Dear God (Avenged Sevenfold)

Cause I'm lonely and I'm tired

A week later the girls were back in Florida, headed back to their daily routines and while some part of Natalie felt relieved for the normalcy she couldn't help but miss Huntington Beach a little. Even Bryleigh seemed restless and irritable since coming back home and Natalie wondered if it was the cold she was coming down with or that she seemed to be looking for Brian around every corner. While he still had a lot of adjusting to do to the idea of being in her life, she had to give the man credit...he really was trying. The day before they flew back home he cautiously gave Natalie his cell phone number, stumbling over his words as he asked her to please keep the number confidential. "Don't worry Gates" she teased, now comfortable with their 'friends' status "No one around me even knows who you guys are!" Brian of course grumbled that maybe she needed new friends before he turned his attention to Bryleigh who sat obediently in her stroller, staring up at him with big brown eyes.

"You be good for your mom okay? And I'll see you in a week or so." Brian had some band business that he had to attend to before he was to fly out to Florida where he was scheduled to go through a bone marrow biopsy...and hopefully it resulted in a perfect match for Bryleigh. The awkwardness grew between him and Natalie for a few minutes before he leaned in and one arm hugged her, muttering about keeping in touch and he would let her know his flight info once he had the ticket in hand. Ava stood close by, watching their exchange and tried her best not to smirk. She could tell that her best friend was trying to keep everything platonic but like two strong magnets, they seemed to be pulled towards one another. "Too bad the big dumb doofus can't see what's right there in front of him" she muttered to herself, checking her watch and nodding silently to Natalie that it was time to go. 

Natalie had felt nothing really as Brian walked away but as soon as he disappeared from sight, Bryleigh began whining, straining her little head around the flow of people as if she was trying to spot Brian in the crowd. With a broken hearted sob of frustration she threw her sippy cup down on the floor and wailed her little head off, breaking Natalie's heart and bringing tears to her eyes as they boarded the plane. By the time they had landed in Florida it was close to dusk and Bryleigh was as cranky as ever, throwing anything that Natalie or Ava offered her. "Baby doll you gotta stop!" Natalie pleaded as she struggled to carry her out to the limo waiting for them...even though Ava's dad despised her he always made sure that she rode in class. "NO!" Bryleigh cried out indignantly, her bottom lip quivering as tears filled her eyes "BEACH!" Ava had successfully taught Bryleigh how to say the word 'beach' while they were in Huntington and now Bryleigh couldn't stop saying it...or screaming it. For the first ten minutes of their ride home she did nothing but scream it over and over again till she fell into a sweaty, fitful sleep. Once inside her condo, Natalie set about bathing Bryleigh in calming lavender and chamomile before laying her down for the night. Exhaustion had settled in and they both fell fast asleep.

Meanwhile, on  the other coast, Brian was restless and paced the house nonstop for no real reason. "What the fuck is my problem?" he muttered angrily after settling his Schecter back into the stand. Normally, fucking around with chords soothed his restlessness but not today and that just irritated him further. He grabbed his smokes off the counter, intending to head outside when the picture on the counter stopped him. Natalie had given him a photograph of Bryleigh, taken a month ago. She was sitting in the grass, looking up at the camera and smiling so big that it would have melted the hardest criminals heart. Brian swallowed the hard lump in his throat and walked over to his state of the art fridge and carefully taped the picture smack dab in the middle of the door. He stood there staring at the picture for a moment or so, studying her features and seeing more and more of him in her. "At least when I fuck up I make it look great" he muttered out loud, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he studied his daughter's picture once more before heading outside for a smoke.

Ava thought for sure once she was back home with Todd she would feel safe, secure and in charge but she found herself edgy and snippy as Todd tried to ask her about the trip but after a few snide remarks he just gave up, looking at his fiancé with a shake of his head...she just wasn't the normal, calculated Ava she usually was. What had happened in Huntington Beach he wondered...

"BRYLEIGH AVA JOHNSTON GET BACK HERE!" Natalie yelled out, half in frustration and half in laughter as she chased her naked, wet daughter through the condo. Bryleigh shrieked with laughter and climbed up on the couch, grabbing her favorite blanket and throwing it over her head in a game of hide-n-go-seek. Natalie was so thankful for days like this that she didn't have the heart to scold her for running away, she seemed to get so sick and listless anymore that today was like a heaven sent and she didn't intend to waste it...that is until the phone ringing cut through her thoughts of going to the park and for ice cream. "Natalie? Hey it's Brian." Natalie felt a stupid grin cross her face at his voice and she sat down on the couch next to Bryleigh and scooped her up, wrapping the blanket around her to keep her warm. After the obligatory 'hello's' and 'how are you' Brian stated his real reason for calling. "Listen I can finally break away for a bit so I was gonna fly in tomorrow if that's okay with you." Natalie suddenly felt the flurry of nervous butterflies take hold in her stomach as she wrote down his flight information. "Well I guess I will call her doctor now and let him know that you're coming in town so we can set stuff up and what not." Brian was silent for a split second before responding. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll see you both tomorrow evening then. Good night Nat." and with that he was gone, leaving a warm, fuzzy feeling in her heart with the way he said good night to her.

"Oh lord baby doll what am I getting myself into with your daddy?" Natalie stated, her eyes staring off into space as she began to daydream.