Nowhere, Anywhere, Somewhere

18

Meg POV

I tried to avoid Brian for the following hours. 

It wasn't hard to do. 
Between feeding animals, feeding the guys(who own their own were animals), and waiting for dad to get home- yeah, there was plenty to do to keep me occupied. 

And then I heard gravel and tires and loud music. 

I smiled at Will quickly before grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door. 

A large red pickup truck sat in the driveway. 

A rather tall man stepped out of the drivers side, huge cowboy hat atop his head, brown boots crunching the gravel. 

" Daddy!" I yelled, running into his arms. 

He chuckled, holding me close. 
My dad was aging well. His once chocolate waves were now salt and pepper. His joyous face was wrinkled, still warm though. His strong arms still held me the same way though. His blue eyes still twinkled. 

" Hey Baby Girl. Glad to have you home. " he kissed my forehead, wrapping one arm around me, the other around my brother, and we walked to the house. 

"I see we have some guests...ELISE!" my father yelled. 

My mother came running around the corner from the kitchen, grinning. 

Will and I stepped aside as they embraced and she gave him a loving kiss. 

I hope one day to have that. 
" Royce, meet Megan's new friends....from California. "

" Hi sir, I'm Zacky." the green eyed guitarist greeted. 
"Matt"
"Brian. "
"Johnny"
"James...but you can call me Jimmy!"  everyone laughed at the drummer who just grinned goofily. 

My dad saw the last person on the room. "Charles. "

Charlie stood up shakily, briefly glancing at me, before shaking my father's hand. 

"Sir. "
" I was unaware you had returned. " dad's blue eyed gaze was intimidating. 

"Just last week, sir. I'm due back in Afghanistan Monday, sir."

My dad nodded, gave a grin, and sat down in his recliner, turning on the tv. 

The conversation returned in the room, as If nothing of Interest had happened. 

"Hey, Meg?" Matt began,"Jimmy and I wrote a couple new songs. You want to look at them?"

I nodded quickly, sitting beside Charlie and Jimmy on the couch. 

I was handed two pieces of paper. 

One was titled Save Me, the other Victim. 

I quickly read over both sheets and sat down on the couch. 

"These...are really good. I like it. Yes. Absolutely. We have to use these. "

Matt and jimmy fist-bumped and I laughed. 

"I'll start working on the sheet music." Brian said. 

I turned to him and nodded, keeping my eyes low, not meeting his for fear of blushing. 

" Meg, can we talk?" Charlie spoke up. 

Charlie had never been a talkative guy, but the fact that I forgot he was there made me feel guilty. 

"Yeah let's go. "
I stood up and he took my hand, leading me out the front door and down the steps. 

The weather outside was  normal for Texas; hot and arid. 

"Uhm, Charlie? Where are we going?" I asked as his strong arms led me across my yard and into the barn. 

"Here. One sec," he motioned for me to stand in the middle of the aisle.   

I did and watched as he disappeared around the corner. 

After a moment of me idly standing alone, Charlie came around the corner, holding a lead line attached to the halter of a dapple grey appaloosa gelding. 

I sighed, smiling, "Doc"

Charlie laughed, leading my old horse over to me. 

"How long has it been since you've ridden?" he asked. 

We met in the middle and I took the lead from him, stroking Doc on his soft,felt nose. he whinnied and I grinned. 

I thought for a moment," 7 years. " I answered. 

Charlie grabbed a brush and started brushing Doc's coat. 

"It was one bad fall, Meg. You shouldn't have let it stop you from competing. It made you so happy. "

I nodded slowly," I felt like the end of the world for me,though....do you think-"

His warm brown eyes shined as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear "Go ahead. I knew you would want to." 

I smiled, kissing his cheek quickly and ran off in the direction of the tack room, towards my old saddle and bridle. 

Matt POV

We all sat in the kitchen, listening to Brian,Zacky, and Johnny work out the chords for "Victim"

"Oh My God." Lindsay said, slowly standing up and going to the window. 

Elise, Meg's mother, stood up as well, smiling as she joined Lindsay at the window. 

" Well I'll Be...look at that. "

I shared a look with Zack, who shrugged. 

We all got up to the window as well, to see Megan sitting atop a white and grey horse, running circles around a fenced in arena. 

"What's the big deal?" Johnny asked, snacking on a cookie. 

"Megan hasn't ridden a horse in 7 years. " Meg's father said, coming into the room slowly, with a neutral expression. 

" Why not?" Brian asked. 
A bit too curiously. 

His attraction to Meg was beginning to aggravate me. 

And as much as I don't like Michelle and Brian together (and she's kind of a bitch), she doesn't deserve to have an unfaithful husband. 

Right?

"Meg always did good in whatever she did. And when it came to barrel racing, she was a star. Five time national champion. But when she was 17, Meg took a bad fall off a a horse she was training, broke her femur, recovered fully- at least physically. But not mentally. Never got back on a horse again. "

I turned back to the window to watch her ride. She looked to content and happy. 

You would never be able to tell that she hadn't been riding. 

Charlie came out from the barn and shouted something to her that made her laugh. 

It was then that I think I fully understood the girl behind the mask. 

Megan, who had been born with endometriosis, a painful,life affecting ailment, and used horse riding as her escape route. She gets injured and it scared her into leaving the competition circuit all together.Then, Charlie, her best friend and love of her life, proposes the day after their high school graduation. She says no, afraid of a bit of change. Charlie leaves for the Marines, leaving her to suffer in her hometown alone. Meg gets the opportunity to sing and takes it, becoming successful automatically. 

She had suffered so much and still came out on top. Takes a strong person to do that.

No wonder Brian is falling for her.