Page 163 of The Best of Us

I counted out loud, my arms burning as I pushed hard into his chest, forcing blood to keep moving, forcing air into his lungs.

Flashes of our time together—from this weekend to seventeen years ago—rushed to my mind. A memory for every compression.

“Dad, please, I—I love you, you can’t leave us.” Colin’s confession of his love obliterated what was left of my control.

A sob ripped through me, my tears spilling onto Constantine’s chest. “I love you,” I whispered as well. “Stay with us. We need you.”

No response.

Just . . .nothing.

I barely noticed Izzy there now, too, as wet as I was. “Don’t you dare die on us.”

“You’ve got to save him,” Enzo demanded.

I focused on Constantine. On keepinghim here.

Colin kept crying. Kept screaming and begging. “God, please save my father. If you do, I promise I’ll be good. Forever. You have my word. Please, just let my dad live.”

I pushed harder. I refused to stop.

Then, an idea hit me. One that wasn’t of this world.

Bianca’s note.It brought this man back into our lives, and I needed her words to bring him back to us now.

Through my mess of tears, I recited as much of the scripture his sister had written as I could remember, my voice catching on every other word.

Izzy met my gaze, her expression shifting. She began repeating everything I said.

Tears flooded my face, but I didn’t stop.

“He’s gone,” someone said. A voice I didn’t recognize. “He’s dead. You have to let him go.”

Maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe it was the Devil himself, whispering in my ear, trying to make me quit?

Give up.

No!

“You’re not allowed to die,” I choked out, pushing even harder in desperation. “You made a promise, and I won’t let you go back on your word.” Another sob tore through me. “So no, dammit. You’re. Not. Leaving. Us.”

Chapter55

Constantine

A violent painfilled my chest, shattering the lightweight feeling of peace that had surrounded me. I jolted forward, coughing up water.

“Constantine!”

“. . . he’s . . . oh my God!”

“Dad? Dad!”

Voices swirled around me, overlapping, jumbled. Words slipped in and out of my mind as I choked on the water still lodged in my lungs, my body sluggish to respond.

“Constantine.” Juliette. That was her. I was sure of it.

I turned my head, gasping for air. Sharp, ragged intakes as I tried to figure out where I was and what had happened. My body was still trembling.

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