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  Saved by Grace

  Copyright  2017 TJ Rudolph

  Published by TJ Rudolph

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book

  or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Prologue

  I paced my driveway impatiently, waiting for him to show. Glancing at my watch, I noticed that he was thirty minutes late. I pulled my phone out of my bag and tried to call him, but his phone went straight to voicemail.

  Aaron Wheeler was my best friend, the only friend I’ve had for the past five years. We met when I was twelve-years-old and we had an instant connection. As we spent more time together, our friendship grew into something deeper, and I fell in love with him.

  I didn’t know much about love at that age, and my understandings went as deep as spending every waking moment with him. He friend-zoned me, dubbing me his baby sister, and I decided not to tell him how I felt.

  He was everything I could ask for in a guy—my knight in shining armor. He saw me sitting alone in the school cafeteria, and rescued me from spending my teenage years alone. He was the only shoulder I had to cry on when my mom walked out on my dad and me. My dad would be away at sea for months at a time, and Aaron would always insist that I stay with their family while Dad was gone. He was an only child and his parents, Chris and Agatha, were all too happy to have me there.

  Agatha said I was the daughter she never had and I loved his family like they were my own. His grandmother often joked about us getting married, but Aaron laughed it off and said that he would not get involved in incestuous activity.

  I glanced anxiously at my watch again. Aaron was never late. In fact, he was painfully punctual and always reprimanded me for not being on time.

  The phone buzzing in my blue jeans startled me. As soon as I tugged it from my pocket, I saw Agatha’s name flashing on the screen.

  “Hi, Agatha. Is everything okay?”

  “Grace,” she whispered hoarsely as if she had been crying. “I…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Agatha?” I questioned loudly. “What is wrong?”

  She didn’t respond.

  I heard shuffling, like the sound of the receiver changing hands, and then Chris’s voice.

  “Grace,” he murmured weakly. “Aaron has been in a car accident… We’re… We’re at the hospital…” His voice tapered off and I started feeling sick to my stomach.

  “Is he okay?!” I shouted this time.

  “He… The doctors… They wanted to switch off the life support, but we asked them to wait, so that you can say goodbye.”

  “Life support? Goodbye? What are you talking about Chris?” I felt my body shaking.

  He ignored my question and continued speaking. “I asked Kay from next door to pick you up.”

  My phone dropped to the ground and my hands trembled. It felt like hours passed me in that moment and I couldn’t move.

  I snapped out of my stupor. Did Chris say someone was fetching me? I couldn’t recall the last part of the conversation. I felt like I wanted to throw up, but I needed to get to Aaron. He needed me. I moved my feet forward until I was running to the garage to get my bicycle. I climbed on it and started pedaling. The hospital was not that far, but my wobbly legs made it seem a lot further.

  Tears blinded me as the news sunk in. “It can’t be… It can’t be…It can’t be,” I chanted, trying to make that true.

  When I arrived at the hospital, I threw my bike to the ground and ran inside, frantically looking around for the emergency room. Finally, I found the red sign that pointed me in the right direction and I sprinted to the reception area.

  “I need to see Aaron Wheeler,” I shouted desperately to the lady at the front desk.

  “Are you family?” she questioned, and I noticed the sympathy behind her eyes.

  “It’s okay,” Chris said as he came up behind me. “She’s with us.”

  “Where is he, Chris?” I asked anxiously. “I need to see him.”

  “Down the passage, follow me.”

  He was walking too slow; I needed to get to Aaron right away but I was afraid of what I was going to see. I walked slower as my heart started pounding in my chest. This felt like a nightmare, and I prayed that I was going to wake up soon. I pinched myself just to make sure it wasn’t a dream but I didn’t feel it—not because this was a dream, but because my entire body was numb.

  The short distance between the reception area and Aaron’s room felt like it was miles away, and when we finally got to his room, I couldn’t bring myself to step inside. I slumped into a chair and the tears flowed. Chris picked me up and held me while I cried, although I could see that he was barely keeping it together himself.

  “You have to say goodbye, Grace.”

  I try to nod at him but my head didn’t move and my attempt to pull myself together was failing. When I walked into the room I tried to look at everything but what was in front of me, and I stared at the bare white walls. I slowly shifted my eyes to the bed that Aaron was on and I whimpered as I saw the bandages on his body. Everything was covered, even his head and legs. He was connected to tubes and machines and I almost didn’t recognize him. Agatha was standing next to him, weeping.

  I walked slowly toward him and took his hand in mine.

  Chris led Agatha out of the room and whispered. “Give her a moment alone with him.”

  I tried to say something but nothing but sobs came out. I needed to speak to him, so I took a deep breath and tried again. “Aaron, you can’t do this to me. Don’t leave me.” I put my head on his chest and took in his musky scent.

  “Aaron, I have been meaning to tell you something,” I whispered to him, sniffling in tears that dropped from the tip of my nose.

  I knew that he couldn’t hear me, and my heart was filled with regret that I never told him. I ran my hand down his muscular arm and remembered the way he used to hold me when I was cold. I would never see the deep dimple that appeared on his left cheek when he smiled after he saw one of the drawings I did of him; or hear him grunt when he laughed. The only time of my life when I ever felt safe was when I looked into his honest blue eyes, there were never any secrets between us and I would never have that with anyone again. The one thing I did keep from him was to protect our friendship, but now I need him to know and I want to tell him as if he is standing right in front of me. Looking at me with his vibrant blue eyes.

  “Aaron, I want you to know that I love you. I will always love you…” My voice faltered and I tried to clear my throat. “Not like a sister. You are the love of my life. You always will be,” I said as I stroked his face.

  I heard a voice by the doorway. “I’m sorry,” a male voice said. “But it’s time.”

  I looked up and through blurred vision, I stared at the three figures in front of me. The one figure wore a white coat, and suddenly the nightmare became a reality. In that moment, I feared that I didn’t have the strength to let go, not yet. I didn’t think I ever wanted to let go! After a few moments, Agatha and Chris joined me at the bed.

  The doctor walked over to the machine that was keeping my best friend alive and as he lifted his hand, I stopped him.

  “P
lease, wait!” I cried.

  Leaning in, I kissed Aaron’s bruised lips and I let mine linger there for a moment. “I love you, Aaron,” I murmured against his mouth. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to Chris and Agatha as I straightened and walked away. I couldn’t watch as they killed him.

  The last thing I heard as I walked down the deserted hospital wing, with tears streaming down my face, was the sound of the life support flat lining and the shrill scream that came from Agatha. It echoed through the entire wing, a haunting sound that would stay with me forever.

  I wanted to run as far away from the hospital as possible, but my legs felt like lead beneath me. I made it to the exit and fell to my knees, letting out a piercing cry as I felt my heart dying with him.

  Chapter 1

  I lay still on my bed as I looked out the window. I knew my life would never be the same again. In fact, I was sure that it was over.

  It had been three days since they lowered Aaron’s body to the ground and I still had flashes of him in a silver casket. He looked like he had fallen asleep in his favorite blue suit, like he would open his eyes at any moment.

  I tried to erase the image from my mind and concentrated on the long grass fanning in the wind. I thought of all the times Aaron chased me through that grass and then we would fall down and laugh until my head hurt.

  I had no more tears left in me, but there was an ache deep inside my chest that never went away.

  “Grace? Are you okay, honey?” My dad’s voice echoed from the other side of the door.

  I didn’t answer; I was afraid that if I moved from my bed I would lose any shred of sanity I still had.

  I heard the door creak open. “Grace, is everything okay?” he repeated.

  “Yes,” was all I managed to croak. I couldn’t bring myself to tear my gaze from the trees outside the wood framed window.

  There was silence for a moment. I knew he was lingering, trying to find the right words, although he knew there were none. The door clicked shut and there was Aaron again, chasing me through the tall wafting grass.

  My dad came home for the funeral and announced that he would be staying at home for a few weeks. I was grateful for him because I knew we couldn’t afford for him to be at home for so long. Even though I never left my room, I needed him more than I thought I would. My heartache was mounting by the minute, and I hadn’t had a proper night’s rest in weeks. Dad forced me to go see the town’s psychologist, Doctor Parker, who recently moved here from New York and that had my nightmare’s subsiding.

  I shifted my eyes to the opened envelope on my desk and its crumbled contents scattered alongside it.

  I had received acceptance letters from three colleges, and the last thing I wanted was to go to any of them. Aaron and I spent the last two years planning where we wanted to go. I remembered the day as if it were yesterday; we were sitting on his bed talking about what we wanted to do after high school.

  “I’m not so sure if I should pursue this, Aaron, I mean, can people really make money or am I going to spend my years being a struggling artist?”

  “Come here,” he said, pulling me off his bed. He opened his cupboard door, and stuck on the inside was a drawing I had done of him when I was thirteen; one where he was pushing me on a swing.

  “Lots of people can draw, Aaron, it’s not rocket science.”

  “Nobody I know can draw like that at thirteen, Gracy.”

  “I suppose if I am really struggling, I can always get Doctor Aaron Wheeler to lend me some cash,” I joked.

  He smiled but there was a seriousness in his eyes. “I will always be there for you, Gracy, no matter what.”

  “Well, you’re not here now, are you?” I choked, as the tears I thought had dried up started rolling again.

  I thought about how Aaron and I spent nights with our heads glued to the computer as we looked for a college in all fifty states that specialized in both art and medicine. We eventually found a great one, Winchester Roth College, which was only a four hour drive away from home.

  None of the three letters I received, however, were from WRC. I had applied for a scholarship since I didn’t have enough money to pay for tuition myself. I thought that maybe my application got lost in the mail, but three days before the funeral, it finally arrived.

  I found the white envelope on my front porch with WRC stamped on it. It was sticking out of the wooden box I had painted, which had the word mail written on it.

  I still didn’t have the courage to open it. What if I got in? What if I didn’t? It seemed so unfair to live life without him.

  Doctor Parker told me that if I made every decision based on the fact that I didn’t want to do it without Aaron, I would end up doing nothing with my life, and judging by what I told her about him, she knew that was not what he would want for me. She was right; if Aaron were here, he would have told me to live my life.

  Maybe it was time to open the letter, maybe knowing would make my miserable life different somehow. Before I had the chance to reason any further, I was standing in front of the cupboard where I stashed the letter. My hands trembled as I reached for it and I took a minute before I opened it. The first words my eyes fell on were, Congratulations, you have been accepted.

  I stopped reading and held the letter against my chest. I felt worse than before. I got into the college I was supposed to go to with my best friend, my only friend.

  Life was unfair. I spent most of my adolescent years alone, resigned to the fact that it would always be that way because people were cruel, and then Aaron came along. He was different and he showed me that no matter where I came from, I was worthy of love. Before I closed the cupboard door, I saw Aaron’s gray jersey inside. I pulled it out and slipped my arms through it. I brought the collar up to my nose and inhaled a deep breath; it still had his musky scent in it. I loved this jersey. Aaron used to get it for me whenever I was cold, but now I was drowning in it. I turned to look at myself in the long mirror next to the window; I hadn’t eaten in days. The only thing I could hold down was liquids.

  I walked out of my room to get a glass of water, and as I stood in the kitchen, I looked at the rustic brick walls. There was a time when I loved running my hands along the rough bricks as I passed, but now it only reminded me of a time when Aaron helped my dad cement it on the walls. I absentmindedly poured a glass of water and only realized that it was running over when the cold water hit my fingers. The phone hanging on the wall by the entrance of the kitchen started ringing, and I ignored it as I slowly slurped the water. On the third ring, my dad came rushing toward it. When he answered, he turned to look at me, but I turned my face toward the sink.

  “Hello?” my father’s voice sounded brittle.

  I slipped past him with my head lowered and walked back to my room. I stopped in the doorway when I heard the rest of the conversation. “Oh. Hi, Chris, Grace is doing…well I’m not really sure to be honest.” I quickly went into my room and shut the door. I couldn’t stand to hear the hopeless tone in my Dad’s voice.

  I hadn’t seen much of Chris and Agatha after the funeral. We had all fallen into a dark pit since he was gone and couldn’t find the words or strength to help each other out of it. That was the first time they called. I heard the muffled sound outside my door which went on for a long time but my mind was too far away to pay attention to what my dad was saying.

  A few minutes later, there was a knock at my door again. I turned away from the door and pulled the bed sheet over my head. I knew that my dad wanted to help but I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. He didn’t walk in this time when I didn’t answer.

  “Chris invited us over for supper tonight. We’re leaving at seven,” he called through the door.

  I didn’t want to go back to his house, not yet, but I knew my dad was not going to take no for an answer. He didn’t usually force me to do things, but he would probably tell me that getting out would be good for me.