, because they are my favorite couple on the show. But yes, there will be a lot of drama. That's a promise. lol. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
Thank you,
C.J.