I'm so happy that you guys like this story so far. A special thanks to all y'all who reviewed: KristiFan000, chelsea, steviebrockluvr90, grullo-cowgirl (thanks for pointing that out to me. I couldn't remember if they were green or not), kandykane33, and Jmacsgurl15. All of you guys are so awesome!

Alright, so just a heads up, but this chapter is gonna kinda move from scene to scene a bit. It'll only be this chapter (I hope) that does that though. I thought I'd warn you guys ahead of time 'cause I know that some people hate it when a scene moves around a lot. Also, the name Edie is pronounced like the ice cream, just in case anyone couldn't figure out how to pronounce it.

Chapter One

Ten years later

Edie Branwell hurried down the hallway, her high-heels clicking out a staccato rhythm with each step. She was late. Mr. Hooper would not be happy, but he would understand. Everyone knew LA traffic was not the most reliable. Besides, Edie was his "top dog." He'd said so himself.

Standing just outside the conference room door, Edie checked her portfolio one more time to make sure that she had everything for the pitch. All there. She ran a hand through her hair and drew in a deep breath before opening the door.

>>>>>

"Another successful job, Edie." Mr. Hooper congratulated her, pouring champagne into two champagne flutes.

"How do you do it?"

Edie took the glass he handed her and smiled.

"I had a good teacher."

Her comment brought a smile to the older man's jovial face.

"Very true." He laughed, taking a sip of his drink. He grew serious once more. "But you should know better than to be late, especially to a pitch with one of our top clients."

"I know, I'm sorry about that." She apologized.

"Mind telling me what you late?" He quirked a graying eyebrow.

"Oh no you don't," Edie shook her head and chuckled, "I know you hate excuses, so there's no way that I'm going to tell you."

"You stayed over at Alex's last night." He stated. She shook her head in disbelief.

"How do you do that? How is it that you know everything?"

He shrugged. "I have my ways. Not to mention Alex is my son."

"Touché." Edie sipped her drink. "You know, I never thanked you for introducing us."

"Don't even think about." He pointed a mockingly stern finger at her. "Truth be known I had purely selfish reasons behind doing so. I knew you were the perfect girl for Alex."

Edie blushed and fingered the fragile stem of her glass.

"You're the daughter I always wished I'd had." Mr. Hooper continued.

"I always wished for a dad like you." Edie whispered, her voice cracking with the emotion of painful childhood memories.

Mr. Hooper smiled sympathetically and patted her shoulder comfortingly. A small smile tugged at Edie's lips.

"Now," Mr. Hooper moved to sit behind his desk, "let's get back to work. We have a lot to do for the excellent campaign you just pitched."

>>>>>2004

Bradin tugged his backpack up higher onto his shoulder as he made his way towards Playa Linda High. The first day of school was always the most difficult for him. It was so hard to get out of the habit of sleeping late. And Bradin so loved to sleep.

He reached the school and looked at the one story building that was bustling with teens. Like every other building in Playa Linda the school was built to allow for the beach air to permeate every inch of space. That wasn't exactly a very smart idea in Bradin's mind. The more he smelled the beach air, the more he wanted to go out and surf. Definitely not a good idea when he should be focusing on school work.

Adjusting his backpack once more, Bradin looked around, searching for the friends he'd made when trying out for the school's surf team. His eyes roved over the crowd that was traveling into the school, lingering a few seconds on any good looking girl he found. His heart broke slightly at the thought that he would not be starting school without Sara at his side. They'd had such a great relationship, and then Sara had gone off the deep end. But he'd loved her regardless, and still loved her. However, she'd been sent away to a boarding school for girls with problems such as her own. And that left Bradin without a best friend to start school with.

At least I've already made some friends on the surf team, he thought, otherwise I'd be completely alone

As he was thinking all this, Bradin's eyes landed on a girl who stood apart from the crowd. She wasn't beautiful by any means. Nor could she even be considered cute. She was chunky and her hair was curly and frizzy. She wore thick glasses and a hopeless expression. Bradin felt bad for her. She seemed so lonely. Her eyes stared straight into Bradin's with a look of hopelessness that broke his heart. She looked so sad, so anxious. Like a caged animal.

Bradin had always been one to care about those that others looked down upon. He'd always rooted for the underdog. And this poor girl certainly seemed like the underdog.

He took a step towards her, intent on introducing himself.

"Yo, Bradin, over here."

He turned and saw a bunch of the guys from the team waving him over. Looking one last time at the girl, Bradin moved towards his friends. He'd introduce himself late.>>>>>

The ER was bustling with activity. Bradin Westerly was kept busy rushing from patient to patient, trying to treat as many as possible in a short amount of time.

"Crash victim," the EMT said as a gurney was rushed into the ER. Bradin quickly moved towards the new patient: a man with blood drenching the right side of his face, flowing from a cut on his forehead. The upper part of his body was immobilized by a neck and head brace.

"Car was sideswiped at an intersection. Vic's got multiple abrasions on his arms and face. Possible neck and spinal injuries."

"Sir," Bradin leaned over the man as they hurried towards an empty trauma room, "can you tell me your name?"

"Si…Simon." The man rasped.

"Well, Simon, don't you worry. We're gonna fix you up good as new." Bradin promised as he pulled on a pair of latex gloves.

>>>>>

Bradin sat, head in his hands, in the ER's break room.

He'd made a promise to Simon. A promise that he'd been unable to keep.

They'd spent nearly two hours working on him. Everything had been going fine, then Bradin had discovered a complication with internal bleeding. Things had gone down hill from there.

Bradin sighed and rubbed a weary hand through his hair.

"It's not your fault." Lauren, one of the nurses who'd been assisting, said. "You can't save them all, Bradin."

"I made him a promise." Bradin said, his eyes fixated on the table where he sat. "I told him he'd be okay."

"And you did everything you could." Lauren placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why do you always do this to yourself?"

"Excuse me?" Bradin looked up at her, confused.

"You always blame yourself when someone dies on your watch."

Bradin pushed away from the table and grabbed his jacket.

"Well excuse me for having a heart." He growled before marching out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

>>>>>

The apartment was dark when Edie got home that night. Flipping on the entryway light, she took off her jacket and hung it in the closet. She ran a hand across the back of her neck, massaging out the tension there. Dealing with demanding clients and working alongside her boyfriend's ex was not exactly the most relaxing way that Edie would choose to spend her time. But, thankfully, she had a date with Alex that night to help her get over her stressful day.

Alex. A smile covered her face at the thought of her boyfriend. Edie never thought that she could care for someone as much as she cared for Alex. And she definitely never thought that anyone could care for her so much. Edie remembered back to when they'd first met.

It had been when she'd first started at Princeton. Alex had been the one conducting freshman orientation. He'd been a senior that year and finishing up his studies as a business major. Edie had taken an instant liking to him, and, surpassingly, Alex had flirted with her whenever they ran into each other on campus. He took her out a few times. But when he graduated they decided to end their casual relationship, assuming that they would never see each other again. Then Edie had graduated and took a job in LA working at Hoop, an ad design company. She'd risen quickly in ranks, using her creative new ideas to gain the attention of the company's owner himself: Marcus Hooper. It wasn't until an office Christmas party two years ago that Mr. Hooper decided to introduce Edie to his son. Edie had found herself staring, shocked out of her mind, at Alex. And, deciding that it was fate that they meet again, they had been together ever since.

Edie wandered into the kitchen and opened the fridge. She searched the contents, trying to figure out what she needed to get next time she went shopping, before pulling out a bottle of red wine. She poured herself a glass and moved into the living room. As she sipped her wine, Edie checked her messages. Nothing important. She glanced at her watch. Alex wouldn't be there to pick her up for another two hours.

Time enough for a nice hot soak in the tub, she thought with a smile.

As the steaming water filled the large, garden tub, Edie lit candles and turned on the CD player to her classical music CD. Stripping, she climbed into the tub, the hot water quickly making her tension vanish. She leaned against the back of the tub and let her body relax beneath the bubbles. Closing her eyes, Edie sipped her wine.

Memories of her childhood floated into Edie's mind as she became more relaxed, almost as if they had waited until her mind was free before springing on her. She remembered all the pain she had suffered through, all the teasing and torment.

"And look how far I've come." She whispered to the empty bathroom. "No one would even recognize me now."

She thought back to the card she'd received in the mail the other day. An invitation to her class reunion. At first Edie wasn't going to go, but she'd thought about it and had decided to send in her RSVP. After all, what was the point of remaking herself if she couldn't show off to those losers she'd graduated with?

>>>>>

I hope you guys liked this chapter and will review.