-1The Bet 2: Dark Secrets
Ch. 5
Paparazzi
Fox: OK I realize now that some of you may not know what the Save Mart Center is. Allow me to explain. The Save Mart Center is not I repeat NOT a grocery store it is in fact a building on Fresno State Campus where they hold rodeos, college basketball games and huge concerts. Sorry for not clearing that up I wasn't thinking.
Kojisa: yeah and we don't own many things
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Naomi opened the door quietly and peered in. she smiled and shook her head at the sight of Brad still sprawled on the bed, the sheets twisted about him in some complicated manner. Stepping into the room she walked toward the bed and began shaking him gently.
"Brad it's time to get up." he waved her hand away before rolling over on his side so that he faced away from her. She rolled her eyes before grabbing a hold of one end of the sheet and tugging until she managed to get it from around him. He sat up and glared at her through half lidded eyes.
"What's your problem?" he murmured before grabbing a hold of the sheet and pulling it back over him.
"Your mom says you need to get up. It's already 11:00 and we're suppose to go with them to the mall." she could hear him groan from under the covers , but made no move to get up.
"Brad!" he sat up suddenly and stared at her before throwing his legs over the side of the bed and standing up.
"I hate shopping." he grumbled before disappearing into the bathroom with his clothes. Naomi sighed before walking out of the room and back down stairs.
Brad stared in the mirror while he quickly brushed his teeth. He was hoping to waist time so he had taken a long shower and was now taking his time getting ready. Naomi had returned to the room 5 times already, instructing him to hurry up and he couldn't help but think that she reminded him of his mother and sometimes that wasn't a good thing.
He smiled and leaned over to quickly spit out the tooth paste. He washed his mouth out then looked over at the door as someone knocked.
"Brad are you almost ready?"
"No Naomi I'm not even dressed yet." he could hear her sigh and shook his head before quickly dressing and walking out into the room. He really had no urge what so ever to go to the mall today.
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Brad frowned as he followed behind Naomi and Rachel as they made their way through the crowds, stopping at random stores along the way. He was vaguely aware of the guy following behind them with the camera slung around his neck, but he hadn't taken any pictures yet.
"Hey Brad." he looked up finally realizing that Rachel had been talking to him.
"What?"
"I said can you watch Reeve while I go with Jarrod really quick?"
"Uh yeah sure why not." she smiled before pushing the stroller to him and moving off in the opposite direction. Naomi was laughing at him.
"What's so funny?" she smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing its just I think you secretly like kids." he shook his head, but gently picked Reeve up as he started to fuss.
"I don't like kids. In fact I hate kids."
"Yeah sure you do. I can tell by the way you act around Riley."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh come on was that Go Fish I believe you were playing when you thought I was in the shower." she smiled at the faint blush that covered the bridge of his nose before a flash drew her attention to a man with a camera. Brad was staring at him to and glared when the man flashed another picture.
"Hey man do you mind?" the man didn't reply and continued to snap pictures. Brad glared and stepped toward him and the man quickly turned and walked away. "God damn paparazzi."
"Paparazzi? You serious we have to deal with paparazzi?" Brad nodded before moving toward the other end of the mall with Naomi following with Reeve's stroller.
"You think one's bad you should have seen when we were on tour. They're just looking for a story." Naomi rolled her eyes and moved so that she was walking next to him.
"Wow what a fabulous story this will be! 'Brad Hunter at the Mall' catchy heading don't you think."
"Oh yeah never heard one better." another flash and Brad looked over his shoulder to see the man still following behind him. Brad whirled around and stared at the man. "Listen get out of here or-"
"Come on Brad Hunter why don't you tell the world about your family!"
"It's none of your business and like I told you-"
"What is it too hard? Too hard to talk about your daddy? Come on Brad the world wants to know!" Brad took a step toward him but stopped as Naomi placed her hand on his arm.
"Come on Brad lets just go and find Rachel." Brad watched the photographer for a moment before turning and continuing down the walkway.
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Naomi stared at herself in the mirror as she slowly brushed out the wet strands of hair. She couldn't get the words of the photographer out of her head,
"Come on Brad Hunter why don't you tell the world about your family!"
"What is it too hard? Too hard to talk about your daddy? Come on Brad the world wants to know!" She knew she shouldn't worry about it, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. He never told her about his Dad. What had happened to him? Had he simply got up one day and decided he didn't want to deal with the problems of a family man anymore?
Setting her brush down she stood and walked into the room Brad's mother had put them in. He was sitting on the edge of the bed watching ESPN's rerun of the Chargers vs. the Colts football game. Walking quickly in front of him she settled herself next to him on the bed and brought her legs up under her chin.
"So who won?" She questioned. She thought of her dad for a moment and smiled at the fact he was probably watching the same thing. For as long as Naomi could remember her father and mother had been dedicated Charger fans and she to had been one although she wasn't much of a sports person, at least not watching them on TV. She would rather be playing then watching.
"Chargers did actually. They're showing to when it was about a minute left in the game." as the ending of the game dwindled down to zero seconds remaining Naomi stared down at the hem of her black robe that reached mid thigh. Glancing at Brad out of the corner of her eyes she finally turned to him as the game ended.
"Brad. . . Can I ask you something?" He grabbed the remote and turned the TV off before laying back onto the bed and looking up at her.
"Shoot." Naomi opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as their door opened and Lynn ran in and jumped onto the bed next to Brad.
"Hey Brad!"
"What?" Her round cheeks were pink with excitement as she leaned closer and put on her best puppy dog face.
"Are you coming to my thing tomorrow?"
"What thing?"
"My Christmas performance for school! It's tomorrow at 9 o'clock and my class is singing Jingle Bell Rock!"
"Uh yeah sure." she launched herself onto Brad and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"Oh Thank you thank you thank you!" then she was off the bed and out the door, letting it slam shut behind her. Naomi smiled as she watched the little girl leave.
"So what did you want to ask me?" She looked down at him before realizing what he was talking about.
"Oh right. Well . . . I was just wondering . . . What exactly happened to your dad? You've never talked about him I was just-" she stopped as Brad stood up suddenly and turned away from her. She frowned and stood up with him. She wasn't sure what to do. Starting to reach out to touch his shoulder she decided against it and turned her own back on him. Brows knitted together she didn't know what to say to him. She jumped slightly as Brad's arms snaked around her waist and pulled her back full against his chest. His chin was resting on her shoulder and she could feel his breath in her ear as he sighed.
"Listen Naomi . . . I just . . . I hate talking about him. He left a long time ago. Some people just like to read into it." his arms left her waist and the sound of the springs in the bed moving reached her ears. Naomi glanced over her shoulder at the man now lying on the bed with his back to her. Sighing deeply she undid the tie of her robe and hung it up on the back of the door before crawling onto the bed and wrapping her arms around Brad's waist.
"Sorry." she murmured into his ear and scooted back as he rolled over to face her. Drawing her into his arms he rested his chin on top of her head.
"It's OK don't worry about it. So you gonna come with me to my sisters performance?" Naomi smiled and scooted closer before replying.
"Oh I think I can make it."
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Naomi quietly slipped into the bedroom and eased the door shut. It was only 7 and she didn't want to wake Brad yet. His mom had asked her to get the camera that was in the closet in their room. Walking to the closet she opened the door slowly and began to search around on the top shelf for the camera.
A book caught Naomi's eye, and peering over her shoulder to see if Brad was still sleeping she grabbed it down off of the shelf. It was a photo album with a black leather cover and gold letters. Running her fingers gently over the lettering she opened the book to the first page. The first page was taken up by paper announcing that a baby had been born. Naomi found herself smiling as she read over the paper.
"Brad Darin Hunter. 6 lbs 4oz.
July 17, 1982 7:20 pm" She flipped the page again and grinned at the baby pictures that were there. Removing one from the protected plastic sheet she flipped it over to see if anything had been written on the back. In small print at the very bottom was written 'Brad, 2 months old'. As she replaced the picture something fell from the book and landed at her feet. Frowning Naomi set the photo album down and picked up the packet of photographs.
She felt like she was snooping, but couldn't help herself as she pulled out the photos. Staring at the first photo Naomi couldn't believe what she saw. It was Brad at a very young age maybe about 5 and the whole left side of his face was bruised. She jumped suddenly as Brad shifted and murmured something incomprehensible. Sticking the photos back into the envelope she stood and quickly hid them in her duffel bag. Then glancing at Brad again she grabbed the camera and quickly left the room.
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Benji looked over the grocery list he had made, then checked in the cart to make sure he had gotten everything they needed. Satisfied he pushed the cart up to the check out counter and began piling the items on the conveyor belt then scanned the store quickly for Riley. She was standing at the magazine rack and seemed to be staring at the cover of one of them.
"Riley come here." she looked up at him before grabbing the magazine and hurrying over to him. "What's that?"
"Look Daddy it's uncle Brad!"
"Huh?" she held the magazine up to him and Benji took it from her and quickly scanned the cover. Sure enough both Brad and Naomi were on the cover with the other various actors and artists that the magazine was going to gossip about. Looking to see what page they were on Benji quickly flipped to it and with out really meaning to started to laugh.
"What's so funny Daddy?" he simply shook his head and put the magazine down with the rest of their items.
As soon as they got back to the apartment Benji quickly put the groceries away before grabbing the phone and dialing Brad's cell number.
"Hello?"
"Hey Brad."
"Hey Benji what's up?"
"By any chance have you read the Enquirer lately?" he could here the confusion in Brad's voice.
"No Why?"
"You should read it. You know how come you never told me that you and Naomi had a love child?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Benji began to laugh and it took him a minute before he was finally able to respond.
"Is there a grocery store near by you?"
"Yeah."
"Go buy a copy of the Enquirer you'll get a real kick out of it OK."
"Alright talk to you later."
"Bye."
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Brad stared in amusement at the two page article with his picture on the front of it. Naomi watched him from her spot on the couch and jumped slightly as he began to laugh out loud.
"What's so funny?" Brad looked up at her and smiled before tossing the magazine over to her. She picked it up and flipped it over and quickly scanned the title. "Where the hell do they come up with this bullshit?"
"It's Obscura."
"Your manager?"
"She's trying to threaten me." Naomi glanced back down at the magazine before tossing it onto the other cushion. "I had no idea I had a kid."
"Yeah me either." They both looked up as Brad's mom walked into the room.
"So what are you laughing at in here?"
"Oh nothing mom just some stupid article." Brad stood and stretched making his shoulders and back pop. "I'm gonna go shower." then he turned and left the room. Jessica watched her son leave before walking around the side of the couch and sitting down next to Naomi. She reached over and picked up the magazine, before smiling and tossing it onto the coffee table.
"I always knew they made up their stories. I mean it's kind of funny they're saying Reeve is yours. I mean for one he's got blonde hair and green eyes. He looks nothing like either of you." She smiled again before turning to Naomi and studying her quietly. "You know I owe Brad a lot." Naomi looked up at Jessica curiously and waited for her to continue. "He's done so much for me and so much has happened to him that he deserves to be happy now. He was always worrying about me and my happiness. He sacrificed so much just for me."
"What do you mean?" Questioned Naomi as she sat forward. Jessica looked at her before standing up and facing away from her.
"He hasn't told you had he?"
"Told me what?" Jessica shook her head before striding toward the door.
"I'm sorry it's not my place to tell you." She stopped in the doorway and turned to face Naomi. "Just promise me Naomi that you wont hurt him." then turning on her heal she disappeared down the hall. Naomi sat back against the cushion and sighed. Something was going on, but she just couldn't figure it out. She thought briefly to the photos hidden in her bag, but she couldn't figure out what it all meant. Brad promised he would keep any more secrets from her, but was he hiding something now?
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Fox: Sorry short chappy I know, but it's one of those ones you just need to get out so sorry if it totally blows, but-
Kojisa: Kojisa will try harder next chapter I promise Nods but thanks for the reviews and don't forget to R&R. also this should have been up a long time ago but the sight was just not cooperating
Audi!