Facing Him

Chapter 23-Did You See Her

Brandon's POV
As the weeks went by, I only missed Lydia more. I started sending her voice memos everyday to keep her up on what was going on and she listened to them for awhile but then weeks turned into months and eventually the messages got left of delivered and I stopped. I know I shouldn't have, but I feel incomplete without her.

She brought out the best in me and she saw a good side in me that I thought was gone. I plan to do the same for her. I just wish that she would come back already. I know it's not safe, but I will do just about anything to see her at this point. It's been 2 months and everyone has been trying to act normal however it's not working.

Grace started being nice to everyone, Blaire went back to her quiet ways, Piper told everyone that she was pregnant so her and Vince moved in together and I guess they are going to raise the baby together. Gray is working really hard to get me and Nate to be close again which is kind of like his distraction for all of this.

As for myself, well I'm a mess. In class I end up spacing out and thinking about Lydia, and then I end up looking at her seat which only gets me into trouble but I don't care. I miss her so much, everyday feels worse and worse and the only thing playing in my mind is that I hope she's not dead. I couldn't handle that, it would kill me. Which is why I am doing my best to stay on the right track so when she does come back I can prove to her that I am responsible enough to actually commit to her and have a real relationship with her.

"Cheer up man. We have our first game in ten minutes." Vince says about basketball as an attempt to make me feel better. I shake my head and sigh. "I can't. No matter how hard I try, I always end up thinking about her. Everywhere I go, it's like she's in my head. I pass the park and I remember the night she left. I pass the cemetery and I remember when she took me to see my mother's grave. And then I pass by her locker and I think of just seeing her face. I just wish I could see her one more time."

"Wow. I never thought you could ever care for someone this much, but you're whipped." He comments with a smile, I nod.

"I know, and I'm not ashamed of it. I love her with everything I've got and I just wish she would come back. At least to see her nephew be born, she deserves to at least see him even if it's only once." Haley found out the gender of the baby about a week ago and I couldn't have been happier for her. Now when that boy grows up she is going to see a little bit of her husband everyday with her, it's beautiful.

"She can't. Whatever it is that she's doing and wherever the hell it is that she went she's going for a reason and that reason is to protect us all-"

"But I can protect her-"

"Not from this Brandon. Yes, you're a boxer but this guy is a trained assassin and you're no match for him. The business he's in is dangerous. Why do you think my dad divorced my mom? She was in the mafia and he wanted no part of it and that's what got him killed. This isn't some video game Brandon, it's our lives. It's her life. We can't just hit replay when one of us ends up dead because this is reality. I know you love her but you have to respect her decision. And yes, I know it feels like it's been forever but she will be back. Maybe not now, but eventually and I'm sorry but you just have to deal with it."

In that moment I felt awful. I haven't been taking this thing seriously because I've only thought about myself and not anyone else. I've only been focusing on how her leaving effected me, I haven't thought about how this effected Haley, Gray or even Vince for example since he has first hand experience with this stuff.

"You're right. I've been selfish and I'm sorry. Let's focus on the game tonight, we are going to kick some ass." If I am going to be sad about it, I might as well keep it to myself in order not to make everyone depressed and sad. I just have to focus on my school work if I am going to be able to be that guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

When the game started, coach had everyone convinced that this game was going to be a good one and he was right. It was the end of half time and we were up by 9 points. As the game continued on, everything got more rough. This one player started to mess with my head which got me angry.

"What's wrong Santiago? Are you afraid?" He said with a chuckle, I smirked. "No Lawrence, why would I be afraid of a chicken legged creep like you?"

"Ha good one. You make me laugh! No I was talking about your girlfriend, she's in witness protection which must mean she's done some pretty awful and rough things. Speaking of rough things, I bet she's a goddess in bed-"

"Shut up."

"Oh what's the matter? Is little Brando getting mad?" The smirk on his face made me want to punch him, but I looked over at Vince who only gave me a glare which I knew was code for "don't do anything stupid or I will castrate you" and I knew that I had to back down.

"No because I understand why you're so bitter. You're just a scared, whiny guy who is so insecure to a point where he has to bully and pick on everyone who gets in his way. But I don't blame you, I would be too if my girlfriend caught me doing it with her brother-" Before I could push his buttons anymore, he pushed me to the ground and I hit my head. For a second, as I went down I could've sworn I saw Lydia in the crowd, but that is probably my concussion talking because that's all I remember before I blacked out.

"Brandon? Brandon wake up!" All I remember is waking up in the nurses office with a really bad headache. I looked at Vince to see that he had a smile on his face.

"Thank god you're awake-"

"Did you see her?" I cut him off in the middle of his sentence. I need to make sure that I am not losing it and going crazy. "See who?"

"Lydia. I saw her before I blacked out, she was there!" He shakes his head. "Dude, you hit your head really hard. And considering that we were talking about her before the game, your sub-conscience was creating an image of something that wasn't there."

"No. She was there, I know what I saw, I'm not crazy!" He gives me a sympathetic look as I protest and carry on. "She wasn't there. It was just us. Lawrence hit you pretty hard, it was a fragment of the imagination."

As if hallucinating seeing Lydia wasn't enough, Piper came in with a worried look on her face. "Guys! It's Lydia's dad... he got Grayson." My eyes went wide and I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest, I could see that Vince was scared too.

"What do you mean he got him?" Vince asks apprehensively, she hands us a letter. Damn this guy is like obsessed with writing letters, it's crazy.

To whomever it may concern,
I've been watching and looking around and I have yet to see my daughter. And until I see her I will take every one of you like little targets and use you as pin cushions. First on my list is the guitar player. I know my daughter is close with him, but who I am really after for is Brandon and Haley. Can't have any of my family left standing. First is Grayson, then it'll be the others that she loves most in order. Bring her to me and the guitar player won't get seriously hurt. If I don't see her by midnight Friday, it'll be the end for Grayson, and the end for all of you. So for your sake, FIND HER!
-Carlyle

"We have to warn Haley. Now that she and the baby are in danger, we need to get her out of here and as far away as possible-"

"No. We need to call uncle Tim. If she's not with him, he will know how to get in touch with her, and we need the both of them right now. They can end this." She whipped out her phone and dialed the number, she made sure to put it on speaker so we could all hear but it went straight to voicemail.

"Tim, it's Haley. Look, I don't know if Lydia is with you or not but I want you to be aware that if she is with you, we need both you and her to come back here. Carlyle is after all of us, he's even after the baby... we got another letter and he kidnapped our friend Grayson. In it he said that if Lydia isn't back by midnight on Friday he will kill him and come after all of us one by one. Please, you have to help us." Before she could say anything else, the voicemail got cut off.

Great. Now we are just a bunch of sitting ducks. "Well what do we do know?" Blaire asks with a tone of worry in her voice, Haley's face went from angry to serious. "We fight."