Nowhere, Anywhere, Somewhere

13

Meg POV

As I walked into the old barn, my eyes zeroed in on the old grey and white Appaloosa in one of the stalls. I walked forward, stopping in front of him. 

 " Hey boy. Ive missed you, buddy. " I whispered, brushing Doc's mane. He whinnied, making me smile. 

" But Did you miss me?" a voice called out. I stiffened, recognizing it right away. 

I slowly turned to see a familiar pair of honey brown eyes. 

He was different. Completely. He must have grown half a foot in height and eighty pounds in muscle. His face was more mature, and showed signs of having seen too much of hurt and pain and suffering. But those eyes;

They were the same. 

" Charlie?" I whispered. 

He smiled shyly, reminding me of how he was when we were kids. He scuffed his boot in the  dirt. 

" Hey Megan. How you been?"
He asked, taking a small step toward me. 

That made my blood boil. "How Am I?" I growled. " You disappear and come back after five years and you want to know how I am?" I pushed on his chest angrily. 

Not like it budged him. 

He sighed," I'm sorry about what happened, but I was young and St-"

" Don't you dare say young and stupid. We both know that's a lie. " 

He frowned," Well what do you want me to say then? I was eighteen, and blinded by my feelings. I ran away from the issues and it was stupid. "

"Yes it was" I whispered. " do ya have any idea how it felt, finding that letter? That stupid little note? Was that all I deserved? And once a year, I'd get a little letter, saying you were alive and well and that's it? you couldn't even tell me you went off into the Marines! You could have gotten yourself killed! God! Ya so stupid sometimes, Charles!"  I was screaming by the end and breathing heavily. 

Charlie just wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. 

He held me as I cried. 

" What's going on here?" I heard a familiar voice ask. 

I pulled away from Charlie to see a confused Brian, Matt, Zacky, Jimmy, and Johnny. 

Lindsay stepped out from beside Jimmy. 

When did she change clothes?

" Oh. Hey guys. " I wiped away my tears. 

Charlie cleared his throat, his eyes narrowing. 

" Guys, this is Charlie. Charlie, these are some friends of mine from California. " 

Brian had a look of recognition on his face, understanding. 

" Oh. Yeah I've heard of you. " he mentioned. Charlie looked down, shaking his head. 

Matt looked upset," Will someone tell us what's going on? Meg, we come in here and you're crying!"

I smiled, shaking my head," It's nothing. I just let out about five years of frustration. "

He nodded. Jimmy raised his hand. I chuckled ," Yes, James?" 

" Is it lunch time yet? I'm hungry. "

" Yeah. I second that. " Zack added. 

I grinned, stealing a look to Lindsay who caught on and laughed. 

" I guess. C'mon boys. Let's go in the main house for some grub."

" You got anything good in there?" Johnny asked. 

" There's a bunch of leftovers from Linda's." Lindsay said. 

" What's Linda's?" Brian asked, stepping closer to me. I felt Charlie tighten his grip on my waist. 

Was he jealous?

" Only the best damn barbecue in the state of Texas." my best friend fired back. 

Barbecue seemed to be the magic word. All of the guys were instantly perked up and ready to go. 

" Charlie?" I asked, turning around to the silent Marine,"You stayin?"

He grinned, " Of course. I have to report back to Afganistan on Monday, I want to spend as much time with you as possible. "

I grinned," Well let's go guys. I'm fucking starvin' too!" I looped arms with Lindsay and we skipped out the barn , towards the house. 

" Hey Meggy!" I heard my brother yell from across the yard. 

I looked to see Will atop one of my father's horses, rounding up cattle. 

" Yeah?!" I yelled back. 

By now all of the guys were caught up with us and were waiting around. 

" Bring me out some tea?"

I grinned, laughing. " Ight!"
 

Brian's POV
 We all followed Megan and Lindsay into the house. 

It was a really nice house on the inside too. 

Kinda rustic for my taste. But nice. 

There was antique furniture and the whole place was decorated in pictures, trophys, medals, etc. There were warm colors and the whole place seemed cozy. 

I looked down to see a rug depicting a herd of wild horses running. 

Well okay then. 

" You boys want some sweet tea too?"

I nodded," Sure. I'm thirsty. "

The other guys answered too. 

I watched her smile and nods, walking into what I guess was the kitchen. 

My eyes were glued to her ass. 

" Sexy. " I muttered, smirking as we a followed her into the kitchen. 

Shads gave me a harsh look. 

" Remember your wife?" he snapped me out of my daze. 

I glared at him. 

" Shut up Shadz. "

He just shrugged. 

The kitchen was much like the rest of the house. 

There were wooden cabinets and red checkered curtains on the window above the sink. 

There was a big wooden table and chairs that was decorated in horse shoes. 

Zacky sat down and the rest of us followed.

" Wait, what about me?" Lindsay pouted, crossing her arms. there weren't enough chairs. 

Meg laughed. " You can sit in Jimmy's lap. " she set down a bunch of glasses of tea in the middle, and we each grabbed our own. 

The string bean drummer gave me an excited grin and he patted his knee, motioning for her to hop on. 

The bubbly red head giggled, sitting onto his knee. 

"'So. Charlie, was it? Tell us some more about you. " Matt said, breaking the silence. 

The marine who was sitting next to Johnny, sighed. 

He rubbed his neck, pursing his lips. 

" Well, whaddya want me to say? I'm 25, a Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, I've known Meg here since we were eight or nine. We were together all through high school..."

" What happened?" I interrupted. 

I didn't like this guy. Maybe it was because he hurt Meg once upon a time. Maybe it was because he was actually once dating Meg. who knows. 

" We got into a fight" Megan said irritatedly. 

" What about?" Jimmy asked. 

" Marriage. " Both Charlie and Megan spoke together. Kinda creepy. 

" Marriage? The fuck? What about it?" Matt asked. 

Charlie rolled his eyes," I proposed on the night of our high school graduation-"

"- and I said no. " Megan finished, cutting him off. 

Our eyes connected and I smirked, raising an eyebrow. I saw her blush and look back down at the drinks she was filling. 

" Why did you say no?" Johnny asked the dreaded question. 

" I wasn't ready. I wanted to live my life before I was tied down to it. " 

Lindsay made a 'humf' noise, making me think that wasn't the whole story. 

" So I ran. " Charlie finished," I was upset and wasn't thinking. I loved her so much and was rejected, so I ran. Spent the first year in Louisiana, working on an oil rig in the gulf, then I was given the opportunity to enter the Marines and took it. And here we are. "

There was silence in the kitchen as Megan got up from the table and walked outside onto the front porch. 

" I'll go check on her. And bring Will that drink. " Lindsay said, grabbing a glass as she got off Rev's lap and followed Meg.