Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Summerland, or from the WB, or the people, you guys all know the drill… pretty much, there's like nothing in this story iownbesides the plot :- /

One Month Earlier

Erika sat on the beach. Bradin had called her, saying that they needed to talk immediately. The two had been dating for almost 3 months, and to her, everything was perfect. He was such a gentleman; he was sweet and caring and loving, and she loved him with everything in her. She really believed he was the one. She ran her fingers through the sand. She wasn't worried, on the contrary, she was busy imagining what his surprise was. She smiled as she saw him walk over to her. He had his hands in his pockets and his shoulders up. She totally blew his weird actions off and jumped up and kissed him.

"Hey baby, what's up" she said, smiling. "What's with the red alert?" she giggled

He bit his lip. There was no easy way to do this, and the fact that she was totally oblivious to the whole thing was going to make it that much worse. He knew it was going to break her heart. She had been so good to him, and she deserved to know the truth. Even though the truth wasn't glamorous, or anything to be proud of, he knew she had the right to know.

"Hey E" he said, a bit dryly. He looked into her eyes. She had no clue. He took her hand "Let's go for a walk ok?" he forced a smile

She nodded and smiled. She leaned onto his shoulder and made it so his arm was wrapped around her back. It wasn't until he tensed up that she realized something was wrong. Then it clicked. 'we need to talk' is what he had said on the phone, his dry voice. She froze. "So what did you want to talk about?" she said, making sure she had his hand in hers still.

He took a deep breath "You know how happy you've made me these past 2 months E, right?" She nodded, looking right into his emerald eyes. He bit his lip "Its just…" he sighed "There's no easy way to say this Erika, so I'm just going to say it… I cheated on you, and I've been cheating on you. And…" he bit his lip "And I think I love this other girl. I'm sorry E, I really am. I wish I could have told you earlier, but I didn't have the courage. I'm sorry. We can't be together anymore. I want to be with Liz."

Tears welled up in Erika's eyes. Not only was he breaking up with her, he'd been cheating, and he loved this other girl "No" she whimpered "No, you can't love her… You're supposed to love me" a single tear slipped down her cheek, but when he moved to brush it away, she jumped away from his hand

He looked at the pain in her eyes. It was more than he could have ever imagined. "Erika, please" he said "I never wanted to hurt you. I loved you"

"Past tense" she said, wiping away her own tears, which were now starting to come out steadily.

Bradin's heart sunk. It was true. It was past tense. He loved Liz now. But he couldn't get over the feeling of guilt. "Erika" he said lovingly "You will always have a huge part of my heart. Probably more than anyone ever will, but I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry" he took a step toward her, but she backed away "Please E" he said, stepping again. She stayed still, but put her head down. He walked right up to her and wrapped his arms around her "I don't want to lose you" he whispered in her ear "Please tell me I won't lose you"

This was the hardest thing for her. She could be his friend, or she could let him go. The thing was, she wished with all her heart she could just let him go, but she knew, as well as he, that that was going to be impossible. She was too attached to him, they both knew she'd have to be a part of his life to go on, even if he was with someone else. Another tear slipped down her cheek "You won't lose me" she whispered "You know that" she sighed "Even if I can only have you as a ….friend…" she swallowed hard

He hugged her tightly "I'm so sorry" he said, "If I could go back and change it, I would have told you from the beginning" He felt her nod. "Oh E" he said, hugging her "I'm so sorry" He pulled away and kissed away a tear that was falling from her eye. His lips on her made more fall.

She tried to stop crying and forced a weak smile. "Will you do me on favor before we're really over?" she whispered

He nodded "Anything"

She bit her lip, more tears listening against the setting sun. "Just kiss me one last time like you did when you still loved me. So I have something to remember"

He smiled at her a little "Ok E" He leaned down and softly placed his lips on hers. He kept them there, tracing her bottom lip. He pushed at her lips, asking her to open them up to him. She hesitated. She loved his kisses, and in this one there was love, but the past kind. She opened her mouth a little, and he slowly slipped his tongue in. He massaged her tongue with his, then slowly brushed the roof of her mouth. He kissed her for a few more moments, then slowly slipped his tongue back into his mouth. He glided hers into his mouth and sucked on it gently. He knew this made her melt, and this time was no different. He slowly stopped and let her put her tongue back in her mouth. He kissed her sweetly on the lips, then broke away "I'll always care about you Erika" he said, brushing away the last of her tears, then hugging her tightly.

She told herself she couldn't cry until he was gone. She forced a convincing smile "And I'll always love you. No matter what" she bit her lip and broke away from his grasp "I'll see you around Brae"

She turned and started walking. To where? She didn't know, but she just kept going until Bradin was nothing but a hazy figure in the distance. She sat on a rock by the edge of the water and pulled her knees up to her chest. Her heart was smashed and broken into a million pieces, and she'd never felt so alone in her life. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves crash against the jetty. Tears filled her eyes and for once, she just let them fall. She cried and cried, and she didn't want to stop. She wanted to cry until he came back and told her it was a joke, even though she knew it would never happen. Her head on her knees, her heart broken and her life in shambles, it looked like there was no hope. Until she heard that voice; a voice that would change her life forever.

A/N: Hi guys! So I was getting kinda uninspired to write my other stories, because in a way, I feel like they're all the same. So this one's going to be different. A lot more intense. Not much 'I love you, you love me' stuff. Issues, problems, and pain. And since I'm more inspired to write this story, its going to get updated. I'm still working on the other ones, so if you're waiting for them, thanz, they should be up soon. R&R and tell me what you think:o) Steph