The Year of Second Chances (A Sunnyvale Novel Book 3) (20 page)

“You’re awake.” His voice sounds groggy, dark circles reside under his eyes, his t-shirt and jeans are wrinkled, and his clothes are askew. But relief washes over his expression as he sits down on the edge of the bed and cups my cheek in his hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone used my lungs as punching bags,” I croak, my throat on fire. “Can you get me some water?”

Kai quickly pours me a cup of water, and I down it within seconds, feeling as though I could drink a thousand more. Once I’ve downed about three glasses, he returns to the edge of the bed and takes my hands in his. “How are your wrists and ankles feeling?”

I look down at my bandaged wrists, remembering how badly my skin tore when I finally got the rope to slip off, moments before the flames surrounded my bed. Two seconds longer and I wouldn’t have been able to get out. That’s all. Two seconds. Such a small measurement between dying and living.

“They’re okay,” I reply truthfully. Because while they do hurt, the pain is mild compared to the agony burrowing inside my heart.

Lynn did this to me.

My own stepmom.

She put my mom in jail.

My dad helped her.

Tears flood my eyes, but I manage to choke out, “Lynn?”

His hold on my hands tightens. “She’s locked up. You’re safe.”

I force down the huge lump wedged in my throat. “And my dad?”

“He’s in jail too…” He traces the folds of my fingers. “Isa, I’m not sure if you know this, but your dad helped Lynn cover up the murder of Jamison and blamed it on your mom. I’m not sure of all the details, but I know she confessed everything to the police when they picked her up… I think something about starting that fire set her off, and she lost what little sanity she had left. But I guess that’s good because it got her to admit everything and that means your mom will be acquitted.”

“Lynn probably broke down because she killed her son the same way as she tried to kill me,” I say, wiping away the tears from my cheeks. But more continue to pour out, and my shoulders heaving as I sob.

All of this—the fire, Lynn’s confession, my mom being released from jail, being alive—it’s all so much to take in at once. I can barely breathe through the pain, sadness, hate, and thankfulness whirling around inside me.

Kai wraps his arms around me. “Shh… Everything’s going to be okay. It’s all over now.” He lets me soak his shirt with my tears, holding onto me like I’m the most precious thing in the world.

“What else happened?” I murmur against his chest once my eyes dry. “And how long have I been out?”

“You’ve been in and out of consciousness for a few days.” He sits back and looks me in the eyes, hesitating. “Isa, there’s more to what happened then I think you know, and you’ll probably find out soon. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to overwhelm you… You’ve been through so much… For a while, we thought…” His voice cracks. “I can’t lose you, okay? No matter what happens, what you hear, please promise me I won’t lose you.”

I clutch onto his hand, sensing what his fear is about. “If this is about Kyler helping Lynn, then I need you to know that it’s not your fault. I’m not going to hold something against you that your brother did.”

“How can you not?” He searches my eyes. “How can you even stand to look at me right now?”

“Because all you’ve ever done was try to protect me. Hell, you even ran into a burning house to save me. Seriously, who does that?”

“Anyone would have.” He plays off his heroism like it’s nothing.

I shake my head, taking his hand. “Don’t do that. Own up to your awesomeness, okay?”

He cracks a small smile, but any happiness quickly simmers. “I just want you to know that I’m still going to take care of this. Hannah and Kyler will pay for what they did to you.”

“Kai, I really don’t—”

He places a finger over my lips, shushing me. “I know you don’t want me to, but I’m going to. What they did to you… They can’t just get away with it.” He gives me a velvety soft kiss on the lips. “I love you, Isa, and I’m going to protect you, just like I promised.”

My pulse skyrockets, something the heart monitor announces. But I can’t help being nervous, though. His words push me toward the edge and this time, I’m prepared to make that jump. I just hope on all the shooting stars that my parachute will open—that Kai won’t ever hurt me. Sure, this might not be the perfect time to divulge my feelings, all things considering. But when I was lying on that bed with flames surrounding me, I made a promise to myself that if I made it out alive—if I got another chance at life—I’d say how I felt. Not just to Kai, but to everyone important in my life. And do what I want to do more. And stop worrying so much.

And just be happy. Because isn’t that what life’s supposed to be about?

“Kai… when I was… What I mean to say…”
Man, I’m messing this up. Round of applause for me
. “Kai… I love you.” Wow. Who knew saying four simple words could make me feel like I just jumped off a cliff.

A smile touches his lips. “You really mean that?”

“Of course I mean that, silly.” I roll my eyes, but I’m nervous that maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he doesn’t love me anymore. “I don’t just throw around the L word for kicks and giggles.”

“I know.” He stares at me, assessing me intently. Then suddenly he’s kissing me with so much passion that the heart monitor goes wild.

“Oh my word, would you two knock it off,” my grandma Stephy says. “You’re on oxygen for crying out loud.”

Kai and I pull away, breathless. My head whips to the doorway and happiness floods through me.

Everyone I love. Right here. This is exactly what I need.

“Sorry,” Kai says, backing away from the bed like my grandma is about to attack him. “I was just—”

“Making out with my granddaughter in a hospital,” she cuts him off, putting her hands on her hips. “You can’t charm your way out of this one, young man.”

He raises his hands in surrender and lowers himself into the chair. “Sorry. I’m going to sit down here and keep my hands to myself.”

“Good boy.” She smirks at him, but her smile fades to worry as she turns to me. “How are you feeling sweetie?”

I shrug, staring down at the IV needle embedded into the back of my hand. “My lungs hurt a little. And so do my wrists and ankles, but other than that I feel okay.”

She takes a seat on the edge of the bed and Indigo sits down on the other side.

“No honey,” my grandma Stephy says. “I mean how are you feeling emotionally? The doctor’s already updated me on how you should be feeling physically. The pain will be there for a while, but you should heal pretty well.” She looks down at my bandaged wrists. “They did say that you would have a few scars, though.”

I think about everything that has happened. About what I’ve been through, not just over the last few weeks, but my entire life. I think about what I lost. But then I think about what I have. I’m alive. I’m surrounded by people that love me. My mom will be released from jail. I’ll get to meet her. I’ll finally get to learn about the person who brought me into this world.

“I think I’ll be okay,” I tell my grandma Stephy.

Just like the rope burns on my wrists will eventually heal, so will my heart and mind. Will there be scars? Yeah, definitely. But Kai once told me that I’m a strong and I’m really starting to believe him. That I’m a lot stronger than I believed I was.

But my biggest strength is that I’m not in this alone. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have been able to say that. Six months ago... Well, I don’t really want to think about the past right now. Only the future. About getting better. About letting go. About taking my second chance and making sure I don’t waste it.

Chapter 23

Kai

After Isa falls asleep again, her grandma and Indigo step out of the hospital room to grab something to eat from the cafeteria. They invite me to join them, but I refuse to leave Isa’s bedside. I can’t stop watching her sleep, watching her breathe in and out, her lips slightly parted, her brown hair splayed across the pillow.

When she’d stopped breathing, I thought I’d lost her. That I was never going to get to talk to her again, kiss her again, hear her laugh, see her smile. I thought she was gone. I thought I’d lost the girl that I loved. That she was gone forever.

But then the paramedics showed up and got her breathing again. I’d never been so relieved in my life. A storm stirred inside me, though. A storm that won’t calm until everyone, including Hannah and Kyler, pay for what they did to her.

Lynn and her dad were pretty easy—the police took care of that. But Kyler and Hannah are still walking around, enjoying their lives, while Isa lies in a bed recovering from rope burns and smoke inhalation.

But not for long.

Dragging my butt out of the chair, I give Isa a quick kiss on the forehead and stop outside her room to make a call. I don’t wander very far, not wanting her to wake up to an empty room.

“Hey,” I say after Jules picks up. “I need you to track down some video files for me.”

“Sure,” he replies. “Where are they?”

“Either Hannah Anders or my brother has them somewhere,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “I’d start with checking their computers and then go from there. And the videos are of me.”

“Sounds good,” he says. “What do you want me to do when I get them?”

“Destroy them.” I lean against the wall. “And once that’s done, I’m going to need your help with something else.”

“With what?”

“Making the people who stole the videos pay.”

He tells me okay and that he’ll call me with an update soon. Then we hang up, and I put my phone away and slip back into the room. I find the steady rhythm of the heart monitor comforting as I make my way to her bed and sit down. I smooth my hand across her cheek, and her eyelashes flutter.

“Kai,” she murmurs without opening her eyes.

“Don’t worry. I’m right here,” I assure her, leaving my hand resting on her cheek. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

It’s the truth. As long as she’ll have me, I’m not going anywhere. I love Isa and plan on spending a lot of time with her, without stalkers and T threatening to beat me up. I’ll make sure she’s happy. Because this is our second chance and I’m not going to waste one single second of it.

Epilogue

Isa

One month later…

It’s amazing how much your life can change in the course of a month. Has everything been all roses and sunshine? No, not at all. Nightmares haunt me at night, and I have to visit a therapist two times a week. And after the newspapers started reporting on the details of what Lynn and my dad did, I became the focus of gossip at school, becoming known as the girl who was almost killed by her stepmom. After a long conversation with my grandma Stephy, I decided to transfer schools. I don’t think I’m weak, though. I’m just choosing to enjoy my life, which has kind of become my motto. Plus, Kai transferred with me, so I didn’t even have to start a new school alone.  And with Kai by my side, anything feels possible. He’s like the best boyfriend ever, always there for me whenever I need him, constantly taking care of me, getting revenge on the people who hurt me. Yeah, the latter might be a little bit extreme, and I told him not to do it, to let Kyler and Hannah off the hook. It wasn’t that I thought they didn’t deserve to be punished, but I felt like Hannah was already suffering by dealing with her mom being accused of murder and attempted murder. And Kyler… Well, I just didn’t want Kai to have to do anything malicious to his own brother. Plus, they still had those videos of Kai too, and I didn’t want those getting out.

But Kai, being Kai, had avoided responding to my request directly and assured me that the videos had been “taken care of.” A few days later his brother was kicked off the football team after the coach discovered steroids in his gym bag. I don’t know why the coach looked in his gym bag to begin with, but when I asked Kai about it, he shrugged and said, “It’s his own damn fault for screwing around with things he shouldn’t have.” I wasn’t sure if he meant drugs or me, but I let the subject drop.

As for Hannah, I haven’t heard from her since we crossed paths at a restaurant. She didn’t say anything to me, just glared with pure loathing in her eyes. About a week ago, I learned that she’d packed up her shit and left town. Whether Kai forced her to leave, I’ll never know. But I’m forever grateful for everything he’s done for me.

Oh yeah, and his kisses aren’t that bad either.

“Do you think my mom still looks like the person in the photos?” I ask, staring absentmindedly across the living room of his apartment he shares with Jules. “Or do you think she’s changed?”

Kai ceases sucking on my neck, letting out a low chuckle. “You know, I’m trying not to take it personally that you’re thinking about what your mom looks like while I’m kissing your neck, but it’s seriously wounding my ego a little bit.” He lifts his head to look at me, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “I must be losing my awesome neck-sucking skills.”

“No way.” I tug on his arm, guiding his head back to my neck. “You’re the best neck sucker ever, so please continue.”

He chuckles then his lips brush my neck. My eyes roll into the back of my head as his teeth graze my skin. God, this feels so good… I wonder if it’ll always feel this good… I wonder if everything will always be this perfect…

“I wonder if my mom and I will get along,” I say. “I wonder if I’m like her...  Do you think I’ll look like her?”

“All right, I give up.” He sits back on the sofa, ruffling his hair back into place. “Let’s talk about your mom.”

“I’m sorry,” I apologize, feeling stupid for talking about my mom when he’s kissing me. But… “I can’t help it. I get to see her in like an hour, and I’m so excited. And nervous. And worried.”

His brow cocks. “What are you worried about?”

I shrug. “That she won’t like me.”

His expression softens. “She’ll like you. I promise.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you’re the most funny and sweet and caring person I know.” He grazes his thumb across my lips, his attention zeroing in on my mouth. “You’re perfect.”