Hey y'all, I just want to let you know a couple of things before you read this story so please read this. First off, this is my very first Summerland fic so try to be a little easy on me with reviews, ok? Second, because this is my first Summerland fic and because I really didn't see that many episodes of the real thing, I hope the characters aren't too OOC. (Out of character) Thanks for reading, I hope you love the story and reviews will be the only thing that keeps me updating, so review if you like it or if you don't like it, or if you're just "on the fence" about it for that matter! Thanks again and I'm gonna stop blabbing now and let y'all read the story!

Summary:

Teresa Coleman has just moved to Playa Linda with her dying younger brother. She is hoping to escape the memories of her father who was killed in a car accident. But when her brother dies, making her mother distant, can she pull through and move on?
Bradin Westerly has a secret, one that could tear his life apart, one that could make him an outcast and memories of his parents haunt him at night. His sister and his aunt, and her friends, soon become very worried about him and try to uncover the source of his pain. Bradin can't let that happen, he just can't. What is he going to do? And what happens if Teresa and Bradin's paths cross? Find out in Hidden Secrets of My Broken Heart.

Chapter I

I Promise

It was nearly three 'o' clock on a chilly October morning... 15 year old Teresa Coleman stepped out onto her balcony and took a deep breath... Cold air rushed to her lungs, making her head hurt for a second. Normally she would have enjoyed a night like this, but tonight, somehow, the cold air, blended with the silence of the early morning, only magnified the empty feeling inside of her instead of taking it away like it usually did. Teresa looked up at the vast amount of stars in the sky; she sighed and brushed a lock of her beautiful red-brown hair out of her emerald green-eyes. The coming day was her 16th birthday, but she really didn't care. She looked out at the ocean and watched the waves crash against the shore, she thought of that terrible night one month ago, as she watched and heard the powerful waves crashing on the shore she remembered her last night with him... his last night on the earth.

"Just... ..look how... ..beautiful... ..the... ..sun... ..set is!" thirteen year old Matthew Coleman smiled at his older sister and took her hand as they sat on the beach watching the sun set over the Pacific ocean.

Teresa let a tear escape her eye when she heard her, once strong and healthy, little brother struggle to speak. She squeezed his hand tighter and said, "Yes, it is beautiful!"

Matthew was a thin, sickly boy, barely able to stand, much less walk or run! But he hadn't always been that way, in fact, he had been on his middle school's track team since 6th grade, until the accident, and he had been in a statewide championship during the 7th grade. He had played baseball, basketball and volleyball. He was a straight A student, had had many friends, true friends, and was always willing to help others out and always volunteering for some kind of community work. He was one of those kids that really was going to change the world in some way or another... But then, the accident happened.

It had been a rainy day and the Coleman family was going visiting... Karen Coleman was driving, they were going to visit her parents, Robert Coleman, called Bob, was sitting in the passenger's seat. 15 year old Teresa Coleman sat behind her little brother in the very back of the family's mini-van. She looked out the window and for some reason thought that they should turn around and go home... 12 year old Matthew Coleman sat in one of the middle seats next to his 7 month old baby sister, Lillian, and carried on a conversation with his father about baseball. They were all smiling, except for Teresa, and happy. Suddenly thunder rumbled through the air...

"A storm was supposed to break out today about... now," Bob said, glancing at his watch, then he laughed, "I guess the ol' weatherman got it right this time!"

"Hmm... I suppose so," Karen agreed as a bolt of lightening struck across the sky and thunder cracked.

Teresa felt uneasy as the rain started pouring down so heavily that you could barely see. She bit her lip as the car swerved into the opposite lane, skidded to a halt and went dead. There had been a person walking across the road and her mother had had to swerve severely in order to avoid hitting them!

"What the hell!" Bob exclaimed jumping out of the car to make sure the person was okay.

"Teresa, you stay here and watch them," Karen yelled over the pouring rain as she got out and shut her door.

Matt turned to Teresa and asked, fear evident in his eyes, "Are we gonna be okay?"

Before she could answer a flash of light lit up the whole sky, instantly followed by a crack of thunder so loud that it woke Lillian up. She began crying in fear and Teresa took her from her car seat & cradled her in her arms. "Shh... It's okay, Lil," she cooed over the raging storm. "Where Are Mom and Dad?" she wondered silently.

Crash!

Lillian screamed and Matt looked really scared.

"Matt, it's oka-" she began but then stopped as she noticed headlights coming in through Matt's window. "That's odd," she thought. As a horn blared loudly she remembered! They were sideways, in the WRONG lane! "Matt," she screamed unbuckling and scrambling towards the sliding door on the right side of the van, "get out of the car!"

Crash! Lightning flashed and thunder cracked simultaneously, Lillian screamed and Matt froze in his seat staring out of his window into two large, bright, white headlights that were coming closer every second!

"Matt," Teresa screamed again as she jerked the van door open holding a screaming Lillian in one arm, "get out of the car!" The door slid open and Teresa saw her mother standing there looking like she were about to faint. "Mom, take her," she screamed over the sound of the pouring rain and continuously beeping horn from the oncoming vehicle. She all but threw Lillian into her mother's arms then, turning towards her, now shaking, younger brother she screamed, "Matt!"

Crash!

"Teresa, get out of the car," her father's stern voice came from right behind her. Startled, she fell backward onto the pavement as her father climbed into the van screaming, "Matt!" In the next second, her mother had pulled her to her feet and was dragging her down the road away from the van. Screeching tires and a blowing horn only added to the confusion.

Teresa watched in horror as a semi-truck came skidding into the Coleman's mini-van, and her father and brother were just climbing out! She heard her mother scream hysterically as her father fell out of the van and it rolled over him followed by the semi. Teresa nearly fainted as she realized that her brother was still inside the, now nearly demolished, mini-van! "Matt! Oh my god, no!" she began screaming hysterically as though someone were killing her as she watched the semi plow their mini-van, with Matt still inside, into a dangled up heap in the ditch. "Matt! Matt, Dad, oh my god, Dad!" she saw her father's lifeless body lying in the road. "Dad," she whispered, "Matt..." her head hit the concrete.

Everything after that had been a blur... her father was pronounced dead at the scene and Matt was pulled from the demolished mini-van and taken into ICU at their city's children's hospital. He had broken both legs, one was a spiral fracture and the other had broken completely in two in two different places! He broke his left arm, broke his right wrist and lost his middle finger on his right hand. His face had been severally cut and he broke three ribs... But the worst part was that he had gotten brain damage. He hadn't lost much memory but he couldn't talk without pausing briefly between words. Also, he had to take short gasping breaths when talking as his lungs were damaged. He barely made it out of the van alive and the recovery process, such as it was, took nearly six months before it was clear that he was not going to live much longer. The family prepared to lose him and he had but one wish: to go to the beach along the Pacific Ocean.

One night he told Teresa, "Resa... ..I... ..know I'm... ..going..." Teresa choked up knowing what he was going to say next, "..to... ..die..." a tear fell silently from her eye as her younger brother continued. "But... ..I sure... ..do... ..wish I... ..could... ..see the... ..sun set... ..over the... ..Pacific..." he finished and breathed hard.

Teresa felt her heart brake in two, she knew they could never afford to travel across the country! Especially not after all the medical bills... "If you want to see the sun set over the Pacific," she began, becoming determined despite the circumstances as a glimmer of hope lighted in her eyes, "then you will!" she finished strongly emphasizing the word "will."

"Really?" Matt asked, hope gleaming in his eyes..

She thought for a minute, "Yes, Matt... you will," she smiled, "I promise!"

Matt instantly became excited, "Oh Resa... ..you are... .. the world's... ..best... ..sister!" he smiled up at her from his bed that he was lying in. He reached out for a hug and she returned it, "I... love you." He whispered in her ear making her unable to speak for the lump in her throat. She managed to say three words though, "And I you." As he fell asleep she heard her own voice saying "I promise" and only hoped she hadn't just made the first promise of her life that she couldn't keep.

Remember, reviews will be the only things that keep me posting, so press the shiny little purple button now! Go on... you know you want to.

Anna Christie AKA SecondStarToTheRight15