A few days have passed since Landon's funeral. Bradin paid his respects at the funeral whether Kali wanted him there or not. He would always catch himself staring at her wanting to go up and hold her as she sobbed. Once the service was over, she disappeared. It was now Saturday and Bradin knew Kali would be at work. He needed to talk to her about everything whether she wanted it or not.
He showed up at Kali's job site and looked through the window to find her stocking the clothing in her store. He took a deep breath and walked in. he walked up to her just as she finished putting out a rolling cart load of clothing. She turned and ran in to him.
"Hi," he said softly. She gave a weak smile and began to walk back to the stock room with the rolling cart. "Kali, stop," he said grabbing her arm.
She whipped around pulling her arm away. "Don't you fucking touch me," she said through her teeth.
Bradin was taken back by how he was talked to by her. She would never act like that towards anyone unless they hurt her deeply. He watched as she walked to the back and disappeared.
He walked outside the store and saw Kali holding something in her mouth trying to cover it with her hand. He walked up to her as he saw a flame light up what was in her mouth.
"What do you think you're doing!" he yelled grabbing the cigarette out of her mouth and throwing it on the ground.
"Why do you care?" she asked as she went to walk back into work.
"I'm not done with you," he said grabbing her arm.
"Well I'm through with you!" she shouted, "I'm done."
"Doing drugs will not help you," he said calmly.
"Then you don't know me," she said as a tear escaped her eye, "You don't know my past. You don't know how I handle things."
"Doing drugs?" he asked, "You're killing yourself!"
"So what?" she yelled, "It's better off that way!"
He grabbed her and pulled her close before smashing his lips against hers hard. Kali pushed him away and walked back into work. Maybe it is over, Bradin thought to himself.
Kali arrived at Gail's after her shift. She unlocked the door and walked in knowing Gail was sleeping. When she shut the door behind her and turned around, she found her step father sitting on the couch.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We need to talk," he said.
"About what?" she asked. "I have nothing to say to you."
"You love him," he said as she threw her purse by her shoes, "Why are you being a bitch on taking him back?"
"I'm not going to get hurt again! He hurt me too many times! I can't take anymore pain."
"I went through the same thing before I met your mother," he told her, "You're mother changed me for the good."
"Don't compare me to you," she said through her teeth, "We are nothing alike."
"No?" he asked. "You lost a father. I lost a child. We gained what we lost through this marriage."
"You're wasting your time, Jim!" she yelled tears down her face. She turned to walk into the bathroom when she ran in to someone. She looked up to find Bradin standing there. "What the hell is going on?"
"I saw the incident outside of your job site," Jim began, "You're scared of getting hurt. That is the only reason why you won't go back to him. You've gone through pain your entire life. You lost your father. You lost your younger sibling. You lost your younger step-brother. You moved here when your mother and I married. You were abused by an ex-boyfriend. You were treated in a way that you didn't deserve it."
Kali looked away not wanting to believe what she was hearing. She felt Bradin take her hand and hold it tightly.
"You lost Bradin," Jim finally said making her look up at him, "You two love each other more than anything."
Kali went to walk away when Bradin kept a hold of her hand making her stop.
"You both have a fear of two things. Kali: you have a fear of going through pain. Newsflash Kali: everyone is scared of pain. You cannot escape from it. Bradin: you are scared of surfing because of your accident."
Bradin looked over at Jim as he began talking about him.
"And for the both of you," he said, "you both have a fear of losing each other. I have never seen love as strong as it is between you, too. You have to overcome it."
Jim got up and handed Bradin the engagement he once gave Kali. "I am going to stand outside that door. Neither of you are leaving until you settle this."
Bradin and Kali were now alone in the apartment. They sat in silence not knowing what to say to the other.
Bradin spoke up. "You do drugs," he told her, "Why?"
"I don't do drugs," she said, "When I've lost something that meant everything to me, I smoke. There's a difference."
"It won't help you," he said, "I come from experience. It will put you in more pain, Kali. Please, stop it."
"How else am I supposed to handle this shit?" she said trying not to yell as she sat on the couch, "I can't handle pain any other way."
Bradin sat beside her and took her hands into his making her look up at him. "Talk it over with someone and move on, no matter how long it will take. Look at me. I got into that accident last year and it took me this long to overcome my fear of surfing. Why? I was too blind to see how much I loved it. When I lost you, I quit. Surfing reminds me of you. You've been there for me every step of the way. I can't go on without you."
Kali sat in silence listening to Bradin. Bradin placed a hand on her cheek and turned her heads towards him.
"I cannot remember a time this past year where you ever ditched me when I needed you. You have changed my life. You went through pain and did not show how much it was bothering you, well, you tried. I don't see why this is so different."
"Think back," she said, "How many times were you there for me before Landon left?" Bradin's mind wandered back and he realized that he was never there for Kali when she needed him. Everything was always about him. "I thought so," she said.
"Let's continue to be together and I'll improve. We don't have to become engaged right away. I can wait for that."
"You also cheated on me," she said.
"I was drunk," he said, "I don't know what I was doing."
"You knew you were going to a party as a "promotion" for surfing. Did you not?" she asked making him nod. "That drew the line, Bradin," she said, "You cheated on me with the girl who tried to tear us apart once before. It's over."
"But I love you," he told her, "I love you more than anything in this world. If I had to choose between surfing and you, I would go with you. That's why I gave it up so I could try to work this out with you."
"It's over!" she shouted.
Bradin lowered his head and bit his lower lip to stop it from quivering. "Can you do me a favor?" he asked.
"What?"
"Can you tell me what you feel after I do this?" he asked.
Kali watched him lean in and kiss her. Her hands stay behind her back as she made a fist as if she were tying not to feel anything, which she was failing at. When Bradin pulled away, he opened his eyes and found Kali crying. He smiled knowing that she did feel something. He leaned back in and kissed her deeply.
"I can't," she said pulling away.
"You can't," he began, "But, you want to."
She knew he was right. She looked up at him when she felt his hand touch her cheek. "Ah hell with it," she said. She leaned up and smashed her lips against his knowing that she was feeling something strong. Bradin wrapped his arms around her tightly as he kissed her back. Kali felt something wet drop on her face. She pulled away and found Bradin crying.
"I finally have you," he said, "My feelings for you are true. I...I can't…I, Kali I hate it when you make me speechless."
"I am good at it. Aren't I?" she asked.
"Indeed you are," he said before kissing her softly. "Are you moving again?"
"If I am offered I will," she said.
"Kali Cummings," Bradin began, "The love of my life, will you move in with me…again?"
She laughed and nodded. Bradin pulled her close to him and held on to her tightly never letting her get away again.
The young couple overcame their fears. They learned that you can't keep running from something you want no matter how hard you try. You can't escape situations in your life. You have to learn to deal with them whether the situations are good and bad. Just remember that you can't be running scared forever.
The End