Rachel

"Oh my God, James!" I giggled, holding the golden retriever puppy he had just thrust into my arms. "He's adorable!"

"You like him?"

"I love him!" I exclaimed, jumping off the couch and hugging my older brother, squeezing the puppy between us.

"Good. Happy birthday, sis," he said, kissing my forehead.

"Thank you!" I stepped back to give the puppy room to breathe.

"What will you name him?" James asked as we sat back down on the couch.

I thought for a moment. "I don't know...what do you think?"

He looked down at the puppy. "He looks like a Jack, don't you think?"

"Jack," I said. "Perfect."

***

"Rachel...Rachel, honey, wake up." My dad's voice filled my ears, and I opened my eyes to see his figure hovering over me.

I reached over to my nightstand and turned the lamp on, sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes. "What is it, Daddy?"

My dad was silent, and when I took my hands away from my eyes, I saw the distraught written on his face. It was only then that I heard distant sobs from the next room.

"Daddy?" I asked, my voice changing pitch. "What happened?"

"Rachel, I need you to remain calm," he said.

My heart started racing. "Dad, tell me what's going on."

He grabbed my hand in his and took a deep breath. "Honey, there's been an accident."

I scrambled to my feet. "What kind of accident? Mom?" He shook his head. "James?"

He looked down, and his body shook with sobs.

"No," I croaked. "No..." I sank down onto the bed next to my father, feeling the room closing in on me. "What...what happened?"

"He was leaving work and crossing Thomas Drive..." My dad stopped and he took a ragged breath. "A van ran the stoplight and...and hit him. He was..." My dad's voice broke into a sob and I knew.

I knew that my sweet, selfless, hardworking brother was dead. I knew I'd never see him again, at least not on this Earth.

"Oh my God," I whispered as my dad wrapped me in his arms. "I can't believe this."

"I know, baby. I know...I have to go check on your mom. I'll be right back, okay?"

I felt a furry body nuzzling against me, and when I looked down, Jack's head was in my lap. I let my breath out in a whoosh and bent over, my forehead resting on his ears.

James couldn't be gone. He just couldn't be. He was my big brother, my protector, my best friend. He was only 21. He had his whole life ahead of him.

It couldn't be right. I jumped up, Jack hopping off the bed and following me out of the room.

"Dad? Mom?" I called, looking in every room until I found them in the living room, my dad holding my mom in his arms as she wailed. "Y'all, please," I pleaded. "This can't be right. What if it isn't him? What if this is all a mistake? I mean you haven't seen him yet, have you? I don't believe it." I paced back and forth in front of the couch. 

My dad stood up and grabbed my shoulders firmly. "Rachel Mae. Stop this," he ordered.

Tears were falling down my face, and my chest was heaving up and down. "No. Mom, please, tell him...It's not true," I shrieked, feeling my blood pressure rising.

My mom looked up at me, her eyes nearly swollen shut. "Rachel, please," she begged.

I fell to my knees, sobbing at my father's feet. An otherworldly sound left my lips, and that's the last thing I remembered before the world went black.

***

"No...no...please, God, no..." I heard myself screaming.

"Rachel, baby, wake up," a male voice was calling, and I felt arms around my body, trying to still my flailing arms.

When I opened my eyes and saw Miles, I remembered where I was.

"Miles...I'm sorry," I sobbed, sitting up and wiping my eyes.

"Shhhhh...Don't apologize. You were having a nightmare. It's okay now," he whispered, pulling me against him and pressing his lips to my forehead.

I sighed, letting Miles envelop me in his arms.

We sat in silence for a few minutes while I pulled myself together.

"What were you dreaming?" When I didn't answer right away, he shook his head. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, no, it's okay. I have a recurring nightmare about the night my brother died, from when my dad told me until the point I passed out. Reliving those moments just takes the wind out of my sails, Miles," I said, leaning my head back against his chest.

"God...I'm sorry, baby."

I smiled at the term of endearment. "It's not your fault."

"I know, but I hate to see you in so much pain."

"You know what, though? I've never had anyone to wake up next to when I have that nightmare...until now," I whispered, turning around and pressing my lips to his.

Miles

I pulled her closer, and she put a leg on either side of my waist, straddling me.

It was 3:00 am, but neither of us seemed to care. One of her hands was resting on my chest and the other was at the back of my head, tangled in my hair. I kissed her deeper, and she pressed herself closer to me, if that was possible.

When she broke the kiss so we could breathe, my eyes met hers, and she took my breath away. She was wearing the Bay High t-shirt I gave her earlier, her makeup had disappeared, and her hair was wild from the few hours of fitful sleep she'd had.

She was exquisite.

I guess I was staring because she ran her hands through her hair self-consciously. "Jesus, I must look like a hot mess," she murmured.

I grinned. "Hot is right," I growled, leaning forward and nipping her neck with my teeth.

She dissolved into giggles and we spent the next hour tangle in each other's arms.

When I woke up the next time, it was 10:00 am and the sun was glinting through the blinds.

I turned over and watched Rachel as she slept.

I couldn't believe it had only been 5 days since Rachel and I skipped school to go to the beach...that was when all this had started—when I opened up to her about my father. I realized that everything was moving fast...but I also realized that my feelings for her were growing by the day. And it didn't matter how fast it was going; I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.

And I definitely didn't want to.

She stirred, turning over and facing me. "Good morning handsome," she murmured.

"Good morning, beautiful," I replied, leaning over to kiss her nose.

She sat up and stretched her arms over her head, my t-shirt rising and creeping up her thighs. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes.

"When is your dad getting home?" she asked.

"Oh—I don't even know. Let me see if he texted." I rolled over and pulled my phone from the nightstand. Sure enough, I had a text from almost two hours ago.

Miles, I'm about to fly out of Tampa. I'll be home by 10:30.

"Shit," I muttered.

"What?" she asked.

"He'll be home in 30 minutes," I said, jumping up and pulling a shirt over my head.

"Oh God," she yelped, jumping up and pulling her cutoffs on under my t-shirt and sliding her sandals onto her feet. "I better get out of here!"

"Yeah, if he catches us I'm dead," I said, the veiled truth of that statement not lost on me.

It wasn't lost on her either. Her eyes flashed, and she crossed the room to wrap her arms around me. "Only a couple months until graduation," she murmured against my chest.

I kissed the top of her head. "I know. Come on; I'll walk you out."

When we got to her car, I leaned against it and looked down at her. "We need to talk about something," I said with mock seriousness.

"What is it?" she asked, turning to face me.

"School tomorrow...after spending the weekend with you, there is no way I'll be able to keep my hands off of you," I said, pushing a stray hair off her forehead.

She grinned. "Good. I don't want you to keep your hands off," she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me.

"So I guess I have to do that cheesy thing where I ask you if you want to be my girlfriend," I said, sticking my hands in my pockets.

"I guess you do," she replied, putting a hand on her hip.

"That was it," I joked, shrugging.

She punched me gently in the arm.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I said, laughing. Then I took a deep breath before I spoke again. "So...will you?"

She laughed, put her chin in her hand and said, "Hm...let me think about it."

"Ha ha."

"Just kidding...of course I will," she said, kissing me again.

When we finally parted, I smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

"Text me when you get home, okay?"

"I will," she replied, opening the door to her Impala and ducking inside. As she backed out of the driveway, she blew me a kiss.

I blew one back and headed inside, dreading my father's return.