Kiara stayed close to Heath as they entered a nice looking Diner, looking around and smiling a little when the smell of pancakes hit her nose. With Heath's arm still wrapped around her shoulders protectively, they approached the counter and were greeted by a brunette haired woman.
"What can I get you Heath?"
"Just a coffee for me please Leah," Heath said looking down at Kiara, "What do you want kiddo?"
"Can I just have some pancakes, and a glass of orange juice please?"
"Sure thing, why don't you both sit down and I'll bring it over."
Finding a table, they sat down and Kiara looked around, finally settling on staring at her hands. It was strange having more to look at than four walls, and the hospital garden, which wasn't really anything special.
Leah soon brought over their order, and Kiara sat staring at the plate for a few seconds, before hesitantly picking up her fork. She finished eating, and they headed down to the beach, sitting on the sand looking out over the water.
"We'll have to get you back out on the waves," Heath suggested motioning towards the sea with his head.
"I've missed the water," Kiara mumbled glancing over at Heath who was watching her.
"Of course you did, you're a Braxton… the ocean is in our blood," Heath added getting up, "We better go see if Brax is ready to take you to get your stuff."
Kiara stood up, looking out at the sea for a few seconds longer, before heading back up the beach and to Angelo's. Brax was just finishing up behind the bar when they arrived, looking up as the door closed behind them and he grabbed his keys.
"You ready to go?" Brax asked looking at Kiara who nodded in response, "Kyle."
"Yeah," Kyle replied emerging from the kitchen.
"I'm taking Kiara to get her stuff, so I'm leaving you to open up and I'll be back as soon as I'm finished," Brax told him throwing a different set of keys at Kyle, who caught them and nodded.
Following Brax and Heath out of the restaurant, Kiara climbed into Brax's Ute, watching Brax speak to Heath before getting in the drivers seat. The drive to Mangrove River was quiet, and before Kiara knew it they were pulling up outside their mums house.
They both got out, and Brax waited until Kiara was beside him, before making his way inside. As usual Cheryl was drinking, and so Kiara went straight to her bedroom, grabbing a few things that her mum hadn't packed.
Returning to where Brax was waiting, Kiara threw her backpack over her shoulders, and then went to the cupboard where she kept her meds.
"I don't know why you bother taking them," Cheryl mumbled as Kiara put the medication into one of the duffel bags by the front door, "They don't help."
"Ever think that maybe you're not helping," Brax replied glaring at Cheryl, "You've always been the same, more interested in the drink and drugs, rather than your kids."
"You're hardly a saint Darryl," Cheryl snapped her words slurred slightly.
"At least I was there," Brax shouted causing Kiara to flinch a little, "Have you got everything Kiara?"
"Yeah," Kiara whispered watching as Brax picked up the duffel bags and walked out with Kiara close behind him.
As they drove back, Kiara kept glancing over at Brax, and finally spoke as he pulled the truck up in front of a house.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused."
"You didn't cause any of this Kiara," Brax replied turning to look at her, "The truth is, I should have stepped in and moved you in with us as soon as we found out that you weren't happy."
"I should have told you, instead of…" Kiara mumbled cutting off mid sentence.
"Listen to me, forget about all that," Brax said, "All I care about right now is getting you back on track with your life."
"Do you really think I can do it?"
"You can do it, and when you find it hard or you don't know what to do, you have four awesome brothers there to help you out."
Kiara smiled, retrieving her backpack from by her feet, and climbing out the car as Heath came out to help with the bags. As soon as she walked through the front door, she was pulled into a tight hug and smiled, knowing that it was Casey.
"I'm glad you're home," Casey stated as he let her go.
"It's good to be home."
"I need to get back to the restaurant, so I'm going to leave you with Dumb and Dumber here, and I'll see you later," Brax added.
Kiara nodded, as Brax hugged her and kissed her head, before making his way back out the front door. Heath showed her to her room, which she would be sharing with Kyle for the time being, and left her alone to sort out her things.
Changing into her pyjamas, Kiara left her stuff as it was, and went out into the living room to join Heath on the sofa. Curling into his side, she made herself comfortable, and watched the television in silence. Heath placed his arm around her, and it wasn't long before she had let herself drift off to sleep.
It was dark when she woke up, the sound of the front door closing pulling her from her restless sleep, and sending panic through her.
"It's just me," Brax whispered placing his hand on Kiara's shoulder to reassure her.
"Why are you home so late?" Kiara asked rubbing her eyes and watching as Brax limped into the kitchen.
Following him, Kiara was shocked to see that he had been beaten up, and couldn't hold back the small gasp when he turned towards her. Making her way over to him, Kiara took the first aid kit from his hands, and motioned for him to sit down.
"I'm okay," Brax said when Kiara glanced up at him for the third time.
"I know," Kiara replied with a small smile, "It's just been a while since I've seen you beat up like this."
They both fell silent as Kiara cleaned him up, clearing up once she had finished and making Brax a cup of coffee, which he took with a muttered thank you.
Author's Notes
I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read this and who have left reviews... Kiara's character is a new experience for me because I've never written anything where the main Character is as broken as her, but I'm hoping to do her proud and keep the Braxton's as in character as possible... They're going to struggle but we'll have to see where the story leads them :)