Kaitlin sat in the tree house thinking about things that went on in her house after Bradin dropped her off. It went on for almost two hours before she had the chance to run out of her house away from everyone. Her entire body was soaked from the rain that was falling from the sky. The rain always fell when she argued with someone that she ended a friendship with or got into an argument about their relationship. She looked at a clock in the tree house and it read 4:00A.M.

MORNING

Bradin woke up the following morning and headed out to the kitchen where everyone else was.

"Morning, Brae," Nikki said hugging him followed by Derrick.

"Morning, guys," he said with a yawn.

"Are you better after a 12 hour surf?" Jay asked

"I'm better," he said.

As Bradin got his breakfast, the doorbell rang. Susannah got up from her seat and answered it. A cop stood there.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Have you seen your neighbor's daughter?" the cop asked her.

Bradin's head whipped towards the door. "Which one?" he asked.

"The older one," the cop said, "Her name is Kaitlin."

"I saw her last night. I dropped her off at her house around seven thirty," Bradin said.

"She ran out of her house last night after getting into a fight with her family. Her aunt and uncle came to talk to her about some things and it almost turned violent."

"What do you mean it almost turned violent?" Bradin asked, "Did she get hurt?"

"She got hit, yes," the cop said, "She also got pushed into a table and hurt her back. Do any of you know where she could be?"

"Yeah," Bradin said, "but, I'll get her. I promise you that I'll bring her back."

Bradin ran to his room and grabbed a shirt and hoodie before heading to the tree house. He knew that she would be there. He climbed up the ladder and found her lying down holding herself. He ran up to her.

"Kaitlin," he said turning her so that he could see her face. He ran his hands over her face and felt coldness. Her clothes were damp and hair messed up. "Oh god," he said picking her up and holding her.

"Ow," he heard. He moved her away from him and saw her waking up.

"Kaitlin," he said, "are you okay?"

"My back is killing me and I'm cold," she said with a few shivers in her voice. He took his hoodie off and gave it to her. He helped her put it on due to her shaking. After she put it on, he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "How did you know that I was here?" she asked.

"The cops came to my house and said that you ran off last night after getting into a fight with your family," he told her, "The cop said that you got hit and thrown into a table. Is that true?"

"Unfortunately," she said.

"Let's go get you checked on," he said, "I want to make sure that you'll be okay."

They climbed down the tree house and headed back to Kaitlin's house. Everyone there ran up to Kaitlin and tried to hug her. She backed off from them. She knew that if they hugged her, pain would shoot through her entire back.

"Are you okay?" her parents asked.

"My back hurts," she said, "That's all. I'll be fine."

"Please get checked," Bradin said.

A paramedic walked up to Kaitlin and led her to the stairs. Bradin watched as she got checked. She would make a face whenever the paramedic touched her back. He wanted to kill who did this to her.

"What happened last night?" Bradin asked, "Why did she get hit?"

"Her uncle was her racing coach," her mother began, "He was mad that she quit."

"That's bullshit," Bradin said, "That's no reason to hit her. She's raced for years and grew out of it."

"Her uncle had problems," her mother said, "He forced her to race for world. He always put her in a race that she didn't want to do. He called up the people that were running the association for racing and got the world cup races moved up because he needed her to race for the money he would earn if she did."

"I hope you guys are pressing charges on him for hitting her," Bradin said.

"We are," her father said.

"I can't believe this," Bradin said, "She got hit for something that she wanted to do."

"Bradin, stay calm," Lauren said.

"Why are you all so calm?" he yelled, "Your daughter got hit and are not even letting off your anger!"

"We took it out last night," Lauren said, "We're still mad now but not letting it out. She doesn't need this."

Bradin looked at Kaitlin. She was looking at him. The paramedic got up and walked away.

"She'll be fine," she said before leaving.

Bradin walked up to Kaitlin and sat beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Why didn't you come to me when this happened?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to worry. You needed time to yourself and I didn't want to disturb you."

"I wouldn't have cared."

"But, I would have," she said pointing to herself, "I'm always running to you when something happens in my life. I know that it bothers you inside."

"It doesn't bother me. If it did, I wouldn't help you all those times that you ran to me. I love you, baby. I'll stop anything I'm doing if you need me."

"You were supposed to be hanging out with your brother and sister today," she said, "You even told me that you needed this day."

"What I said is that it's a good idea and I will do it. I didn't say I was going to do it today. I didn't even talk to them about it yet. Neither of them were home when I got home after walking you home. Why are you always acting like this?"

"Because I'm confused!" she yelled, "I've always been confused about us!"

"What are you confused about?" he asked, "We can talk it out just like we did the day after my aunt's wedding."

She sighed and placed her hands on the back of her neck.

"Baby, talk to me," he said.

She looked at him and at her hands. Bradin looked at her and saw her move for the engagement ring. "No," he said as she took it off and handed it to him, "No."

"Bradin, please," she said taking his hand. He pulled it away and stood up.

"You can't do this," he said.

She stood up. "I can't marry you."

"Why?" he asked. As he stared at her, tears welled up in his eyes.

"I have made so many wrong choices in life," she said.

"This is a good decision," he said, "Marrying me is a good thing. Being with me is a good thing. Do what your heart wants, Kait."

"I don't know what my heart wants!" she screamed.

"Yes you do," he said placing his hands on her cheeks, "You did what your heart wanted weeks ago. You said yes to me, Katie Baby. You quit racing to see me."

"I quit racing because I needed time with my family," she said, "I didn't think that I would actually come back and be with you the way I am now."

"Katie Baby, please," he begged, "Don't do this."

"I need to," she said, "I need time to think."

"Please," he begged, "Don't do this. Keep the ring until you've come to a decision." She shook her head. "Then don't expect to come back to me," he said before storming out the door. Kaitlin pounded her hand on the wall and walked to her backyard.