Pretend // Brandon Arreaga

35- A Different Path

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Five weeks had been a long time, almost too long. She missed him way too much. She sat at the kitchen counter that had accumulated dust from the past six months. The house felt empty and sad now that no one was living in it, but she was glad her dad wouldn't bring another woman into such a sacred place.

A knock at the door pulled Caroline out her own mind. She opened the door to find Brandon standing there. He was anxious for reasons she didn't know, perhaps the same reason she was nervous. She fear he didn't want her anymore after spending five weeks without her.

"Hey." He whispered, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Hey, come on in." She smiled, moving aside so he could walk in. Brandon hadn't been in the house for a long time, yet the smell still stuck out in his mind. It was a second home to him for so long.

"You look good...healthy. I guess these five weeks have done you good." Brandon smiled, attempting to make some sort of conversation with her.

"I did a lot of soul searching. I wrote a song, applied to USLA and got it, finally started to bond with my future step mother." Caroline stated, rattling off things she had done.

"Wait! Back up! You wrote a song?" Brandon squeaked out. He was excited that she was back to making music.

"I did. It got me into UCLA's music program." Caroline smiled.

"That's great! Now we can see other whenever we want!" He cheered, engulfing her in a hug. She felt like melting into his arms, she had missed his hugs most of all.

"About that...is that what you want?" She asked, still hugging him. He let go of her and looked at her so they were making eye contact.

"I learned these five weeks that I can't lose you again. You're way too important to me. I love you and only you Caroline. I'm one hundred percent yours." Brandon stated, holding onto her shoulders.

"I've missed you so much." She cooed, wrapping her arms around him again and pecking his lips. She buried her head into his chest and swayed back and forth with him.

She wasn't sure how long they had stood there, but it was all she needed from him. She was in love with him and had been for years, she couldn't envision her life without him anymore. The last five weeks had sent her over the edge, but it was what she had needed.

"Can I hear that song?" He asked, finally breaking the silence.

She nodded and led him downstairs to the basement where all the music equipment was. Having a mother who wrote songs and gave music lessons for a living had its perks. Brandon had always been jealous of the studio they had. She sat down by her laptop and pulled up the song. Brandon eagerly sat down next to her and listened to it. He hadn't heard her sing in years, so he wasn't sure what kind of voice to expect from her.

A piano solo began playing and smiled lovingly at the laptop. "That's one of my moms recording she made. I had to dig deep to find it."

Brandon nodded and listened to the heavenly type of sounds flow through the speakers. She had always favored the slower , classical music.  A guitar and symbol came into the instrumental. The piano faded as drums took over the beat. Finally, snippets of her humming came into it. Brandon was already impressed with it. Brandon nodded his head approvingly as he sang along.

"That's beautiful, Caroline. You'll be selling out stadiums before you know it." He said once the song ended. He had always known she was talented, but he was still shocked at her capability. "My favorite part is when you sang about 'If you looked me in the eyes, would see my mother shining through. Would you see the melodies playing through my mind'." Brandon sang, attempting to match her raspy pitch.

"Yeah, right. My major is composition with a minor in production. Maybe one day I'll write you a song that actually makes it on the radio." Caroline joked.

She was glad they were acting like they hadn't just ignored each other for five weeks straight. She was glad he wasn't telling her Charlotte was still the love of his life. She was glad to have him back for good this time.

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