Dear God (Avenged Sevenfold)

And where I'd love to be, oh yeah

The next morning Natalie decided to relax and have a little fun by taking Bryleigh to the beach with Ava. They spent a better part of the day looking for shells, walking in the surf and watching the numerous surfers ride the waves. Bryleigh laughed and squealed happily when the surfers crashed, clapping her hands together in excitement. "Again! Again!" she screeched, bouncing in Natalie's arms as they walked. "I haven't seen her this energetic and happy in a while" Ava stated as they sat down to some ice cream later on "Maybe the beach is doing her some good." Natalie smiled, wiping ice cream off her daughter's chin before kissing her head "I think it's doing all of us some good" she stated softly "I feel so peaceful here, even though she's got this god awful disease there's just something about Huntington Beach that soothes me." Ava smiled at her best friend before turning her attention to the ocean, watching the waves roll in and out she had to silently agree. Her life back in Florida was nice but it was so...calculated and thought out. Her and Todd were partners at a top end firm, they both came from money and were both meticulous in organizing their lives and careers but here, she felt oddly free. Ava shook the thoughts from her head and suggested getting back to the hotel to wash up before going out for dinner. "Plus it looks like Bryleigh is all pooped out" she laughed easily, staring at her goddaughter as she nodded off on Natalie's shoulder. She hoped to god that Zacky Vengeance followed through with things and told Brian that they were back in town before things got worse...

Sure enough, Brian was up early, dragging Matt back home as quickly as they could drive. Matt had to chuckle at Brian's behavior, teasing him every so often. "Dude you're acting like it's Christmas and you're a kid again. Has it been that long since you've gotten laid that you're that horned up?" Brian shot him a look as he drove down PCH, smirking like the devil and shrugging his shoulders "Dude did you forget that chick when we were in Vegas? It hasn't been that long at all but I gotta admit, there hasn't been another girl that even comes CLOSE to Natalie." Matt bit back a chuckle and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his mind had turned to Ava again and he knew exactly what Brian was talking about, the handful of girls he had been with since Ava were great in their own ways but he always felt like something was off. Maybe he was just crazy he thought, staring out at the Pacific Ocean. One thing was for certain though, they were going to the hotel tonight in hopes of seeing Ava and Natalie and every nerve in his body was snapping.

Brian tried concentrating on driving through the traffic but his mind kept wandering off to Natalie, those short few weeks they were fuck buddies had some how gotten under his skin and after they parted ways he was pissed off for a while. He didn't like letting a girl get to him like that so he fucked anything that was willing in hopes to erase whatever the fuck it was he was feeling about Natalie. Time seemed to have taken care of that but as soon as Matt got that damn phone call yesterday, all those feelings flared back up again. The only way to stomp them out for good was to go see her, see how long she was in Huntington Beach for and work on getting her back in bed with him which shouldn't be too hard for him. His self gloating put a smile back on his face as he pushed the gas pedal down more.

Natalie was the first one to wake up from their nap, her brain still foggy on the time of day. "Oh my god it's almost 4" she muttered sleepily, climbing from the bed and stretching her body. She was about to head into the shower to wash away some of the sand that still clung to her when she noticed the room phone blinking, indicating they had a message. She scratched her head trying to figure out who would be calling them at the hotel, Todd was her only assumption so she followed the prompts in order to listen to the message.

          "Hey Natalie...It's Brian. Zack told us that you ladies were in town and looking to meet up with us. We'll be at the hotel by 7, we can get some drinks or dinner if you prefer. See you then.

Natalie sat down hard in the chair, holding the phone in her hand as she struggled to not freak out. Her prayers had been answered! What she assumed was going to take forever to accomplish was literally happening tonight! She couldn't hold back any longer! She dropped the phone back in the cradle and climbed on Ava's bed, shaking her best friend awake. "Ava! AVA WAKE UP!" she squealed happily, tears filling her eyes. "Ugh...whattttt?! Why are you always so perky when you wake up?!" Ava's whining was mildly annoying and definitely cute Natalie thought as she yanked the pillow off Ava's head and pulled her up into a sitting position. "Ava he called! Brian is coming here tonight!" As soon as those words were out, both girls were crying as they hugged each other fiercely. "Thank god!" Ava stated, her voice thick with tears "He better not be a stupid prick about this either or I swear to god I'll hand him his ass!" Natalie laughed so hard she woke Bryleigh up, her daughter whining as she clutched her blanket tightly. "It has to work out...it just has to! I mean look at her...she looks so much like him don't you think?" Now fear and doubt were starting to creep into Natalie's brain as she picked her daughter up and smoothed her hair down. "What if he says she isn't his kid?" Ava rolled her eyes, climbed off the bed and gently took Bryleigh from Natalie. "He isn't THAT stupid Nat. He may try to deny it at first but one good look at her and he'll see it. She is his carbon copy. Now, go take a shower and get dressed. I'll watch Bryleigh tonight while you and Brian go out to dinner and you can ease him into the topic of being a father and giving up some bone marrow."

Natalie started to head to the shower but stopped and turned, chewing on her lip. "Ava...he said 'we'll be there.' I think he's bringing Matt too..." Natalie watched as Ava's face lit up while she tried to maintain composure by shrugging her shoulders and kissing Bryleigh's head. "No matter, I was just saying that to Zacky in order to get the point across. If Matt comes along then we can just hang out here and order room service. You need your alone time with Brian to tell him everything." Natalie stepped over to her friend, a sad, regretful look on her face. "But that's not fair to you" she stated softly. "Nat please, it's totally fair. We're out here for Bryleigh...besides, I'm engaged remember?" "I know but still...you're giving up things for me...again." Ava rolled her eyes, smiled and pushed Natalie back towards the bathroom. "I'm not giving up anything. I still get to have dinner with Matt, a nice friendly, G rated dinner. Now...go get dressed to impress!"

By the time Natalie was dressed her nerves were so frayed she thought she was going to pass out. She had spent considerable time on her hair and make up and she wasn't quite sure the black mini dress was appropriate for blasting Brian with the fact that he was a father but she wanted to keep his attention and looking down at her cleavage she was pretty sure she would have it. "Ava are you sure you don't mind being stuck in here with Bryleigh all night? I feel bad..." Natalie smiled at her daughter who was currently playing with a doll while sitting on the floor and squatted down to kiss her on the head. "Natalie for the last time, I don't mind at all. You need to tell Brian without distractions and that includes me being around. Besides, Bryleigh and I can check out Matt together." Natalie shot Ava a smirk and shook her head "But I thought you were engaged?" she teased. "Honey I can still look" Ava laughed "Now, get going before he thinks you stood him up!" and with that she shoved Natalie out of the room and took a deep breath. "You sit tight little miss...auntie Ava has to slip into something sexy."