Many days had passed since the last time Bradin had seen or talked to Belle. He'd gone to her house to try and talk to her but she was never there. He'd gone to Mona's Sandbar in hopes he'd catch her at work, but Johnny said that she hadn't come in for a few days. Calling her was no use because Belle was obviously screening his calls. They had ended on such a bad note and Bradin wanted nothing more than just to talk to Belle once again. He didn't know where they stood now; they hadn't officially broken up, but they weren't talking to one another.

Things were different now and Bradin didn't like it. He didn't like not talking to Belle, he didn't like not seeing her, and he really didn't like her avoiding him. He wanted to explain why he hadn't told her about Erika, but as much as Bradin wanted to he couldn't figure out exactly why he couldn't come up with an answer.

One thing that had been bothering Bradin the most was how Belle was so convinced that he was still in love with Erika. There was no way possible that he could be. He loved Belle, and Bradin couldn't understand why she couldn't see that… or how she had found out about his relationship with Erika.

Bradin made his way down the pier, unsure of where exactly he was going. He had another competition coming up but he hadn't been practicing much. His mind was on other things… complicated things. Things that surfing couldn't clear from his head. Besides, there wasn't any point in practicing if he wasn't going to put 100 into it.

"Westerly!!" Shouted a voice from behind Bradin. He turned around to see Bryce, who was probably one of the last people he wanted to see at that moment.

"Hey," Bradin said, greeting Bryce with a handshake, "How's it going?"

"Have you hit the waves today at all?" Bryce asked. "They are killer! I had probably the best ride of my life today!" Bryce paused and added with a laugh, "At least surfing-wise."

Bradin, who wasn't in the mood for Bryce's cocky comments and jokes, forced a smile. "No, I haven't been out on the waves at all. Haven't been out all week, actually."

"Seriously?" Bryce asked disbelievingly, "What's up, Bradin?"

Bryce was the last person Bradin wanted to talk about Belle with. Bryce wasn't the type of person to stay in a long-term relationship, to commit, or even to see females as anything but sex objects. There was a point in Bradin's life when he wanted nothing but to be like Bryce, to live the lifestyle Bryce lived, to have girls all over him the way Bryce had, but ever since he met Belle his way of thinking had changed. In fact, many things had changed since he had met Belle.

Bradin shook his head. "It's nothing, man," he replied, "just having an off week."

Bryce looked at Bradin oddly. "An off week?" he asked, "In all the time I've known you, Westerly, you have never had an off week. Seriously, what's up?"

"Seriously, it's nothing."

"Is it that hot girlfriend of yours?" Bryce joked, "is she not giving you what you want?"

Resisting the urge to punch Bryce in the face, Bradin clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"I need to get to the shop," Bradin said quickly, "I told Jay I'd be there an hour ago."

"Just tell your girlfriend that every man has needs," Bryce said loudly as Bradin walked away, "and there are things women should do for a man."

Bradin continued walking, ignoring Bryce's advice. He really had no idea where he was going, he was simply walking. Walking in hopes of figuring out a way to get Belle back in his life. Hoping that he might just run into her somewhere… anywhere at all. It had been so long since he had talked to her, and he missed her so much. He missed the feel of her hand in his, the way her hair smelled, the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, her laugh, the way she would nuzzle her head into his shoulder when he held her.

He sighed heavily. What he wouldn't give to have everything be okay again. Back before Erika returned to Playa Linda and made everything more difficult than it had to be.

Bradin walked by the Tiki Squeeze. He peered in to see Cameron behind the counter, making a smoothie for Nikki, who looked at him with pure admiration in her eyes. Nikki and Cameron had been together for some time and though Bradin thought they were a little young to be so serious, he couldn't think of anyone better for his little sister. Nikki had been so against moving to Playa Linda when they first left Kansas, but after meeting Cameron she became so much more comfortable. He had never seen his sister so happy… except before the accident happened.

"Howdy stranger," said a familiar female voice from behind him. Bradin turned around to find Erika. "Spying on your little sister?"

"No," Bradin replied, taking a step away from Erika.

"Liar." Erika smirked.

"I'm not lying."

Erika smiled at Bradin. He remembered that smile. It was the smile that made him fall in love with Erika... One of the first things he noticed about Erika was her smile. That seemed so long ago.

"What are you doing out here?" Erika asked as she pulled her long brown hair into a low ponytail, "I thought you'd be with Belle in Chicago."

Bradin was taken aback. "Belle's in Chicago?" he asked.

Erika nodded. "She left last week."

"She left last week?!" Bradin asked in disbelief.

"You haven't talked to her." Erika stared blankly at him. "How have you not talked to her?"

Clearly, Belle had not told Erika the current status of their relationship.

"You two didn't break up, did you?" Erika asked, though the expression on Bradin's face pretty much answered her question. She inhaled deeply. "That explains a lot."

"What do you mean?"

Erika explained Belle's strange behavior before she left for Chicago; the way Belle seemed to ignore Erika when she tried to talk to her, how Belle kept herself in her room for hours upon end not wanting anyone to talk to her, then suddenly she decided to visit an old friend in Chicago.

"I thought maybe you two got into a fight," Erika said, "but I didn't think you had broken up."

Bradin's heart dropped with every word Erika spoke. Belle had left Playa Linda without letting him know, without saying good-bye… it hurt to know he was the cause of that.

"Did Belle mention when she was gonna come back?" Bradin asked frantically.

Erika shook her head. "She barely told me she was leaving. Belle had her things packed and ready. Luckily I happened to be coming back from work right as she was leaving, otherwise I would have never known she left." Erika looked up at Bradin. "You two didn't break up, did you?"

Bradin sighed as he nodded his head. Looking up at Erika, he asked, "You didn't say anything to her about us dating, did you?"

Confused, Erika shook her head once again. "You asked me not to."

Irritated, Bradin ran his hand through his hair. "Damn it. Then who did?"

"What are you talking about, Bradin?"

Bradin explained the last conversation he had with Belle to Erika and how she wouldn't say who told her about their relationship.

"She said that it didn't matter," Bradin said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and leaning against the window of the Tiki Squeeze, "who told her about us."

"Belle was upset about us?" Erika asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Why would she be upset about that?"

"Remember when I asked you not to tell her about us?"

Erika nodded.

Bradin sighed heavily. "I never told her about us."

The expression on Erika's face showed a mixture between hurt and confusion. His confession basically made Erika feel as though he was ashamed to admit that he had ever dated her.

Clearing her throat while trying to hide her feelings, she asked "Why not?"

"I don't know," Bradin replied, still staring at the ground, "I just didn't want to. It would've given Belle another reason not to be with me." He sighed again. "Not that it matters anymore."

"I still don't understand, Bradin," Erika said, "why didn't you tell her about us?"

"You know how she is, Erika! Belle's always thinking about others and never about herself. I just didn't want her to feel like she couldn't be with me because you and I had…" His voice trailed off. "I just really wanted to be with her. To give her the chance to be happy with me."

"And her finding out about us makes her not want to be with you… why?"

"I don't even know," Bradin looked up at Erika, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pile all this on you."

Erika shook her head. "Don't worry about it. We're friends, that's what I'm here for."

Bradin smiled, but his smile quickly disappeared. He kept thinking about what Belle said to him about him still having feelings for Erika. Standing next to her and talking didn't quite help the situation, even if they were just friends.

He looked at Erika, who was looking back at him intently, still not quite understanding what was going on between him and Belle but knew better than to ask any more questions. This was exactly what he missed most about Erika; the way he was able to talk to her about anything at all and not have her judge him. Before they even started dating they had been insanely close, and that was pretty much what led to the beginning of their relationship. Erika always knew what to say and how to make him feel better, and Bradin had never quite found another person who could do that. And that was what made everything so much harder: he couldn't decide whether he wanted things the way they were before Erika had come back or before she ever left.

"Isn't that your brother with Erika?" Cameron asked Nikki and pointed to the window in front of the Tiki Squeeze. Nikki turned around to find Bradin and Erika standing there, looking at one another, not quite sure why he was with her since he had been so upset after he and Belle broke up.

"Yeah," Nikki confirmed, not happy at all with what she was seeing. She saw the look in both Bradin and Erika's eyes, a look she hadn't seen in a long time, and that made her worried.

"I didn't know they were talking," Cameron said as he began to wipe down tables.

"I didn't, either," Nikki said, more to herself than anyone else.

"But I suppose it makes sense since Erika's staying with Belle,"

Anything Cameron said after that, Nikki didn't hear. She watched as her brother gave Erika a smile, as Erika touched his shoulder, their body language a little too comfortable for her likings. Nikki felt her blood boil; Bradin was supposed to be with Belle, everyone knew it. She didn't care that they weren't together as of that exact moment, but Belle had changed Bradin for the better. Bradin had been so much happier, so much nicer to everyone since he and Belle had been together; when they broke up Bradin had been so depressed Nikki hardly saw him at all. To see him laughing with his ex-girlfriend made her angry, though she tried to calm herself down. She didn't know exactly what was going on with Bradin and Erika and didn't want to jump to conclusions, especially since that was what she was known for in the past when it came to relationships. It had almost cost her her friendship with Cameron.

"Nikki?" Cameron said, looking at her. Nikki turned and faced him.

"What?" She replied sweetly.

"Why are you staring at Bradin and Erika?"

Nikki felt her face turn red. "No reason," she said softly. She gave one last glance at her brother and his ex-girlfriend, both still smiling at one another before they parted ways.

Author's Note: Hey everyone! It's been a LONG while, but I am determined to finish this story before I work on anything else. Believe me, I've had ideas swimming in my head for the past year and I will NOT work on them until I finish this story!!
Thanks to everyone who has left me reviews and notes about updating. I've been working on this chapter for a while and I just couldn't get it right, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
No clue when the next chapter will get out, but I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now, so maybe it'll be soon? I don't know. I am on summer break so I'll have more time, but we know how many times I've said that before, haha.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!! Thanks again for sticking with me while I try and get this done!
3 Anjo Mac