Forever & Always

Chapter 1

Jess's pov

As I round the corner of Jackson street, finally seeing my house in the distance, I pick up my speed to get there quicker. I always go for a run every morning. It's healthy obviously, but it also helps me keep my mind off things I don't want to think about. The last year for example...

Almost a year ago my parents passed away in an accident. We were hit by a drunk driver. The drunk driver and my parents died on impact and I was taken to the hospital. I was immediately sent into surgery and once I was out, it took me a week to wake up from the coma. I woke up to Hayden and Isaac, my two older brothers, staring down at me with red tired eyes. When they explained to me what had happened, I wished I was back in the coma. Why did my parents have to die and not me?

When I start having the flashbacks I pick up my speed again. I wish I didn't remember that night.

When I finally make it to my front door I take off my earphones, and step inside my house. Isaac is usually away on business trips, so most of the time it's just me and Hayden. After the accident Isaac stepped up as expected and took care of everything from funeral arrangements to settling all the legal stuff. He took care of me and Hayden but got distant at the same time. He does all the necessary things such as paying bills and making sure we have food but he hardly comes home. I know he misses our parents and this is his way of coping.

The smell of bacon leads me to the kitchen and I see Jason standing at the stove cooking. Right. I totally forgot he basically lives here too. Jason is my brother's, Hayden, best friend. They met in Kindergarten and have been inseparable since. They've also been a pain in my ass since then.

He hadn't noticed me walk into the kitchen yet so I took it as an opportunity to try and scare him. I sneak up behind him, and right when I'm about to scare him, he turns around and starts tickling me.

"Jasooonn!! Stop! Please stop!" I yell while trying to get out of his hold.

"Jess you know better than to try to scare me."

When he finally let's me go, I take a piece of bacon and say, "It was worth a shot, I almost had you."

"Please. I heard you when the front door opened."

I turn my head when I hear groaning and shuffling from the stairs, "dearest Hayden must be up"

"Hey bro, don't you look like a jumble of joy this morning!" I yell cheerfully purposely trying to annoy him. He isn't much of a morning person.

Hayden starts glaring at me. "Don't even start with me. I don't know how you wake up every morning and go for a run. I can't even wake up before noon sometimes!"

"Motivation. I don't need to look how I looked a few years back." I mean, that is part of the truth. I do want to stay in shape, but the run is mostly because I want to avoid the nightmares. But he doesn't need to know that. I don't want him to worry about me more than he already does.

He looks at me like he knows something is up but doesn't push it. Sometimes I hate how well he knows me. "You looked great then and you look great now. Besides you're going to start making me look fat, so cool it"

Typical Hayden, always trying to make me feel better. Unlike Isaac, Hayden was more open about his feelings and we grew even more close after the accident. He helped me with my recovery and always made sure I was okay. He still does. I'm thankful for him but he can only do so much to help. There's so much he doesn't understand. He doesn't understand how much the running helps me. It is like releasing all my guilt and anger on the speed of my running. But of course, he wouldn't understand what I am talking about because he wasn't there. He wasn't in the car when the crash happened. I was.