The Unexpected First (The Unexpected Series Book 2)
Prologue
Ten years ago
I sit next to her bed, with tears streaming down my face. Her frail hand is clenched in mine, Jack’s position mirroring mine at her other side. I glance up at his face to find the tear stains along his cheeks, and it breaks my heart even more. His dark blue eyes red from tears, his dark hair no longer styled from the way he’s been tugging at it while we’ve been waiting for any news. My big brother has always been the fiercely strong one of the two of us. Always there to rescue me from my pain. This time, we’re drowning together.
My best friend, Hadley, has been plastered to my side since we found out about the accident. Never leaving me, even to go to the bathroom. I had to put a stop to her joining me in the stall, making her wait outside. I may be breaking, but damn, I have boundaries.
Only twenty minutes after we made it to the hospital, Hadley and I walked out of the bathroom to find Greyson fucking Mancini standing alongside my brother. Several inches taller than Jack, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes that look gold in the harsh hospital lights, stands my brother’s best friend, the object of my infatuation since I was ten.
“Hey, Ry,” Greyson’s sympathetic tone nearly makes me crumble, and my only response is a nod of acknowledgment. He pulls Hadley in for a side hug and releases her back to me. It doesn’t escape my already fragile emotional state that he’s never given me that kind of attention. I know Hadley looks at him like a big brother, but damn, what I’d give for a hug right now.
I sniff back the tears and try to put my mask back in place. After our dad left when I was only two, it’s just only ever been the three of us. Mom always said “Batteries have treated me better than any man. I don’t need one.” She never dated since the day he left. I have to be strong. I have to get us through this. Someone has to help her through this.
Doctor Rutz comes in to speak with us after an hour.
“Ryan, Jack, I’m sorry to tell you that your mother likely won’t make it through the night.” He rakes his hand through his hair like he’s anxious to share the news we had been dreading. “The injuries to her brain and spinal cord are too severe. She won’t wake.” He pauses, gripping my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
He doesn’t bother sticking around with us after that, slinking out once he delivers her prognosis.
“No, Jack, she can’t leave us. How are we supposed to make it through without her?” A sob wracks through my chest as the words come out. He stands, walking to join me where I’m sitting.
“We just have to, sis.” His voice trembles as he says the words.
With Hadley on my right side, Jack on my left, and Greyson looking across my mom’s still form, I hear the shrill tone of the machine indicating her heart has stopped beating.
I collapse into my best friend, seeking comfort. I hear a loud crash and crunch a second before Jack’s warmth disappears from my other side.
I jolt upright, looking around to see Greyson’s fist through a wall. I jump up, crossing the room, taking his hand in mine.
“Grey, what the hell is wrong with you?” The question comes out in a shriek. He doesn’t say a word, his hazel eyes meeting mine in a silent conversation. I raise my hand to stroke his face, but he jerks away from me like I’ve struck him. I drop his hand and move away. “Get that checked, please.” I stand and turn back to Hadley, who has an expression of confusion mixed with the heartbreak of my mom”s passing. I look back at her body, and the tears start flowing again.
A week later, Jack and I stand together at a graveside service with our closest family and friends, mourning the loss of our mother.
Hadley has been with me every day, never leaving my side. She’s held onto me through all the nightmares and tears.
Greyson and Jack have been out drinking nearly every night, stumbling home at all hours. I don’t know how well my brother is coping considering how many times they’ve both come back to our house, barely able to make it through the front door.
Before the service, we found out Mom paid the house off and set enough money aside for both Jack and me to be set for college. Talk about a double-edged fucking sword. I get to live out my dream without my biggest cheerleader, apart from Hadley, in my corner.
The day is a blur of people offering their bullshit condolences. I dissociate about halfway through, not realizing that we are the only ones left until the sun is setting. Hadley holds onto me as I say my final goodbyes. Jack and Greyson follow closely behind us as we make our way to the car.
Two weeks after Mom’s death, Greyson and Jack stand out in front of our house next to a U-Haul van. I walk up to them from where I parked my car, with panic rising in my chest. The unease causes everything I ate that day to churn in my stomach, ready to make a reappearance no one needed nor wanted to see.
“What’s going on, guys?” I ask quietly.
“Greyson is leaving. He got a tattoo apprenticeship in Miami.” Jack explains, pausing for a moment, watching for a reaction. “He’s leaving now. He was waiting so he could say goodbye to you.” My big brother shoves into Greyson’s shoulder with a silent admonishment as he walks away.
“Ry,” Greyson holds a hand out towards me, which I just glance down at. “I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure.”
“So, you’re sure now. You didn’t have to hide that from me, Grey.” I reply as a defeated sigh passes my lips. “I’m proud of you. You’ll do great!”
“Ry,” he pulls me into an embrace for the first time in our lives with a low growl in his chest.
It sends a thrill through my body that I’ve never experienced before. His masculine scent of sandalwood and juniper invades my senses. After wishing to be this close for five years, he chooses now, moments before he’s going to walk out of my life, to touch me. I pull back with tears threatening to break free.
“I can’t wait to see how amazing you become.” I plaster on a fake smile. “Bye, Grey.”
I turn on my heel and run into the house past my brother, who, if looks could kill, would be up on homicide charges right now.