I do not own Summerland. I do own Teresa Coleman, her family, friends and story.

88KarateGirl88: Hey!! A new reader!! Yay!!! I'm so glad you like my story!!! Thank you for reading:) P.S. I sent you a Private Message.

Sweet-Romantic: Hey! I'm so glad you're still reading:) Ha, ha!! I think everybody hopes he doesn't hurt them again but you'll just have to keep reading to find out:) Thanks for the review!!!

Krissy: Hey there, Krissy!! I was so afraid I had lost all my readers taking so long to update!! Whew! Thankfully I haven't lost ALL of them... You are probably the most faithful reviewer of this particular story! THANK YOU!!! You'll have to read to find out if he hurts them or not! ;) Is this update quick enough, for ya? Hope so!! And don't forget, reviews are the ONLY thing that keeps me updating:D

Well, here's the next chapter!! I hope y'all like it and review!! That's what keeps me updating this story!! Reviews and only reviews do it:)
Ok, I'll stop babling so you can read now!!

Chapter XVIII

Beaten

It was the first days of November and everything was starting to cool down. Bradin was walking along the beach, he was alone and I do mean alone, it was one of those rare days when absolutely no one was on the beach. There was a massive storm approaching and everyone had retreated, even the surfers, which Bradin thought was quite odd, but they just weren't there. The sound of thunder in the distance, the strong wind blowing in and the silence and deserted-ness caused an eerie feeling to wash over him. He brushed it off and kept walking, he was slowly making his way back to the beach house... slowly.

Things there hadn't been very great since he and Jerry's "fight." Ava kept questioning him about the whole thing and what everything had meant. Plus, Jerry kept coming over because, apparently, he had convinced Johnny that Bradin and he just "didn't like each other." Bradin would always find some way to "disappear" when he was there, but he would never leave without taking Nikki and Derrick with him, and if for some reason they wouldn't/couldn't come, he'd stay there with them till Jerry left, leaving them there while he was there would just be stupid.

Jerry was at his house right now and he had left even with the storm approaching because he couldn't stand to be there with that bastard. Nikki was at Cameron's and Derrick was at Martha's, so he didn't have to stay with them or take them with him. His head was overcrowded with thoughts and he felt like someone was watching him. He looked around in front of him but saw no one, he was just about to turn and look behind him when a voice said, "Well, well, well, I see I've found you alone, Bradin... again."

Bradin jumped and whirled around, he stood face to face with Jerry Brown. Before he could even speak Jerry's right fist collided with his cheekbone knocking him off balance, he staggered for a second then regained composer, bracing himself for a fight.

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Jerry looked at the kid he'd done so much to, he thought back to the last day he had raped him. Ah, that had been fun, he loved watching Bradin suffer, he loved seeing him afraid of his own shadow, he loved making his life miserable. He hated Bradin and there was no way he was going to let the boy just live his happy little life without some pain and misery. No, sir! That stupid little punk was gonna suffer for being happy! He hit Bradin's cheekbone and watched him stagger sideways, then steady himself and clench his fists. Jerry smirked, awe... he was gonna try to fight him... well, bring it on! He took a step towards Bradin and hit him in the gut, Bradin doubled over in pain giving Jerry the advantage. He hit him in the gut again, again. Bradin wavered then fell to the ground, his face contorted in pain. Jerry kicked him in the side several times then when he was sure Bradin wouldn't attempt to get back up he began circling the groaning teen saying, "You stupid, puny punk!" Jerry's mind filled with memories of his own abused boyhood, he had been just like Bradin, happy and carefree, until one night his father beat him for all but no reason. He was beaten many, many times after that and now... now he had to take it out on somebody!

He chose Bradin because he had been easy to do it to, he had tried to put up a fight at first but soon gave up and let Jerry do whatever he wanted, yes, Bradin had been easy. "You are worthless! A worthless piece of crap!" Jerry raged at Bradin who was laying in the sand with his eyes shut against the pain that Jerry inflicted with every punch and kick. "You stupid idiot boy! You thought that you could start a new life here, didn't you?"

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Bradin heard every word Jerry spat out at him, he closed his eyes trying to bare the searing pain that now coursed through his body. Jerry asked him a question, but he couldn't have answered had he wanted to, he hurt too bad. Jerry kicked him in the head, hard, making him see stars for a second, "Didn't you?" he repeated, this time more angrily. Bradin winced as a wave of pain shot through him, he wanted to say something to Jerry but couldn't find the strength. A strong wind blew now, and lightning was clearly visible not very far away. Thunder rumbled loudly as Jerry kicked him in the head again and again repeated his question. Still Bradin couldn't answer him and every kick made it more certain that he couldn't. Jerry suddenly yelled, "Not gonna answer me, huh? Well, I'll teach you to disrespect me!" Jerry kicked Bradin everywhere he could get to and with as much force as he could.

Bradin opened his eyes for the shortest moment and saw that Jerry looked self-satisfied with what he was doing. He was disgusted with this man... how could he possibly be so cruel? Suddenly feeling very numb to all the pain, Bradin let his eyelids fall shut as a blessed darkness took over him.

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Teresa sat on her bed trying to concentrate on her math homework but couldn't. It was too silent in her house, she really did hate being alone... not because she was scared someone would get her, but because it made her miss her brother's lively chatter and her father who was always singing something. It also made her miss her "old" mother. Her mother used to laugh and sing and join in all of the happy conversations her brother carried on with whoever would listen. She missed the family she had had before the accident. With a sigh she again tried to focus on her homework, but her mind wouldn't let her. The light coming in through her windows and balcony doors suddenly started fading. She stood, walked to the door and stepped out onto the patio. A strong wind met her the instant she stepped out. She saw the approaching storm and realized that if she was going to go to Bradin's today she'd better leave now before the storm broke out. She slipped on a hunter-green calf length skirt, a pink top with three-quarter length sleeves and a pair of strappy sandals with a slight heel. She looked into her full length mirror as she put on lip gloss and a shell necklace that Bradin had given her a few days ago. She brushed her hair and put it into a simple, but cute, ponytail then twirled around to inspect herself. She looked cute. She grabbed her purse, went downstairs, locked the door and hurried down the deserted beach towards Bradin's house.

Thunder rumbled in the distance and lightning flashed brilliantly in the sky. Teresa shivered as a strong wind blew into her, she quickened her pace. She saw a girl walking towards her and recognized her as Amber Farine, a girl she had met at Bradin's friend's birthday party. Amber waved, "Hey Teresa!" she said cheerfully as the two girls reached each other.

"Hey Amber, looks like quite a storm coming up, don't you think?" Teresa said looking at the sky.

"Yeah, it really does, I haven't seen any weather on TV today, but I heard it was supposed to be a big storm today... guess this is it!" She laughed, "Where're you going?"

"To Bradin's house," Teresa said and blushed slightly, "you?"

"Oh I see..." Amber said slowly and winked, "I'm going to my grandma's, she's sick and I'm gonna stay with her tonight... um.. I guess we better go before this gets any worse," she gestured towards the sky.

"Definitely, and tell your grandma I hope she feels better," Teresa spoke loudly over a rumble of thunder.

"Okay, I will," Amber said. A loud crack of thunder startled both girls, "I'll se ya," Amber waved as she jogged off.

Teresa waved back and took off in the opposite direction from Amber. She was starting to run as the storm got nearer when she stopped dead in her tracks. There was a man walking up from the shore, she recognized the husky figure trudging down the beach as if he were running away from something. Teresa shut her eyes trying to think where she had seen him... It clicked in her mind at the exact moment that lightning flashed and thunder cracked together. Teresa jumped and shivered from the fright of the thunder and the realization of who the man was. It was Jerry Brown, the man that had done so much to Bradin... her Bradin. She filled with disgust and wanted to run over and beat his insides out, but thunder and lightning made her start walking again. She was barely half way to Bradin's and the storm was all but here. She suddenly stopped again. She had seen what looked like a black yard bag full of something lying out by the ocean, but she was certain she'd just seen it move from the corner of her eye. She spun around and looked at it, her stomach turned as she realized it was a person!

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Bradin opened his eyes and saw lightning flash in the sky, he saw Jerry trudging off... He tried to sit up but a shock wave of searing pain shot through him like a thousand knives and he fell back, cringing and wishing he were back in that blessed blackness he'd been in such a short while ago.

Bradin wasn't sure what Jerry had done to him after he passed out, all he knew was that every inch of his body hurt like someone was stabbing him. He didn't even have a chance, Jerry had snuck up on him, hit him before he expected it then didn't even give him a chance to fight back before pulverizing him. It was the perfect recipe for killing someone, but he hadn't killed Bradin, he'd just made it so that Bradin wished he had. A female's voice broke into his thoughts, "Oh my God, Bradin!!" He opened his eyes to find Teresa standing over him looking like she was about to faint. He tried to say something but couldn't muster up enough strength. Teresa knelt beside him and took his hand, "Bradin? Oh my God, Bradin! Baby, can you hear me? Answer me!" she screamed as his eyes fell shut again. "Bradin!? Bradin, say something! Please, baby... Brea, are you okay? Answer me!!"

No answer.

"Baby!!"

Bradin opened his eyes and coughed as a wave crashed over him and Teresa powerfully. "Get me outa' here," he said lowly, but sternly enough to make her start trying to help him sit up. "Ohh..." he groaned but realized the pain wasn't nearly as bad as he'd first thought. He sat for a minute trying to gather enough strength to stand then reached for Teresa's hand and painfully stood up. He started to fall but Teresa's hand steadied him as she wrapped it around his back and under his arms and held onto him giving him enough support to start walking. "Don't take me to my house, please..." he looked into Teresa's eyes as he spoke.

"Okay, we'll go to mine, nobody's home anyway." Teresa answered as tears began to filled her eyes from seeing the pain in Bradin's.

And there is another chapter!! I hope y'all liked it but even if you didn't I wanna hear about it!! REVIEW!!!

Anna Christie AKA SecondStarToTheRight15