❝𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐋'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃❞ ɢʀᴇʏ·s ᴀɴᴀᴛᴏᴍʏ

PROLOGUE

                    WAITING IS TORTURE, Maddox knows all too well. The constant glances at the clock on the wall, which doesn't seem to be moving forward, makes her hold her hands to her head, trying to do something to stop the trembling in her hands. She tries to make it stop in other ways, like biting her nails —she has just done them, she really should stop— or making an irregular noise with them against the metal arm of the chair. She knows that if anyone was there with her, someone would probably have yelled at her by now, because the Eastons lose their temper easily in a stressful situation.

Maddox feels like she's been waiting a lifetime for uncertain things: for someone to read her a story at night, for her father to come home from the war, for her mother to agree to adopt a puppy, for Ryan Jenkins to ask her to go to Homecoming together, for Harvard to accept her after sending the application letter. But she feels that nothing is more uncertain and terrifying than waiting for the results of her mother's visit to the oncologist. The mere thought makes her heart race. She knows he must remain calm, but based on her mother's face, the lump in her breast didn't look too good.

And, to top it all off, Dennis still hasn't shown up. Maddox has long known he's a lost cause, a rebel without a cause whose only goal in life may be to make his parents' lives hell, but even his sister thought that in a situation like this he'd show up on time. It's close to seven o'clock and Dennis still isn't responding to her text messages, or her calls, even the code the two siblings share to indicate that it really is an emergency. Dennis is MIA, and their parents are still in the office, so Maddox is alone with the mess on her mind.

She decides she's had enough after kicking the couch a few times, because she knows that's no way to expel her anger, and grabs the phone from her pocket, dialing her brother's number again. "Look, I don't know where the fuck you are, but I'm starting to get worried. And pissed off at the same time. Can you pick up the fucking phone, Dennis? Mamá y papá are coming out in a matter of minutes. I hope you have a good reason why your ass isn't in this waiting room. I'm not kidding, Den. Get back here now or you're going to get in serious trouble."

She hangs up the phone quickly because the ER door opens, and she's hopeful it's her brother; but no, a gurney is being rushed in by two paramedics and two nurses. Maddox quickly loses sight of them, not because she doesn't care, but because she prefers to keep a cool head to wait for her mother's results, and she knows that if she gets too involved in other people's images and possible diagnoses, Maddox will be anything but calm.

"Any idea where your brother is?" Her father's voice startles her, because she is so unaccustomed to hearing it that it almost seems like a stranger. He's recently returned from Iraq, so even the image she had of him before doesn't match what she sees now.

"No, papá. I've left him a couple of messages, but he's not answering. Don't worry, I'm sure it's just that there's traffic or something," Maddox lies. She hates lying for her brother, but she's had her brother's back their whole life, and she feels like she's not going to start letting him down now.

Her father nods, an inevitable sigh escaping his mouth. "We know it's a delicate time for you guys too, but having you here might be good for your mother, in case..."

"In case things don't go well," Maddox nods, her gaze lost somewhere in the room. "I know, papá. He'll call right away, I'm sure. There'll be a reason to—"

Her father's phone rings, and Maddox sinks into the waiting room seat because the ringing tone is ridiculous and pathetic and she's told him a thousand times since he's been home that he should change it. The man holds up a finger to interrupt her briefly. "Dennis? It's Dennis," Maddox nods, feeling somewhat better, but her father's face falls with uncharacteristic rapidity, and Maddox wonders if this week is always her week of woes. "What do you mean, like in jail?" The girl's eyes go wide and she feels herself getting dizzy, glaring at her father for explanations. "Jonah? What happened? What did he do?" Jonah, her lifelong next door neighbor and trusted cop. He's a couple of years older than them, and frankly Maddox has always thought he has a thing for her. "I'm on my way over there right now. Oh, my goodness. Yes, yes, thank you."