November Thirty || Nick Mara

Chapter 2: Things You Should Know

I clocked out at three and walked out the diner. "Please tell him," Christian said. I looked at him, I thought about all the ways I could tell Brandon what I was struggling with. "It's too early," I said. "Kay, do it before it's too late," Christian said. "I know he doesn't deserve to know, but you know he still cares," he added. I nodded and he kissed the top of my forehead. "I'll call you when I get home," I said. He nodded and walked over to Brandon.

Brandon stood by his car. He wore black pants, checkered vans, white high socks, and a white shirt. "You know it's only been two years and I can already tell you've changed so much," I said. Brandon chuckled and I climbed into the passenger seat. Brandon got into the drivers seat and pulled out of the parking space. "When do you play in Colorado?" I asked. Brandon looked at me confused. "Your band," I added. "Oh we're here as tourist. We're not on tour right now," he said.

I was confused. Christian said he was here for his tour. I shook it off and Brandon turned the volume up on the radio. "The band, what are their names?" I asked trying to make small talk. "Um," Brandon said and reached into his back pocket for his phone. He handed me it. "The password is 2132. Go to my instagram," he said. I nodded and unlocked his phone, then went to instagram. I turned the phone to him and he clicked on a picture. "The long blonde hair boy is Austin, curly hair boy is Edwin, dreadlocks is Zion, and the other one is Nick," he said and pointed to each one. I nodded and realized that Brandon still had a picture of me on his instagram.

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brandon_arreaga she laughing cause she knows her sandals gave her a bad tan
kayleekay i'm laughing cause you're an idiot.

I smiled and Brandon turned to me to see what I was looking at. He didn't say anything, but he parked the car and turned the car off. "We're here," he said. I nodded and gave him his phone. I looked up and noticed we were at a small restaurant. "I thought you'd be hungry," Brandon said. I nodded and we walked inside the restaurant. Brandon and I walked to the hostess and she smiled at us.
"How many?" she asked.
"Two," he said. She led us to the back of the restaurant and sat us in a booth.

I grabbed a menu and quickly scanned my options before choosing chicken strips. Once we ordered our food Brandon placed his hands on he table and stared at me. "Why'd you move?" he asked. "New beginnings," I said. "But why Colorado?" he asked. "You want my filtered answer or my no-filter answer?" I asked. "No-filter," he answered.
"Well, as you know my dad had a ranch here, but since he didn't want to leave us alone in Texas he hired people to work at the ranch," I said. Brandon nodded telling me to continue.
"My dad passed away last year, and my mom wanted to move here to run the ranch," I said.

Brandon's lips formed into a frown and he reached across the table to grab my hand. "I'm sorry Kay," he said. "I'm so so sorry," he added. "Your dad was such a great man," he said. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you during that time," he said.

"Well I stopped calling and texting you before that, you wouldn't have known. Plus, I pushed everyone away from me. Hardly anyone knew," I said. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" he asked. "He was in a car accident and became brain dead," I said. Brandon and I stayed quiet. It was a topic that hurt us both. Brandon was closed to my dad, my dad treated him as if he was his own son. There were days where I called Brandon, but he never answered. Soon I found out that he was out with my dad eating or just driving around. When my family went on road trips my dad would always suggest for Brandon to come along with us. So I knew this news would affect Brandon. Especially since he didn't get the chance to go to the funeral and say goodbye.

"We can go visit him now if you'd like," I said. Brandon looked up at me. "He's buried here in Colorado," I said. Brandon nodded and I pulled my wallet out to leave money for the food we already ordered. Brandon stopped me and placed money on the table. "I can drive if you want," I suggested. Brandon nodded and he handed me his keys. I got into the drivers seat and adjusted the seat and mirrors. "He's buried on the ranch, so you'll see my mom," I warned. Brandon nodded. The ride to the ranch was silent and I sighed. Brandon was saddened by this news. He couldn't even talk anymore, and he loves to talk.

Once we got there I parked the car and handed Brandon the keys. "We have to get the keys to the memorial from my mom," I said. Brandon nodded and we walked to the house on the ranch. We walked in and my mom was in the kitchen. "Hi mom," I said and set down my purse. "Hi Kay, did Christian give you a ride home?" she asked. "No, Brandon did," I said. "Brandon?" she repeated and turned around. Her eyes widened and a smile appeared on her face.

I never told my mom the reason why Brandon and I stopped talking. I just told her that he was busy touring and he would visit soon. "How are you honey?" my mom asked pulling Brandon into a hug. "I'm good and you?" he asked. "I'm doing just fine," she said. Brandon smiled and my mom turned to me. "So whats the occasion?" Mom asked. "Just here to visit," Brandon said and turned to me. "He wants to see Dad's memorial," I said. "Of course, of course," she said and walked over to her purse. She pulled out her keys and held onto one key. "Make sure you lock it after your done," she said. I nodded and Brandon and I headed out to the white small building in the middle of the ranch.

I unlocked the glass door and we walk inside. It was small, but it held everything. The stone wall read "David Miramontes" my mom and I didn't want to put his day of birth or the day he died because when we came here we just wanted to remember him and the memories we had. We didn't want to come here and look at those two dates and have to remember the pain we went through the day he died. Brandon placed his hand on the stone wall and I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I said. "It isn't your fault. I ignored you," he said. "Why?" I asked. "Honestly, I thought you hated me after I left. I thought you were angry that I left because you were going through some things back then," he said. "Have you been okay since then?" he asked. I stayed quiet and I shook my head. Tears started to appear in my eyes and Brandon froze. He didn't know what to do.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "I have the same problem," I answered. Brandon frowned and brought me into a hug. "I promise I'm going to help you through this," he said. I nodded and Brandon squeezed me.

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