All For You

Prologue

    Jessica Simmons sniffles in her bed, wiping the endless tears from her eyes. She still couldn't believe that after years of dating the same man, she was suddenly single. Rowen broke up with her so fast that she was convinced it gave her whiplash. One second they were perfectly fine and happy and the next he was telling her that he needed to figure himself out before he could settle down in a relationship.
    That was total bullshit.
    They had been dating since the seventh grade, when he'd given her a bouquet of flowers and a kiss on the cheek, asking her to officially be his. How could she turn him down? He was so sweet. So they started "dating" and then when they hit high school, they went on real dates and their feelings for each other started growing deeper and deeper. He'd always been so sweet and thoughtful. He'd never hurt her or even made her cry. Not once. Everything he did, he did carefully and thoughtfully. Many women fell for him because of that, but he was her's. And now he wasn't.
    She couldn't wrap her head around why he broke up with her. He said that he needed to find himself, but what does that mean? Was that just his excuse for breaking up with her? Maybe he just lost feelings? Did he have someone else? The thought only made her cry even harder.
    She was surprised that she even had any more tears considering she'd been crying endlessly since he'd said, "I'm sorry, Jess," and walked away. They just kept coming and when she finally thought they'd stopped, more started flowing. The real problem was her thoughts, though. She couldn't stop thinking about him. How handsome he'd been, how well he'd treated her, how good his touch had felt.
    She truly, honestly loved him and now she couldn't stop her thoughts from drifting back to him. They'd gone through middle school, high school, and college together. He'd been there for her her entire life and now he was gone and wasn't coming back.
    She buries herself further under her blankets as her bedroom door opens and quiet footsteps approach her. Her younger brother crouches down in front of her on the side of her bed. Tyler was only about a year younger than her, but he always treated her like she was younger. All of her brothers treated her like their baby sister that they had to protect no matter what. Tyler was now 22, almost 23. Even though he was the youngest of the four of the siblings, he was always the most protective over her. They had a great relationship. Ever since they were little, they'd been two peas in a pod.
    Tyler brushes his hand across her face, pinning a strand of hair back. "Let's go for a drive. I want to take you somewhere," he whispers, hating how hurt and vulnerable his sister looks. She'd always been the strongest of the four siblings. She knew exactly what she wanted in life and was determined to get it. She hadn't ever gone through a breakup, Rowen being her first and only boyfriend. The pain on her face now nearly killed Tyler.
    He gave her no chance to argue, leaving her room and giving her time to get ready before leaving. Despite wanting to stay in the comfort of her bed and wallow in her pain, she got up. She looked at herself in the mirror and instantly knew that it wasn't her. She was strong. She was independent and she didn't need a man. But the woman in the reflection was heartbroken and hurting for someone that didn't even bat an eye before leaving. It wasn't fair how he could make her fall for him so hard, then just disappear.
    Avoiding her reflection, she washed her tear stained face and brushed her teeth before brushing her mess of hair. She then went to her closet and changed out of the same sweats that she'd been wearing for the past three days. She pulled on a pair of jeans and an oversized t-shirt before calling it good.
    She opened the door to her bedroom just as Tyler was going to walk in again to make sure she got up. He was surprised that she got up without him having to ask a few times and beg, promising a surprise for leaving her bedroom. "You ready?" He asks her. She mutely nods, following him down the stairs while he swings his car keys around his pointer finger. He leads her out to his old truck and they climb in. While Tyler drives to his destination, he plays some music on the radio, drowning out the silence from his sister, who stares blankly out the passenger window.
    He knew that she was hurting and he wanted to make her feel better. She was his favorite person in the whole world and he didn't like seeing her so upset.
    He pulled up to the cafe down the road and parked in the usual parking spot in the empty parking lot. The cafe wasn't often busy, which is why it was their favorite place to go. The food was absolutely delicious too. "I'll be right back. Stay here," he said, leaving the keys in the truck to keep the air conditioner running for her. It was an extremely hot day in California today and she'd probably melt otherwise. While he went into the cafe to get her favorite meal, she sat in the truck and picked at her nails, listening to the radio to try to keep her mind off Rowen.
    Anything to keep her from breaking into tears again.
    It didn't take long for Tyler to walk back out of the cafe, carrying a to-go box of Jess's favorite hamburgers and fries. As he got in the truck, he handed it to her and she thanked him quietly. He took off down the road again and their next destination was the beach. Because it was a hot day, the beach would be especially busy with Californians wanting to sunbathe and surf, but this specific area had a lot of shade and was very private. There was hardly ever other people here. Growing up in California gave Tyler a good idea of what places on the beach were best to go to and at what times.
    "Come on," he motions, getting out of his truck. She follows him, closing the passenger door before walking behind him down to the beach. He sat down in the shade beside the cliffside, motioning for her to sit next to him. Not worrying about the sand, she plopped down on her rear, cradling her food to her chest. He'd already made her feel a little better. She didn't know that getting out of the house and getting some fresh air would help clear her mind, but it did. It helped relax all of her endless thoughts and it felt like she was finally able to breath for the first time in days.
    Tyler didn't speak to her, probably knew that she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He just sat beside her and watched the waves with her while she ate her meal and leaned her head against his shoulder. He knew that it had also been a couple days since she had a meal other than a jar of ice cream, so he was satisfied that she was eating it at all.
    The two siblings sat there for a long time, watching as the sun slowly started to set. As the heat slowly died down and Jess finished her meal, they got up and headed back to the truck. They dusted themselves off before climbing in again and he started driving them home.
    "Thank you, Ty," Jess whispers to him, truly grateful for him. He always knew just how to make her feel better. He knew the way around a woman's heart and would make someone a very happy wife one day. She and Tyler had their arguments when they were younger, but most of them ended with him taking her out for either ice cream or burgers.
    "Anytime," he replies, smiling at her. The two were so relaxed on their way back home, that as they were driving around the cliffside, they didn't notice the semi truck also turning. The semi truck driver was a drunken, tired mess and didn't even notice the huge truck drifting to the other side of the road.
    Neither Tyler nor Jessica had any time to make a sound before the two vehicles collided and Tyler's truck went rolling. Tyler had gone unconscious instantly from the impact, his head smacking the dashboard so hard that blood splattered across the window. Jessica was still conscious as the truck drove off the side of the road and rolled down the hill towards the beach. Her stomach was rolling around in her ribs before blackness consumed her entire body.
    Jess slowly drifted back towards consciousness with the feeling of blood rushing towards her head. As she slowly opened her eyes, she realized that the truck was upside down, her seat belt barely holding her up from falling onto the sharp glass from the shattered windshield. The sun was set now, replaced by the moon and she could hardly see three feet in front of her.
    She groaned quietly, glancing around. Her eyes catch on her brother's limp body, no longer in his seat. He's laying on his stomach on the dented roof of the truck, his head lolled to the side. She reaches out to him, touching his shoulder. "Ty," she whispered hoarsely, squeezing the shirt covering his shoulder and trying to shake him. The movement only makes pain shoot up her arm. "Tyler," she tries again, feeling tears clog her throat. He doesn't respond. Choking on a sob as she wheezes, she reaches her hand back to her seatbelt. Putting her hand on the roof to catch herself, she unclips her seatbelt and she falls onto the glass, crying out as a huge slice lands in her ankle.
    Her heart pounding, she tries shaking Ty again. "Please, wake up," she rasps before darkness envelopes her again.

•o•o•o•

    The next time Jess finds her eyes opening, she's surrounded by blinding white walls and an annoying beeping right next to her head. She slowly peels her eyes open and lets them focus on what's ahead of her before she turns her head to her left, glancing around.
    The first thing she notices is a large window, the sunshine shining through it and lighting the room. The second thing she notices are the faces of her family around her. Both her parents are here, so are Collin and Luke, her older brothers. Every one of them have tears in their red rimmed eyes. Mom sits in the chair beside Jess's bed, her hand on top of her daughter's. Dad sits by the window, his arms crossed over his chest as he watches the heart monitor beside Jess's head. Her two brothers stand next to each other by the door in the room.
    But where's Ty?
    Jess opens her mouth to voice her thoughts, but she finds herself in a huge coughing fit as her chest constricts. Collin rushes to the table beside her hospital bed and helps her drink some water and she thanks him quietly.
    Jess clears her throat and tries again. "Where's Ty? What happened?"
    She frowns as her mother drops her head onto Jess's arm, her tears falling onto the bedsheets. The look on her dad's face makes her frown deepen and she glances at Collin, who's still standing beside her head.
    "Dad?" Jess whispers, looking at her father again. A tear slides out of his brown eyes and he gets up, walking over to her bed. He didn't know how to tell her.
    God, how do you tell your daughter that her brother is dead?
    He takes a seat at her legs, gently setting his hand on her calf. "You got in a car accident, honey," he tells her.
    It's like cold water was poured over Jess's head as the memories of it all return. He took her out and got her food. Then the beach, the semi truck. The crash.
    Tears fill Jess's eyes instantly. "Is Ty okay?"
    Her father looks down, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain in his chest. When he meets her eyes again, she nearly breaks down from the pain in his eyes. He looks so broken. She didn't think that she'd ever see that much pain in one person's eyes. "He's gone, sweetheart."
    Jess shakes her head, ignoring the pain in her head from the action. "What? No he's not." Despite her arguments, her heart knew it was true. They wouldn't tell her that unless it was definite.
    Her dad nods, tears cascading down his cheeks. "Yes, he is. It was instant, he felt no pain."
    She didn't understand how that was supposed to help. He was still dead. Her brother was dead and she was alive. She didn't want to be the one that lived. She was older, she had more experiences, he should have survived.
    Her body shook as she collapsed in tears, falling into Collin's arms as he hugged her. She gripped onto her brother's shirt, sobbing into his chest while he cried into her hair.
    None of it was fair.