Not the Only One (Book 1 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

Twenty-One

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.