Memories Won't Let Me Cry

Lyndsey's POV

“I am so fucking bored!” Brian groaned from the couch, tossing a pillow at the TV.

“Dude, don’t break my TV.” Zacky whined and I looked at him funny.

“It’s a pillow, Zack. I don’t think it can do much damage to your precious TV.”

Rolling his eyes at me, he got up off his pudgy ass and went to the kitchen, saying he wanted a beer. Five other shouts followed him, each saying they wanted one too.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get your damn beer.” He snapped, huffing before disappearing through the kitchen doorway.

I sighed and leaned my head against the back of my couch and closed my eyes, wondering why everyone was so bitchy today. It’s the heat, I thought; it was extremely hot out today, almost hotter than normal for Huntington Beach, California, and we were all antsy and grumpy because of it.

“Did you want something, Lynds?” I heard Zacky call out to me.

“Just some water, please.” I called back and the boys looked at me funny.

“Water?” Jimmy questioned. “No beer?”

I shook my head, and glared at Brian when he said, “Are you pregnant or something?”

“No.” I hissed.

“It’s only noon, guys.” Corie said, defending me. “You know she doesn’t drink during the day.”

I smiled at her, then turned to the front door when Matt, my boyfriend of three years, came in and kicked off his shoes.

“It’s so hot, I think I’m melting.” He announced, but the grimace turned into a smile when he came over to me and leaned down to kiss me. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi.” I kissed him again and moved over when he sat down beside me with a sigh, draping arm over my shoulders.

The phone rang and Corie jumped to her feet to get it, standing on the other side of the room as she brought the receiver to her ear.

Zacky slowly walked into the room, clutching cans and bottles to his chest with his arms. I got to my feet and went to help him, taking my water with a grateful smile and getting two cold cans of beer for Matt and Brian, who were sitting on the couch with me. Zacky took my seat and I glared at him.

“Thanks, Vengeance.”

He grinned. “No problem, sugar. And that’s Mr. Vengeance, to you.” He said, saluting his can at me and I flipped him off.

Matt patted his legs, but I shook my head. “It’s too hot.”

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand, tugging me off my feet so I fell onto his lap, my back against his chest.

“Who’s she talking to?” Zack asked, tilting his head to his girlfriend, who was standing with her back towards us, speaking quietly into the phone.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head and took a sip of water.

“We should go out tonight.” Johnny announced. “I need to get hammered.”

“I need to get hammered and laid.” Jimmy added nonchalantly and I laughed.

“Good for you, Jim.” I paused. “But I’m down for going out.”

“That’s my girl.” Brian laughed, reaching around Zack’s body to smack my leg loud enough that it almost echoed.

“OW!” I whined, rubbing my throbbing leg. “Brian, that hurt.”

“Want me to kiss it better?” He teased.

“Keep your lips off my girlfriend, Haner.” Matt growled, but I knew he was joking.

“Hunny, you did nothing wrong!” Corie suddenly exclaimed and we all looked at her with raised eyebrows, but she couldn’t see us. But the next words out of her mouth had all the guys freezing. “Hunny it's their fault. They let go of the best fucking US Soldier...you and I both know it!”

Brian sat forward in his chair, looking almost frantically at Zack and Matt. Johnny was watching Corie with interest and Jimmy sat up from lying down on the floor, completely alert. Matt had completely tensed beneath me, and I looked at him to see he was watching Corie with narrowed eyes, and his jaw was clenched.

“Matt, what is it?” I whispered, putting my hand on his shoulder.

“Corie, who are you talking to?” Zack asked slowly, and she turned to look at us in surprise, almost as if she forgot we were here.

“Hun...they're all here...and they just heard me say US Soldier and they are looking at me weird!” She said into the phone, seeming uneasy.

US Soldier?

Who did they know that was a US Soldier?

And why didn’t I know about them?

I’m confused.

Corie said a few quiet words before nodding and looking at us with a nervous smile. “OK.” she sighed, “Guy's It's Memphis...she's coming home!”

“No shit?” I heard Jimmy's voice reply, and looked down to see he was starting to smile.

“After 3 damn years?” Zacky commented, and I could see Johnny was a little wary as his eyes darted between Brian and Matt.

“Has she called mom and dad?” Matt asked, and his voice was stony, almost cold. Which made me worried.

“She doesn't have time...their calling for her to board her flight home right now!” Corie replied.

“Anyone picking her up from the airport?” Brain sounded almost hopeful, and he was already digging for his keys.

Corie said that she was going to pick her up, and said that she couldn’t wait to see a person named Mems.

Who was Mems?

Wait…could it be…

“WAIT!” Brian screamed and scrambled off the couch, practically leaping towards Corie to take the phone from her hands. “Mems?”

Corie came back so sit down, taking Brian’s spot, and the atmosphere suddenly turned tense.

“Mems?” I questioned quietly. “As in, Memphis? Your sister?”

Matt nodded and sighed deeply, running his hand down his face. “Yeah, Memphis. She joined the Army…fuck, I can’t even remember how many years ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, confused. Matt never spoke of his sister, and the guys never spoke of her, either. All I had been told was that she had taken off years ago, and none of them had spoken to or seen her since.

Matt shrugged and mumbled. “I don’t know.”

“Memphis used to date Brian,” Corie explained quietly. “They were together for a long time and when she enlisted…it kind of made a rift between them.”

“Between her and all of us.” Zacky added.

“So…why?” I asked, trying to understand.

Matt was about to answer, but Johnny spoke first with a sardonic laugh. “Because we were all jealous that while we stayed here to become big-shot, sexy, rock stars, she enlisted and became more of a man than any of us put together.”

Jimmy threw a pillow at him, hitting him in the face, and Matt growled, “Fuck you, Johnny.”

Brian came back and sat down on the coffee table in front of us, seeming extremely sad as he looked down at his hands.

“She wouldn’t talk to me.” He admitted.

“Well, you were a bit of a jackass when she left.” Corie reminded him, not a little bitterly. “You all were.”

“I missed her.” He said quietly. “I really did.”

“I’m sure you did, Bri. And I’m sure that she missed you, too. But it doesn’t matter because you hurt her; when you turned your back on her, you broke her heart. And I don’t know if she’ll ever get over it. I don’t even know what you can do to make things better.”

He sighed heavily, but started nodding his head, almost to himself. “I’ll fix things. I will fix things between us. I have to.”

And then he was getting up and walking to the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket as he did so.

“Dude, where are you going?” Jimmy called out.

“Just to…figure some things out.” Brian said before pulling the door open.

“But we’re going out tonight…” Jimmy tried to remind him, but Brian was already out the door.

I looked down at Matt, who had become unusually quiet. I put my arm around his shoulder and gave him a hug, smiling as he rested his head on my shoulder and ran his hand down my back, rubbing it softly.

I suddenly had a feeling that with his sister’s appearance back home in Orange County, things were going to get very tense, very fast. And even though I was excited to meet
Memphis and get to know her, I was a little apprehensive. I didn’t know the whole story, and wondered if I ever would. But would everything turn out?