Disclaimer: Anything on here relating to or on the show is not mine. I only own the characters that I created and the things that they say unless directed otherwise.


Claire heard the doorbell ring and echo throughout the house and pushed Bradin away to get up. She walked down the narrow hallway and opened the door. A tall skinny man with red hair and brown eyes stood at the door with a black jacket on and black cloth pants.

"Who are you?" Claire asked. The man moved closer and wrapped his arms around Claire. She screamed.


Summary:

Bradin is faced with so many decisions in his life right now. Callie left and Bradin was facing a tough time with that until Claire walked into his life. As more girls come, Lucas makes Bradin realize that he has more options than he once thought. Claire and Bradin finally get on the right track but something disastrous (terrible) happens that just doesn't quite equal out to what everyone thinks it is. When Bradin finds that out he becomes the detective in his own little case. Can the clever boy figure out what happened and what is now taking place before time runs out? Or will he fail and everything will crumble into a complete disaster. (More than meets the eye in this story! Other things are thrown in as well that aren't/have nothing to do with the summary. This plot takes a while to form.)


Figured that i should add the summary to this chapter as well for those who have readthe other chapters already. Summary will change again-most likely-so when it does I'llput iton the resent chapter. The summary is in the first and second chapter as well!


Chapter 11: Who are you?

Claire yelled out Bradin's name as she struggled to break free of the tall man. After noticing that he had frightened her, the man pulled away. Claire started running for Bradin. She noticed that the man was walking after her but at a very slow speed. She stopped and turned to look at him. He stopped as well and began to speak.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I had no intention to hurt you. I was just…" the man was cut off by Bradin storming into the room with a butcher knife. The man backed up as Bradin approached him slowly, being careful of how he was going about it.

"Bradin, wait. Let him speak before you slice him," Bradin sighed and backed off a little. He lowered the knife, unsure if it was the right thing to do. The man moved forward a bit causing Bradin to put the knife back up in front of him. The man raised his hands as a note of surrender.

"There is no need for that weapon son. I was just trying to give her a hug…"this time Claire cut him off.

"OK that's creepy. Go ahead Bradin, cut him," the man sighed and tried to further his explanation.

"Wait, before you chop me like a fish! The reason I was giving Claire a hug was because I'm her…" as before, he was cut off by a very angry and confused Bradin.

"Stalker?" Bradin answered for him. The man was getting very frustrated. Teenagers never shut their hole! The man thought to himself.

"No I'm her uncle!" the man put in before another interruption could take place. Bradin looked at the man confused so he decided to elaborate. "My name is Eugene Sanados."

A very perplexed Claire moved forward to look at him closer. He moved as well. They met face-to-face and looked closely. Claire shook her head. "I don't remember having any uncle's or aunt's. My dad was a lonely child."

Bradin grew more suspicious and raised the knife again. The guy rolled his eyes seeing this. "Would you put that thing down damn it?"

Bradin shuttered at the raise in his voice. It was very raspy and hoarse. Bradin's heart started to beat faster but didn't lower the knife. Claire shrugged and moved aside.

"I still think you should cut him," she said with confidence. I wish he would just do it already, Claire thought, he creeps me out immensely. She smiled at Bradin joyfully, having fun torturing the man. Bradin smiled back at her and rolled his eyes.

"Please believe me. I don't mean any harm. The reason I came here was because of what happened to John and Cindy. I am really sorry Claire. But…" a reoccurring theme. Claire interrupted him again.

"I don't HAVE an uncle. And if I did, wouldn't you think that my dad or mom would've told me?" Claire snipped at him. He nodded.

"I guess they really did hate me as much as I had anticipated. For you see…when I was 22 your parents and I were really close. My brother and I were always close. But after I tried to pursue Cindy for myself, and this was before they were married mind you, John was absolutely furious at me after your mom told him what I had done. I was forced to 'stay away' and 'never go near' them again. So I moved to Ohio where I have been for 11 years. I guess I made one hell of a mistake for them not to even mention me to my own niece," Eugene clarified.

Claire began to believe him and lightened up a bit, as did Bradin. Bradin set the knife down on the table and walked over to shake Eugene's hand. When offered, Eugene grabbed his hand firmly and shook it. Claire trembled over and jumped up, giving him a big hug. Eugene hugged her back tightly and then released her after a moment. They both smiled.

"After I heard about the death on the Internet, I came immediately. And here I am. So…how are you?" Eugene asked concerned. Claire smiled weakly. She looked at Bradin and grabbed his hand.

"It's been tough but thankfully I have Bradin. He's been my angel through all of this. If he wasn't here I think I'd be going crazy" she said to Eugene but was looking into Bradin's eyes. He smiled softly at her and squeezed her hand lightly. Eugene looked at Claire impressed.

"Well it seems that you have grown to be quite a woman. How about you and…Bradin, was it?" Bradin nodded. "Well how about you and Bradin come with me and we can go to the Pelican's Nest for dinner while you tell me what you've been up to all of these years that I've missed?"

Claire and Bradin agreed. They walked out the door and into Eugene's car. They rode in the car silently to the restaurant. Once there they were introduced to their seats where they were given their menus. They talked during their dinner about Claire's past and about things that Bradin didn't even know about Claire. It was a new experience for him and he had Eugene to thank for it. But Bradin still wasn't sure about him. Something wasn't right about him in Bradin's mind. But for Claire he knew he would have to adjust. Eugene was her only family in blood and Bradin had to accept that.

After dinner they went home to their house. Everyone was talking at the table at dinner. When Bradin and Claire walked in with a stranger everyone stood and were puzzled. They all were wondering who the strange man was in their newly comforting home. Claire was first to confront them.

"Hi everyone, this is Eugene Sanados. He's my…uncle," she saw that everyone was in awe. She had told everyone that she had no living relatives left and that she was the only one in her family left. When they heard about him, they were upset and confused about him.

"Claire just found out about him," Bradin added quickly. But him saying that just added more confusion to the group.

"Why don't we go down to the beach and discuss all of this? I'm sure we can get things cleared up. What do you say?" Ava said rationally. Bradin and Claire both nodded while the others just walked outside. They all met down at the picnic table to discuss everything. After clearing everything up, Eugene said he had to be getting home.

"No," Claire protested. "You can stay here with all of us. I don't think you should have to stay in a stuffy hotel when you could stay here. I think we can find a place for you in my very, very small house."

Eugene laughed at what she said and nodded, accepting her proposal. She smiled, thinking about how she still had family. She smiled over at Bradin to see that he was eyeing her uncle a little suspiciously. Claire walked closer to him. He was sitting on the picnic table and she came and sat on his lap sideways so that she could see into his sea green eyes.

"What's up?" Bradin asked casually. Claire gave him a culpable look. He looked at her befuddled. She wrapped her hands around his neck and started to play with his hair.

"Is there something that you might wanna tell me?" Claire asked charmingly. Bradin couldn't help but smile. She was beautiful and when he looked at her he couldn't help but smile. "Why are you smiling?"

"Because you are the most beautiful girl that I know," Bradin said sweetly. She melted again but soon snapped out of it and knew that something was wrong.

"OK Bradin you know I'd take flirting from you any day of the week but something is wrong with you. I can tell by the way you are acting," Claire elucidated. Bradin shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong with me. I may be confused about something…but nothing is wrong," Bradin cleared. Claire nodded.

"Now we're getting somewhere. What are you confused about?" she asked as she stroked her hand through his hair. He grabbed it and their hands locked together.

"Your just gonna get mad at me and say something that will make me feel worse about what is on my mind," Bradin complained to her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on Bradin. You know me," Claire pushed him more.

"Your right," he started again. "I do know you and I know what you would do if I told you."

"You know Bradin, I just thought of something that has been on my mind for a while now," Claire looked at him mischievously. Bradin started to worry. He looked at her for an answer. "I've been thinking about anew way to get you to say something when you don't want to."

"And what is that?" Bradin asked curiously and bit his lower lip. She stuck out her tongue and bit it with a smile. She took her hand and wrapped it around his waist. Bradin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what she was doing. She leaned in so that her mouth was by his ear.

"Your ticklish," she whispered. When Bradin realized what she had said his eyes widened. She started tickling him and he shoved her off of his lap playfully.

"Ok," he said still laughing. "You win. I'll tell you." He became serious again and became solemn.

"Good, I'm glad you finally agree with me. So…what is it?" Claire asked taking her place back on her lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and began to speak.

"It's just this gut feeling that I have about your uncle Claire," he saw that Claire was confused and continued. "He really gives off this vibe to me that just sends an eerie chill up my spine. And before you say anything about me overreacting; I have thought about this since he first came into your house and I just really think something is wrong with him."

'And please don't get mad at me because I know that he is you only family and that you probably need him right now but what I'm saying is in my heart and I can't get rid of it. I'm really sorry."

"Why didn't you just tell me this before? I wouldn't have done anything. If it's in your heart than something in your head… might just be telling you to follow it. So…go follow it," her voice trailed off. She gave him a weak smile. "Just make sure that you investigate thoroughly. No accusations too soon. Do you promise me that?"

Bradin nodded, listening to every word she had said carefully. He barely believed what she was saying because he thought she would be mad at him. He was evidentially still learning about her. "Yeah, I promise. But why are you being so cool about this?"

Claire shrugged. "Because I trust you…I trust your instincts. And…I kinda felt the same vibe," Bradin raised an eyebrow, again not believing the words out of her mouth. "So go get to work…do some research. I'll be at the library around five to do my History report anyway. Since smart ass you already finished it, you can start on the upcoming investigation."

Claire got off of Bradin's lap. "This should be fun!" she smiled and walked over to Eugene. Bradin stood up from the bench and started walking towards Ava.

"I guess I'm going to the library," he said to Ava. She nodded and waved him off. He walked off confused and feeling a little weird. When he looked back at Claire, he saw Eugene looking at him. Bradin got another feeling in him. He shrugged it off and walked towards the library.


Bradin was at the library and dosing off fast. He had pulled out record after record on the computer and came up with the same thing as time and time again before that. Nothing. He fell asleep the computer for about five seconds before a familiar voice spoke to him.

"And I thought I got bored at the library!" she said to him. Badin looked up at her and smiled noticing the bright-faced girl staring at him.

"Hi Marie! What are you doing here?" Bradin asked her solemnly. She sighed recalling why.

"That stupid history report for Mr. Shaw. I'm having trouble figuring out anything in his class. He makes me thing I'm living in China, which isn't a language that is in my vocabulary," Bradin chuckled at her remark. She smiled innocently.

"What are you doing here Mr. Westerly? I thought you said you were done?" Marie stated. Bradin nodded.

"I did. I'm doing something for Claire," Bradin declared. Marie drew her mouth open in disgust.

"Well isn't she special. I don't have someone to do my report for me!" she pouted. Bradin shook his head.

"No, not her report. No way in hell would I do another one of those. I'm researching her um…family tree?" Bradin wasn't sure how to put the content into words. Marie rolled her eyes at him.

"Well damn Bradin. Don't I wish I had you as my boyfriend? No other guy would ever even have the brains to do something like that for me. Will you be my boyfriend?" she quipped. Bradin laughed.

"Sorry, Marie. I'm a one girl guy," he replied with a laugh. Marie snapped her fingers sarcastically.

"You better be," Claire said sneaking up on the two. She smiled when Bradin turned around. She walked further over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and looked back to Marie, "Are you trying to steal my boyfriend?"

They both smiled. Bradin looked at both of them. "I had no idea I was so loved by all."

"Ha, you wish Westerly," Marie, added in. Claire hugged him.

"Just keep dreaming that girls will fight over you. But remember that it's just a dream," Bradin gave a puppy dogface to her. "Aw, I'm sorry baby. You know I'd fight over you."

They all laughed at the sarcasm in the room. Claire pulled the rolling chair that Bradin was sitting in out and sat on his lap. "Did you find anything?"

Bradin shook his head disappointedly. Claire sighed. That's all right Bradin. Maybe we are overreacting. Maybe…there isn't anything to look up. Maybe he just got under our skin because of how he came about. I don't think we should worry about it too much."

"If that's what you want, I can respect that. So…you want me to stay here while you do your report?" Bradin asked. Claire smiled.

"That would be nice. I would love the company of my favorite boyfriend and my favorite friend," all three smiled. They all took a computer and started with the report.


"Uncle Eugene?" Claire screamed throughout the house. She walked up the steps and back down with Bradin trailing. She walked into the vast kitchen and to the refrigerator where she would hope to find a note. Sure enough at the top of the fridge there was a yellow note magnetized to the door. She grabbed the note off and began to read it.

Dear Claire,

I went to explore the town. And don't worry about if I get lost. I met up with this woman that said that she knows the town very good so I'll be fine. I should be back before 2:00 am. If I'm not you can go ahead and call the police. I think I'm gonna go out to eat with her and go to the late night movie showing so that time is about correct. Have fun with the house to yourself tonight! Ava and the group said that they were going on a vocational and figured both of you would rather stay home. The number of the place they are is also on the fridge. Have fun!

Eugene

Claire turned around to look at Bradin who was sitting on the marble counter. She smiled devilishly. He looked at her bewildered. She walked over to him and wrapped her hands around his neck while he was still sitting on the counter. He confusingly enclosed his arms softly around her waist.

"What is that face for?" Bradin asked her.

Claire smiled again. "We have to whole house to ourselves." She whispered. Bradin raised his eyebrows. He jumped off the countertop and pulled Claire closer to him.

Bradin smiled at Claire. Bradin could feel Claire's heartbeat. It was unusually fast which made Bradin tense. He pulled her into the entertainment room and they sat down on the couch. Claire sat and looked deep into Bradin's eyes. Bradin searched her for some signal of what to do. He leaned in and their lips met. They slowly laid down on the couch. Bradin moved his hand to her waist.

A noise rang out throughout the whole house that neither Bradin now Claire wanted to hear. The doorbell rang again. This time in a quicker tone. Claire groaned loudly and pushed Bradin away. He sat up in disgust, wishing that the house didn't have a doorbell. Or a door for that matter.

Claire walked out of the entertainment room and into the narrow hallway. She went past five rooms before coming upon the double doors the front entrance of the house. Bradin ran after her and got in front of her just as she was about the unlock it.

"Don't you learn?" Bradin asked. Claire shrugged and backed away from the door. Bradin looked through the peep whole. He saw a kid about his age with a red t-shirt on and black shorts. His hair was a dark brown and he had brown eyes to match. He was medium built and was smiling for some reason.

Bradin sighed again and opened the door. The boy's smile faded and his face turned confused. Bradin stepped aside and let him in. The boy stuck his hands in his pocket and his smile returned when he saw Claire. She smiled back at him and ran up to him. She hugged him as Bradin stood there with the most baffled look.

When Claire and the boy parted, he kissed her. Bradin's eyes widened in disarray. Claire made a disgusted moan and pulled away quickly after realizing what he had just done. Bradin spoke up.

"What the hell was that!" Bradin asked with great trepidation and antagonism. Claire cringed at the volume his voice had raised.

"Yeah, David what the hell was that?" Claire focused. David shrugged stupidly. She shot him an angry glare, forcing him to elucidate.

"I personally…call it a kiss," he quipped. She slapped him across the face.

"You know what I meant!" she shot at him again. He turned grave.

"I just thought that…well…um…"he shriveled, knowing that she might hit him again. And he was right. This time she slapped him across the head with incredible force. He put his hand to his head and rubbed it. She let out a huff and backed him to the doorway.

"I told you never to talk to me again. And so when I finally see you for the first time in almost two years and I'm actually happy to see you, you go and kiss me!" Claire shoved him out the door but he caught it before it shut.

"I am so sorry. Please just let me in," David tried to conciliate. She backed off and walked over to Bradin. He grabbed her hand and pulled around so that he couldn't see them talking.

"What was…" he was cut off by her sudden impulse. She kissed him more in depth than ever before. More out of anger than out of passion. When she let him go she turned back to David.

"I have moved on. I have moved on numerous times. And this time I have found someone who makes me happy. And he treats me with respect and adoration. He treats me the exact opposite way that you do. And don't you give me any shit! The only thing want to hear from your mouth is good-bye. One word that I heard too many times before! SO if you could say it with some truth involved that would be great. I have Bradin. Go away David!" she walked over and slammed him out the door. This time he didn't try to fight. He left without any more remarks.

"So…you wanna tell me who that was. Because that would be a nice place to start," Bradin wondered.

"Lets just say that I did some things with him that I shouldn't have and leave it at that. I don't really feel like discussing it right now. Right now I'm…a little more focused on you and me," she gave a devilish grin and grabbed his shirt collar. She lead him up the steps into her room.

Outside…

"I don't think the whole kiss thing worked. She really seems into him. More than she was ever into me. I don't really thing that she'll budge," David declared. He saw anger on her face.

"Well we'll just have to try a little harder than now won't we? Because when Bradin finds out that Claire has been cheating on him, his heart will break yet another time. And when it does, I'll be there to put all of the pieces back together. He'll be mine. We just need some time," the girl said.

David shook his head. "I'm not so sure. But as long as I get what I asked for off of you," David wrapped his arms around her waist, showing her what he wanted. "I will try my hardest."

She made a disgusted face. "Whatever," she shoved his arms away from her. "As long as I get Bradin. Then you'll get what you want."

"Cool, then lets plan some more. I have a past with Claire that Bradin can't compete with. I just have to trigger it off somehow," he affirmed. She nodded.

"We'll find a way. I'll made sure of it," she said determined.

"All I have to say is that they are in for one hell of a surprise Sarah!"


Hehe. You honestly didn't think I would forget about crazy Sarah did you? No chance! Forgive me for any mistakes. I don't bother to proof-read it. Anyway, please review this chapter! I love when people do! It makes me feel special! And thank you to everyone who reviewed. Christina, XxanglegrlxX, kandykane33, Angel, closetwriter, Lanae, Katie, and Kitty-Kat4life for reviewing! If there is someone I left off notify me and I'll fix it. I don't want to leave anyone out. Then I would feel bad! Thank you all! Until next time…