Disclaimer: Not mines, don't sue.

"Michael? Michael sweetie, it's time to get up." A voice calls awakening me from my slumber. My eyelids squeeze tighter before slowly opening. My vision blurs a bit before clearing up. Using my left hand, I turn to my side and slowly lift myself up so I'm laying up half up.

"Mom?" I call out, my voice sounding a little crack. I guess my vocal cords haven't settle yet from sleeping last night.

"Michael, I'm making breakfast, what would you like?" I heard my mom call from behind my bedroom door. "Bacon? Eggs? Waffles? Ham? Or…"

"I'll take waffles and bacon." I answer her.

"All right then, make sure to take a shower, we're going to be heading for Church in two hours." She called out. I nodded my head even though I know she can't see it. I lift the covers off me and get out of bed. Scratching my side, I walk across my room wearing nothing but my underwear as I rummage through my dresser picking out a fresh pair of underwear and a pair of socks. Moving over to my closet, I pick out my church clothes and my lounge wear as a head to the bathroom.

After cleaning my body, I put on my lounge wear and head down the hallway where I'm greeted with the smell of bacon sizzling in the frying pan. Seeing a woman with faded blonde hair standing a gas stove wearing a bathrobe, I walk over to her, smile, and give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Mornin' Mom." I greeted her. She turns her head to look at me and smile.

"Morning sweetie." She greets back, kissing my forehead. "Bacon done." She tells me as she lifts the stripes from the pan and putting it on a plate with three stacks of waffles on it. She grabs it and carries the plate over to the small dining table. "Syrup or strawberry jam?"

"Syrup." I reply and she goes to get the maple syrup bottle and pours it over my waffles, making sure to get every dimple with filled before leaving a pool for me to dip my pieces in. After also pouring me a glass of orange juice, she sits down too and we get to eating.

We ate in silence for about a minute before mom spoke up.

"So, are you excited?" She asks me. I just shrug.

"I don't know. I mean, I like church and all, but I'm not sure how this one will be different from -" I stop myself when I saw that my mother shake her head.

"No, not church, I mean for where you're going today?" She ask me as she takes a bite into her piece of toast. I wasn't sure what she was getting at before it became clear to me.

"Oh, that." I say, finally understanding. Suddenly, I felt myself get a little queasy in my stomach. Not because of the food, my mom my great cook, but because of nervousness. This will be the first time I've seen them in about five years.

"Do you want to go?" She asked me softly. "Because if you don't, I could always just call me and - "

"No mom," I cut her off, "I want to go." She looked distressed when I said that.

"You don't have too. I'm sure they won't mind."

"Mom," I tell her again, massaging my brows, "They're family. And there might not be as many chances I have to see them again, I really want to get to know them better."

She looks down at her half eaten toast and cup of coffee for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"Okay then." She simply says. "Well, let's finish up. Then we can watch something on TV to pass the time until it's time to go." I nodded and resume eating.

The car ride was a quiet one as I look out the window, seeing various trees and rock formations zipping by like a blur. I look over to mom who's eyes are set straight on the road. I let out a breath and turn my head back straight forward.

"What did you think of service, honey?" She ask me.

I just nodded. "It was good," I simply said, "Definitely gave me something to think about." Which was true, as during the sermon the pastor started talking the ties that bind, using one quote that stood out to me.

"That the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."

I started to lightly nod off before I felt a light tap on my shoulder and I saw my mother looking at me with a smile.

"We're here." She says in an almost sing-songy way as I look out to see us about to pass a sign that reads, 'WELCOME TO CASTLE ROCK' and I perk up. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest like an African drum and my ears heat up. That nauseas feeling returns to my stomach.

We drive through the small, almost run down looking, town. Passing by various townsfolk: store owners, neighbors, kids, teenagers, and many others as we drive down the street. After driving, we go up a hill and reach our destination. A two floor house painted gray. Some cherubs around the front of the house even though it was clear they haven't been kept well; leaves a pukey green color and falling off. Two cars in the driveway, a tree off the side, and some beer bottles along the rails.

Home sweet home.

"Did you forget to bring anything?" My mother asked me quickly, almost too fast for me to comprehend. "Because if you did, we can always turn around and we can come back another time and - "

"Mom." I groan, "I got everything. I'm going to be ok." I reassure her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. She have me a reassuring smile back as she turn off the car and we got out. I went to grab my bags as I saw her make her way to the front door. She was about to read the stood when the door open and an older looking man step out. A can of beer in his hand and a cigarette between his lips. He looked to be mid-forties.

"Nancy." I heard him say as I made my way over there. Then he looked over at me and a small smile grace his lips. "And this must be Michael?" He asked. I merely nodded my head. "Well, haven't you grown." He says, his blue eyes locked on me.

Suddenly, another figure step out outside. He looked a lot younger than the other man. He had bleached blonde hair spiked up with grease and partial facial hair on his face. Even though he looked younger than his older counterpart, his face had a look on it that speak of years of experience. He had a very muscular built and had a toothpick in his mouth. His gray-blue eyes stared hard at me and I could feel myself shrink back by his gaze.

I look over to my mom and saw a sad smile appear on her face as the younger looking male walk down the stood.

"John." She says, her voice barely above a whisper as she went to lightly stroke his face. I notice him slightly flinch from the touch and my mom pull her hand back. Though I understand his reasons, it does hurt me to see my mother look so upset that her eldest son was uncomfortable with her.

With a heavy sigh, my mother turns around and walks up to me, wrapping me in a strong hug.

"Have fun Michael," She tells me, running her fingers through my hair, "If anything happens…"

"Nancy," The older man says, walking over to us, "The boy will be fine. He's in good hands."

"Yeah Mom," the younger male join in too, his voice very cool and in control, "We won't let anything happen to the little shit. My brother's a Merrill after all." Slapping a hand on my shoulder. Hard.

My mother just nodded her head and made her way back to the car. "I'll be back to pick you up next Sunday." She told me.

"Nancy." My father, Junior Merrill called out to her. She merely nodded her head again and got in the car, went into reverse, took one more look at me, then took off down the road. "Johnny boy, help your brother get his bags in."

To be continued….

A/N: Hey guys, new story here. Now, normally I don't do OC centric fic (unless I'm making fun of it. ;)), but this story idea just grabbed me by the balls and wouldn't let go. Also, this will be multi-chap (Izout writing a multi-chapter fic? Grab the smelling salt!), but this will only be 7 chapters long, to go by each day of the week. Mainly because I don't want to be one of those types of writers who want to write a multi-chapter fic epic, but don't have enough story to support the amount of chapters, so I create a bunch of artificial chapters that solely exist to reach my goal of having 40/60/100 chapters. Or worse, be one of those writers that keep the story going even though if should have ended a long time ago.

Well, enough rambling. Hope you all enjoy this tale.