Brooklyn's POV.
Present

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!! I glanced at the clock on my phone and saw that I was twenty minutes late to work and Katherine was still not dressed for school yet. This is not going to get me that promotion! Fuck! I raced around the house grabbing my purse, keys, and Kat's shoes from the bedroom and kitchen before heading back towards the front room.

"Come on, Katherine! It's time to get dressed!" I yelled to my six year old, she groaned loudly and shut the TV off.

"But mom I don't wanna go to school!" She whined and stomped her foot dramatically and crossed her arms over her chest. Her brown/green eyes reflected a look that Ava used to get when I would tell her to do something...Ava.. I shook my head and tried to mentally push all thoughts of the little blonde hair blue eyed girl out of my mind. Now is not the time to reminisce about the past.

"Katherine Paige go get dressed now or else no Silverwood this weekend." I told her sternly and gestured to the stairs. She huffed and stomped up to her room. I sighed and sat down on the entryway bench. Sometimes moments like these really frustrate me when she pitches a fit, but then I'm reminded of all the things that girls in my foster homes would do and it makes me realize that Kat's little temper tantrums aren't that bad. It's just all a part of raising a child.

"Mommy!!" Kat yelled to me from her room. I smiled and headed up to see what clothing issue she was having today. I swear she was more in tune with fashion than Ralph Lauren. Kat stood facing her mini walk in closet with a frustrated look on her face.

"Can't find anything to wear sweetie?"

"ITS A CRISIS MOM!! A CRISIS!" She threw her hands up in the air, I smiled and pulled out a simple yellow and white floral dress. She looked it over once and nodded her head in approval. After she had the dress on I pulled her hair over her shoulder and tugged it into a simple braid.

"School now, mom?" She asked, a hint of sadness filled her voice.

I smiled weakly and nodded my head, "Yes, time for school."

After I had dropped Kat off at school I headed straight over to work. It was now 11:27 and I was officially an hour and a half late for my meeting. When I got to my office, Janice, my secretary handed me a pile of new applications for bands that were requesting to record over the break. I sighed and sat them on my desk then headed down the hall to my boss's office. I knocked three times before he called for me to enter. Quietly I took my seat in one of the plush leather chairs. He smiled at me and gestured toward the end of the desk where some new demos were sat awaiting to be picked. Amongst them was Aron's latest EP. I smiled softly and picked it up off the third pile and turned on the laptop. Soon one of his songs, The One, came blasting out through the speakers. I had to be honest with myself, this was not the best that he could do. Compared to when he was still apart of my brother's band, this was no where near close to being good enough for me or my boss to consider signing Aron back to the label.

Come on Aron, I know that you're better than this, I thought to myself. I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. Obviously I was going to have to call him later tonight to discuss some possible changes.

"What do you think Miss Decker?"

"Well," I sighed and pressed the pause button. "I think he's selling himself short. His fans have been demanding new songs and I think that he just gave in and threw some songs together without thoroughly thinking any of this through. He has some decent talent when he takes his time." I paused for a brief moment to take a breath before continuing. Aron is a good friend and I wasn't about to let him throw his career away so soon. "It's clear that he wrote from his heart and really dug deep to put together this song. You can tell I'm his voice alone that he's rather emotional about the situation still. He just needs to sit down, clear his head, and focus on the right words."

"Very well then." He said more to himself than me, I took Aron's EP out and put in a new one. "Speak with him later and set up a time for him to come in and record a new version of this song, if it's good we might go through with the album."

The rest of the morning was spent listening to a bunch of EPs and looking over the request forms to record in the downtown studios. We came to the final decision to allow three bands to have some studio time, one being Of Mice and Men. I was happy that we ended up choosing Austin's band to record with us, the man works harder than any other artist I've met. When I had called him to let him know that they got the studio time he sounded truly excited to begin working on new songs. He also told me that he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend, Savannah, over the weekend when he takes her to Disneyland.

"She's really going to love that!"

He chuckled and said that he had been planning this since their last tour. "I'm probably going to ask her in front of Cinderella's castle when the fireworks go off."

"With her being the big Disney fan that she is, I know that she'll love it. You did good, Austin."

"Yeah she probably will, oh and thanks for letting us have some time in the studio."

"Of course, well I gotta get going. I've got to head for home here pretty soon."

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to-"

"It's totally cool." I told him dismissively. "I'll see you soon though, bye Austin."

After we hung up I grabbed my purse from my desk and shut off my computer. Right before I locked up my office Janice popped her head in through the doorway and told me that I was needed to discuss one last artist.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid that Mr. Mathews is wanting to get this finished before you leave."

"Alright. Tell him I'm on my way down." She nodded her head and wandered back to her cubicle.

Some days are more stressful than others, and other times it can be rewarding. But right now I felt like pulling my hair out. Quickly I gathered my car keys, jacket, and umbrella seeing as it was now pouring rain outside and quickly walked down to his office.

"Yes Mr. Mathews?" I sat my things down by the chair and took a seat.

He shut his laptop and pulled out an EP. "Brooke, how many times do I have to tell you that when its non office hours I am just your Uncle Derek, not your boss?" He gave me a small smile. I did know this, only because he reminded me every damn time. Personally I always thought it more professional and respectful to talk to him like my boss while still in the office no matter what hour it was. I smiled and pulled my notebook out of my bag to jot down a few reminders.

"Janice said that you wanted to discuss another artist?"

"Yes." He slid the case across his desk to me. When I picked it up I saw that it was Aron's. My heart fluttered lightly when I saw it. Maybe I was partially wrong in my initial assessment of Aron's EP. Maybe we could sign him back to the label.

"I do agree that it's not as good as when he was in the band with your brother, but he does have something here and as long as you talk to him, get him to focus, I think we might be able to get a good album out of him." He paused to pull up a letter on his laptop. I read it over and nodded my head.

"I think I could work with him. The only problem is his location in LA, he would have to at least relocate to Oregon so that we could fully work on a record."

"Then why don't we give him a call tomorrow morning and if he can manage to move up here then I'll send him this for him to sign and we'll be set."

"I'll call him after I pick up Katherine." I said and headed out for my car. After I had picked up Kat from school I dropped by Chicos Tacos for a quick dinner solution, granted it's not as good as Del Taco but at least it's something.

"Mom?" She asked softly from the backseat.

"What's up Kat?" I glanced at her quickly in the rear view mirror to check if she had spilt anything on her or the seat. There wasn't a mess so I continued to drive back home.

"Who's George... R-ra-ragan?" Her brow pulled together in frustration. Ever since she began to learn how to speak she's always seemed to have issues with speech no matter how many speech therapists I take her to see. My heart just about stopped beating when my mind fully registered what she had asked me. I sighed heavily and thought for a moment. A year's worth of memories came pouring back to me and stung every fiber of my body like as if salt and alcohol were being rubbed into many open wounds. Never in my life did I think that I would hear his name being spoken to me ever again unless it was in the office. Nor had I pictured my child to speak his name before I had ever mentioned it to her.

"Sweetie where did you hear that name?" I asked her. My voice sounded small and weak, almost as if I was afraid to know the answer. She shrugged and met my gaze as I threw the car in park. I shut off the engine and helped her get the car seatbelt undone.

"Mrs. Hogg was talking about me after snack by the coat hangers and she said that she knew him and thought that I looked like him." She smiled up at me before taking off into the house. I followed behind her silently. Once we were inside I shut the door, locked it and sat down on the little entryway bench.

"What else did your teacher say?"

"She said that I have his nose, but that's silly cause my nose is my nose." she added as if it meant nothing. Well to her it meant nothing, but as for me? Oh it meant a whole universe of shit. I wasn't sure if I should be angry right now, or relived that she didn't put the puzzle pieces together just yet. Honestly I was a bit angry about the fact that her teacher had the audacity to speak of my child and personal life in such a manner. I mean she wasn't wrong, but speaking about that while my child was within hearing distance made me feel beyond upset. She had no right to even be discussing that in general. But what really has me going right now is how in the hell does a kindergarten teacher that lives all the way on the border of Washington and Oregon know of George Ragan, aka Johnny 3 Tears of Hollywood Undead, who just so happens to be the father of my daughter? This shit shouldn't be happening to me! This should stay buried in the past.

My whole body sort of went numb. It was like everything just shut off, hell I didn't even realize I was in the kitchen until the microwave clock beeped. I shook my head slightly to try and clear my head I sat the bag of food down on the table and got a glass of water for Katherine. Quietly I ate my food with her until she was finished then I wandered off into my bedroom. I could feel my anxiety building inside of me  to the point where I knew that I needed a moment alone.

Once I closed my door all of these emotions flooded throughout my body. That numb feeling returned followed by my hands starting to shake violently. Part of me wanted to call Jorel, Vanessa, or even George himself to see what they've been doing all this time, and the other part of me just wanted to forget about all of this and hope that it just went away on its own. But then again how much longer could I keep my own child's father a secret from her? Could I even keep it from her? Are my own emotions a logical enough reason to make her believe that her father had walked out on her before she was born? Would he have walked out on her if I had given him the option to be there for her? So many questions and no time. Well not anymore at least. On the other side of the room my phone began to ring, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin. I sighed and pushed myself up from the bed to retrieve the small device. Of course it was at the bottom of the damn bag and I almost missed the phone call.

"Hello?" I asked in a professional tone. I never knew who I would get a call from, so it was always best to sound like a professional business woman. There was a brief period of silence that answered me back before I heard an old familiar voice.

"Brooklyn? Is that you?"

"Katrina?!" I cried, letting my excitement get the best of me. I cleared my throat and made sure to sound more professional. "What can I do for you?"

"Really? That's how you're going to treat your ex best friend?" She said irritated.

My heart had a sharp tugging feeling at her phrasing for our current relationship. Well I couldn't blame her. Not in the slightest. Along with my brother, Vanessa, and the guys, I had cut off Katrina as well. Currently I regret that decision, but six years ago it felt like the best thing to do.

"I'm sorry Katrina. How are you?"

"Well I'm just glad that I found your new number," just wait for it.. "Cause now I can curse your fucking ass out for leaving the way you did!!"

And there it is. I sighed almost happily and let her rant and rave about the last six years. Every now and then I would get to explain things, only to have her yell at me some more. She yelled, screamed, cried, and even hyperventilated for the next hour until Katherine knocked on my bedroom door.

"Oh now you have company and have to disappear for the next six years?" She asked with nothing but pure venom dripping from her voice.

I laughed and shook my head, "Actually not entirely, it's just Katherine." That made Katrina shut up. "You know my daughter? The one I was pregnant with when I left Los Angeles?"

I got up from the bed and opened the door for Katherine to run in. She jumped up onto my bed and made herself comfortable under my down blanket. She smiled back at me before pulling the covers over her face.

"Who are you talking to mommy?" Her voice came out muffled from under the blanket.

"An old friend. Why don't you come say hello to her?"

"Okay." Kat threw the blanket off of her and crawled up to my side and took the phone from my hand.

"Hi I'm Katarina, what's your name?"

....................

"I like your name, it's almost like mine!"

................

"Do you have any kids?"

...............

"She sounds like a nice person. Well Scooby Doo is coming on I have to go. Here's my mommy." Kat handed me the phone back and ran out to the living room. I smiled and shut the door again.

"She is so adorable, Brooklyn." Katrina gushed about Katherine.

"Thanks Kat, that means a lot to me."

"And did you kind of name her after me?"

"Well of course I did, why wouldn't I?" She laughed softly, my chest tightened at the sound of her laughter. It honestly felt almost like old times when I lived with Jorel and used to call her from my room and she would be in the living room downstairs. Just like how it should still be. But I've moved on, everyone has. I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest. I really didn't want to dive into the past and bring up bad feelings, but I had to know why she had went through so much trouble to get ahold of me.

"Katrina why did you call?" She sighed and soon I was met with silence as an answer.

"I had to know how you were. Brooke it's been six years! Jorel had us split into search parties after you had left! He almost killed himself when we couldn't find you!"

I internally flinched when she mentioned my brother's old dance with the devil. Both me and him had suffered that dance on numerous occasions. I kept quiet while Katrina explained to me how things had been after I'd left.

•Flashback~Katrina's POV•

"Jorel just calm down okay? We'll find her." I said soothingly.

He sniffled and pushed himself up from the couch, "Don't make promises you can't fucking keep." He growled through clenched teeth. We all watched him stalk out of the house, me and Vanessa jumped slightly when the door slammed shut. Danny pulled me into his lap and hugged me tight. Vanessa busied herself with turning her attention to George who had not spoken a word since we figured out that Brooklyn had snuck out of the house. He had called his brother to come get Ava and take her home while the rest of us had split up into search parties to look for Brooke. After we had called it a night he had spent the night drinking virtually all of Jorel's liquor supply.

That had been two months ago. Now he wasn't speaking to any of us unless it was to find out if there was any news about Brooke. It honestly broke both me and Vanessa's hearts to see him and Jorel like this. Neither of us wanted them in this state of mind. Especially not with Aron starting shit with the band and the fact that they needed to get started on the new album. Me and Vanessa exchanged a quick glance and decided to let the rest of the guys handle George and Jorel while we took our own break to work on her clothing line.

•Three months later•
Both me and Danny sat side by side in the doctor's office waiting to hear the results of the ultrasound. We had told the doctor that we didn't want to know the gender until the end of the appointment. So here we were, waiting nervously for the doctor to come back. Danny held onto my hand like as if he were to let go everything we had been through would just crumble away. I sighed and kissed his cheek softly.

"Everything's going to be okay Danny." He smiled back at me and kissed my hand before the doctor came back in. She smiled sweetly at the two of us before handing Danny an envelope. His hands shook with anxiety as he pulled out the ultrasound photos and a piece of paper, a huge smile broke across his face then he glanced up at me.

"What is it Danny?" He smiled even wider, leaned down and kissed my belly before kissing me.

"It's a girl."

"Congratulations you two." The doctor said quickly before exiting the room.

"Oh Danny this is amazing! We're going to have a little girl of our own!" I cried and held my belly. He nodded his head and pulled his phone out so that he could tell the guys. Right as he unlocked his phone it began to ring, he frowned as he answered it.

"What's up Vanessa?" His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped slightly. Panic began to settle within me as I tried to hear what Vanessa was saying to my fiancé.

"Alright. We'll be there as soon as we can." Quickly he hung up and pulled me to my feet before tugging me along behind him and out to the car.

"What's wrong Danny?" I asked frantically as he threw the car in reverse. He didn't answer me for the longest time, he just drove as fast as he could without fully breaking the speed limit.

"Jorel tried to kill himself. Left a note saying that he believes that Brooklyn is dead and that he wants to be with her." He said around a strangled sob.

•End Flashback•

"What?!" I asked in disbelief. My own brother had given up that much hope to let himself believe that I was...dead!?

Katrina didn't say a single word as everything she had just said sank in. How could anyone let him believe that?!! How could- ...it was my fault. I let him believe that I was dead. I never picked up the phone. I never sent him a Christmas card or anything. I never told him that Katherine was even born. This was all my fault.

"So now what are you going to do Brooklyn? Can I at least tell him that you're still alive and kicking?"

I sighed and fell back against the bed, "Yeah, just don't give him my number okay?"

On the other end I heard Katrina give her own exhausted sigh, "Okay. I won't, but can I at least call you?"

"Yeah. But right now I gotta get Kat ready for bed alright?"

"Works for me."

"Bye whore."

"Bye bitch."

We both ended up laughing at how we used to be. With our goodbyes said I hung up and headed out to wrangle up the wild heathen and get her ready for bed.