This is a sequel to Bea & the Broken Record that I think you might love if you read the first one! I decided to write this so that Bea and Asher have more of an ending. They kind of ended on a confusing note, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to tell them the rest of their story.

DESCRIPTION:
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With old memories popping up everywhere she looks, secrets being revealed, and mysteries being solved, Bea doesn't know how to handle it all. When Asher and she are reunited, it doesn't go as Bea had hoped. He isn't the same, but then again, neither is she. Can they put their differences aside and figure out how to find their dreams - and a few other lost things?

Chapter 1: His Name is Lucas.
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"Asher!" I yelled as I squirmed in his arms. My loud voice didn't seem to faze him in any way because he held me tighter, twisting me around so I was facing him. I had never felt so together, full of love, and happy in my entire life. This boy was holding me in one piece, just as he always has.

"Bea!" He mocked my voice. I grabbed his face between my hands and squished his cheeks together to make a fishy face. His hands fell off of me and I leaned forward to kiss his fish lips before he rolled the both of us backwards so that he was on his back and I was on top of him.

"I'm sorry," I said randomly while staring at his closed eyelids. They suddenly popped open and I laughed.

"For what?" He asked.

"I'm sorry that I can't let you go on tour. I'm going to lose you, and I can't let that happen," I explained as I propped my elbows on his chest and frowned down at him while my cheeks crowded my eyes.

"You won't lose me, Beatrice. You never will, no matter the distance." He leaned up and kissed my squished lips.

"Promise?" I asked, tracing my fingers over his once again closed eyes.

"Promise," he smirked. "Remember that song by All Time Low... The one about the sheets and the states?"

I chuckled. "If These Sheets Were States?" I asked, dumbfounded.

He nodded his head and took a relaxing deep breath. "Yeah, that one. If these sheets were the states and you were miles away, I'd fold them end over end to bring you closer to me..." He sang quietly.

I always had goosebumps when he sang to me. This time they felt like they were permanently stuck on the surface of my skin, there to remind me of just how he made me feel. Each goose bump was a different feeling.

The sudden noise coming from far away made me lose the sound of Asher's sweet voice. I turned around on his chest to see Eleanor standing there, hands on hips, with an annoyed expression carved into her sharp features.

"Wake up, Bea. We have lots to do today!" Her Alabamian accent rang through my ears and I turned around in hopes to hear Asher singing to me again, but he was gone. In his place were my bright quilted pillow cases staring back at me.

It was all a dream.

How could a dream feel that real?

The goosebumps were still stuck on the surface of my skin. They slowly disappeared as the feeling of being safe and in love drained out of me an ounce at a time. It was saddening.

For the past three years I had wished and prayed for a way to make my dreams be true, even if just for a day. But sadly, that hasn't happened yet.

My roommate, Ellie, smacked my legs with a stray pillow I must've kicked off the bed and hurried me to get up. As I sat up on my all-too comfortable bed, I glared at her bouncing blonde curls and retreating brown cowboy boots over her dark skinny jeans.

But I loved her. She picked me up when I was down and we've been best friends ever since. She's the best friend I've ever had.

I met her the first day of classes. We both had Study of the Arts together and how we met was the most unusual situation ever. I had just hung up the phone with Asher and was upset over the fact that I wouldn't be able to see him. Not paying attention to where I was going, I ran directly into her and knocked both of our books out of our hands.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed in her thick southern accent as he bent down to pick up the books. I immediately felt guilty for being careless and not caring about the people around me.

"No, I wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry," I sniffled. Ellie jerked her head up at the sound of my sniffling and her face contorted into a caring expression.

"You know what darling? How about you and I go get some ice cream after class?" She suggested with a big grin on her face. "You look like you could use it."

I smiled back at her. "Okay," I said quietly.

And that was how our friendship bloomed.

I tried my best not to let the feeling in my chest reflect onto my face. I missed Asher a ridiculous amount and it hurt me to think things between us were none existent anymore. He had his big, fancy life and I just lived in an apartment with my best friend my third year of college.

"I'm gonna go brush my teeth, be right back!" Ellie sang on her way to the bathroom. She opened the door of my bedroom and shut it behind her. I slowly dragged myself to my window and looked down at my record player Asher had gotten me a few days after knowing each other. It had a few scratches now after being moved around so much. It was still perfectly functional.

I placed a record on it and listened to it play as I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt with my converse. It was a Saturday and classes weren't in session which made me wonder, why did Ellie say we had a big day ahead of us?

I found my phone on the floor where it usually was and noticed I had several missed calls - all from my mother. Most kids would be panicking at that moment. I wasn't on the best terms with her. It was hard trying to keep from being angry with her knowing that my dad was the one who just didn't care. It was hard not connecting her to it, and being mad at her too.

I reluctantly dialed her number and waited as the phone rang and rang. She finally picked up on the last ring. 

"Hello, Beatrice," Mom answered. I sat down on the bar stool and picked at an apple sitting there.

"Hey," I began. "What did you need?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to have lunch later today. I've got some things to talk to you about." Her voice sounded hopeful that I'd say yes.

"Yeah, I can do that," I confirmed.

Over the past few years I've lived in New York, my mom and I had gotten much closer. My dad and I were another story, always giving each other the cold shoulder. Half the time I couldn't care less, other times I yearned for a relationship with him. It was a complicated situation.

"Beatrice Juniper Montgomery!" Ellie yelled from back the hallway, probably from the bathroom. I knew automatically what she wanted.

"Okay, mom. I have to go. Talk to you later," I told my mom before hanging up. I took my time walking toward the bathroom. Ellie stood outside the bathroom door with her arms crossed and her boot tapping the wooden floors. Her face had "I hate you" written all over it.

"Yes ma'am?" I asked. Her accent has slightly grown on me and I often caught myself saying things she would say, like "ma'am".

"Why is there a spider on the toilet seat?!" She exclaimed as she pointed toward the toilet behind her.

"I drew it there with a permanent marker," I chuckled.

"Yeah, I see that." She rolled her eyes. "But why?"

"Because I knew you'd do just what you did. C'mon, El. What's living without a little fun?" I laughed and waltzed into my room to finish getting ready. "I'm going to lunch with my mom, so I'll be back later!" I called out.

"Be back before six. We have plans!" Ellie called back before she appeared in my doorway with a grin on her face.

"I love how you tell me we have plans," I replied. My best friend was a social butterfly.

"Me too, but you'll love this tonight. Remember Mia?" She asked. I felt my smile drop but I quickly picked it back up. How could I forget Mia, Asher's favorite little cousin. It suddenly hit me what our plans were - Mia's 21st birthday. I haven't talked to her in a few weeks due to our schedules although we go to the same college.

"Of course," I said in realization. "Her birthday. I'll grab something for her while I'm out." Ellie smiled and waved goodbye as she made her way to the kitchen.

But one thought lingered in my mind.

What if Mia's favorite cousin was there? What then?

*****

As I walked down the crowded snowy street with my hands stuffed in my warm jacket and my knitted hat covering my ears, I continued to think about the plans Ellie and I had. I can to the assumption that Asher couldn't be there at Mia's party.

He is a world famous rock star with tours and concerts and signings that take up all his time. I should know. He wouldn't be able to show up at her party. He just couldn't.

It has officially been a year that I've talked to Asher. It was hard to accept. The last words we said were not the most pleasant and were hard to sleep on.

I avoided thinking about that for too long as I made my way to the pizza place my mom wanted to meet up at. The less sad thoughts I have the more room I have for my mother's judgements.

At the hotel she was staying at there is a restaurant with the best food in town, according to her texts. That would be where I was supposed to meet my mom. The hotel was not a stranger to me; the owners bought one of my paintings to hang in the lobby. Since then, which was about three years ago, it's been hanging where everyone can see it and often gets questioned. The workers answer the best they can; I am the only one who knows the real answers. The painting is of a young boy sitting against a tree with a guitar in his hands, with less detail so you can only imagine who the boy could possibly be.

"Hey, Mom," I said as I took a seat across from her at the table. She was sipping her coffee when I showed up and she acted like she was about to choke when she saw me.

Her wide eyes and nervous grin set off an alarm in my head. I knew whatever she was about to say was not going to be good. I sucked in a deep breath and picked up a menu, ordering a sweet tea from the waitress that was already by my side. Ellie also got me hooked on sweet tea. It was a must every time we went out to eat.

"Hello, honey. How was your morning?" Mom asked as she sat her coffee down shakily. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at her sternly.

"I kind of just woke up," I told her. "What's up with you?"

She brought her hands together and laced her fingers. I waited patiently as my mother searched for her next words on the coffee cup in front of her.

"Mom?" I piped up.

She leaned forward and rested her hands carefully on the table mat. "I have some... News to inform you of."

"You aren't getting married, are you?" I asked seriously. The thought caught me off guard.

Mom's face contorted into an awful look. "No, no! That's not an option at the moment, honey." She lightly patted my hand that was laying on the table. I nodded my head for her to continue, then. "It's about something your father and I have kept from you for quite a while now. It just recently came up and became an issue and I... I wanted to tell you before you could find out yourself." Her eyes were beginning to grow teary-eyed.

I grew alert and sat up in my chair. "What is it, Mom?"

"We never told you for a reason... A very good reason," she continued.

"What are you talking about?" I prodded further. I wish she would just spit it out already.

"Your father had a son before you were born, in a previous marriage, before he met me," she finally spit it out. "That means he's your half-brother. He's twenty-four now. He just recently went to Pennsylvania and knocked on your father's door demanding a relationship after so many years. He called me and said it would be best I told you. I'm sorry, Beatrice."

My heart was beating in my chest then. I couldn't take anymore more surprises in my life, I decided that the day my mom told me she and my dad were splitting up. But this topped he came on their mistakes.

"You kept that from me? For the last twenty-two years you've kept the existence of my brother from me?" I grew angrier by the second. How could they do that? But then I remembered that these were my parents, they've kept tons of things from me over the years. I wanted to hear what the reason was for keeping this from me more than anything, but I wanted to know other things as well. "What's his name?"

"His name is Lucas..." She trailed off shakily. "He went to live with his mother in Washington when he was younger and it never crossed your father's mind to tell you."

"How did I not meet him?" I demanded as calmly as I could. She pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

"He never came around," she answered a little too late. There was something she wasn't telling me, but today was not the day to find out. Before I could get up and leave, Mom kept talking.

"His mother was a bad person, Bea. Your father and I didn't want her around you and that meant keeping Lucas away, too." I was shocked she used my nickname. She only used it when she was sorry for telling me something, genuinely sorry, which wasn't often. That must mean she feels some kind of sympathy for me.

"So much could've been different..." I muttered. I wouldn't have been lonely. I wouldn't have been the mess I turned into at one time. My mind was racing over a mile a minute at the information she was shoving into my brain. How could they have hidden ... Lucas from me my whole life? I had tons of projects in school that required family pictures, which meant I would have to scrounging for a few in my mom's chest. Not once did I find a picture of my brother. They had to have completely wiped their and my memory of him. I felt sympathy for him in that moment. "I have to go, Mom. I'll call you or something later. Love you." I left a few dollars to cover my tea and stood to escaped out the front door. My mom's voice stopped me.

There were only a few times in my life I remembered my mother pleading for anything. She was always content with what she had been given, mostly because she was given everything she wanted. She fought to get it, and I didn't know if that was bravery, or selfishness. But when she spoke to me this time, she was begging.

"Honey," she said quietly as she held my face gently between her hands, her eyes filling with tears. "Please don't blame us for this. We love you, we had to protect you the best way we could."

I lifted my head away from her hands and stared at her. My childhood consisted of staying home by myself while my parents worked and worked and worked. I never had the kind of experiences other kids had, like going to Chuck E. Cheeses for their birthday, or enjoying a movie together. I was always in my room, learning to draw. I knew in my heart that I never wanted to be like them.

It wasn't until after Jessie that I kept the promise to myself to never make anyone feel as low as she must have felt - or as low as I had felt my whole life.

I finally made it to the doors of the Restaurant a moment later. The cold air filed my lungs and I held it in for a few moments before watching it slowly release. Things were going to become complicated, I could see it coming. My life was never easy, but whose was?

Ellie was dancing around our apartment when I returned. She had one of my records blaring throughout the house. It just so happened to be Asher's latest album that she was singing to. Allowing my anger to get the best of me, I walked straight to the record player and turned it off, listening to the sound of a blank record. Ellie turned around with a red face. She was clearly startled that I showed up so suddenly.

"How was your lunch with your momma?" She asked, definitely in a good mood to be talking like that.

"I..." I felt my heart swell up and I knew I was about to have a panic attack. I sucked in a deep breath and clenched my fists together before taking a seat on the couch. Ellie frowned and kneeled in front of me. I hadn't had one since Asher and I broke up. It was one of my best accomplishments.

"Calm down, Bea," she cooed. I lifted my head to look at her and lurched forward, wrapping my arms around her. I was tired of feeling sorry for myself all the time. Between Asher, Mom, Dad, and now the fact that I have a sibling, I was all for not thinking about anything for a while.

"Can we get dressed and head out? I have a feeling tonight's the one thing I need," I smiled and stood up, pulling Ellie to my room so we could search through some dresses. I purposely changed my mood as fast as it had become a bad one.

Tonight couldn't be ruined. It had to be my stress reliever. I just hoped there were no surprise guests.