They (Really) Talked

I gasped and looked forward; it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We were up in the forest on the mountain that bordered the beach. There was a clearing and we had a breath-taking view of the sun setting behind the ocean.

The ocean was even more navy blue than usual against the sun. The sun was bright yellow and orange, like a ball of bright light. The sky surrounding it was pink, and where the pink faded was a beautiful periwinkle. The few clouds up in the sky had become violet. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever scene.

"It takes my breath away every time." Brady said softly after a moment. As I watched he leaned against a tree trunk. I sat and joined him.

"It's…it's… indescribable." I finished. He smiled softly.

"I know. When I was little and my parents threw parties, I would run away and go ride in the forest. I still remember the day I discovered this little grove. Ever since then I came here."

"You ran away when your parents threw parties?" I asked, curious. "You seem like the life of the party, not the type of guy who sneaks out." He chuckled scornfully as he looked into the ocean.

"They only threw parties to impress business contracts. That's the only reason they bought the house. When they aren't in New York, they have three small houses all across the States. They go there. It looks like a quaint, beautiful house with a quaint, beautiful family. Just the type of people a lot of contracts want. Someone who listens to them and isn't just some big business contractor. Well, half of them. The other half would rather have the big business contract. That's why they spend most of their time in New York."

"Wait," I said, confused. "If they have three houses and a place in New York, where do you live?" He smiled sadly.

"I traveled the world as soon as I finished kindergarten. I had a tutor and baby-sitter who traveled with us. Once my parents settled down, they lived in a flat in New York. Problem is the contracts down there don't want to hire someone with a kid to look after. So they sent me to live at a boarding school." He shook his head sadly. "I hated it there. So after three years, they let me leave. I had a choice; live with my aunt and uncle, down near the beach house, or travel with them. I chose my aunt and uncle. Sometimes my parents came to town to get deals at the beach house. They wanted me to play the happy kid, to help them get deals. But after all they had done to me, I refused. But you can't say no to them." He turned his head towards me. "I started sneaking out. Eventually they gave up. They haven't been back in years."

"Wow." I said.

"Yeah," he nodded, "but my aunt and uncle were always out during the summer, which let me explore the town. Then I met your grandpa and, well, the rest, as they say…"

"…is history." I finished, smiling.

"Yeah." He said. He smiled for a moment, but then his demeanor turned serious. "So, you didn't really tell me earlier. What happened between you and that guy, Chris?"

I sighed. I never talked about my feelings with other people. Still, for some strange reason, I felt like I could open up to Brady.

"It started a long time ago." I said, looking out towards the ocean. "My school was full of gossiping girls. I always preferred being alone, reading and surfing. I was never a girly girl." I half expected him to make a snide comment, but to my surprise he stayed quiet and nodded. I took this as a sign to continue.

"Then this guy showed up. Instantly, all the girls feel head-over-heels. He was a bad boy, exotic, brilliant, you name it. Chris. Even I heard about him, and I had never even seen him. He wasn't in my class and like I said, I don't really talk to people. I was surprised he even heard of me. At first I thought maybe he liked me. Still, I didn't really care. People had liked me in the past. I never paid them any attention, and they went away. And I thought he would be just like all the others at first.

But I was wrong. It started at a party. I don't know why I went, maybe I was curious. I went and Chris was there. He saw me and we started chatting. I drank a lot of soda and got into this huge sugar rush. I barely remembered anything.

After that day, he paid a lot of attention to me. I should have known something was up, but I guess I assumed he was being friendly. And all the sudden, he was perfect. Smart, humble, gentlemanly, down-to-earth, everything I wanted in a guy. And so, when he asked me out, I accepted. And soon we started dating.

At first, it was amazing. We loved, we kissed, and we faced the world. For once, I truly, really, fell in love. I remember that feeling of freedom so well. But there was something else there, too. He started showing me off to his friends, talking about me like I was a trophy. The normal me would have seen through his facade. But I was in love."

My voice dropped to barley a whisper.

"All he wanted was bragging rights. He wanted the girl who was hardest to get. When I realized it, I told him. But even then I didn't end it. I didn't have the courage. Still, things were different. He still showed me off, but he didn't pretend to love me when we weren't with his friends. In public it felt unnatural. I no longer thought he loved me. I was stiff towards him, cold even. Finally, he ended it. He told me I was right. He was just using me."

It was then I felt an arm around my shoulder. I turned to find Brady hugging me. He rubbed my back and I let a tear fall. I felt like here, with Brady, it was alright to finally let out some of the sadness I had held in for what felt like forever.

"Nobody deserves that." He whispered, his voice giving me goose-bumps. "Especially not someone as amazing as you."

I felt chills travel down my spine despite the warmth of Brady's embrace. 'You can't get too close to him.' I thought, but the voice was a mere echo in my head. I was floating, and at that moment, I didn't care.

Author's Note: Ta-da! This chapter took me a while, so I hope it's been worth the wait. I had writers block ON TOP of crazy homework so, ya. Huge thanks to everyone who reviewed, virtual hugs all around! Sending a review takes 1 minute, and it will make me happy for 1440 minutes (1 day). (And yes, I actually calculated that). So please keep the reviews coming!