Beca's POV

The next day, Chloe and I had to the ballpark. We sit up in the bleacher, hoping that my dad won't see us. I spot him sitting on the bottom seats with the blond haired woman. I assume that she's Sheila. I scan the baseball player for my brother and find him looking out at the crowd. He turns his attention to the game that just started. I study him as he plays, doing much better than all the other kids. He's a team player though and actually helped another team player up when they fell. That caused the other team to get a score.

The game ends, my brother's team losing and he walks toward his parents. He looks up and meets my gaze. Tripping, he almost face plants but our dad catches him. Sheila says something to him and he just points up at me. Sheila looks at where he's pointing and her eyes widen. Finally, my father turns and meets my eyes. He frowns and looks down at my brother and then back up at me. His eyes widen in recognition and he starts up the steps. I grab Chloe's arm and lead her off the bleachers and to the parking lot.

We're almost to the car when someone calls out my name.

"Beca, wait," my dad shouts. I stop and Chloe puts her hand on my arm, comforting me.

"You should listen to what he has to say,"Chloe suggests and I nod, smiling at her. "I'll be with you the whole time." I turn to my dad right as he reaches me. Sheila and my brother are right behind him.

"I didn't realize that it was you,"my dad tells me. "The scar kind of threw me off and it's been so long." I touch the scar on my cheek and Chloe gently grabs my hand and pulls it down.

"It's okay. It has been a while, hasn't it?"I turn my attention to my brother. "What's your name?"

"Branden, who are you?" I smile at the 13 year old.

"I'm Beca. I'm your sister." His eyes widen and he grabs his mom's hand. I turn my attention to her.

"It's nice to finally meet you,"I tell her and we shake hands.

"Branden and you look so much alike,"Sheila states and I smile.

"How about we all go out to lunch. On me,"my dad announces and we agree on a restaurant that's close. Chloe and I get into our car and head to the restaurant.

"How are you doing?" Chloe asks and I take a hand off the steering wheel and place it on her thigh.

"Good. I have you,"I tell her and she smiles but it quickly fades.

"What if they ask about us?"

"Then I'll tell them that I'm hopelessly in love with you and that they can take their opinions and shove them up their ass." Chloe giggles. "Seriously though, if they have a problem with it, then we're leaving."

"Okay,"she says, grinning. We pull into the parking lot and park, heading inside the restaurant. Chloe and I sit across my dad, Sheila, and Branden. I smile at Branden, who hasn't stopped staring at me since we sat down. We order our food and sit in awkward silence until my dad speaks.

"I'm so sorry that I left. Your mother figured out that I was with Sheila and freaked out. Your mom had been cheating on me and we had just grown so distant. When sheila had Branded, I went back and forth between the houses, trying to be there for you. That worked for a while until she found out about Branden. She was threatening to kill him and I had to leave. She wouldn't let me take you though and I had to make a decision. I'm so sorry, Beca. I never meant to hurt you." I take a deep breath before answering.

"I forgive you. I understand how hard it is to live 2 separate lives. Let's put that into the past and move on." My dad smiles and grabs my hand.

"So, how have you been?"

"Pretty good,"I tell him and he nods.

"How's your mother?" I suck in a breath and Chloe squeezes my hand.

"Uh, mom is..she passed away,"I say. No matter how bad she treated me, she was still my mother.

"I'm so sorry,"Sheila says and I just shake my head.

"She wasn't the….best person,"I tell them and my dad raises his eyebrows in confusion. "After you left, she changed. A lot. She-"I stop and look at Branden, not sure how to proceed.

"It's okay,"Sheila tells me and I continue.

"She started drinking and couldn't keep a job. Then, she turned to hitting me." Sheila and my dad gasp. "When I moved out after an incident, she tried robbing a store and got killed. It's been over a year now though and my mom left me a letter. I forgave her and moved on with my life." My dad nods. I rub Chloe's palm with my thumb, bringing attention to our linked hands. I tense up, prepared for anything.

"How did you two meet?"My dad asks. I don't relax all the way, though, because this could go bad any minute and tell him.

"She moved across from me junior year. I went over for dinner and since then, we've been inseparable." Chloe and I smile at each other.

"There has to be more than that?"My dad begs and I laugh. Chloe takes over.

"We were friends for a while until we started dating. My dad didn't really agree with our relationship at first, but now, after...the incident, he's okay with it." Chloe looks at me sadly and traces the scar on my cheek. I put my hand on hers and we're ripped out of the moment when Branden speaks.

"What incident?" I look at him and try to think of a way to say this without traumatizing him.

"Chloe's brother had some problems and he did some very bad things to me." Branden's eyes widen and what he says next surprises me.

"Did he rape you?" Chloe and I look at Sheila and my dad but they just look at me. It's like it's common for their 13 year old son to talk about rape. They notice our confusion and smile at me.

"A few months ago, my older daughter's boyfriend tried raping her while she was babysitting Branden. Branden saw him and called the cops. They came and stopped him before he was able already knew what it was but since then, he's been all about helping people."

"Is she okay?"Chloe asks and Sheila nods.

"She was a little traumatized but after some therapy, she got back on track with her life and went back to college. She's only 2 years older than you two."

"So were you?"Branden asks again and I shake my head. My dad lets out a loud sigh of what sounded like relief.

"Jesse kidnapped me and hurt me. That's how I got this scar on my face." Branden leans across the table and touches my scar. He quickly sits down and Sheila strokes his hair. We sit and talk for several more hours before making plans to meet up again. After exchanging numbers, Chloe and I leave and head home.

"I like them,"Chloe states and I chuckle. I stare out the window as Chloe drives and imagine a future with my dad in it. After doing that for several minutes, I look at Chloe and then her left hand. Funny, every scenario of the future with my dad included her. She also had a ring on her finger. I look back out the window and tap my chin. Now, how do I make that happen?