Disclaimer: I don't own the Host.
A/N: I've been wanting to write this for a very long time :)
Title: Away From Home.
I sat at home, staring at the photograph of my boyfriend, Ian. I did this every night before I went to bed, but I never usually clutched to my chest and cried over it. Never ever thought that I would. Of course, I never ever thought that Ian would go M.I.A either (Missing In Action).
I sniffed as my phone went off - it had been constantly going off in the last hour. Melanie, Jared, Burns, Jamie, Jeb, Lily, Wes... all of them texting and calling to check if I was okay. It was a stupid question. Of course I wasn't okay.
I heard an angry knock on the door, and immediately knew that it was Mel. No-one else would disrespect my wishes to be alone. I sighed, and sniffed, but made no attempt to get up and open the door. Maybe Mel would think that I wasn't home, or that I was asleep or something. Maybe she would just leave me alone...?
"Wanda! I know you are in there!" She screamed, knocking on the door again. Again, I just ignored her. It went on like this for the next ten minutes until I heard a loud bang and a triumphant cheer.
I got out of my bed cautiously, to see what had just happened. Only to find that Melanie had just bust my front door down, and she was looking extremely proud of herself. I stared dumbstruck at my poor door.
"Hi Wanda," she smiled at me.
"Melanie," I hissed. "You just broke my door!" It was hanging off its hinges and everything, the poor thing. What had it ever done to her? Besides being a barrier to keep her out of my house.
"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I'll pay to get it fixed, don't worry."
"Not the point," I sighed. "You are invading my privacy. I can actually report you for trespassing on my property." Mel rolled her eyes once again, and my arm itched to dial 911...
"I just wanted to see if you were okay," she insisted. "You weren't answering my calls, my texts or the door."
"I was ignoring you," I folded my arms across my chest. "I want to be alone if you haven't noticed." Mel shook her head at me.
"Too bad, I'm not leaving. For two reasons: number one, I'm me, I'm stubborn and always do what I want and number two, I have to call someone to repair your door, before someone decides to rob your house."
"Then you have to pay," I told her.
"Don't forget that I know your credit card number," Mel threatened.
. . .
An hour later, my door was fixed, and the carpenter paid. Mel was actually pretty proud at her job of breaking down the door, and thanked me for the chance to make her feel like part of the FBI. I rolled my eyes at that. She had definitely been watching too many crime drama shows with Jared.
"How's Jared?" I asked, handing her a cup of coffee, after realising that there was no way that she was going to leave any time soon.
"He's okay, he made me watch a marathon of detective movies with him over the weekend though, I haven't spoke with him since this morning though, he went down with Kyle to the Army office to see if they could find out more information on Ian's disappearance." I nodded, that made sense. Kyle was Ian's brother, and Jared was the two O' Shea brothers best friend.
"I hope they find out something," I said. "I hate not knowing whether..." I trailed off and started crying again. Mel gave me a hug, and cradled me in her arms.
"It's okay Wanda," she murmured. "It's going to be okay."
. . .
That night, for some unknown reason, I slept on the couch. I drifted in and out of sleep, and I was jerked awake when I thought I heard someone knock loudly on my newly fixed door. Fearing that it was Melanie, and that she would break down the door again, I quickly got up and rushed over to it.
I unlocked it, and flung it open to reveal a breathless, bright eyed Kyle and Jared.
"Wanda," Jared cried, enveloping me into a tight hug. I hugged him back, confused.
"Okay, it's nice to see you two, but why are you at my house in the middle of the night?" I yawned to emphasize the time.
"We were at the Army office all day," Kyle said. "And they located him Wanda! They found him! He's coming home next week, and he doesn't have to go back! Ian's free from the Army!" Kyle cried, picking me up and swinging me around.
I laughed from relief. Ian wouldn't have to go back - and he was alright! He was alright!
. . .
I went to the airport with Mel, Jared, Kyle and Jodi. We stood waiting for Ian to get off his flight. As soon as Ian was in seeing distance, Kyle took a hand off my shoulder, and let me run to Ian.
Ian scooped me up into his arms, and I laughed, and kissed him as the other walked over.
"I missed you so, so much," he whispered.
"Me too," I answered back. "But if you ever make me think the worst again, I will kill you." He laughed into my hair.
"I promise I won't darling."