Author's Note: I'm so sorry for taking so long to update. I've been bogged down with school and other areas of my life. This chapter is rather short, but the other two are long. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Summerland, nor do I own any related characters or places.

Longing to Know

Chapter 2

"Something wrong, Honey?" Ava Gregory asked, sitting down next to Bradin on the sofa.

"No."

"You don't sound too confident." She looked at him sadly. "Missing Callie?"

"Yeah."

Ava frowned slightly. "So, how's your new job?"

"Fine."

"Have any plans for tonight?" she tried again.

"There's a party I was thinking of going to."

"Oh, that sounds fun," she smiled.

Bradin shrugged and stood. "I'm gonna go surf for a while."

"Oh, ok. Have fun and be careful."

"Yeah, sure."

Stepping out to the patio, he grabbed his surfboard and a towel, and started off for the beach. The sand sifting through his flip-flops was warm on his feet as he walked down to the water. He set his T-shirt, towel, and flip-flops on a nearby rock and took to the water, sliding out into the cool, calming waves.

Wiping out of his tenth try, Bradin gave up; his soul wasn't in the waves. He plopped down on his towel and gazed across the sparkling ocean.

I wonder what Callie's doing, he thought absently. Why was it that he couldn't live his life now? Simon O'Keefe, his aunt's love interest, was out of town, but Aunt Ava wasn't depressed. In fact, she was the same as always, maybe a little stressed because of her clothing line doing something somewhere, but her normal cheerful self. Thinking back to his conversation with her earlier, his mind drifted to his job. Three days of working at Meyer Stables, and he was starting to make friends with Harley. She was quiet and withdrawn most of the time, seeming to find friendship only in the various animals that inhabited the area. But Bradin felt there was something hiding beneath her tough façade. There was a longing deep down inside of her—but a longing for what? He had no idea.

Bradin sighed. Life could be so confusing at times. Why had his parents died? Why had his parents chosen for Nikki, Derrick, and him to move to Playa Linda, California to live with Aunt Ava? Why had he ever met Sarah, and why had he done so many stupid things with her? Why had he never noticed Callie before that day at Ricochet?

"Penny for your thoughts."

Pulled back to reality, Bradin looked up to see his younger sister. "Oh, hey, Nikki, what's up?"

"Nothing. I was just on my way to meet Amber at the movies," she said. "Are you okay? You've been all sulky lately."

Bradin half-smiled at her. "Do you ever wonder why stuff happens?"

"What kind of stuff?" she asked. He made no response, and she quietly added, "Like Mom and Dad stuff?"

He hesitated. "Well…yeah, and just like stuff in general. I mean, like Cameron and Amber."

Nikki raised a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah, I wonder about stuff all the time. But don't you mean Callie and Sarah?"

"Forget it."

"Whatever will be, will be," she said, hugging him.

With that, she walked away down the beach. Bradin watched after her until she was out of sight before standing and grabbing his board. He ran for the water and slid in, feeling slightly better than he had earlier.

Pushing himself up, Bradin started his first successful ride of the day. The wave died, and he whooped at the sky and the lazy gulls flying overhead. He paddled out again, and as the next wave swelled under the surfboard, he flipped a 180. Shaking his fist triumphantly in the air, Bradin could almost hear Callie cheering for him from the shoreline. A slow smile spread across his face.

Bradin surfed for another hour and a half before he returned to the beach. The good, old happy feeling was back inside of him, and he felt at ease as he made his way to the house.