Hey guys, new chapter this am as promised. I know people are from everywhere so I apologize if it is not morning lol but here in California its 6:20 lol so as promised HAHA I know a lot of you are confused. Someone asked about Brandon, he's staying out of it, but will appear here and there. The rest of the gang, I guess I just wanted this time for everyone to be on Brenda's side like they should have been in high school. In Chapter 2 I think it was, Brenda says that David and her got close after the email about Steve's bday message. I like Shannen and Brian's relationship and closeness, wanted to bring it into this story a little. It's not that David doesn't like his sister, but he's older than he was when KD got together, when he was just young. At that point David was coming into Kelly's family and life, he worshipped her a little. This is future he is grown up, has more of an opinion and is at least comfortable sharing it. He doesn't have to kiss Kelly's ass, they are established. And he knows well everyone knows something isn't right and Dylan lied in season 9. So even though he "hurt" Kelly with his words and it looked directed at her, in my mind it's more anger towards Dylan, before he marries his sister and it's to late. Dylan is being an ass, I get some of your reactions and it's going to get worse this chapter. Just trust me Dylan is acting to act impartial and trying to hurt her, he will reveal how he feels…its coming. :) anyway enjoy this. I think you guys will really really like this one! Someone is here! Someone you guys LOVE, so stop listening to me and read LOL Enjoy!

Chapter Five

Brenda

A lot could happen over one night, And I did mean a lot. I couldn't believe I was willingly walking into Dylan's office. I wasn't exactly sure what Dylan did for a living, but Brandon said he bought companies, helped them turn around or helped them get back on their feet to sell. He made profits that way. Surprisingly I also found out he owned half the Pit and the After Dark, a few other properties that had long term renters, along with Nat's. He also funded the Beverly Hills Community center for troubled teens and supported the Surfrider Foundation. A non-profit environmental organization that works to protect and preserve the world's oceans, waves and beaches. It focuses on water quality, beach access, beach and surf spot preservation, and sustaining marine and coastal ecosystems. Dylan McKay was a do-gooder now…fucking fabulous. Like he wasn't hot enough already.

This was not what I wanted to do first thing in the morning, but I was staying with Nat, I cooked with him, cleaned, he opened his home to me no questions asked. I owed Nat.

For a quick second, my hand wavered at the door. The shiny gold letters that read Dylan McKay made me pause. He had found good things to do with his inheritance. Something he confided with me when we were together in London. Dylan always wanted to be more than his money, especially because he hadn't earned it. It looks like he had done just that.

"Please go in. Mr. McKay will be here shortly."

I smiled at the older lady who pointed me toward Dylan's office. She shouldn't have left me alone. I would use the opportunity to snoop.

Dylan had several pictures hung, but none of them from around the time we were together. If what he wanted was to pretend like we never happened, he had done an excellent job.

My heel was tapping furiously on the floor, trying to synchronize to the beat of my heart. The stilettos matched my red lips, meanwhile, my black dress wasn't revealing, but it clung to my every curve.

I looked good because when you know you'll see your ex, that's the goal and I had yet to do this. Every time I saw Dylan as of late it was a shock and sneak attack or a run in, let's not forget the pajamas.

"There is someone in your office, Mr. McKay."

"Thanks, Nancy." As soon as I heard his voice, my blood pressure rose. The room felt smaller. I really didn't think this through. I should have stayed home and sent him a letter, that would have been wise.

Too late now.

When he walked in, he froze by the door. He did a slow blink, probably thinking the same thing I was.

What the fuck am I doing here?

"Good morning, Mr. McKay." I smiled at him. God, what was wrong with me? I was here on friendly terms, not to taunt him, but a part of me couldn't resist. His hair still gleamed from his morning shower. I wanted to lean in and smell his body wash and run my tongue along his neck.

I needed to get my shit together before I did something I would regret. I crossed my legs, trying to put myself at ease. Dylan's eyes followed my movement, those brown eyes going darker. Was I affecting him as much as he was affecting me?

Motioning to his desk, I said, "Please, have a seat."

The slight tick of his jaw made me want to smile. When he walked to his chair, he moved agile like a cat. Instead of being scared, it thrilled me.

"You do realize you're in my office, babe?" He did not just call me babe. But he had, and the room was getting smaller; it was also burning up.

I cleared my throat because I needed to regain control of the situation. And my vagina.

"Hard to miss with all the photos of you."

Was I crazy jealous because he didn't have a photo of me? Hell to the yeah, but he could have had a picture of him from our time together. He seemed to get the dig, but that wasn't surprising. Dylan knew me, all of me.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at me like a hunter would his prey. "Is there a reason you are here, Miss Walsh?"

"You know why I'm here."

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't follow your every move."

"I didn't say you did. You jumped to that conclusion all on your own."

"I don't have all day."

"How much for Nat's house back?" There was something feral about the way he smiled at me. My skin tingled, and my body vibrated with want, waiting for his response.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware Nat's house had anything to do with you."

"Well it does now," I said through gritted teeth.

Seriously, who was this guy and where did the Dylan who'd been nothing but docile go?

"The house isn't for sale, nor will it be. Nat and I have an arrangement. If you don't agree with it, you are more than welcome to move out. Or leave, that shouldn't be a problem for you. Now, if there's anything else I can help you with, please make an appointment with my secretary."

He looked down at his papers, dismissing me.

I stayed seated like a dumbass, unable to move, too shocked to comprehend that Dylan had just kicked me out of his office.

"What happened to us?"

I hadn't meant for the words to come out, but when his head snapped back at me and he froze me with his glare, I regretted wishing he ever hated me. His brown eyes weren't vibrant, they were cold.

I never thought I'd be grateful for Kelly, but she walked in before Dylan could give me an answer.

"Honey, I have the best news—" She halted at the door when she saw me seated across from her fiancé.

I had to admit, the look on her face made me feel a little better. I smiled and gave her a wave. I didn't need to pretend to like her any more than she did. She looked seething mad at my mere presence.

"Brenda…come to ask Dylan for a job? Did Nat fire you already? Dylan doesn't do this type charity work." Kelly's sweet voice didn't match the look on her face or the rude words she spit. She strode over to Dylan, glaring at me as she did.

I gripped the edge of the chair, sure I had ripped it with my nails digging into the leather. That was a better alternative to getting thrown in jail for slapping the shit out of her.

Because I let no one walk over me, I replied, "I didn't realize trying to buy Nat's house back counts as charity."

Kelly laughed then rested her left hand on Dylan's shoulder, the engagement ring mocking me. "Why don't you start off by paying the rent he owes. Then maybe you can think about buying the lot… If you can afford it."

"Kelly." Dylan warned.

Nothing made sense. What did she mean Nat was behind on rent? How could he not afford to pay rent? This wasn't the time to think about it.

"How much does he owe you?" I was glad I was sitting when Kelly rattled off the amount. There was no way she pulled that number out of her ass. She had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell me. One thing was for sure, Kelly wouldn't care if Nat was behind on rent, she loved Nat as much as the rest of us did, so this had to do with me…and the fact I was staying with him. Dammit, there went a lot of my savings.

Still, I said, "No problem."

"Plus, interest."

But of course.

"Give me an hour. Do you want cash, a check, or the money wired?" I was not getting a car anytime soon, but at least Nat wouldn't be indebted to them. I was wrong about Dylan and Kelly, they deserved each other.

"You don't have to do that, Brenda," Dylan said, "I have Nat's back, always have."

All I saw was Kelly's perfectly manicured hand resting on his shoulder.

"I said I'll have the money to you in an hour." I got up, grateful my legs weren't shaking.

Kelly smirked at me. "I'm surprised you have that kind of money. What did you do, find a sugar daddy while you were away?"

Because it would be so hard to imagine I made something of myself?

I squared my shoulders, stood tall and proud, and gave them a sultry smile. I did notice Dylan looked frustrated with the Kelly and Brenda show down.

"When you're really good at something, you might as well get paid for it. Shame you never did."

I gave Kelly a wink, holding back from laughing at the her facial expression, refusing to look at Dylan's face as I walked out of his office.

Once outside, I let myself feel. My legs finally gave up, and I shook uncontrollably. Why did I keep making mistake after mistake?

One, my savings would take a hit because I was too prideful. Two, I told Kelly I was a whore—spur of the moment kind of thing. Two and half I called her a whore too. Three, I should have stayed home. I should have known Dylan would never sell to me deep down I knew he was only trying to help Nat too.

I was so mad I didn't notice where I was going until I bumped into Wes.

"Ow."

"Wow, Brenda, you okay?" He steadied me before I could fall.

"No, I'm not okay. I swear it's a miracle I didn't kill that bitch."

Then I remembered I was talking to a cop, and it probably wasn't wise to say the K-word in front of him. "Kidding, I wouldn't hurt a fly." I gave him my most innocent look.

"Seriously, you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"That depends. Am I talking to Wes the civilian or Wes the cop?" I really needed someone to rant to right now before I went back and did something I might regret.

"Doesn't work that way."

"Then no, I can't talk. I might say some things that could later be used against me."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Let's just say, if someone's tires get slashed, it wasn't me."

We's shoulders dropped, and he shook his head with a small smile.

"Actually, can you give me a ride to Brandon's?" I asked. I needed Brandon. Wes and Emma were reasonable; I didn't need to see reason. Sometimes you just needed to rant, and someone to rant with you, even though you were wrong. Not saying that I was.

"That I can do." He steered me toward his parked car.

"I gotta say, I was never a fan of cop cars, but riding in yours is pretty fun."

Wes threw his head back laughing. My distraction ended as soon as Brandon's house came into view and I remembered why I was mad in the first place.

Shit, I needed to go to the bank. I needed to get a check and take it to Mr. and Mrs. Fucking-perfect-for-each-other.

I said thanks to Wes and stopped myself from barging into Brandon's house. We weren't at that level of coolness, yet. Close but not quite.

When I knocked on the door, it was not Brandon that answered.

"VALERIE!" I squealed so loud she flinched. "Oh my god!" I bum rushed her.

She laughed when I hugged her so tight she grunted. "What are you doing in LA?" I separated from her with a smile.

"I just got here a couple of hours ago. Heard Brenda Walsh was in town."

"Oh my god." I slumped so happy I couldn't see straight. Also when I relaxed, the rage and utter sadness came back.

Valerie eyed me warily. "Brenda, is everything okay?"

I was seconds from blowing up; I needed to vent now. And Valerie was so much better than Brandon. I barged in and headed straight to the kitchen. Without speaking Valerie opened a bottle of red, pouring two glasses to the top. She set one in front of me as I sat at Brandon's kitchen counter.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?"

If I didn't get this off of my chest, I might talk myself into keying Kelly's car, and then Dylan would definitely know it was me.

"I hate them, Valerie, both of them. At first, I thought what the eff is Dylan doing with Kelly again. Sweet, sweet Dylan, I know he wasn't always but he was the last time we were together. But after today, I don't even know him. I don't think I ever knew him. He said no, just no. He didn't even give me a good reason why he said no. Then that bitch made me so mad I said I was a prostitute."

Valerie looked confused as fuck, "Wait back up what did he say no to?"

"To me buying Nat's house back for him."

"Ok…why would you do that?"

"Because! Why should Nat have to live in a house that Dylan and that bitch own. I'd gift it to him right back. Sell it back to him for a dollar. It's Nat's house."

"Okaaaay." She thought and took a sip of her wine, so I followed suit.

"I can't beat Kelly up because the cops will know it was me and people would think I'm jealous, which I'm not, but you can. Oh my God, Valerie, if you slap her, she won't hit you back because your you and you've always hated her. It wouldn't be weird at all!"

"Brenda!" Valerie slapped me, it wasn't hard but still shocked the shit out of me.

"Ow, I meant hit Kelly, not me."

"Deep breath." I instinctually took one. "Why are you a prostitute? What happened?"

Rubbing my cheek, I continued and told Valerie the entire story from the minute I got here and now. Valerie listened. She calmed me down enough that I would not be beating Kelly up—not like I could afford bail, anyway.

"Bren…you're better than them. I honestly don't know what the fuck Dylan is thinking. When I lived here, all Kelly talked about was your brother. Thankfully Brandon seems to be over that train wreck but if anyone is a prostitute…it's Kelly."

"God I'm so happy your here. Thanks for the wine. I have to go the bank. It's been over an hour. I'm sure Kelly is probably getting an arrest warrant ready." I got up.

Valerie hugged me again, she reminded me I was better and to be strong. We made promises to get together while she was in town. She admitted the return of Brenda Walsh to LA was something she didn't want to miss. I hadn't entirely understood what she meant by that but my mind was too inundated with thoughts of Dylan and bitch face, so I left and headed to the bank.

It probably wasn't wise to be walking around with a check out in the open. Knowing my luck, it would fall out my hand and land in a puddle. I turned to look down the street at the Peach Pit and contemplated sending Emma to go do my dirty work, but let's be honest, I wanted to.

I needed to look Dylan in the face, even though it hurt.

"Hey, Nancy," I said to the lady I had met earlier that day.

"Mr. McKay is taking a call. I'll let him know you're here."

She gave me a small smile and motioned me to take a seat, but I went straight to Dylan's office.

Dylan was in deep conversation. He didn't notice me come in. I took a moment to stare at his profile. Taking in the way his lips moved and the sharp edges of his jawline. He wore a suit like a Playboy model wore lingerie, and the way he kept playing with the silver pen in his hand did funny things to me. I knew things ended a long time ago, but it hadn't hit home how over we were. I looked down at the check in my hands, and I couldn't help but think handing it over seemed so final. Not sure why.

There was nothing of my old Dylan anymore. There was nothing of our past love. I didn't expect it to hurt, but it did. No one wanted to be forgotten. Even when things were over, people wanted to be remembered.

The pen in his finger froze when he noticed me putting the check on his desk.

"Let me call you right back. Something came up," he said to whoever was on the other end of the line.

"Brenda, wait." My traitorous body stopped at his command, but I refused to turn around. "What for? There's your money. We won't miss a payment anymore." I had barely gotten the door open when I felt him at my back. Every hair on my neck rose at attention.

I jumped when he slammed the door shut. My hand was still gripping the doorknob while both his hands were on the door, efficiently caging me in. Every cell in my body wanted me to lean back and feel his heat, to lean and smell his cologne, and run my hand over his face to get reacquainted with all the lines and creases, especially now that he had a little facial hair.

What was it about good facial hair that got a woman's panties dripping?

Goddammit, Brenda, get your raging vagina in check!

"Don't be stubborn, Brenda. Take the check back."

He dangled the check in front of my face, throwing my hard-earned money back at me. Kelly had already made me feel like trash. I would not let him do the same.

Was I the only one being affected by our proximity?

My mouth opened, but I couldn't speak, scared my voice would betray what I was feeling. Dylan was the epitome of calm and collected. He told me I was just a childhood memory, didn't he? Nothing could have prepared me for Dylan's touch.

My knees almost gave out from the contact. His hand glided down my shoulder to my arm where I was holding the doorknob like my life depended on it. As if having him close and touching me wasn't bad enough, feeling his nose on the back of my neck and his warm breath fanning my nape was even worse.

"You still smell the same," he murmured.

I couldn't move, scared that if I did, he'd back away. I felt a featherlight kiss on my shoulder, making my body shiver with uncontrollable want. My imagination was good, but not that good. Dylan had just kissed me for the first time in three years—I was starved for more.

He chuckled darkly, and for the life of me, I wondered why I didn't move.

The tip of his nose grazed my ear before he whispered, "Tell me, Brenda, if I was to put my hand inside your dress and my fingers inside your pussy would you be wet for me?"

Those words coming from his mouth were erotic, and if I wasn't already wet, I sure as hell was now. However, those words were also dirty and wrong coming from his lips. My Dylan wasn't a dirty talker like that, I had never heard the P word come out f his mouth, my Dylan wasn't anything like this. My hesitation was answer enough for Dylan.

"Take the check, Brenda. From what I remember, you weren't that good. I don't want to take away your livelihood."

That finally gave me the incentive to move, taking away the fog he had temporarily put me in. I turned around and slapped him.

Hard.

Really HARD

How dare he say that to me!

He was my first love, my first everything that was real. I gave him all of me at the Spring Dance. He was my first. All these years, I carried that memory with me because it was beautiful, it was pure, and I never regretted it.

Not until now.

I was always a little insecure sexually. Especially in high school. Dylan was experienced, but he made me feel safe, sexy and beautiful. Then in London, we had an amazing sex life. At least it was for me.

"What happened to you, Dylan? I don't even recognize you anymore."

I meant it as a rhetorical question. I didn't want an answer from him. When he took a step closer to me I had to take a step back, my body flush with the door. His eyes had gone liquid dark, and I could see an inferno ready to unleash.

He gave a bitter laugh, his lips flat in a smirk. "You want to know what happened to me? Sweetheart, you don't get that privilege. Why don't you go back to wherever the fuck you disappeared to."

Those words were like a whip, his sharp tongue lashing at me. I wanted him to hate me, didn't I? I just never expected him to be cruel and arrogant.

God, why did I keep doing this to myself? Why did I do things that would hurt me? What point did I need to prove? Dylan hated me, congratu-fucking-lations. You got what you wanted Brenda. I had thought Dylan's anger meant he cared but he was past that part. Now it was just pure hate.

When you loved someone for the first time, you give them a piece of you, and sometimes that piece never makes it back.

I walked out, leaving the money behind. There was no way in hell I would keep it.

"Brenda…do you know where we are going? We're going to die, Bren. Die out here! Brenda I'm not woodsey you aren't either."

"Val, we are not going to die, unless we fall in the pond, then maybe—but it's okay, we know CPR. We can perform it on each other."

I put my hand on Valerie's shoulder to soothe her. Valerie was overreacting. We would not die. We were just lost. Coming out to Franklin Canyon Park trail had been my bright idea.

After my meeting with Dylan, I was feeling too raw and exposed. Valerie only wanted to cheer me up. It wasn't hard to convince Valerie to come on a walk with me, except I didn't tell her the walk would include a bottle of Patrón.

No chaser.

Just your typical walk in the woods, a little crying, feeling sorry for myself, and chugging hard liquor. Valerie being Valerie didn't need much push to drink with me.

"You want another drink?" I was slurring my words, but I had never felt better. Maybe I could live out here in the canyon, nothing but darkness surrounding me. There'd be no Dylan. There'd be no Kelly.

No, Dylan and Kelly.

Valerie wasn't as happy as I was. She had her quota of nature. "No, I don't want another drink! Brenda, what if we never make it out? What if a bear eats us?"

"There are bears here? I didn't know this."

"Yeah, haven't you seen movies? Bears live in nature!" she informed me.

"But isn't this a park?" My head was hurting. Either we were walking in circles, or everything was spinning.

"Val, let's go back to the pond. I think the way out is that way." I fell for the fifth time. Why would I wear heels to a park? I should have changed, but I was still wearing my clothes from the morning. Valerie was't dressed much better than me. She had a cute black top that showed perfect cleavage and expensive jeans, with hot red wedges to boot. Neither of us were wearing proper hiking shoes.

I laughed when I noticed my scraped knees. Valerie came and plopped next to me, reaching for the bottle. "Okay, I'll have a sip. I think I'm dehydrating from all the yelling."

I nodded because her voice was getting hoarse. "You know what's funny, but also not funny at all?" I said.

"The fact that we are lost?"

"We're misguided, not lost. What's funny is that today I wanted Dylan to fuck me."

I took the bottle of tequila back and took a big gulp, wondering what we would do once the bottle was empty.

"I'm sure he wanted to fuck you too."

My head whipped towards her, "He was the definition of the worlds biggest asshole today. He did not want to fuck me…actually he said I was bad at it."

Valerie laughed, "I know for a fact that isn't true. Remember that time I visited London, dude I heard the two of you, he sounded like you were quite the opposite of bad. Oh yeah…fuck..Brenda…fuck." She was making growly, groan noises.

Terrible impression of Dylan having sex. "Besides…miss bitch priss looks like she just lays there anyway."

I snort laughed before taking another sip of tequila. I shoved the bottle back at her.

"I can't see." Valerie whined.

"That's because it's dark and the trees block out the moonlight. If we find the pond, we can get home."

I never noticed how in the dark everything was creepier. Also, louder. I could hear the night critters. "Remind me never to wear heels again." I moaned when I almost broke the heel of my Gucci pumps.

"Brenda, what the fuck is that?" I looked over to where Valerie was pointing. I almost fainted when I saw what she pointed at.

"Oh shit! Valerie, it's a wolf."

"I have phagophobia. Do you know what that means, Brenda? It means I'm terrified of being eaten alive."

Valerie clung to me, both of us hugging each other to feel somewhat safer.

"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy played on Valerie's phone. That was her ringtone. That's when the wolf ran. Valerie got up first and helped me off the ground. We took off running in the opposite direction.

Seriously, the pond was right there, ahead of us.

"Fuck my life! Run into the water. I don't think it will go in there!" I said, taking off my shoes and dragging Valerie with me. I'm sorry, Gucci heels, but you aren't worth my life. The water was past our knees when Valerie pulled out her cell phone from where she had tucked it in her bra. "Oh… I have my phone. I can call the police. They can save us!"

I was about to freeze my ass off. The water was cold. Good thing it only went up to our thighs. "Yes, this is Valerie, Valerie Malone. Brenda Walsh and I are lost. We don't know how to get home."

Valerie's voice wobbled on the last part. I stopped listening to Valerie's conversation and instead tried to find the wolfy. I thought the water splashing must have scared him off. What if it was spying on us waiting to eat us?

"No, but we're stuck. please, it's not a prank. There's a wolf spying on us."

Aha, I knew the wolf was spying. That's when I heard a loud ribbit, causing me to jump and lose my footing, startling Valerie, who in return dropped her phone in the water.

"Valerie, what are you doing?" I asked once she sank into the water.

"Found it!" She raised her now wet phone in the air. "It sounded like a good idea to submerge myself. It sounded warmer in my head." That's how the cops found us, Valerie and I in the water, splashing around trying to stay warm before the wolf ate us.

"Dammit, why-y-y did he have to c-c-come?" My teeth shattered from the cold, when Wes came in to view holding a flashlight.

"But he's cute to look at." Valerie said after of fact.

"I know he is but I know him," I whispered.

"Aw shit," I uttered when I saw the man next to Wes. He was much older than I remembered, but I guess being captain did that to you. If there was one person who shouldn't see me like this, it was Chief James. He had been friends with my father. I wanted to prove I had changed, matured, but look at me. I was drunk at a park. Shit, parks closed at sundown. That meant I could get taken in.

"Next time, can we just get drunk at Brandons, christ Bren…I have a record," Valerie whispered as the men got closer to us.

"You're the one that called them." I argued. "Besides, this was the safer option," I responded, looking from Wes to James.

"What was the other option again?"

"Taking a Louisville slugger to Kelly's car, maybe Dylan's. I wasn't sure we could pull both off without getting caught."

"From now on, I'll pick what we do." That was probably a good idea.

Both of us crashed at Brandon's that night after the cops picked us up. Nothing traveled faster than news in his town—scratch that, nothing traveled faster than bad news in this town.

Brandon walked in through the front door laughing while me and Valerie had our heads laying on his counter feeling like death.

"I wasn't aware we had wolves in the area."

"We don't?"

"No Brenda…coyotes…bob cats…but no wolves." Brandon said making fun of me. I had no idea what he was talking about though because Brandon was asleep when we got back here.

"Ran into James when I went to go put gas in my car, and he told me about last night's adventure. They have Val's call on record."

Fuck.

"Fuck." Valerie said the same but out loud.

"Isn't James full of gossip this morning," I mumbled.

"You should have thought about your actions before getting drunk."

"Do you know if this recording was shared around already?"

"I'm sure all the boys have heard it around the precinct." Brandon shrugged like it was no biggie that all the boys in blue were laughing at our expense.

"Oh, look, you got visitors." Brandon snickered as he left the room to grab his stuff while I went outside where Steve and Janet had just parked their SUV. Both of those assholes started cracking up when they saw me. Do one stupid thing, and our whole group knew about it.

"You know what sucks? Waking up in the morning to find out they've used your police code without you," Steve grumbled as soon as he got out of the car. I thought it was so cute the way he helped Janet out of the passenger side. He sure had come a long way from the boy who had used the legacy key.

"God, does everyone know?" I was still in my PJ's, my legs were sore, my head throbbed, and I'd be lucky if I didn't catch a cold.

Janet grimaced. "This is the most exciting thing that has happened in months, that and the fact that you called a coyote a wolf, priceless."

She handed me a white paper bag. "Here, there are two mega burgers in there from the Pit. I figured it would help with the hangover."

Speechless wasn't a word I used often, but it perfectly described me now.

"You brought me a burger?" I shakily grabbed the bag from her. Janet barely knew me. I was beyond touched.

Janet smiled at me, and for the first time, I felt like she was a real friend. Valerie and I wolfed down our mega burgers, no pun intended. It hit the spot, Hanover be gone. After heading back to Nat's for a shower and a change of clothes. I stopped by the peach pit, grabbed a fancy coffee and headed to the police precinct. I was drunk last night, and James was still a friend of my fathers. Wes I could handle his jokes but James…I figured if I took him a fancy coffee and groveled, maybe he wouldn't share what happened with my parents when they decided to catch up.

"So how you doing Brenda?" James leaned back in his chair as he held my gift coffee.

I shrugged, "I'm alright. You, how's Darla?"

"She is good. Haven't talked to your father in a while, he still in Hong Kong?"

"Yeah him and mom seem to like it there."

"That's good that's real good."

He took a deep breath, placing his coffee on the desk and leaned in. "I'm glad your back. Not too proud to admit this but I was hired to to look for you…or use connections from the force to look for you since you were international. Dylan, he pestered me day in and day out, he found out I was having some financial troubles so he offered to pay me to find your whereabouts."

My stomach dipped, a big knot formed in the middle. I felt like I had gotten sucker punched. Dylan looked for me? He tried to find me after he came back to LA? I knew it didn't change anything, but at the same time, it felt like it changed everything. Not once did I let myself believe he would try and find me.

"The boy was desperate. Got to hand it to you, kid, you made sure to cover your tracks. After six months, he gave up and said to stop the search. It was a long shot anyway. You weren't in LA and you weren't in London…my connections only went so far."

"I was in Paris."

He nodded, "Ah." He sat silent.

I breathed out, "Well…I should get going. Just wanted to give you a little peace offering and say thank you."

"No problem kid…oh and Brenda, next time you want to go gallivanting through Franklin park at night, don't."

I busted out laughing. "You got it."

I left the precinct. James was a good guy. I was happy he was still the chief of police.

The news regarding Dylan still shocked me to the core. At that moment in time. I was happy I didn't know where Dylan was living because that was the only thing stopping me from running there and demanding to know why he stopped fighting for us. How he could stop fighting for me? Hiring the Beverly Hills police chief to find a person that was assumingely still in Europe was drastic and desperate. There was only so much James could do this far away. There was only so much he could do outside of LA. I tried not to overthink it. Maybe Dylan was desperate to find me when I left back then…but he didn't seem desperate to have anything to do with me now. I tried to remind myself that. Three years was a long time.

I never moved on because I had hope. Any hope that Dylan might have had…was long gone.

*tears* Hit review, I have another chapter done! Tell me how you're feeling.