Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga.

BPOV

"What do you mean you're going to California? You can't go to California!" I scoffed at Collin.

"Calm down. I'll be back in like, a week. Besides, I don't leave 'till Saturday." Collin ignored me, continuing his pacing around the living room, muttering to himself about being abandoned.

"Can't believe you're using your college fund for this," Kole muttered, shaking his head.

I shrugged. "Seems worth it."

"You're one crazy kind, Campbell." Paul grinned at me from across the room. "One crazy, bold kid."

"A stupid kid! How can you guys let him do this!" Mom still stared at me, pleading with her eyes.

She had been begging me all week not to go. And when that hadn't worked, she actually tried to convince me to let her come with me. Yeah, that doesn't sound awkward at all...

She had even gone as far as calling a pack meeting. And Sam, being the great alpha he was, decided to humour her. Thanks Sam.

So now, the whole pack was sitting in my living room, eating my food, breathing my air...

"Well Mrs. C, we can't really stop him." Jared glanced at Sam as he spoke. Sam, as well as Leah, hadn't spoken all night. Sam just stared at the carpet, frowning. Leah was just watching the whole situation, looking slightly amused.

"Don't you dare try that with me young man." A couple of laughs were heard to hide chuckles. "I know you can tell him not to go Sam. Please."

We all watched Sam as he continued to stare at the floor.

"I'm sorry; I know I can stop him. But if there's one thing I've learned in my years as alpha, is that it's pure stupidity to try and order a wolf from his imprint." I smiled.

"Thanks," I mouthed at Sam. He nodded.

"Sorry, but we should go. It's getting late and Emily..." Mom nodded.

"Yeah. Thank you all for coming and trying to stop my idiot son." They all smiled as they filed out. Collin stayed behind, seeming oblivious to the emptying room.

"Collin? Dude, you have to go."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not done with you; I still have a couple of days before you go." I nodded, pushing him out the door.

"Bye Collin."

"I'll be back! Bye Mrs. C!" He called over his shoulder as I closed the door. I shook my head at him, before turning to face mom.

She was wringing a tea towel in her hands, frowning at me.

It seemed like she had that expression on 24/7 nowadays.

"Mom..." She shook her head, wrapping the towel around her first.

"No, no, I guess I can't stop you from going after all. All I can do is support you, right?" I sighed.

I didn't understand why everyone was a huge deal over this. I'd be back in two weeks. No one would have enough time to even think about missing.

"Mom, I'll be fine." She nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I know, I know. And I understand why you're going too; I just can't picture my baby by himself on a plane..." I groaned.

"Mom, I'll call every night," I offered. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not that over bearing. I just hope this is all worth it." She went upstairs, and her bedroom door closed a couple seconds later.

"She is worth it,' I muttered a minute too late.

I hadn't talked to Skylar in five weeks. It was kind of incredible that I was still functioning. From all the stories I'd heard, I was sure I would be in a comatose state by now.

Then again, Mr. and Mrs. B were fine for years...

I wanted to call her, and make sure she was okay, but I wanted to surprise her. That and I was kind of worried that if she knew I was coming, she might fly off to Vegas or something.

I shook my head at myself, and headed towards the stairs.

Might as well finish packing.

SPOV

More than a month. That...that douche monkey hadn't called me in over a month. Well, I could deal with that. I could be strong. I didn't need a man to make me happy.

"Skylar?" I looked up at Sonya. She interrupted my internal rant. How rude... "Were you planning on going out like that?" I frowned, glancing down at what I was wearing.

My white "Keep Warm This Winter Date A Werewolf" t-shirt, denim cut-offs and lavender flip flops.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow, gesturing to the shirt. "What's wrong with it?" I wrapped my arms around my torso self consciously.

"Uh, is that appropriate?" Sonya smiled, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"We're going to the beach, aren't we?"

"Yes, but that's not-. You know what, never mind. It's a, uhm, cute t-shirt." I smiled, following her out of the room.

See? I was fine. Sonya and I had gone to the beach almost everyday since the surf competition. Which I placed second in, I had a very shiny trophy to prove it too.

Brent had only come with us once. I had learned two things that day. One, Sonya got extremely jealous easily. And two, she wasn't afraid to pick fights with complete strangers.

The whole situation would have been funny, if Sonya hadn't been so upset afterwards.

"Can't believe you're actually wearing that. Today of all days." I frowned as I buckled myself in. What was happening today?

"Wait, wait!" Brent opened the back door, panting.

Both he, and the wool sweater he was wearing, were drenched in sweat.

"Brent, what're you doing?"

Sonya only shook her head at him.

"You will not keep me under house arrest because someone has a bit of a jealously issue." Sonya's grip tightened on the wheel as Brent spoke.

I glanced between them, confused. They didn't seem like they were fighting.. Then again, I was never really good at reading my brother...

"Uh, am I missing something?" I finally asked, the silence getting to me first. Sonya ignored me, but Brent sighed.

"Don't worry about it Sky." He smiled. "Looking forward to the beach?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Of course. I'm always excited to go to the beach." Sonya smiled as she parked the car.

"Good, cause we have a surprise for you." Sonya grinned at my confused expression.

"Don't worry Sky, we're not gonna throw you into the ocean or anything." I scowled at my brother, but got out of the car after them.
"What kind of surprise?" Sonya only smiled, linking her arm through Brent's sweatered one.

"A surprise you'll really love?" I stopped.

"Really? Was that hint supposed to be helpful?" I called, running to catch up to them.

"No. But we're here, so it doesn't really matter." I frowned at Sonya, then looked up at the sign of the shop we had stopped at.

It was a surf shop. Brent and I had been here a couple of days ago. He had to check on something.

Sonya pushed me through the door when I didn't move.

"What're you- What's going on?" I questioned, glaring at the both of them.

They only grinned at me.

"Felix? We're here to pick it up." Brent called into the shop. Felix was the shop owner. He was about Bren's age, super tan and blonde. He seemed pretty cool.

"Awesome! It's right over there." He winked at me before pointing across the shop.

I followed his finger and my eyes landed on what had to be the most beautiful board in the world.

"That's a, uhm pretty cool board." I shrugged running my fingers over it lovingly.

"Really? I hope you like it more than that; it is yours after all..." I stared at Brent, open mouthed. I probably looked like an idiot.

"Seriously?" Sonya nodded.

"Think of it as a nice to meet you present." I had never heard of that before, but I wasn't about to question it. They got me a freaking surf board!

"I don't know how to repay you. This is too awesome."

"Don't worry about it. Letting me have your brother is thanks enough." I tried not to gag at that comment as Brent took the board.

"Thanks Felix!" I called back as we left the shop.

"Now Skylar," I waited for Sonya to continue, the joy of owning my own board making me giddy. "I want you to remember what we just did for you. And whatever you do, do not kill your brother." I frowned, but followed her to the car.

I couldn't help but be hesitant going back up to the apartment. Sonya's voice kept ringing in my head. Why would I want to kill Brent?

There was a duffel bag outside the door. A duffel bag that reminded me a lot of Kole actually...

"Brent? Sonya? Are you hiding?"

"We're in here!" I followed their voices into the living room and then immediately wished I hadn't.

He stood up once he saw me, shoving his hands in his pockets. He still looked the same, although I didn't know why I thought he wouldn't. They didn't age.

"Skylar, I-"

"What're you doing here?" He took a deep breath, glanced at Brent then smiled.

"I'm here to ruin your vacation."

"You're what?" He grinned now.

"You're gonna have to deal with me for a couple of weeks." He shrugged, sitting back down.

"Brady, you can't stay here." He raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer. He only looked at Brent. I looked at Brent too, giving him my best death glare.

"Uh, yes he can. We kind-"

"Oh no, don't you dare drag me into this." Sonya stood up and walked out of the room.

"Okay, I said he could stay here."

"You WHAT?" Brent flinched and I glowered at him.

"As far as I'm concerned, it was for your own good." He walked up to me, placing a cautious had on my shoulder. "You would have had to go back eventually." I kept my mouth shut, staring at a wall behind me. Brent sighed and left the room, leaving Brady and I alone.

I turned once I was sure Brent was gone.

"Skylar, wait." He grabbed my wrist, briefly brushing his fingers over my scar.

I shuddered involuntarily before pulling my arm away.

"What."

"I'm sorry." I scoffed, turning around to face him.

"Did you really think that you could come out here, say sorry and assume everything would go back to normal?" His jaw clenched.

"No. But I was pretty sure that spending my inheritance and more on a plane ticket would help."

"Your inheritance?" I couldn't help it, I started to feel bad.

He shrugged, like it was no big deal.

"I thought it would be worth it if you forgave me. I'm really sorry Skylar. I really am, for everything." I looked away debating with myself.

I knew he was sorry. I mean, why else would he have spent all of that money on coming out here?

Or ask, my brother of all people, for a favour?

But I couldn't forgive him that easily. What kind of impression would that give?

I glanced back at Brady, he was watching me, waiting for an answer.

"I..." My phone buzzed in my pocket and I dug it out gratefully.

"Hello?"

"Skylar!" Jessie shrieked back. I pulled the phone away from my ear.

"Hey Jess."

"Don't you "hey Jess" me! Where are you? What's going on? It's like the second I leave, everything falls apart. Do I have to get someone to beat Brady up? I'm sure someone out there specializes in werewolves..."

"Jessie!" I blushed, running to my room.

"What? Was your brother there? Was he interested in the job?"

"No, Jess, Brady was in the room." Jessie was silent for a few seconds.

"Where are you?"

"California."

"Staying with your brother and his crazy girlfriend?"

"Crazy?"

"Anyone who willingly dates your brother is crazy to me." Fair enough...

"Your point?"

"Right, if you're in California, three things. One, why didn't you take me with you? Two, are you surfing? And three, that idiot actually flew out to California after you? That's dedication..."

I laughed. God, I missed Jessie.

"One, I didn't think that going to Sydney to pick up my jealous best friend and bringing her back to the States seemed appropriate. Two, yes, yes I am. Everyday. And three..." I sighed, sinking down to the floor.

"Three?"

"He did. How am I not supposed to forgive him, when he spent all of his inheritance doing this?" Now Jessie sighed and we both stayed silent for a while.

"I don't think you can. Unless he had an ulterior motive for going out there, you kind of have to forgive him Sky." I groaned.

"You're not helping," I muttered.

"Oh, sorry. What I meant was: who cares? Let him squirm for a bit. Make him work for your forgiveness." I laughed. "Better?"

"Much, thank you." Jessie sighed.

"But seriously, you'll have to forgive him. He makes you happy, no mater how much of an idiot he can be." I sighed, again.

"I know, I know...So to sum things up, realistically, I should forgive him."

"Yes, but only because you're almost at your breaking point, and no one wants to see what that's like.." I nodded.

"Good point. But in the ideal world, I should make him work for forgiveness because spending his inheritance wasn't good enough?" Jessie didn't answer for a few seconds.

"Okay, when you put it that way, it sounds really dumb. Even if I was just joking." I nodded, getting up.

"You're right... I think I'll forgive him."

"Good, but use your common sense. If he does something stupid..." I laughed.

"Don't worry; I'll give you a call."

"Good. Bye love, and good luck."

"Bye Jess." I hung up and taking a deep breath, walked back into the living room.

Brady was surveying the walls, an amused smile on his lips.

"Sonya?" He asked, glancing at me. I nodded, my eyes narrowing. He'd been listening, I could see it in his eyes. He was too happy.

"Was that Jessie on the phone? And more importantly, is she really planning on having me killed?" He raised an eyebrow and I looked away.

"Yes. And no, she would never do that." He nodded.

"So..."

"Look Brady, I want to forgive you, but-"

"I won't make any more mistakes, promise. Or at least, I'll try not to... Just give me one more chance." I sighed, looking around the room.

Every cell in my body screamed at me to forgive him, but one little part of me was resisting...

"Where're Brent and Sonya?" Brady shrugged, taking a step towards me. I took a step back.

He frowned.

"They went shopping." I nodded, taking another step back as he advanced again. "Skylar." I looked up at him.

"What?"

"Y-you still love me, right?" I stood there, shocked for a second before my brain started moving again. Did he really just ask me that?

"What?" He shoved his hands in his pockets, moving his weight from one foot to the other impatiently.

He looked at the ground before looking back up at me, his eyes troubled.

"Just answer the question." I took an unnecessary breath before shaking my head.

"Well that's a dumb question." I finally said.

Brady stopped shuffling and stared at me, surprised.

"Dumb?"

"Well, yeah. It's kind of obvious isn't it?" His eyes narrowed and he took another step towards me. I tried to back up, but stopped when my calves hit the couch.

"How," he whispered, taking another slow, exaggerated step, "is it obvious?" I held his gaze, ignoring the uneven pounding of my heart.

"If I didn't, I would have kicked you out by now. And you and I both know, that if I asked, you would go back to La Push and never speak to me again." He took another step towards me so we were less than twenty centimeters from each other.

"Is that a threat?" He smiled slightly, before catching himself and resuming his neutral expression.

"No. It's me making a point." I bit my lip as he leaned closer trying read my eyes.

"So, that's a yes?" I blinked, trying to think through the smoldering effect his eyes had on me.

"I-" The front door opened and closed. Brady took two steps away from me, but his eyes never left mine.

"Hey Sky, we're..." Sonya's voice trailed off as she entered the room. It was only then that I noticed the tense atmosphere Brady and I had created.

She glanced between us for a few seconds, not saying anything. But I could see the rising suspicion in her eyes.

I groaned, burying my head in my hands and sitting on the couch.

"Sorry for leaving Sky, you were on the phone, so..." I looked up at Brent.

He raised an eyebrow at me, smirking.

"Did we interrupt something?" I groaned again and my head fell back into my hands.

But not before seeing Brady leaning against the far wall, smiling like it was Christmas morning. He was still watching me, but not with the same guarded expression as before.

He looked more like he had just won a war. A war I hadn't even known I was fighting.

So, there are two more chapters after this one, and then Higher Ground is done. Fini. Finito.

It's kind of sad, but it has to be done...

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