Three hours???
I leaned over the edge, and my heart fell when I recognized the car that was half-submerged in the water below the bridge.
Kennedy’s Jeep.
I sprang into action, and the moments that followed all blurred together.
Diving into the water.
Finding her unconscious.
Submerged in the water from her chest downwards.
The panic clawing at my throat.
Pulling her out of the car.
Wading through the current to get her to the riverbank.
Kissing her expressionless face, her cold lips.
Telling her it was going to be okay.
Telling her how sorry I was for the things I’d said.
Telling her I loved her.
The EMT’s taking her away.
Reid driving us to the hospital.
And waiting.
And waiting.
And waiting…
Until finally.
She was okay. She was alive. She was breathing.
I sat down next to her hospital bed, exhausted but too afraid to leave her side, and held her hand. My mind was replaying everything over the last few hours, and the guilt consumed me. This was my fault. I’d wished her dead when the thought of really losing her terrified me.
What have I done?
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered against her slightly warmer hand. “I can’t unsay the things I said, but please, don’t leave me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Kennedy
I STOOD ON the dock overlooking the lake and its still waters. I was calm, surrounded by a sense of peace, and absolute quiet. Charlie used to bring me here when I was younger, and because it was our spot, it was one of my favorite places. Laughter broke out behind me, and I turned around to find him and Jewel walking casually in my direction, hand-in-hand.
Was I dreaming?
I had to have been if they were here.
Charlie looked up and smiled. He was happy.
I jolted forward, and raced towards them, hurtling myself into his arms.
“Hey, Kenny.”
His voice, so warm and caring, greeted my ears, and my eyes welled up after not hearing it for so long. God, I missed him. So much.
“I’ve missed you,” I murmured into his neck.
He kissed my temple, and replied, “I’ve missed you too.”
He placed me back on my feet, and I turned towards Jewel. Her smile was wide, and I couldn’t stop myself from throwing my arms around her too. She laughed, and hugged me back, making it feel like two years ago wasn’t the last time I’d seen her.
I pulled back and stared into her blue eyes that looked so much like Dane’s. Her golden blonde hair hung over her shoulders, her skin, still sun-kissed from hours spent next to their pool.
My best friend and my brother were standing in front of me, and I could actually touch them, as if they were alive. The reminder that they weren’t was enough to make my lungs, and my chest, burn with longing.
“Where am I?” I asked, looking between them. “How are you here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” laughed Charlie. “This is Heaven.”
Heaven?
Did that mean I was…
“You’re not dead,” said Jewel.
“Then why am I here?”
Charlie smiled down at Jewel, and they each took my hands as we walked down to the edge of the dock.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I said, taking a seat between the two people I loved more than anything.
Jewel patted my leg. “That’s okay, you won’t be here long.”
“You were in accident,” said Charlie. “That’s how you’re here. But someone saved your life.”
“I don’t remember anything.”
“We know,” said Jewel. “That’s why we’re here.”
The scene in front of me changed, and we were suddenly standing in an emergency room at the hospital. I recognized the girl on the bed, and let out a gasp when I saw it was me. My clothes were wet, my hair stuck to my face, my lips blue.
“You were in accident,” said Charlie again. “You got stranded on the side of a bridge in a rainstorm, and someone collided with you from behind. Your Jeep hit the barrier, and landed in the water, where you stayed unconscious for three hours before you were rescued.”
I looked around the room, at the nurses buzzing around me.
“Technically you died,” said Jewel. “But somehow you hung on long enough. It’s like you knew he was coming to get you.”
“He?” I asked, looking between them.
Jewel grinned. “Dane.”
“Dane saved me?”
She nodded, and when I looked forward again, we were standing in the waiting room. Reid and Dane were there, and Dane had his head in his hands. He was saying something, but I couldn’t quite make out what.
“He loves you, you know,” remarked Charlie. “It’s just taken a bit of time for him to realize it.”