Words Left Unsaid (22 page)

Available now on all major online retailors.

Prologue

Andy

Death. It is the only certainty in life.

It’s such a small word that holds such a powerful message. We avoid talking about it and we fear it, because we’re taught to do so, because nobody really knows what happens when you die. It’s that uncertainty that is so terrifying.

It’s amazing how being told you’re going to die puts things into perspective.

How being told your body is going to slowly give up on you makes you reevaluate everything you thought you once knew. Things you take for granted suddenly seem so fragile. The worst part isn’t the thought of dying itself, it’s everything you’re going to be leaving behind.

My name’s Andy Grayson. I’m twenty-six, and I’m dying. God, saying that still freaks me out. I don’t know how long I have left. A month—maybe two, if I’m lucky. For a long time, I was angry: I’ve been fighting this fucking disease since I was seventeen and it’s finally going to win. I have nothing else to fight with because it has taken everything.

Then I realized that this is no longer about me. I can’t save myself, but I can make sure the people I love are taken care of. This became less about what I was losing, and more about what I could gain.

That’s when I decided I was going to do this on my terms.

Em is my girlfriend and I love her with everything I have in me. She isn’t just my girl, though; she’s my one of my best friends, my lover, my confidante, my partner in crime, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.

And then there’s Seth: we’ve been best friends for so long he’s like a brother to me, and I know he feels the same. As kids we got into more trouble than I care to mention, and before I die I intend on getting him into some more—for old times’ sake and all that shit.

Without them by my side, I wouldn’t have fought for this long. They sacrificed so much for me and now it’s time for me to return the favor.

I can’t leave them without knowing the two people closest to my heart will be okay. I need that assurance before I settle back and let this fucking disease take me—finish me off for all eternity…