Breanna Michelle Santana

       "I can't believe you're leaving me like this again, kid." My dad said as he put the last item atop Kaign's vehicle.

I shook my messy head of hair and blinked up at him through my naked lashes. "A bird's gotta leave the nest." No matter how many tries it takes. Hopefully, this is the last time said bird will live at him with her dad, I thought.

Giving me a squeeze, Angie stepped back and told me to call her if I ever needed anything or just wanted to talk.

Angie had become like a mom to me, actually. I'd never call her that but she was more of a mom-figure to me than my actual mother had been in years. She was selfless, patient, and considerate. I was going to miss her but I knew she and my father would be just fine without me. I just hoped she wouldn't get pregnant.

Toot-toot! Kaign whistled at me from inside his SUV with Dylan who took up the passenger seat. "Yo! Brea, let's go, girl."

I didn't say anything but mentally rushed myself to wrap up my goodbyes.

My dad started walking me away from everyone else so we could have a moment.

With his hand on my shoulder, he looked out into the distance and asked me,"you know what yer doing?"

I shook my head again. "No idea."

He chuckled at that and formed a smile on his rugged face. "Me either, but I trust you because you're my daughter and you're smart. I'm gunna tell you what Angie's taught me; lead with your heart."

"Where's this going, dad?"

"You don't need to go back to Florida, Bea. Remember why you left in the first place? It just seems... redundant."

"Dad-" I scoffed, annoyed.

"I'm just saying: make sure you're running to something and not away from something — someone."

Ah. I see where this is going, I thought. Grayson.

My dad did have a soft spot for Grayson and understandably so but I thought with all that happened at the cabin, he'd have nothing good to say.

His words registered with me for a while but I shrugged them off, not trying to get into it. At that time, I was sure of my decision to up and leave. A new start; it's what I needed after all the drama I'd been through. Anywhere Grayson Reid Jansen, his family, Leila, or Bethany was, is where I needed to be.

That said, I reassured my father that I was a big girl who could take care of herself and wouldn't allow the same mistakes to repeat themselves as I thought I'd grown enough to want better for myself. Not to mention, I swore off any and all relations to guys for the time being.

"Love you." He said sternly, bringing my body in for a side-hug.

"Love you, too, dad." I sounded back with a faint smile as I sauntered away from his and towards Kaign's SUV.

Goodbye, Oregon, I said in my head.

Next stop: Miami, FL.

===FOUR WEEKS LATER ===

I put the car in park in Kaign's driveway and immediately hopped out. The Floridian sun beamed down on me and burnt my skin.

I slammed the door shut and went straight towards the mailbox to see if I had anything in there.

"Kaign. Kaign. Dylan. Kaign. Ah, Brea!" But my excitement wore off when I realized it was just one of those Victoria Secret catalogs.

Rolling my tired eyes, I huffed and walked up the pavement.

The door was unlocked so I pushed it open and took off my shoes as soon as I stepped inside the modern home.

Kaign and Dylan quickly purchased a house together that Dylan designed of course. It was supposed to be sold to a retired couple but Kaign had his mind made up.

"Hello?" I heard one of their voices call out.

"It's just me!" I yelled back, kicking my shoes into the corner by the front door.

My keys dropped onto the glass table as I walked past it to enter the kitchen.

"Hey you," Dylan said, out of breath from his treadmill run,"why the long face? Another unsuccessful job interview?"

With a bland face, I nodded at him before whipping my neck back to reach in the refrigerator for a drink.

Kaign stopped chopping a cucumber to listen to me wholeheartedly.

"I dunno, maybe it's my resume but no one will hire me." I vented through a prolonged sigh.

"Well you know what I say." Kaign spoke.

"No," I said,"I don't think I'd be any good at real estate."

"Are you sure you want to give up photography, Brea?" Asked Dylan.

"Yeah, you're like, really good at it." Kaign complimented me, earning him a faint smile that quickly disappeared.

I didn't say anything back to them but I thought about it.

Freshman year of college, I changed my major like four times. I was fooling around with Gray on campus one day, he had got the new iPhone so I wanted to try out the camera. He said my pictures were really good and I guess I did always like taking artsy photos for my feed so I took up photography and found that I was, actually, pretty good. I had "the eye", you could say.

"I'm just ready to move on." I breathed out with frustration, pushing off of the counter in the middle of the kitchen floor.

Kaign looked disappointed and glanced over at Dylan who had the same facial expression but they didn't bother saying anything else to me.

All of a sudden, my phone started to ring. It was my father, he seemed to call quite a lot.

Annoyed already, my eyes rolled almost instinctively.

"Keep rolling your eyes, they'll get stuck like that." Kaign told me as he and Dylan fondled each other on the opposite side of the island. They almost rolled again until my dad spoke and I straightened up.

"You're hard to reach." He started the conversation.

"I know, I know. I've been-"

"Busy." We said in unison. I had to let out a faint chuckle.

My Dad went on to speak. "How've you been? I miss you."

"Miss you too, dad. I'm alright."

"How's Florida treatin' you?"

"It's Florida, shitty as always."

He laughed and spoke again. "When will you be coming back?"

"If you're calling to see if I'm thinking about skipping out on you popping the question, you're mistaken." I beat him to it.

Dad had told me a few days prior that he was going to be proposing to Angie, his long term girlfriend.

"I didn't think you would, I just really want you here."

"I will be, my flight's in a few days-"

"I thought you were coming tomorrow, bud."

"I don't want to be there longer than I have to, Dad, no offense. It's just-"

"Grayson?" He dared to speak his name.

I shuttered before exiting the kitchen so Kaign and Dylan could no longer eavesdrop.

My body fell onto the couch as I breathed out and stared up at the ceiling during the remainder of the call.

"Yeah. Him."

"I guess I should tell you this now," my father hesitated to say,"he still calls. We met up for drinks and I decided to give 'em another shot."

"Isn't that nice." My sarcasm was obvious.

Okay, to be honest, it was nice that they were back to their father-son dynamic because before I came back around, they were an inseparable duo who even got on my nerves with their bromance.

"I suppose you invited him to the wedding," I said.

"Yeah. Is that okay with you," asked my father, honestly concerned.

"Of course." I swallowed my pride.

"Good!" He exclaimed,"I'm glad you all put the past behind you."

"Me too, Dad," I sighed deeply. "me too."