“Hey there,” Brian said, glancing down at the little blond girl that had just trotted over to him.

“Hi,” she said, shyly.

Brian smiled. She couldn’t have been more than two years old. He knelt down to her level. “What’s your name?”

“Lizbeth,” she answered, wringing her hands. “What’s yours?”

“Hi Lizbeth,” he laughed, knowing that she probably couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth. “I’m Brian. Where’s your mommy?”

“I don’t know!” Elizabeth shrieked, throwing her tiny hands up in the air.

Brian grasped her tiny little hands in his. “Well, why don’t we go look for her, huh? She must be worried sick.” No sooner had the words left his mouth when he heard a frantic cry from down the beach. “Elizabeth?! Elizabeth?!”

Brian smiled down at the little girl. “I bet that’s your mommy.”

“Mommy!” she cried, running towards the blond girl that was frantically searching the beach. “Mommy!”

The girl ran up to her daughter and scooped her up in her arms. “Don’t you EVER walk away from me again, do you hear me?”

Elizabeth nodded and pointed to Brian. “Brian!”

“Thank you so-“ Kayleigh’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she looked up. “Brian?” she whispered, unbelieving.

“Kayleigh?” he responded, equally as surprised.

Tears welled up in Kayleigh’s eyes and she was unable to stop them from spilling over. “Oh my god….” She began. She couldn’t believe he was standing there. Two feet away from her. She quickly ran into his arms, crying uncontrollably. “What are you doing here?”

Brian rubbed her back, soothingly, not believing that he was actually seeing her. “I’m out here working on Harold’s album with him.” He watched as her eyes quickly darted around the beach. “Nick’s not here, Kay.” Kayleigh let out a deep breath, without realizing she had been holding it. “Who’s this beautiful little girl?” They both knelt down to Elizabeth’s level.

“This is Elizabeth,” Kayleigh began. “Elizabeth, this is Uncle Brian.”

Elizabeth giggled. “I know that!” Both Brian and Kayleigh laughed as Kayleigh picked up her daughter and they both stood up.

“She’s beautiful, Kayleigh,” Brian commented, quietly. “I can’t believe how much she looks like…” He trailed off, noticing the lost expression on Kayleigh’s face.

“Like Nick,” Kayleigh supplied. “I know Brian. I think it’s the only thing that keeps me sane.” She saw Brian’s mouth start to open and decided to change the subject. “Are you busy right now?”

“Do I look like I am?” Brian laughed, glancing at their surroundings. It was late afternoon and he wasn’t due in the studio until tomorrow morning. Harold and his wife had gone out for the evening and Brian was planning on just spending the night in his hotel room.

“I guess not,” Kayleigh answered. “Do you want to come up to the house for a little bit? It’s right over there.” She pointed to a set of townhouses less than a mile down the beach.

Brian grinned. “Sure.”

Kayleigh sat Elizabeth down on her feet and the little girl grabbed both her mom’s hand and Brian’s hand as the three of them made their way up the beach to Kayleigh’s house.

“Nice place,” Brian commented as they walked inside.

“Thanks,” Kayleigh smiled. “My roommate’s parents own it so it’s perfect. No expensive rent to pay.”

“Is she here?” Brian asked.

Kayleigh shook her head. “Nope. She’s up in San Francisco with her boyfriend for the week. They won’t be back until Sunday.” Kayleigh set Elizabeth down in front of the television and popped one of her Disney movies in the VCR. “Have you eaten anything? I could make something or whatever.”

Brian shrugged. “We could just order. I don’t want to make you cook anything.” Kayleigh nodded and went to find some take out menus in the kitchen.

“So how long have you been out in Cali?” he called from the living room.

“Since I left,” Kayleigh answered, returning to the living room. “I went to New York originally and then decided I wanted a fresh start. Out here.” She looked up to see Brian frowning at her. “What?”

“Why’d you leave, Kay?” he asked, softly. “Do you know how much you hurt everyone? How much you hurt Nick?”

“I had to,” Kayleigh whispered. “You don’t understand…”

Brian leaned forward on the couch and grabbed her hands in his. “No, sweetie. I don’t understand. Why don’t you explain it to me?”

“I couldn’t stay, Bri,” she explained. “Not after everything that happened. I would’ve ruined Nick’s life. I couldn’t do that to him.”

“Why do you think you would’ve ruined his life?” Brian questioned.

“What would it have looked like to the public if Nick was a father at twenty years old?” Kayleigh responded. “He worked way too hard to get where he was. I wasn’t going to ruin that for him. And then there was Lauren. He was so happy when he called me and told me that she was going to give him another chance. If I had stayed, he never would’ve had that chance.”

“He didn’t want Lauren, sweetie,” Brian told her. “You have no idea what was going on with him at the time. All he wanted was for you to love him the way he loved you.”

“Brian stop,” Kayleigh said. “I know you’re just trying to make me feel better but I don’t want to hear that.”

“Kayleigh, you don’t understand,” he pleaded. “I’m not just trying to make you feel better. He was so in love with you. When he found out that you left, it killed him. And then when he found out that you were pregnant...I’ve never seen him so lost in my life.” Brian glanced up to see Kayleigh sitting there with tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Kay. I didn’t mean to make you so upset. But you deserve to know the truth.”

“Oh my god,” Kayleigh whispered. “I had no idea.” Brian moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I never meant to hurt him, Brian. Never. I was so scared.”

Elizabeth looked up and noticed her mother crying. “What’s wrong?” she asked, innocently.

Kayleigh smiled and wiped her eyes. “I’m fine, baby. I’m okay.” Elizabeth wrapped her tiny arms around her mothers shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek. Kayleigh smiled through her tears. “Thank you, honey.”

“Welcome!” Elizabeth yelled as she jumped off of the couch and plopped herself down in front of the television again.

“She is a bundle of energy,” Brian laughed, as he watched her. “Wonder who she gets that from.”

Kayleigh smiled. “I’ll give you two guesses but I’m sure you’ll only need one.”

“So when’s her birthday?” He asked.

“July second,” Kayleigh responded. “She’ll be two.” They both watched, grinning, as Elizabeth attempted to sing along with The Little Mermaid.

“He’s missed nearly two years, Kay,” Brian said, quietly. “Don’t let him miss anymore. Please.”

Kayleigh stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “I’m not going back, Brian. I’m sorry but I just can’t.”

Brian’s eyes widened in surprised and he jumped up to follow her. “What are you talking about, Kayleigh? You have to. Now that you know everything, how can you not go back?”

“I can’t, Brian!” Kayleigh exclaimed. “You don’t understand. I can’t go back there.”

“Why not?” He yelled in return. “He deserves to know his little girl, Leigh. It’s not fair to either one of them! You’re the only one who can fix that!”

Their yelling drew a scared Elizabeth into the room. “Mommy?” she asked, tearfully, wondering why this man was yelling at her mother.

Kayleigh knelt down to her daughter’s level. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You go back in there and watch Ariel okay?” Elizabeth nodded and ran back into the living room. “I’m not going back, Brian,” she firmly stated. “And don’t you dare tell him or anyone else that you saw me. I swear to God, if Nick or my mom or Brooke shows up on my doorstep tomorrow morning, I’ll disappear for good. You’ll never see me or hear from me again.” Brian watched, defeated, as she walked back into the living room and sat down on the floor with Elizabeth.

<< >>