The water was calm. Bradin sat on the beach looking out at the water with his surfboard at his side. He knew the waves weren't going to happen today. Ever since the gunshot went off, he's been different. He ignored everyone that has tried to call him as well as trying to talk to him. He lied back in the sand.

He felt a small body jump onto his stomach. He jumped. He smiled when he saw a smiling three year old on his stomach with a huge smile on his face.

"He missed you," he heard. He looked behind him to find Kaitlin's parents standing there. "How are you doing?" her mother asked.

"I could be better," he said. "How are all of you?"

"We're hanging in there," her father said. "Are you upset about Kaitlin?"

"Of course I am," Bradin said, "Since she left to that special doctor in San Diego, I haven't been myself. Why did she have to go all the way there?"

"The doctor can help her with what happened between her and Tanner," her father told the boy, "Kaitlin usually feels better when she talks about her problems. She should be back in a few days."

"I can't wait a few days," the boy said, "I need to see her now. I haven't seen her in two weeks."

"I thought you weren't supposed to see her?" her mother asked.

"I'm not," Bradin said looking out at the water, "I don't care what my aunt says. I love your daughter and I won't kick her out of my life because my aunt thinks she's a bad influence. Kaitlin didn't put me in the situation that day. I put myself there."

"What actually happened the day of the shooting?" Kaitlin's mother asked.

"Kaitlin, two cops and I went to go find Ethan. I found out that Social Services didn't take Ethan away and it was someone scamming you guys. Kaitlin rode a jet ski to a beach and the cops told me to follow her when I wasn't supposed to. I found Ethan and went in the direction that he ran from. I saw Tanner and his brother fighting and Kaitlin lying in the sand motionless.

"I began to fight Tanner when Ethan said a guy was pointing a gun to his head. One of Tanner's friends had a gun. I told him to shoot me. Then, the gun was held at me. I heard the gun go off and thought that was it. I was dead. But, I looked and saw a cop pointing a gun away from me and Tanner and his friend. He shot Tanner's friend and arrested Tanner as well as his friend."

"You don't care that she has Ethan?"

"Not one bit. Ethan is an amazing kid. You helped Kaitlin raise him well."

Bradin got up and walked away without saying a word.

Bradin's house

Bradin sat in his living room on his couch with his face covered.

"How are you doing?" Jay asked sitting next to him.

"Not so good," Bradin said, "Life is so complicated. My aunt won't let me be with the girl that I can truly be myself around."

"Don't listen to your aunt," Jay told him, "If you listen to her, then you won't be happy at all in your life. Do what your heart wants, Brae. You want this girl. Get her before it's too late."

"I can't believe I'm letting my aunt control my life right now. I disobeyed her when I was with Sarah. I disobeyed her when I did crazy things other than sex with Sarah. Why am I letting myself start now?"

"Good question. I was wondering the same thing," Jay said before leaving him alone.

NIGHT

Bradin sat in his room surfing the internet. Everything he looked up was about Valentine's Day. He was sick. All he could do was think of the special day coming up and he wouldn't spend it with anyone.

"Bradin," his aunt said opening the door to his room, "this came in the mail for you."

She handed him an envelope. He took it and read what the outside said. It had his name and address on it. He opened it and took out what was inside. He smiled once he saw that it was a Valentine's Day card. He opened it up and a folded piece of paper fell out. The card said Happy Valentine's day. He opened the paper up and read what was written.

"Hey Bradin. How have you been since… you know? I could be better over here. The doctor has helped me so much. He says that if I stay and talk about it for a few more days, I'll be able to come home. Yes I'm excited because there's something that I wanted to talk to you about. One of the cops told me what you said before you left. He told me what you said, which I believe was 'I'm doing this because I love you.' Is that right? My parents told me that whenever they see you, you look really sad. I thought that this card could cheer you up a bit. Those are some things I wanted to talk to you about in person. I have to go and talk to the doctor now. Hopefully I can talk to you soon. Bye! Kaitlin"

Bradin smiled as he finished the letter. He sat back in his chair and looked at the card. There was a heart with a kissy face on it. He knew that Kaitlin missed him just like he missed her. He looked at a picture of her that her parents gave her. He ran his finger over the picture on her cheek then over her smile. Ethan was in the picture with her. You could tell that he was her son.

Bradin sat on the beach with his younger sister and brother. They sat there talking about their parents and how much they missed them. Every other week, they would come and sit on the beach to talk about missing their parents. It helped them out a lot. After an hour or so, Nikki and Derrick decided to head in and get ready for bed while Bradin stayed outside to think. He soon began to cry.

"Do you need a shoulder to cry on?" he heard a familiar female voice ask. He turned to his side to find Callie standing there.

"No," he said standing up, "I'm fine."

"Bradin," Callie said as he began to walk away, "Everyone is worried about you."

"I don't care," he said, "I need someone in my life that will actually listen to me since Kaitlin can't anymore."

"Why are you always thinking bout Kaitlin?" she asked him.

"She made me who I am right now. Before I met her, I drank, smoked pot and weed, and basically did drugs as I partied. When I met her, I became… the total opposite."

"Do you like that you changed?"

He sighed not knowing the answer to the question. "I think I do," he said.

DAYS LATER

Bradin still felt upset and alone, just like he did when his parents died. He began to act the same way to. He drank and smoke when no one older was around. One afternoon, he sat on the beach drinking some beer not caring about anything anymore. He decided that he should go to the music store and get a CD since he hasn't gone in weeks.

Walking to the store brought back memories, the memories he had with Kaitlin mostly. He walked in and looked around.

"Bradin!" Lucas yelled, "What's up my man?"

"Nothing," Bradin said. He went to look for music that was similar to how he felt. He didn't know what he was looking for.

"Try this," Lucas said handing him a CD by Maroon 5, "It's awesome."

"Hell no. I hate that band," Bradin said.

"What about Britney's CD?"

"Not into that anymore," he said.

"50 Cent? G-Unit?"

"No," Bradin said with a sigh.

"What is wrong? You like those people," Lucas said.

"He needs this," someone said. Both guys turned to find Kaitlin holding up a CD from a band called …And Many more. "The same band that I gave to him weeks ago," she said.

Bradin ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming back for another month," he said pulling away.

"I progressed a lot," she said, "The doctor wants to see how I'll do spending a few days here taking care of Ethan and seeing how you're doing."

"I became a whole lot better," he said kissing her.

"Take it out of here." Lucas said pushing the two towards the door.

Kaitlin and Bradin sat on the beach in silence.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked running his hand over her cheek.

"I don't know what to say."

"Are you happy to be back?" he asked.

"Kind of," she said, "I'm happy that I came back because of the people." She looked at him. "I heard you weren't supposed to see me anymore," she said.

"I'm not supposed to."

"Then why are you?"

He kissed her. "I'm not going to let my aunt control my life. I want to help you take care of Ethan and also spend time with you. If you're happy, then so am I. I'm all about you and no one else."


A/N: hey guys. this was the last chapter. hope you enjoyed it. i know i haven't update I'M RIGHT yet but im having major writer's block for that story. i've been thinking about ideas but they're for the end. i can't think of anything to happen before then. anyways, i deleted BEST FRIENDS...BUT that's only because i'm trying to get a Sarah story up where she's actually a good person. it might take a whilefor me to post because i want it to be good. if anyone has any ideas for either, let me know. they'll be appreciated. thanks to all who have reviewed. you're all amazing!