Chapter 39 #2
“You kill me after.”
Silence.
I blink once. “What?”
“There’s n-nothing left f-for me,” she says. “I just want to give you what you need, a-and then you end it. Do y-you understand me?”
Then she speeds up. Hard. Her brake lights vanish into the dark.
I slam my foot down. “You’re insane,” I hiss, eyes narrowing.
“Maybe,” she says. “But not half as insane as you.”
She’s leading me somewhere. I know it, but I don’t care. I’ll follow her straight into the flames if I have to. Just to finish what we started.
My hands start to shake on the wheel—violently. I groan, biting back the nausea rising in my throat.
“So, you want to die, huh?”
No answer.
The fire under my skin is spreading now. Crawling up my throat, blistering behind my ribs. It’s agony. My voice breaks as I growl, “Answer me.”
“Yes.”
That single word splinters something in me I didn’t even know was still intact. I don’t know what we’ve become, but it sure as hell isn’t human anymore.
“Slow your car down,” I say flatly, knuckles bruised against the leather.
A few moments pass, then her taillights dim, and the car slows.
I exhale, calm settling over me like ash.
“Close your eyes, Paris.”
I drop the phone onto the passenger seat. I don’t hear what she says next, her voice cracks through the speaker just once more, but I don’t listen.
I hit the gas.
The front of my car connects with hers at full speed. Metal screams. Tires shriek. The impact sends her spinning sideways, hurtling off the road and straight into the front of a small house on the corner of some no-name street.
My windshield shatters. My ribs slam into the wheel.
Their car hits first.
Mine follows half a second later.
The noise is unbearable. A shriek of fire and steel, a crack like the sky splitting open.
And then, there’s nothing but flames.
The front of the house folds inward, crushed by the sheer force of impact. Wood snaps. Glass explodes. A fireball bursts through what used to be a living room.
Paris’s car disappears beneath it. Mine hits last.
And still, the wheel is hot beneath my palms. Still, the seatbelt cuts against my chest.
Still, I breathe. But just barely.
My head falls back against the seat, and for the first time in my life, I don’t feel like I’m burning.
Not inside. Not anymore.
I close my eyes.
So… it’s done.
It’s finally done.
Addie
I wake up to sunlight slicing through curtains I don’t recognize. The walls are pale blue, streaked with faint golden accents, and there’s a softness to the air that feels unfamiliar.
And my bed—is this even my bed? When did I change it? The sheets smell of lavender and vanilla, a scent I don’t use.
Strange.
When did I fall asleep? My last memory… what was my last
memory?
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, the floor cool beneath my bare feet. Breakfast. That will help. As I pad toward the stairs, the faint murmur of voices drifts up, stopping me in my tracks. Naomi? Sam? They never wake up this early.
My heart quickens as I descend, one step at a time, each creak of the wood echoing in my ears. The voices grow louder, clearer, and then I see them. Naomi, Sam, and… my parents? Mason?
The air is sucked from my lungs.
They’re sitting around the table, sunlight pooling around them.
My father, spatula in hand, flips a pancake with all the ease in the world.
My mother is laughing at something Mason said, her hand on his arm.
Naomi is devouring a Nutella-covered pancake, oblivious to the mess smeared across her cheek.
Sam leans back in her chair, scrolling through her phone.
My parents. Mason. How could they…? My vision blurs, and tears spill over before I can stop them.
Am I breathing? Is this real? I must be losing my mind.
Great. Just what I need.
“Oh, hey, Ads,” my father says, glancing up with a grin that breaks me in half. “Pancakes?”
I don’t answer. I can’t. The words are trapped somewhere between my heart and my throat. My mother looks up, concern flickering in her eyes. “Addie, dear. What’s wrong?”
“Bad dream?” Mason asks, setting his coffee down and tilting his head at me. He’s so solid, so real.
“I… you… I thought…” The words won’t come.
I thought you were gone.
“You thought what?” Naomi mumbles through a mouthful of pancake, utterly unbothered by my silence. She’s already reaching for the blueberries.
Before I can think, I’m moving. I rush to Mason, throwing myself into his arms. He startles, but catches me, holding me steady. “Woah there,” he says, his voice warm, his laugh soft.
“Now when’s the last time they did that?” my dad jokes, flipping another pancake.
“Shh, honey, don’t ruin the moment,” my mother chimes in, and she pulls him close, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I missed you,” I whisper, my face buried in Mason’s chest.
“You… missed me?” he says, pulling back to look at me. His brows furrow. “It’s only been a few hours.”
“You have no idea,” I think, but don’t say. Instead, I just look at him. He’s… different. Brighter. Happier. I’ve never seen him like this before, so absolutely alive. My chest aches as I pull away, turning to my father.
“Must have been a bad dream,” he says, chuckling as he strokes my hair. His touch is so familiar, so achingly familiar.
“Something like that,” I whisper.
Then I turn to my mother. My mother, who only a few weeks ago couldn’t even get out of bed. Who couldn’t even recognize me. The one that wasn’t really alive. “You’re… okay, right?” My voice trembles.
Her smile falters for a moment, turning into a frown. “Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be? Do you have a fever? Are you sick?”
“Yeah, Addie, you’re acting really strange,” Naomi says, her mouth full of blueberries.
“That’s disgusting, Naomi,” Sam mutters, cringing.
My father then gestures to the plate in front of me, smiling warmly. “Go on, lift it.”
I do.
And as I do, he slides a pancake onto it, but his aim is just a little off. The pancake slides over the edge of the porcelain and flops onto the floor with a soft, wet sound.
A few blueberries roll away.
I flinch. “I’m so sorry,” I say quickly, instinctively, already bending down to clean it up.
But a hand touches my arm. Gently.
“It’s not your fault,” Mason says from beside me.
I freeze, then my head snaps up to look at him.
“I—what?”
My father laughs softly from across the table, reaching for another pancake. “He said it’s not your fault.”
I stare at him. “You…?”
“Well, family,” Father announces suddenly, cutting me off, and brushing his hands on his apron, “I should be on my way, or I’ll be late for my first class.”
“First class?” I echo, confused.
He glances at me, equally perplexed. “Don’t you remember? I’m teaching my first class today.”
He’d wanted to be a teacher. A long time ago. My throat tightens, but I force a smile. “That’s great, Dad.”
He kisses the top of my head, and I close my eyes, holding onto the moment.
“You’re not even dressed,” Mason teases as he stands. “School starts soon. Come on, I’m taking you all, and I don’t want to be late.”
“Or she could just call her boyfriend to take her,” Sam adds, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Boyfriend?” My voice cracks as I stare at him, jaw dropping.
“Kai? You’ve been together for months now.” Sam tilts her head. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”
Kai’s here too?
“I…” I start, but my phone rings, saving me from answering. I glance at it, then at the faces around the table, my pulse thundering in my ears.
“Go on, take it,” Mason says with a grin.
I step away, lifting the phone to my ear. “Hello?” My voice trembles.
“Addie?” A voice I’d know anywhere. In any lifetime.
“Arion?” My heart lurches.
He laughs. “Since when were you into formalities?”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. Anything to stop me from sobbing on the spot. “Sorry, Ari. I just… I don’t really know what’s going on right now.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Did Kai do something? Because I swear if he did…”
“No, no,” I interrupt quickly. “I just… I miss you.”
“Aww.” His voice softens. “Well, Ads. I missed you too.”
“We should… get ice cream later,” I say cautiously.
“I’d never turn down ice cream. You know that,” he says, and it sounds like he’s smiling. “I was just calling to see how you were getting to school.”
“Mason’s taking me, I think.” My own words come as a surprise to me, so much I almost laugh. Who would have thought? “We’re getting ready to leave now.”
“Of course he is,” he sighs into the phone dramatically. “Always stealing you from me. I thought I was your best friend.”
“Isn’t he your best friend too?” I ask teasingly. I wonder if they’re best friends in this universe too?
“Well, naturally. You two are sort of a package deal, you know,” he says all too quickly.
A package deal? I learn more and more about friendship rules every day.
“I’ll… see you in school, then?” I say, not ready to let go of the conversation but knowing it has to. “Goodbye, Ari.”
“See ya around, Ross,” he replies, and the call ends.
I lower the phone, my hand trembling, the tears finally falling. This can’t be real. But it is, isn’t it? It’s beautiful and perfect and everything I ever wanted—and it’s breaking my heart.
I wipe the tears from my eyes, trying to steady myself, trying to breathe. I turn toward the stairs, thinking I should get dressed. But just as I take the first step, there’s a knock at the door.
“Addie, open the door, please, dear,” comes a warm, familiar voice. My mother.
Behind her, I hear Naomi giggle. That sound makes me freeze. Naomi, giggling? When was the last time I’d heard that sound? Probably a few years. My hands shake as I step toward the door.
For a moment, I hesitate. Who could it be? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael Jackson himself showed up at the door, but I open it anyway. And there he is.
Not Michael Jackson.
Kai.
In his big, stupid trench coat that I’d have teased him about any other time, and a thick scarf that looks too warm for the mild day.
But it’s him.