To say Gray was tired wan an understatement. He was exhausted. The past two days had been living hell.
Gray groaned as he collected the last of the eggs, his feet throbbing and his lower back crying for rest. As he walked through the darkness to the shipping bin all he could think about was sleeping.
The accident at the mine affected him more than he let on. He hadn't slept since, and thinking of it again sent shivers down his spine. He really thought Jack had died. To see him laying there, limbs contorted and blood pooling around his head. It was terrifying. Gray could honestly say that he didn't remember much of what happened after that. Adrenaline took over and he acted. Even in his panicked haze he knew he couldn't get Jack out himself, so he ran as fast as he could to get help. And before he knew it he had found Gotz and Harris and the three together were able to rescue Jack.
He'll never forget the relief mixed with fear when he found Jacks pulse and felt the slow drum of his heart. The thought of being filled with hope only to lose him again was an awful one.
Gray couldn't imagine losing Jack. In the 3 years he'd known him, Jack had become his best friend. The only best friend he's every had. He couldn't fool himself, he knew his shyness came off as standoffish, especially when his temper entered the mix. He just wasn't good at talking to people, and he doubted he'd ever be good at it.
Even with that, he still got a long with a few people. Cliff and him had shared a room at the Inn, and they got along fine, but both of them were too shy and awkward to get past small talk. And it had been over a year since Gray had seen him, ever since he ran out of money and had to leave. Doug, his landlord, and his daughter Ann had known him since he came to mineral town when he was 17, and he liked them well enough. He'd even join them for dinner every so often. And Kai was cool, but he was only around for a couple months a year.
And he didn't even want to think about Mary.
When his dad had dragged him out of their comfortable city apartment and to what he would call "Garbage Town", he was so mad. Gray was comfortable with his life, going to school, coming home to an empty apartment, and only seeing his dad a few minutes each week. But he had no choice. And only 6 months later, on his 18th birthday, he watched his dad hop on a boat; claiming that he'd raised his son and his job was done. That was the last time he saw his old man. Never even came back for a visit.
Soon he was his grandpa's apprentice and making a life in Mineral Town, whether he liked it or not. He didn't have a dime, and no matter how badly he wanted to leave, he wasn't able to. And eventually, he was used to life, and didn't feel like moving anymore. He had a job and a place to live, it would have been a hassle to move at that point.
That didn't mean he didn't hate it at first though. The only thing that made those first couple years in Mineral town bearable was Mary. The librarians daughter. He liked her the moment he saw her, she was kind and a gifted writer. He'd go to the library after work everyday just to have a chance to see her. Although they'd barely speak to one another, each tiny conversation kept Gray going. Slowly they became friends, and after 3 years Gray finally got the nerve to ask her out. And to his absolute astonishment she said yes.
They were together for a little over a year.
Until she suddenly broke up with him.
She had wanted to focus on her writing, and she felt she couldn't do that with a boyfriend. She wouldn't be able to give him the attention he deserved, she explained, as she'd be spending most of her time on her novel. Although she let him down as gently and kindly as possible, it hurt. It hurt a lot. At that point Mary was the only person Gray had. And he was heartbroken.
But that night as he drank alone in a corner of the Inn's restaurant, he met Jack.
Jack had just moved in to that run down, ruin of a farm the day before and was coming to drink his troubles away as well. As Gray was staring hopelessly into his drink, he heard the chair across from him skid across the floor and someone plop into it, a glass thumping onto the wooden table. Gray snapped his head up and glared at the stranger. He did not want to talk to anyone.
"I'm Jack." he had said with a sigh, "Just moved into that piece of crap farm I was told was beautiful, and I saw you over here, looking miserable, so I thought we could be miserable together."
Gray couldn't help himself. He lost it. He yelled at Jack and very angrily, and vulgarly, told Jack to get lost because his girlfriend just broke up with him and the last thing he wanted was an idiot to bother him.
Surprisingly Jack was unfazed. He just sighed, leaned back, and took a drink of his beer before saying: "Wow dude, that sucks big time. Women sure can be jerks"
Gray didn't know why, and he probably never will, but with that he just started ranting. Letting out all his frustrations and anger and heartbreak, and before he knew it, it was 2am and Doug was kicking them out of the restaurant. They had spent 6 hours venting to one another about their problems. He still doesn't understand it, but from that moment on they were friends.
After 3 years, Jack had become more like family to him than any of his actual family. He respected his Grandfather, but there was no familial affection between them. Jack was his reminder that if you weren't given family, you could always find some.
And although Gray was relieved his friend was alive and going to make a full recovery, he wasn't an idiot. He knew that Jack wasn't going to be able to keep his farm, and that devastated him. He hated the thought of his friend losing everything he worked so hard for. Jack was going to have to sell his farm and leave Mineral Town as soon as he was recovered enough to do so. So although he didn't have to grieve the death of his friend, he was sure he was still going to have to grieve his absence.
But Jack wasn't gone yet. So although his mind and body was screaming at him to rest, every evening he had been going straight from work at the smith to Jack's farm. Nobody else in this good for nothing town had volunteered any help. It made him so mad, everyone claims to adore Jack, but now that he genuinely needed help, they're nowhere to be found.
But he won't let Jack down. He'd take care of the farm, milking, shearing, collecting eggs, as well as watering and harvesting all the crops. He knew he couldn't do it long term, It had taken him until after midnight all three nights now, but he wasn't going to let the farm fall apart before Jack could even make any decisions. He supposed he could get up before work to get started, but he was not a morning person.
Gray knew Jack had an older sister. He assumed that someone had contacted her, but he didn't know if she'd come. Although Jack talked very fondly of her, he wasn't sold on her being a great sister. He'd been sitting next to his friend during some of those phone calls he had with her, begging her to come for a visit. He would always hang up the phone, disappointment written all over his face, and then drop his head to the counter mumbling under his breath about how much she'd love it here. It always made his blood boil.
Needless to say, Gray had a problem with people who never visited their family. And based on her track record, he assumed she'd ignore Jack now too.
As he tiredly placed the eggs into the shipping bin, he knew he wasn't going to make it back to the Inn tonight either. He was going to pass out before he got there, even now he was starting to feel wobbly and his head started to spin. Finished with the days work, he made his way to Jack's house to sleep on the couch. He'd been doing that the past two nights now. He'd brought some living essentials with him the first night just in case, and he was glad he did.
As quick as he could, focusing only on putting one foot in front of the other, he made his way to the front door. As he opened the door he was a little annoyed that the lights were off. He could have sworn he left them on so it wouldn't be as dark when he returned.
He was too exhausted to care for long however, and shuffling through the dark room, he plopped onto the couch; not even bothering to take his shoes off. His head hit the soft armrest, hat falling over his face, and instantly Gray fell into a dead sleep.
I just wanted to say thank you to the people who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited this story. I had the goal to finally write a story last year, but something happened and that goal kinda went down the toilet. But now I've decided the best way to ignore my own life is by being wrapped up in someone else's. So back to this :) I've written up to chapter 5 in the past two days. So as I re-read and edit those, expect at least a chapter a week for a little while. I hope that if you're reading my story that you enjoy it. Thank you!