Heaven in Your Eyes || Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw

Prologue

25 years ago
(when Bradley and Emily were 10 years old)

"This is the best sandcastle ever! If there was a competition, we would definitely win!" Emily said excitedly as her and Bradley worked on their sand castle together. Bradley nodded.

"Yeah,"  he replied as he began to dig a moat around the castle. Bradley then dumped water into the moat to complete it. "There. I think it's finished now,"

"It looks so cool! I wish my dad was here to see it," Emily whispered.

Her father, Pete Mitchell, was barely ever around because of his job so Emily spent most of her time with Bradley at his house. Emily's mother had divorced her father when Emily was six and was gone from her life. Thankfully, Bradley's mother, Carole, was kind enough to keep Emily in her home when her father was over seas.

"Maybe my mom can take a picture of our sand castle," Bradley suggested with a smile as he placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. Emily smiled.

"Yeah! We should go ask her,"

The two sprinted across the beach to Bradley's mom and she placed her book in her lap, smiling at the two kids.

"Mom, can you take a picture of our sand castle? Emily wants to show her dad it when he gets home," Bradley explained. His mom nodded.

"Of course sweetie. The two of you can go sit on either side of the castle and I'll take a picture of you,"

"Thanks mom!" Bradley said excitedly. He grabbed Emily's hand and the two sprinted back towards the sand castle.

When Bradley's mom had finished taking the picture, the two kids decided to destroy the castle. They jumped on it and kicked some of the sand in the air. As they finished, Bradley's mom called the two of them over as it was time to go home and eat dinner.

*

After dinner, Bradley and Emily sat out on the back porch, staring up at the night sky.

"Look at the stars! Isn't the sky pretty?" Emily said, pointing at all the stars.

"Yeah. They are really cool," Bradley muttered. He then looked over at Emily. "Emily, do you think my dad's up there?"

Emily shrugged as she looked over at Bradley.

"I'm sure he's up there somewhere. I bet that one of the stars up there is him and he's looking down at us right now," Emily explained. Bradley frowned.

"Where'd you learn that?"

"My mom told me about it. Before she left. She told me about it when my grandpa died," Emily muttered, fighting back tears. Bradley pulled her into a hug to comfort her.

"It's ok, Emily. At least you still have your dad around,"

"Yeah, but he's never home. He's always off working. I don't think he even cares about me. I don't think he cared about my mom either. That's probably why she left," Emily said between sobs. Bradley shook his head.

"Your dad cares about you, Emily. It's just hard for him to be home with the job he has. Pilots have really important jobs," he said. Emily nodded.

"You're probably right. Thanks Bradley. You're the bestest friend I've ever had," she said as she hugged Bradley tightly. Bradley smiled

"You're my best friend too, Emily."