With Me | Sequel to Be There ✔️

For Jan

"Hey, Meg," Dwayne says as I sit down with my lunch tray. I give him a smile, still down from yesterday. "Have ya seen Charlie or Fulton anywhere?"

I shake my head. "No," I respond. Everyone, who had all been staring at us, sighs and looks away. "Why? What happened?" I asked, voice filled with concern.

"We haven't seen either of them all day," answers Guy. "We don't know where they are." I roll my eyes, because if I know anything about boys, it's that they were pissed off and decided to skip school.

I take a bite of my apple, once again rolling my eyes at my two friend's immaturity. Just as I'm about to take another bite, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn in my seat to see a plump, older woman with curly white hair and a happy grin on her face. "Meghan Portman?" I nod, raising an eyebrow. "You're dismissed early. You've been signed out."

She starts walking away, but I hurry after her. "Wait!" I call, and she faces me. "Who signed me out?" I ask, and I see my table all looking at me, but they're out of earshot.

"A man with light hair," she pauses. "And extremely blue eyes. Do you not know who that is? Should I call the authorities?"

"No!" I practically shout at her, realization hitting me. I turn on my heel and race over to the table, grabbing my backpack. My friends ask me what's going on, but I ignore them and sprint out of the lunchroom.

I run out of the building and towards the gate, where a figure stands, hands in pockets casually. I don't stop, and I embrace the person, which they return. "Woah, Meg. Calm down," he chuckles. I smile up at him, Coach Bombay.

"Coach! What are you doing here? Why did you sign me out? Is something wrong?" I bombard him with questions, and my mouth is going a mile a minute.

"Slow down, slow down, Meg," He laughs. "I wanted to talk to you. I came in from California, and I'll be here for a while. Let's take a walk." We exit the school grounds, and we head towards a park, where young children are playing on a metal playground. We sit down on a bench, and Coach looks at me. "Meg, I have to tell you something."

I suddenly feel immensely nervous, and I nod my head. "What's going on, Coach?"

"It's nothing bad, Meg. I promise," he reassures, and I let out a breath. "How are you doing?" I raise my eyebrows at him. "How are you doing, Meg? Here, in Minnesota?"

"Uh, fine, I guess. Coach, I know you wouldn't pull me out of school to ask me how my day's been. What's going on?"

He sighs. "I got a letter from your brother before you left," he starts. "It said that he wasn't going to come to Eden Hall. He asked me if, when I came to Minnesota, I would check up on you. I sent him a response, saying I would." He continues, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Dean told me about what has happened to you guys. The whole story, including before you joined the Ducks."

"Oh," I mumble.

"Dean wanted me to make sure you were okay, Meg. He knew he wasn't going to be here, and he knew how hard you were taking what had happened," Coach reaches into his pocket. "He sent me these while I was in California. He wanted me to give them to you personally."

He places a stack of envelops onto my lap, bound by a rubber band. I glance down at them, and my name is scrawled on them in messy handwriting that I instantly recognize. Tears slip down my cheeks, splashing into my jeans, darkening the fabric. "He really misses you, Meg," Coach says.

I grab the letter on top, dated a few days after I left Chicago to come to Eden. I pull the lined notebook paper out, unfolding it, and reading the words written on it: