The wind was hyper and wild tonight as I approached our meeting place, where I saw Kyle a day ago.
It took a lot of effort to stop myself from appearing too eager, which I really was, but I didn't want to give that impression.
I already felt embarrassed enough. There was no need to give him more bullets.
Upon stepping on the last step of the stairs, I reminded myself to breathe as I saw Kyle, from afar, leaning on the movie pictures, wearing faded denim, still the same sneakers and a white shirt with his favorite black leather jacket.
He met my stare halfway and gave me that heart-stopping smile.
"You made it," He uttered. His voice rang like a melody in my ears.
I gulped and nodded like this was a regular thing we often did together.
He leapt away from where he was leaning and hugged me tightly.
I didn't know how to react. My heart thundered inside my chest, and my brain short-circuited.
Kyle buried his face in my hair.
I felt nervous, but inhaling his scent didn't feel foreign to me at all.
My hands moved on their own, circling him in an attempt to reciprocate the embrace.
"Katie, you have no idea how much I missed you." He whispered in my ears before letting me go, caressing my face and allowing me to stare at him.
"I missed you too," I said, the words flying out of my mouth before I realized what was happening.
I watched him smile and slowly, gently place his mouth to mine.
Even his lips tasted familiar. I heard fireworks and felt the butterflies in my belly, melting me with the thought of Kyle and his lips on mine.
When we finally broke apart, I was out of breath and even more confused.
"Sorry, that was a jerk move,"
Kyle spoke, touching his forehead to mine before pulling away. I grabbed his hand, surprised by my reflexes.
"Don't. Please don't leave yet. I… I have some questions."
I had to force myself to meet his lovely hazel eyes without melting into them.
He stared at me for a while before sighing, gathering my hands in his and smiling apologetically.
"I'm sorry I was selfish. But I promise I will do my best to make this less confusing to you."
To me, who had always seemed to know everything about him but also couldn't remember my connection to him, hearing him say those words almost brought me to tears.
"Okay," I heard myself say. "Thank you. For starters, I would appreciate you explaining what you're doing here and what happened. I can't remember anything from the night of the accident. I think," I paused.
Kyle looked at me, his eyes bore into mine, waiting patiently for me to proceed.
"I think you were there with me. But that's it. Everything is a blur from there."
Watching him closely, I noticed the slight shift in his expression. He looked sad but not the usual kind of sad.
It was like those that held something profound. But in a few blinks, his lips parted into a smile, chasing away any trace of that emotion from his face.
He gave my hand a gentle tug, grinning like he was about to share some secret that no one should know but us.
"I have no idea where to start, Katie. But I can show you."
"Where are we going?"
Kyle took a step closer, towering over me by a few inches. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, grazing the tender skin behind it.
It tickled me in a good way, sending shivers all over me.
"Do you trust me?"
His question had me swimming in his hazel eyes, vague images floating in my line of vision.
"Yes," I answered, my heart confirming the truthfulness of my words.
--
One of my friends wanted to go to a bar. But my parents only allowed me to have a sleepover.
I was nervous.
Getting caught would mean visiting the police station and my parents needing to pick me up.
It was a ridiculous idea, but my friends were pretty persuasive.
They dressed me as decently as possible, knowing I would rather wear oversized shirts over some sexy tank top.
I wore cowboy boots and skinny jeans to appear like an adult. They even convinced me to apply heavy makeup so we wouldn't draw too much suspicion by looking too young.
Technically, we were only sixteen. That counted as young in my vocabulary.
I was scared from the tips of my hair down to the tiniest part of my body, but I was even more horrified for the security to believe we were legally allowed to be in there.
There was loud music, grinding bodies and alcohol-induced people.
I didn't join the girls as they butt each other on the dance floor with drinks in their hands. I preferred to sit on a stool, watch them laugh, and have fun.
My nerves didn't go down, and as the night wore on, they only rose higher.
I began feeling uneasy when I found my friends suddenly looking really scared, like they could go out of their mind kind of scared.
I followed their gaze and saw a big guy holding a shaking Beth, trying to lick her disgustingly.
It didn't take long for me to decide. I got off my stool, heart hammering against my chest and went directly towards the beefy guy.
"Hey!" I tapped him on the arm, my entire body shaking at what I was doing.
But I knew I couldn't sit and watch my friend getting attacked. I created a distraction for Beth to escape.
When the beefy guy stared at me, I saw how drunk he was and figured he might be in his twenties. He gave me a wide grin which pissed me off instantly that I hadn't stopped myself from hurling a punch to his face.
I wasn't an expert in throwing punches, but my dad had Kelsea and me trained with punching bags at his gym. He said just in case, and I'll be forever indebted to him for this one.
The beefy guy fell on his butt with a grunt while Beth unfroze herself from the shock and ran towards the rest of our friends.
I went after her and ushered them to go before things could escalate.
But we weren't fast enough.
In a few seconds, I felt big hands pulling me back. I squirmed and tried to break free, but it was no use.
My heart beat wildly against my chest.
I closed my eyes and prayed for my parents to forgive me after this was all over.
They probably won't forgive me easily. But I'll take that. This was, after all, my fault.
I had just accepted my fate, anticipating something horrible to happen to me when I was released.
I fell on the tiled floor, face first. It hurt, but I actually breathed out a sigh of relief and thanked God I was okay.
Then I heard it. There was a fight brewing behind me. I got myself up and spun to see what was happening.
I found the big beefy guy being attacked by someone. The burly guy seemed to be scared that he scurried off to his feet before the other guy could make another move.
I waited for my savior to show himself to me so I could thank him. I waited patiently, and when he finally did, I almost yelped.
In my entire high school life, I had never met anyone so good-looking and had this fierce aura.
It was his eyes that pulled me in, and I was unable to tear my gaze away.
It was nobody else but Kyle.
My Kyle.
"Kate, Kate honey, what are you doing on the couch?" I blinked, unable to process what Aunt Hilda had just said. I found my Aunt's face hovering above me, once again that worried expression plastered on it. Couch? What was I doing on the couch? Pieces of what transpired the night before came to mind. "Um," I started, still disoriented. My eyes caught the television set and uttered the first thing that came to mind. "I uh watched movies." I lied, then stared at the television safely unplugged and not running. My Aunt stared at me, brow raised. I cleared my throat. "Then I got too lazy to get to my room, so I decided to sleep here." I shrugged and stared down at myself. Eff, who am I fooling? I was wearing a full going-out attire except for my sneakers which had been taken off and placed on the carpet. "Hmm," Aunt Hilda eyed me, smelling the little white lie. I bit my lower lip. "Sorry," I said, sounding really guilty. Aunt Hilda shook her head at me and smiled brightly.
Calling my sister was a big mistake. My hands trembled, and I felt like the world was spinning beneath my feet. The muscles holding my legs steady turned to jelly. Tears streamed down my face before I could fully process what that meant. My chest felt tight, and as I fell to the floor, I hugged my knees, sobbing bitterly. The truth was a hard slap to the face. Time made no difference right now. However, I couldn't make any noise and wake Aunt Hilda. Explaining what was going on and why I was crying could lead to me spilling the truth. The last thing I needed was to complicate the matters at hand. But should I really think about that right now? I just learned that Kyle, my Kyle, gave his life to save mine. And yet, he was here. That was the part that I couldn't grasp. Wiping the tears angrily, I took a moment to consider what to do. I wasn't sure what the next steps were. In my mind, all I wanted was to hug Kyle and forget I even called my sister. That would be easier to
PART 2 Death is a fortuitous event, unstoppable and cannot be undone. What death had taken, it could never be returned. But what if you were given a second chance to live? A second life with no restriction except for one: You can never go back to how your life had been. Would this second chance to live be worth living? — KYLE Some people would need a gun pointed right into their skull or a death threat before lying to someone they love. But me? All I needed was my fear and selfishness in order to justify what I did to Kate. Well, truth be told, I wasn't even supposed to see her. I wasn't even allowed to talk to her. Hell, I should have remained dead in her knowledge. But I defied all those restrictions. And for what? The answer was quite obvious. I needed Kate. I needed her more than I did when everything was normal. I scoffed. Normal. I don't think I would be able to feel that way ever again. From the moment I opened my eyes and realized that I was not allowed to retur
The first week of May would have been a roller coaster. The penetrating heat was sometimes so high that I found myself irritable. If not for Kyle, I think I would have gone psycho. I smiled and felt the tingles all over my body just thinking about him. I was love drunk and madly deeply crazy for him. I could go seriously insane if I don't tell someone. Sadly, I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about him. Not my Aunt, not my cousin and especially not my sister. In fact, I haven't even called home and neither did they try to call me back. Well, I already figured out that Kelsea had spilled the beans to our parents about my recent call. And I would put my bet that they felt guilty about shading me from the truth and would prefer to give me some space right now before dropping the phrases, "we're terribly sorry; we're only concerned about you" and "it was for your own good". I sighed. But despite the secrecy, my unkempt happiness and enthusiasm had not escaped my Aunt's keen observ
Another Kyle-induced evening and I was worse than a hyper one-year-old by daylight. I cooked breakfast, which, believe me, never happened in LA. I run through some classic but lively and meaningful CDs stacked beside the player and let them hum around the house. Aunt Hilda and my cousin Allen agreed that Matt was a good influence despite the fact that I hadn't even talked to the guy or just said Hi. It was ridiculous, but I would let them assume whatever they wanted. Just as long as they don't hit the right chords, I'd be fine; ecstatic even. But then again, too much won't be good, and I have proof of that. My Aunt decided to set me up with Matt. And Allen, the ever generous alien, had called the person mentioned immediately, telling him that the gang planned to meet at Bob's Café in Lacson Street by four in the afternoon. So basically, despite my outward protest and insistence that I couldn't meet up with him, I had no other choice. At precisely 4, I was fairly seated outside Bo
There's a fine line between pretending and not telling anything. With no telling, it would be easy to just shut up and change the topic, but that would be called avoidance, and my Aunt doesn't like to be evaded. On the other hand, if I play pretentious, I might get caught in one wrong move, but I could also hide how I was really feeling. So upon arriving home, I pretended to have a happy mood and told them that I had fun and would love to see Matt another time, then gave them the excuse to go to my room and change. The fake smile and glee faded as soon as I had the door closed. I leaned on it and rested my head, closing my eyes. "This is bad. And this sucks," I muttered, sighing heavily as the weight of that decision sat on my shoulders. I knew I had to tell Kyle. It was not my nature to keep secrets from him. Doing so made me feel trapped. Plus, I associate it with cheating. Technically, he was dead. Like everyone else's mindset, I should be free, single and have no other a
I woke up with a start. Kyle wasn't able to come last night, and I dreamed about him dying, which made me shiver despite the heat. I threw the covers off of me and found the house eerily silent. I raked the whole bed for my phone and found it lying under my pillow. The time read 9:02 am, and there was no single call or text. I sighed and again shivered at the haunting silence. Usually, by this time, Aunt Hilda would be singing downstairs, in the shower, or somewhere else. The house wasn't soundproof, and my Aunt's singing voice was shrill and off-key. I'm afraid that even the mouse hiding in her ceiling could hear it. So waking up in a silent house was saying something. I knew for a fact that Allen would either be in bed or had not come home yet from last night's partying at the club. He went out with his friends, and typically, he would be home late or crash at one of his friend's places. But Aunt Hilda was here. I got out of bed, finger-combing my hair. I padded towards
I did not know what to feel. I was numb inside and out. Aunt Hilda and I were like robots inside the funeral home. To be precise, I was the robot. My poor Aunt was left daze, unable to function properly. I took it upon myself to assist the guests despite some of them avoiding me at all costs. It was evident that the language barrier was a thing. But Aunt Hilda was seated at the first pew, blankly staring at my cousin's coffin. I wanted to ask what happened. However, I didn't even have the heart to do so. I picked up a few words from the discussion buzzing around his closest friends. But those who were with him stayed silent. They sat by Aunt Hilda's, mimicking her blank stare at the coffin. I chewed on the inside of my cheeks. Comforting Aunt Hilda was all I could do. There was nothing else I could offer other than my presence and helping around while battling the heavy feeling inside my chest. Sometime later, the atmosphere inside the funeral home became too heavy for me