The Unforgotten Brother

Chapter 1

I dismissed my alarm for the third time this morning, as I heard my mom knocking on my bedroom door, telling me it's time to get up, as it was a school day.

I'm typically the kind of girl who doesn't mind getting up early to go to school, but today I'm absolutely dreading it. I just want to lounge around and let my thoughts completely absorb me, let myself feel bad.
You see, today would have been my brothers twenty-fourth birthday. And yes, I did mean to say it would have been.

The thing is, a few months ago my brother passed away in a gruesome car crash. Some guy went through a light and t-boned Axel, my brother. The driver didn't even see him. He was texting! He couldn't wait until he got to his destination to send his precious text, instead he killed my brother. I try not to think about it, but it's hard, especially on days like today, Axel's birthday.

As I get dressed and ready for the day, I try to distract myself from thinking about Axel, instead going over my Spanish terms in my head. I tend to do that a lot, go over vocabulary words (typically Spanish words) to avoid thinking about something else.

As I go downstairs to eat breakfast, I hear Jacob speaking to my mother. Jacob was my brothers best friend, and the accident was just as hard on him as it was on my family and I. They were like brothers, Jacob and Axel, and they always did everything together.

As I make myself a smoothie, Jacob appears behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder and saying hello, causing me to break down in tears. I can't help it, I miss my brother an awful lot. As if reading my mind, Jacob pulls me into a hug, also beginning to cry. We stand there for a few minutes, embracing, comforting each other.

Jacob offers to give me a ride to school, as I'm already running late and would likely miss the bus. I accept his offer, of course, and put my smoothie in a to-go cup, yelling goodbye to my mom as Jacob and I walk out the door.

I quietly slide into the passenger seat of his jeep, fidgeting with my cup after settling in, still trying to distract myself. Jacob hops in, and pulls out of the driveway almost immediately. He keeps glancing over at me, as though trying to read my thoughts.

After a minute or two, he begins to make small talk, talking about average things like the weather, trying to keep the mood light. I tell him that I'm sorry for being so quiet, but that I'm trying not to think about it too much before school. He knows what I'm talking about without me having to directly say it, and he says he understands.

After just a few minutes, we pull into the school parking lot, and I tell him thanks for the ride. He insists it was not a problem, and nods his head before saying goodbye and driving away.

I walk into school, still dreading facing the school day, already thinking that it would be a difficult one to go through.