Page 31 of No Second Chances

Linc.

How did he get here? How did he know?

I can’t move, but I look over so that I can see him out of the corner of my eye.

Close, but not quite.

Not Linc.

Danny is dead. It can’t be him. It shouldn’t be him.

“You’re not dying tonight,” he says quietly as he leans down next to my window. “It’s not gonna happen, Kennedy. Not when he finally has a chance to smile again.”

“Dan-ny.” Even saying his name causes arrows of pain to stab through my body.

The sad smile that wreathes his face brings tears to my eyes. He looks just like his brother. So much like Linc.

“Hold on, Kennedy.” He reaches out, and even though I know I can’t feel his touch, I want him to be real.

“She’s not gonna die.” My dead sister is joining in on the fun. Great. I really am going to die.

I blink, surprised to see Cassie standing there with her red hair flowing out around her like she is floating through air. She looks just as beautiful as she had before she died, vibrant and so full of life.

“Yeah, you heard me.” She leans forward so that her face is sticking through the window. “People who are dying don’t hallucinate dead people to help them hold on. You’re gonna be fine, big sister.” She looks back over her shoulder at Danny. “I think he got cuter when he died.”

I start to laugh, but a wave of pain forces it down until there is only agony. But she is there. I’m not alone. I won’t die alone.

“Kennedy!” another voice shouts from farther away, and I have to close my eyes. I can’t handle hallucinating Linc on top of Danny, too.

“Help’s here, Kennedy.” Danny’s voice starts to fade. “He’s here. Just a little bit longer, and you’ll be fine.”

Linc is there, I can feel him. “What the fuck happened?” His voice is a roar right next to my ear. “What happened to her? Is that a fuckin’ machete?”

I forgot all about the machete. Everything starts moving, but I can’t open my eyes through the pain. Instead, I let them move me, forcing me out of the car and onto something hard, all while I try not to fall apart.

“Kennedy Marie Townsend, I swear on all the fuckin’ stars in the sky, you’re getting rid of that thing.” My dad’s voice breaks through the chaos of metal screeching all around me.

His voice, full of fear and rage, has me opening my eyes even though it hurts even more than I think possible. “Dad-dy?”

There he is, looking down at me with his face nothing but a line of worry, tears filling eyes that I haven’t seen cry since Cassie’s funeral. Cassie, who is still standing there, watching me like a fuckin’ banshee. Danny is there, too, staring at his brother while Linc sits there, helpless.

Dad leans over, right in my line of sight. “You’re not going to die. Do you understand me?” A paramedic shoves him out of the way, and I try not to laugh at the ludicrous situation we are in.

Dead people all around, and neither Dad nor Linc can do anything to help me.

I don’t look at either of them. Instead, my focus is solely on Cassie’s ghost, who is still standing behind our dad with a smile on her face as she makes weird gestures behind his back.

“Get out of here, bansheeee.” My throat is on fire, and Cassie’s wave is the last thing I see before darkness overwhelms me and the pain finally takes over.

14

LINC

“Did she just call you a banshee?” I stare at Alex Townsend, the chief of police and Kennedy’s father, when they take Kennedy away from the wreckage of her car and put her in the back of an ambulance.

He doesn’t answer my question. Instead, he puts his head in his hands and takes a deep breath. “She’s alive.” Another breath. “She’s still alive.”

“Yeah,” I tell him. “And she’s going to stay that way. Why don’t you call Veronica and Casper, too. She’s gonna want to be there for her sister, and I don’t think it matters that she’s pregnant. I’m sure Remy will get Parker and Nox to the hospital.” Babbling seems like the right thing to do, especially since I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to be doing.

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