Chapter Text
”I can’t remember the last time I had a sleepover somewhere. Honestly it was probably with you before you got deployed. I mean, I guess we didn’t really call it a sleepover, but the feeling was there. What else would we call it? Anyway, I’m glad you’ve been feeling so good here. It’s peaceful, gorgeous, not all stuffed up like the city— this is like the dream.”
“Yeah. I never really thought about being a country person, but I’ve gotten so used to it that I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back. It’s not even just the time I’ve spent here. I know it’s not really the same, but being in Afghanistan, out there is all desert. You needed to travel miles to get to somewhere populated, and here, your neighbors are a couple miles away, even more to get into town.”
They’d both been in Mac’s room, laying in the dark with the moon shining through the crack in the curtains. Bozer had been set up in a surprisingly comfy cot at the edge of Mac’s bed.
“I can understand that. I’m glad you’ve found a place you’re happy in. Jack and his mom are amazing.”
“Hey I was happy with you in California too, Boze.”
“Happy with me maybe, but not California, not really anyways.”
A breath went out through Mac’s nose. Bozer was right. Being in California was really the last thing he wanted.
“Have you heard anything since the last time?”
The cot creaked, and Mac could barely make out Bozer’s outline as he leaned on his elbow.
“I don’t even think I told you everything from last time. I mean— I’ve seen him mad before but, this time was bad.”
Bozer heard the front door open and grabbed the knife from the counter. He was supposed to be the only one with access to the house and he was obviously inside. The thought of forgetting to lock it popped into his head, and someone being so bold as to enter a house in the middle of the day wasn’t unheard of. Hearing the footsteps in the hall then actually seeing James didn’t make him out the knife down.
“Where is he?” Malice. That was the only thing lacing his words.
“Pretty certain he doesn’t want you to know.” Bozer wasn’t scared of him. He had seen people more intimidating.
“I’ll have you thrown out of this house.”
“Ain’t even your house. It was left to Mac in his grandfather’s will. Everything is in his name. You have no authority here.”
“Tell me before I call the police and have you arrested for obstruction.”
“Okay, one, Mac’s an adult. If he doesn’t want you to know where he is then you’re not gonna know. And two, call them. I’ll file a report about you breaking and entering and have you trespassed from ever stepping foot here again.”
“You have no authority—”
“No you have no authority. You have no right to be here or to know where Mac is. You didn’t even know where he was for the past three years.”
“Please tell me you changed the locks. Hell, I’ll hire someone to install a security system.”
“I did get the locks pretty much right after. I didn’t think he had a key for it, but he did live in that house at some point so it wasn’t too surprising. But what if I told you that wasn’t the weirdest or worst thing that happened?”
Mac’s brows furrowed as Bozer continued.
“I had mom and dad over for dinner a few weeks later. Nothing super special or anything, just for us to catch up. We’re in the middle of eating and the doorbell rings. I’m not expecting anyone and I think maybe it’s your dad again and he’s pissed that he can’t just walk in; think I’ll just tell him off or whatever. When I tell you the audacity that man has because he actually called the cops— I couldn’t actually believe it. They start going off about me withholding information about where you are and how I can face criminal charges, I start going off about how you weren’t a runaway and are an adult and can do and have contact with whoever you like, then mom and dad got involved— the whole thing was pretty messy.”
“God, Boze I’m so sorry. I never would’ve thought he’d take something that far.”
“Hey, not the first douchebag I’ve had to handle.” Bozer snorted. “The cops were surprisingly understanding with everything. After I explained in detail, and dad using his detective status to help, they left and said to call if there was anymore problems with your dad.”
Mac huffed and slid his hand down his face. “I want to say I can’t believe he did that, but it’s very much in line for something he’d do. I’m so sorry you had to deal with him.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for, especially his actions. He’s a grown-ass man and can’t find anything else to do with his life.”
“Still, it’s my fault it happened.”
“Wrong. Nothing about the situation is your fault. It’s all your dad’s. He’s a megalomaniac; he doesn’t care about other people or what they think. You’re one of the most caring people I know. There’s no way any of this is your fault.”
***
Jack hasn’t meant to ease drop. He heard Bozer and Mac talking as he made his way to his room, trying to let two friends who hasn’t seen each other in years get some privacy to catch up. The walls in the house weren’t exactly thin, but with no background noise anywhere, a conversation downstairs could be heard perfectly upstairs, and Jack and Mac’s rooms were right next to each other.
Jack thought he had a decent idea of what kind of man Mac’s father was, but hearing Bozer speak about him and what he’d done put it in a new perspective. When Mac spoke about him, it was like he was downplaying all the situations, unintentionally or not. He always made it seem like it was just rough parenting that got more intense as he got older, and joining the army was how he finally got away from it.
When Mac told him about his father actually making it to Afghanistan, it was crystal clear what kind of man he was. Hearing what he put Bozer through just solidified it.
The rage Jack could feel about the whole thing was scary. He’d felt it before, once or twice when he was a Delta fighting terrorists and going on black-op missions where a single mistake could get his whole team killed. All that hate was channeling right to Mac’s father. Jack didn’t want to think what he would do it they ever met.
Mac had Bozer though. That was probably the only good thing about his life in those times. When speaking about him and all the things he did, Mac made himself sound like a burden, and that Bozer was just doing everything he and his family did out of pity. The few times they talked in the sandbox, Jack could tell Bozer really loved Mac like a brother, and seeing him there and how they acted together, he knew it was true and that no part of anything he did was out of pity.
He laid in bed, listening to the conversation quiet down until it eventually stopped and went quiet. He wondered if having Bozer there was helping with his state of mind; if Mac missed the people or his old home. Bozer would be there for a week, and there was a chance he would be taking Mac back with him when it was time to leave.
***
“I swear I’ve never seen someone take a shine to somethin’ so quick, especially with a very different lifestyle.”
“I’ve done extensive research on how to do it properly. One of my finals was to do a short video of something that was wild west themed. I found an equine place that had very basic lessons for stuff and they allowed me to film what I needed while taking the lessons, and they even said I was the best in the class, granted all the other students were like ten year olds.”
Jack snorted. “Took Mac like a week to even work up the courage to attempt to ride.”
Bozer and Jack both turned to send amused smiles at Mac.
“Really? He defused bombs in a warzone and took that long to say hi to a horsy?”
“That’s what I said!”
Mac rolled his eyes. The three of them were on horseback going along one of the trails that lead to a waterfall. Bozer had asked if they could see the horses, to which Jack offered the current alternative.
He’d been lost in thought for the majority of the ride, hearing Bozer and Jack chat about life and occasionally giving the horses commands. Bozer being there had helped his mentality immensely, and it had only been the third day. He was reminded of his childhood, all the things Bozer and his parents did for him— literally taking him in when Harry had to spend extended stays in the hospital for his treatments; adopting him in every sense of the word. He didn’t realize how much he missed them until Bozer actually got there.
A small part of him wanted to go back to California.
The negatives outweighs the positives though, or really just the one negative person in his life made him terrified to go back. Mac knew from a very young age that his father wasn’t like others. He was gone a lot for work, missing important events— never trying to make them up. And when his mom died, something shifted, harshly. James was suddenly a single parent, the soul provider to a young child, and he didn’t seem to want that.
There was a short time where he took off work, pretended to be a father for a little while before going right back, leaving Mac alone in a big empty house when he was barely tall enough to see over counters. Days went by of him caring for himself and becoming independent. Then James would come back for a day or two, get Mac whatever food was needed, before leaving again. Mac thought that was just how every family worked, and he was such a smart kid that he could take care of himself with no problem.
When he got sick is when things really changed.
His dad was gone and he’d gone to school, just a normal thing he did. His teacher had sent him to the nurse because of how pale he was, and there it was discovered he had a high fever. Mac had said his dad was at work and wouldn’t pick up, so there was no use in trying, and he could just walk home. The nurse, understandingly, didn’t let Mac walk home in his condition. There was no other contact on his forms, and when asked if there was anyone else, he said his grandfather, but he lived in a different city and Mac didn’t have his number memorized.
Luckily, looking back on previous forms, his number was there, but his father’s wasn’t.
Grandpa Harry had arrived two hours later, bundling up Mac and taking him home. When asked where his father was, Mac just said he was at work like always and would be back in a few days. He thanked Harry and said he could go back home and he was sorry for ruining his day.
The rest of the day was blurry. Mac had attempted to do the school work he was sent home with, but Harry got him set up on the couch with a pillow and blanket, and a show. Mac remembered drifting in and out of consciousness, and hearing Harry yelling at someone he couldn’t hear. He didn’t know how long he was actually on that couch. The one day when he started feeling better was when his father came home, and Mac foolishly thought he would’ve been worried about how sick he was, but all that came was blame for making him leave work.
After that, James was a lot louder, harsher, pushed Mac to his limits and then some. If his grades weren’t perfect, he’d lose some sort of privilege. If he disturbed him at work, he’d be grounded for an indecisive amount of time.
The argument when he almost landed in juvie just settled everything into place, a place Mac didn’t want to be. He had planned it out, spoke with Bozer about it. Joining the army was the most relieving thing he’d done in his life.
“—ac. Hey.”
Mac snapped his head up. Jack and Bozer were both staring at him.
“You okay? Looks like you went somewhere just now.”
They both worried about him, both showed and told him how much they cared.
“Yeah. Sorry, lost in thought.”
“You ever turn off that brain of yers? Yer always thinkin’ ‘bout somethin’.”
“Someone has to.”
Jack let out a hardy laugh. “Maybe immersin’ yerself in nature can help turn off that head of yers.”
Mac had been so lost in the past that he hadn’t noticed they made it to the waterfall. It wasn’t the biggest one Jack had shown him, or even the first, but the surroundings were a lot more different than others. There was a large clearing they could settle in rather than a slightly larger trail to stop on for a moment, and the ground was relatively flat and soft in comparison to others that were mainly rocks.
“Think you might’ve broken him.” Bozer said.
“I think I’ll call that a win.” Jack answered, dismounting his horse. “I’m happy mama focused this food on us cuz I’m starved.”
“She wouldn’t let me help so I’m excited to see what it is. Uh, what’d we do with the horses?”
“They’re normally real good if ya just let ‘em be, but any strong branch will do. Really just if any other people or animals come.”
The horses were tied and the three of them sat a little ways away from the edge and started eating. The view was so surreal. The water rushing over the cliff and splashing down below, a slight breeze rustling the plants, the soft chatter and nicking of the horses—
“Reminds me of when I went camping when I was a kid.” Mac said, breaking the silence. “I remember hiking up a mountain with just a backpack of stuff. Think it took me a few hours to get to where I was supposed to be, but I eventually made it and there was a waterfall. Not nearly as large as this one, but it was really cool. It might’ve been the first one I’d seen, or remember at least. It would’ve been a good trip if it didn’t start raining and Harry had to come find me.”
“How old did you say you were?” Jack asked.
Mac shrugged. “It was before I met Bozer, so— younger than ten I think.”
“And, you were there by yerself?”
“Uh, yeah… my dad was off doing whatever he, and Harry had medical issues and was in LA. I left him a note saying where I went to he wouldn’t worry but, I guess the rain kind of messed it up.”
“Wait, you were the kid that got lost up a mountain during a storm?” Bozer asked with a slight laugh. “I remember my parents telling me about that and how they had wildlife search and rescue looking for you! You were missing for hours and they even sent up a chopper to find you!”
“In my defense, the weather was supposed to be sunny.”
“Well if yer thinkin’ of goin’ campin’ by yerself while yer here, you better add me on yer packin’ list. I can promise that it’s hell of a lot different than Cali.”
“I remember us going camping the very first time.” Bozer said. “We got rained out too, but it was just in the backyard so we didn’t have to go very far. Mom got us dry clothes and dad started a fire.”
They all sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
It was the most call Mac had felt in a long time. There was nothing there he really had to worry about, but it didn’t stop everything that was plaguing his mind.
“I don’t think I can go back to California.” It almost came out as a whisper in comparison to the rushing water in front of them.
“What do you mean?”
Mac brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while, kind of since… I actually enlisted, and even more so when my dad actually made it to base. Enlisting was the first time I really, really went against what he wanted me to do, and I was terrified to find out what he’d do when I got discharged. I mean, he somehow made it on to an active military base in another country. If he was able to do that— thinking about what it took to accomplish it— I’m scared to think of what he’d do if he found me. Bozer, what he did to you and your parents, I’m so sorry. It happened because of me and I know he’d leave you alone if he knew where I was… I don’t— feel safe; thinking about going back, even for a visit makes my stomach churn.
“Jack, when you invited me here, a weight that was pushing me further and further into the ground had disappeared completely. The moment you said I was welcome here, my answer was yes, but I didn’t want to seem so desperate and pathetic for needing somewhere foreign that I brushed it off for later. When he showed up on base, and I knew I had somewhere I could run to, it gave me some hope, maybe even courage, to say what was on my mind in that moment. I don’t know where I’d be right now if you hadn’t offered.
“So, uh, thank you, both of you, for everything you’ve done for me and my messed up life. I probably would’ve ended up in a ditch somewhere if it weren’t for you. And… I’m sorry; Bozer, I don’t think I can go back, and Jack, I’m going to burden you for a lot longer.”
Jack clapped Mac on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze. “Bud, you ain’t ever gonna be a burden, ever. And if you ever think you are, mama would slap you silly and tie you up in the house to keep you there.”
Bozer slid in and gave him a side hug. “And don’t you feel guilty about not being able to come to California. If you feel better and safe here, then you stay here. If it takes a little longer for us to hang out in person, that’s okay. We got phones and the internet.”
A smile appeared on Mac’s face, and his hand went to wipe his face. “Thanks guys, I really appreciate everything.”
“It ain’t any trouble, man.”
“Yeah. We’re here for you.”