Coming Home to You

I’m halfway through typing up an email to the humane society when Jimmy comes crashing through the office, creating way too much cramp in the already tiny space. I glare, wondering what he could possibly want this time.

“What?”

“Umm, are you ever gonna come out of here?” Jimmy asks blatantly. I roll my eyes.

“No, why?”

Jimmy shrugs, closing the door behind him. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because the horses need tending to and Johnny and I can’t handle the load by ourselves. That Brian guy is still a bit shaky with the routine around here. Plus, I know the only reason you’ve been closing yourself off in here is because Brian is out and about, therefore you don’t want to go near him.”

“Good observation, Captain Obvious. Couldn’t have given a better explanation myself,” I grumble, keeping my eyes locked with my email.

“Wanna enlighten me on why he’s so bad? He’s kind of really hot if you ask me. If you were tapping that, I’d be proud if I were you.”

“No one asked you,” I growl under my breath, soft enough to avoid Jimmy catching the words. I narrow my eyes, still not looking up at Jimmy, and he chuckles loudly.

“Wait, he was tapping you?”

“No!” I fire back defensively. “No one was tapping anybody.”

“You lie,” Jimmy snorts as he situates himself into the chair across from me. “But anyways, what happened? Something extremely horrible and cruel?”

“How about, he ripped my heart out, held it in front of my face while it was still beating, and fucking ate it,” I hiss, finally looking up into Jimmy’s crystal blues.

Jimmy raises his eyebrows, a low whistle slipping through his lips. “That’s pretty graphic, Mattie. But, wouldn’t that mean he still has your heart?”

“Go away, Jim,” I sigh, giving up. Jimmy gives me a sad look before looking out of a window.

“Oh, and I think the guy who still has your heart is taking Harper’s heart as well.”

I snap my head up. “What?!”

“I said Brian is trying to ride Harper.”

“Motherfucker!” I shout, pushing past Jimmy and racing out to the corral. That bastard is not going near my damn horse.

“We’ll talk later, yeah?” Jimmy calls out after me. I roll my eyes as my pace slows, and as I approach the corral, anger swims through my veins when I see that I’m too late. Brian has managed to ride Harper without any complications whatsoever. A growl emanates from my throat as I wait impatiently for him to bring Harper back into the barn.

Half an hour later, when my palms have indention marks from my fingernails, Brian finally rides in on Harper, gently placing her back in her stall. He ruffles her mane before walking out, shutting and locking the door behind him. His eyes meet with mine, and a cocky, defiant smirk is present on his face. Bastard. He knows how I feel about him going near Harper; he knows how I feel about him period.

“You’ve got some nerve, Brian,” I seethe, my hands balling into fists yet again. Brian rolls his eyes and pushes past me and I’m right on his heels.

“I made it perfectly clear yesterday that I don’t want you near Harper. Why can’t you just fucking listen, Haner?” Brian stops in his tracks and turns around to face me, his face blank of any emotion.

“Seeing as how you went out of your way to avoid me at all costs, I decided to take it upon myself to feed, brush, bathe, and exercise your horse. I also did the same with the other horses with help from Jimmy and Johnny. Matt, you’re letting your anger towards me steer you away from your responsibilities here on the ranch. I wish you would just tell me how you feel and quit being a baby about it,” Brian lectures, making my anger towards him escalate to a new found level. But, I keep my mouth shut because I know that the only thing Brian wants right now is an argument, and I don’t feel like dealing with him today. However, he was right about me avoiding him, and my duties on the ranch haven’t been on my mind since Brian’s arrival. It’s not that I don’t care about the ranch because I do with every fiber of my being, but Brian’s presence is bittersweet, and the sooner he’s out of here, the better my life will be...as well as my fucking sanity.

“Whatever, Brian. Tend to your own horse, she needs you more than Harper does,” I grumble before walking back towards the house.

Much to my displeasure, Jimmy is still hanging out in the office when I get back. A heavy sigh slips through my lips as I plop back down into my chair behind the desk. And just as I’m about to busy myself with endless emails and paperwork, Jimmy unplugs my laptop charger and throws it out of a window.

“Jimmy, I don’t wanna talk about it, okay,” I sigh, running my hands through my hair.

“I don’t care what you don’t wanna talk about. You’re gonna form words whether you like it or not because I’m tired of your moping. The personal pity party has been going on for far too long and I can't take it anymore, mainly because I care about you too damn much. Just please…tell me what’s wrong. And I promise I won’t speak another word until you’re finished.”

I grumble incoherent words under my breath before rubbing my temples to will away a headache. All the while, tears are beginning to pool my eyes and I dig my palms harshly into my eyes to keep the pesky water from spilling over.

“We met during my junior year of high school; I was transferred to his Advanced Music Theory class because I couldn’t stand being in a sophomore-level music class. The only available seat was next to him, to his left, so I sat there...”



“Thanks,” I mumble with a dimpled smile to the secretary as she gives me my new schedule. I gather my things before walking out of the office and towards the room of my new class. I’d finally been transferred to Advanced Music Theory. I don’t exactly enjoy having to endure sitting in a classroom with immature, cocky sophomores who entertain themselves by failing at shooting spit balls and telling lame, century-old jokes while thinking they’re the shit. It’s fucking annoying.

I smile as I approach the room number that printed on my schedule, and I knock on the door, somewhat nervous. A young female teacher answers the door, her black hair pulled back into a messy, yet stylish ponytail, her jade green eyes beaming. Her lip ring is prominent as well as her studded nose ring, and I instantly feel more comfortable.

“Hello, you must be Matthew. I’m Mrs. Maraschino, and yes it’s just like the cherry. I heard that we would be graced with your presence today, hun. Come on in,” she greets with a sweet smile and I nod with approval before walking into the classroom.

“Class, this is Matthew Sanders. He’s going to be in here from now on. I expect for each and every one of you to be on your best behavior and show our new student some respect.” The students greet me to various forms of welcome and I smile.

“Matt, you can just take a seat next to Brian in the back.” The Brian guy points himself out to me and I scurry to occupy the seat next to him.

“Hi, I’m Brian, as you’ve already gathered,” he welcomes softly, his chocolate brown eyes boring into my hazel ones. I look down with a shy smile on my face, an embarrassing blush tinting my cheek a rose pink. Brian chuckles and my blush deepens.

“That's when I realized that I’d instantly developed a crush on him, and we quickly became friends after that. He showed me the ropes of the class and over the course of our high school days, our friendship blossomed into something more…”

I nearly fall out of my bed when my phone blasts Brian’s ringtone at the loudest volume possible. I fumble around my dresser, searching for the stupid device.

I groan before answering the call.

“Haner, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up at two o’ clock in the fucking morning.” Brian chuckles before responding.

“Yes, actually, I do. I want you to come out with me tonight. I already have everything set up, and yes, I am parked in your driveway right now. And no, I’m not leaving until you agree to this.” If he were in my room at that very moment, I would’ve punched him in that pretty face of his.

“Fine, Brian. I’ll be down in a bit,” I reluctantly agree, yet I’m squealing like a school girl on the inside. I end the call and grudgingly pull myself out of bed, lazily dressing myself to look somewhat decent.

Soon enough, I’m sitting in the passenger’s seat of Brian’s car, trying to keep myself awake as we drive through Huntington. We soon come upon the pier and I smile slightly as Brian parks his car. We get out and Brian laces one his hands with my own, a gesture that nearly makes my heart thump through my chest. Brian leads me to a moonlit area, a picnic basket accompanied by wine glasses, all arranged on a blanket, greeting me. A full blown smile spreads across my face as I sit across from Brian and, as Brian pours us both a glass of red wine, I can’t believe how lucky I am to have a friend like him. I thank him and we begin eating. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Brian speaks.

“Now, I know this must seem weird, but I did all of this for a reason. I didn’t know how to tell you, so I figured that showing you would better than making a fool out of myself in public,” Brian mumbles before digging something out of his pocket. He unveils a small, black velvet box and when he opens it, tears of joy pool my eyes.

“Now, this isn’t a proposal yet, but Mattie, I want you to know that I can’t imagine my life without you. I promise to love you, and cherish you with every fiber of my being. I promise to give myself to you and only you for the rest of my life, and I promise that one day I will make your mine forever. No one will ever hold my heart like you do, Matthew Sanders. Please, make me the happiest guy on this planet, and promise to be mine,” Brian whispered lovingly, holding my gaze with his. Forming a coherent answer was definitely out of the question, and instead, I simply nodded. Brian slipped the promise ring onto my finger and his lips met mine in a passionate kiss, forever sealing our vow to each other.



“Soon after that we graduated high school, and Brian worked a part-time job at the local police department when he wasn’t working here at the ranch, which was Haner Ranch back then. I started working at the ranch to be closer to him when he wasn’t at the police department. Everything was going good for the next few years until he began receiving promotion letters from the police department stating that he’d been offered a job into the FBI. He promised me that he would never accept the offer, and I believed him. But, one night, I came home and he was…gone. There were no warning signs, there was no goodbye note, nothing. All of his things had disappeared, and when I tried to call him, I learned that his number was no longer in service. It hurt to know that he’d thrown away our entire relationship for a higher position, but it completely broke me when I realized that he’d broken every single promise he’d ever made to me.”

By the time my story was over, the tears had spilled over, and I was a complete wreck. It became hard to breathe, and Jimmy had to place me on the floor in order to help me gather myself. He wrapped his arms around me, allowing me to soak his shirt with my pathetic, useless tears. Everyone who told me that crying helped was wrong because right now, I feel absolutely horrible.

“You really need to talk to him about this, Mattie. It’s not good to keep your feelings bottled up because you’re just going to end up snapping. Talk to him as soon as possible,” Jimmy whispers into my ear and I stubbornly shake my head.

“It’s not like he’d care anyway. If he did, he never would’ve left all those years ago.” Jimmy sighs, but doesn’t comment on the matter.

Instead, he continues to soothe and comfort me as the endless tears continue to stain my face.