Chapter 23

Sam told her dad and brother about going to talk to Bradin about everything that had happened in the past few days. Matt at first wasn't too happy to hear that, but he soon eased up about it, knowing that Sam knew what she was doing. Maka was also hesitant about the whole thing, but tried to think positively about. He knew Sam would end up doing what was right.

"Nikki, Cam called, he asked about your English paper." Susannah said to Nikki as she came back down stairs. "He said to call him back about it, so you guys can talk about it, or something." She said, clearing the table with Ava.

Nikki frowned. "You go to the bathroom for two minutes, and you miss such an important call!" She over-exaggerated.

Ava smiled. "Of course Nikki! Any call from Cam is so important!" She said, making Susannah laugh.

"Jay, are you gonna help me with my poster? I don't think Bradin's up to it anymore." Derrick said to Jay.

Bradin hadn't been all there for the past few days. He ate dinner that night very quietly, barely saying anything to anyone else. After dinner he went quietly down to the beach by himself, wanting to be alone with his thoughts.

Jay nodded. "Yeah man, I think I'll be able to help you. We should just let Bradin have some time alone." Jay said, patting Derrick on the shoulder. As Nikki picked up the phone to call Cam, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Ava said, wiping her hands and going to the door. She opened it, and to her surprise it was Sam. "Hi Sam." She said awkwardly.

"Hi Ms. Gregory." Sam replied.

"Umm, why don't you come in." She stepped aside, letting Sam walk in. Sam walked into the living room to see everyone stare at her. "Hi." She said, trying to smile.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, Nikki even stopped mid-sentence with her conversation with Cam. No one was quite sure what to do, this had been the first time they'd seen Sam since Bradin talked to her on Wednesday.

"So, umm, are you doing okay?" Ava asked her politely.

Sam nodded. "I'm okay, I've been better." She replied, everyone knowing what she meant by that. "Is Bradin here?" Sam asked after a few moments went by.

Ava nodded. "Yeah, he went down to the beach."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Jay commented, smiling. Sam smiled back.

"We know it's been hard on you, Sam." Ava told her.

"But trust us, he has changed." Susannah added from the dinning table. "He really has."

Sam nodded, telling herself that they were absolutely right. Derrick then got up and rushed over to Sam.

"Are you and Bradin gonna start talking again?" He asked her. "Is everything gonna be okay again?"

Sam smiled. "I hope so." And with that, she walked out and down the stairs to find Bradin sitting on the bottom step, gazing out at the ocean.

Sam took a deep breath in as she approached him. "Hey Bradin." She said, stepping on the bottom step.

Startled, Bradin stood up. "Hi Sam." They stood there awkwardly, then they both started to say something, then stopped.

"Let me go first." Sam told him. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I shouldn't have just left you down there on Wednesday. It wasn't right of me to do that." She told him.

Bradin looked at his feet. "I don't blame you."

Sam looked around her, then continued. "Look, I've been doing a lot of thinking these past few days. At home, at school, at practice. That's all I've been doing, thinking about you.

Bradin looked up at her. "Me too."

She smiled. "And I realized that you must've really wanted me to know about your past. You really did want to be honest with me, and let me know about the things you've done. And I'm really glad you did." She paused, breathing slowly. "Not many guys would've told me that. They probably would've hoped that I just wouldn't have found out, but you wanted to tell me."

"I did. I thought you should know, I didn't want to keep anything from you." He told her, looking straight at her.

"And you didn't. You told me." She took a few steps out onto the sand. "My dad, and Matt, at first told me to break up with you," She said, Bradin frowned when he heard that. "But then they said to do whatever I felt was right. What I thought would be best, for the both of us." She turned to look at Bradin. "So, I finally figured out what I thought was right." Bradin took a step towards her, and she took several steps back towards him.

"Even though you might've slept with other girls, that you had an overdose of drugs," She paused, looking straight into his eyes. "I will still love you. I do still love you." She said. She felt as if the burden she'd been holding for days lifted from her chest. "This Bradin, this Bradin that I'm standing here with, this is who I love. You might have your past still with you, but that's your past. And I'm here, with you, in the present, and hopefully in your future." She took both his hands. "I wouldn't give up our relationship for anything in the world. You are my world, and I love you." She said, smiling.

Bradin looked into her eyes, smiling as well. "I love you too Sam. And I always will." He replied, squeezing both her hands. Sam then wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him so tightly, it felt as if she'd never let him. They stood there for several minutes, just being close to each other, not saying anything.

After some time, Sam and Bradin walked back up the stairs and into his living room. Everyone turned to see them walking in, hand in hand. Ava beamed with happiness.

"I'm gonna walk Sam home." Bradin told them as they passed through the living room.

Ava nodded, watching them head to the door.

"G'night everyone." Sam said quietly as they all waved goodbye to her.

Sam and Bradin walked together, holding each other's hand tightly. They barely spoke, just knowing that being with each other was enough. Sam was happy she had the courage to go and talk with Bradin. Everything was settled, and hopefully everything would end up the way that it was before. They reached Sam's house, and Bradin gently kissed Sam goodnight. As Sam walked in, her dad and brother looked to see if everything was alright. Sam was smiling, and nodded her head, meaning everything went fine. Maka smiled, now able to relax and not worry about Sam. Matt was also happy for Sam, she did what she felt was right, and whatever she felt was right, was okay for Matt.

Sam got ready for bed and tucked herself under the covers. She looked up at her bulletin board to see several random pictures she had of Bradin and herself. She smiled to herself, knowing that things were now settled. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.