The Year of Second Chances (A Sunnyvale Novel Book 3) (19 page)

“It. Was. An. Accident.” She annunciates each word with pure hatred burning in her eyes. “And it would’ve never happened if your mom wasn’t screwing my husband!” She shouts, slamming her hands against the footboard. “But that’s okay. Now I get my revenge.” Her eyes light up with revolting glee as she raises her hand and reveals what she’s holding—a lighter.

The smell of gasoline burns my nostrils and makes my eyes water.

Oh my god, I’m going to die! She’s going to kill me!

I’ve had those thoughts before. In fact, every time Lynn got angry with me, the thought crossed my mind that she might kill me. But that was me being overdramatic. Now, though… I can see it in her eyes. She is going to kill me, and I don’t think she’ll feel sorry about it.

I need to find a way out of here. Now! Think, Isa, think.

“Why now?” I ask, trying to buy myself more time as I work to slip my hands out of the rope. “I mean, why let me live with you for all of my life and decide to kill me now? Why not get your revenge years ago?”

She laughs as if I’m the ridiculous one. “You think this is just about revenge.” She rounds to the side of the bed, places a hand on the side of my head, and laughs in my face. “This is about me covering my ass and making sure I don’t go down for something that shouldn’t be put on me. I’m not the one who had an affair. I’m not the one who told their wife I was leaving her. I’m not the one who made their wife so angry that she started a fire and burnt the house down.”

Air gets lodged in my throat. “You burned your house down while your son was in it?”

She slams her hands against the mattress, her face inches from mine as she screams, “I didn’t know he was inside! He was supposed to be at school, but he ditched and was hiding in the attic! If I’d known, I would’ve gotten him out first! But by the time we got him out, it was too late!” Tears glisten in her eyes as she bashes her palms against the mattress again and again. “None of that would’ve happened, though, if your mom wasn’t a whore. She deserved to get blamed for the fire, for killing my son.” She eyes me over then laughs hollowly. “You look just like her, you know. Ever since you came back from that trip… You look just like her.”

She shakes her head a thousand times before standing up and smoothing her hands down her dress. “Your father helped me. Cover up that I started the fire. He helped me blame it on your mother—told the police she was unstable. That she’d become obsessed with him when he tried to break up with her. He even forged these threatening notes and made it look like she sent them so that she would get blamed for the whole thing.” Her heels click as she walks toward the doorway. “When it all came down to it, he loved me more. It almost makes me feel bad about what I’m going to do. But when I got a hold of that flash drive and saw my name on the suspect list, I knew I had to do something.” She raises the lighter in front of her, her thumb hovering, ready to flick. “What better way to cover my ass than to torch another house, kill you, and blame it on the man who caused all of this.” Her lips curl. “Your father has a real problem controlling his anger.”

“No, he doesn’t,” I snap. “You’re the one with the problem.”

She taps her finger against her lip. “Then why did I tell my therapist that he hits me, Hannah, and you?”

“What… My dad’s never hit me.”

“Yeah, but you won’t be around to tell people that, will you? And everyone who knows him has seen how horrible he treats you. They’ll have an easy time believing he did this. Trust me. And his fingerprints are all over the gas can and the lighter. And that cabin you were taken to is owned by him.” She sneers. “The stupid bastard thought I was going to go live up there with him until this fraud situation blew over. Yeah, right. Me, living in a cabin. How ridiculous.”

“You think him owning that cabin is going to make it look like he murdered me?” I ask, desperate to keep the conversation going. “I highly doubt that’s going to be enough evidence.”

“No, it’s not. But there’s so much more than that.” An eerie grin possesses her face. “He’s one that texted you to come over here today. At least that’s what the phone records are going to show. And he was so upset with you for running away to live with your grandma. For being so disrespectful. For being… Well, you.” She flicks the lighter and the flame ignites

My heart thrashes against my chest as a stream of thoughts race through my mind.
I’m going to die. I’m never going to get to go to college. I’m never going to get married. I’m never going to get to tell my grandma Stephy how much I love her. I’m never going to get to tell Indigo that I love her.

I’m never going to get to tell Kai that I love him.

Think of something, Isa! Don’t give up!

“Are you sure you got all of your bases covered?” I sputter out. “Because if you do this, and you haven’t covered your tracks completely, you’ll be the one who ends up in jail.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course I covered my tracks. I’m not an idiot.”

No, you’re just a psycho.

“What about that flash drive you stole from us? Those can be tracked,” I lie, hoping she doesn’t read through my bullshit.

“You think I’d be stupid enough to hold onto that?” she laughs, the glow of the flame illuminates the manic look in her eyes. “The second Kyler’s friend got the information from it, I had him and Hannah destroy it. No one will ever know I had it.”

I struggle to breathe as the gas fumes begin assaulting my nostrils. Hannah and Kyler were in on this? Hannah and Kyler helped Lynn try to kill me?

“Oh, get that wounded puppy look off your face.” Lynn lets out a disdainful sigh, letting the flame extinguish. “I was going to let you think that they helped me plot your murder, but since I’m about to kill you, I guess I can give you one final gift and tell you the truth. They don’t know what I’m doing. They just think I’m messing around with you.”

My heart aches at the realization that Kyler helped Lynn torment me. That he was playing me this whole time. But the thought is brief as my attention zeroes in on the lighter in Lynn’s hand.

Keep talking, Isa. Distract her until Indigo comes looking for you. Because she has to come looking for you soon, right?

I glance at the window, wondering how much time has passed since I left the car. Wondering if Lynn did something to Indigo.

I choke on the thought.
Please, no. Let her be okay.

“And what happens if they rat you out?” I continue talking as I work to wiggle my hand from the rope. “What if Hannah and Kyler tell the police about all the stuff you did to me? Won’t that make you look guilty?”

Worry briefly flickers in her eyes, but the look vanishes before I can even take my next breath.

“They wouldn’t. Hannah loves me too much. And Kyler... that boy is too self-centered for his own good. He’d rather protect his own ass than go down for someone else.” She grins as she ignites the lighter again. “Trust me. One threat about ruining his sports career and he’ll do just about anything.”

“I doubt he’d cover up a murder.” I struggle to escape the ropes, desperate to get free. The rope starts to slip, loosen. My heart beats with hope.

“Doesn’t matter. By the time any of this is put together, I’ll be out of the country. Far away from Sunnyvale. From you. From your father.” She grins as she notices the gashes on my wrists. “Don’t worry. The pain will be over soon.”

I open my mouth to beg for my life, but she drops the lighter and runs out of the room as the floor erupts in flames.

Chapter 21

Kai

When Jules pulls up to the Ander’s home, Indigo is sitting on the curb with her head resting on her legs. I jump out of the car before it even comes to a stop and nearly roll my ankle. But I don’t give a shit. All I can think about is finding out if Isa is okay.

“What happened?” I limp over to Indigo, my worst fears flashing through my mind.

Something’s wrong. Isa’s hurt.

Please don’t let her be hurt.

Indigo lifts her head, her eyes bloodshot from crying. “It’s nothing. My dad and I just got into an argument, and I got out of the car to get some fresh air.”

“Oh.” I start to relax when I hear the faint sound of music playing from somewhere. “Do you hear that?” I turn toward the house and see a thin trail of smoke funneling out of the upstairs window. “Call 911 and tell them the house is on fire!” I shout to Indigo as I run up the driveway to the back door. Kyler shouts something, but I can barely hear his voice over the fear pulsating through me.

No, no, no! Isa can’t be inside! There’s no way she can be inside.

God, what if she’s inside!

The door is locked, but I bash my fist through the window and reach through to unlock the door. Then I barrel into the kitchen laced with a thin haze of smoke. I skim the area and find Lynn trying to climb out the window above the sink.

“What did you do!” I shout, storming over to her. I snag the back of her dress and yank her down. “Where’s Isa!”

She laughs, the irrational look in her eyes terrifying me to the very core. “Trust me. I’m doing you a favor by burning this place down. That girl will only break hearts and ruin families. Just like her mother did! You’ll be better off with her dead!”

I slap her across the face, and she falls to the floor. “Tell me where she is!”

She scurries to sit up, hugs her knees to her chest, and rocks back and forth as she coughs against the smoke.

My fear soars through the roof. 
She’s fucking crazy!

“Where’s Isa!” I scream, and her eyes dart to the stairway where the smoke is thicker. “You didn’t… Oh my God…” My legs nearly give out at the thought of Isa up there.

I’m about to take off for the stairs when Jules comes running inside.

“What’s going…?” He trails off at the sight of Lynn laughing hysterically. “What the hell?”

“Get her out of here,” I tell him as I run for the stairs. “But don’t let her go anywhere.”

“But what’re you going to do?” he shouts. “Kai, I don’t think—”

I pull the collar of my shirt over my nose and run up the stairs, straight into the smoke. My skin dampens with sweat and my eyes water the closer I get to the top. The heat… It’s excruciating. Unbearable… I think about Isa being up there… How hot it is…

No! I won’t give up.

I quicken my pace, reaching the top of the stairs.

“Isa!” I yell as I squint to see through the smoke. “Isa, where are you!”

The fire crackles from the bedroom just in front of me, and I head straight for the flames.

“Isa!” I scream, tears streaming from my eyes. “Please… God no… Please don’t let this be happening…” I hear the faintest cough.

“Kai.”

The sound of her voice sends a surge of energy through me. I get down on my hands and knees and crawl forward until I find her. She’s lying in the middle of the hallway, with her wrists and ankles torn open, and struggling to breathe.

I scoop her up into my arms and hug her to my chest, then run down the stairs and out the back door. Sirens echo from the distance as I jog for the front of the house.

“You came for me,” she whispers, burying her face against my chest.

The sound of her voice gives me hope that she’ll be okay. But then she starts to cough. And the coughing turns to wheezing.

“Isa, take deep breaths, okay?” I say, rushing down the driveway toward where Indigo is pacing.

When she spots me, she runs toward me. “What’s going on? That guy you were with said there was a fire and that Lynn started it. Is that why he has Lynn trapped inside the backseat of the car...” Her face pales at the sight of Isa in my arms, gasping for air.

“She can’t breathe.” I kneel down on the grass near the curb and carefully lay her down. The fear in Isa’s eyes, the look of terror, will haunt my nightmares forever.
She thinks she’s going to die. But I refuse to let her, goddammit!
“Isa, look at me. You need to breathe. The ambulance will be here soon.”

She sucks in one wheezy breath after another. Over and over again. But then she grows quiet, her eyelids slipping shut.

“Isa,” I beg, smoothing her hair out of her face. “Please open your eyes, baby. Please.”

She doesn’t move.

She doesn’t budge.

She doesn’t breathe.

I keep thinking about all the time I wasted not being with her. All those years we spent apart before we finally got our second chance. But that chance only lasted for a minute, a heartbeat, an instant.

It was too short. I need more time.

“It doesn’t count,” I say through my tears. “I need more time with you, so please,
please
just open your eyes.”

Chapter 22

Isa

Maybe it makes me morbid, but sometimes I wonder what death is like. Especially when I thought my mom was dead, I wondered about this a lot. In my creative mind, I thought it would be peaceful, a place full of cotton candy clouds and towering castles, where everyone was happy.

But either my imagination failed me, or I’m not dead because all I can see is darkness, and all I feel is pain.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

My eyelids flutter open, and a stained tile ceiling and bright florescent lights come into focus. It takes a moment to process where I am, that I’m lying in a very uncomfortable bed with a plastic tube blowing air up my nostrils. “Okay, I so hope this isn’t heaven,” I murmur, turning my head to glance around.

A glass window, a green curtain, an IV bag, a beeping heart monitor, and Kai passed out in a wooden chair in the most uncomfortable looking position ever.

I smile at the sight.
Okay, maybe if Kai’s in my heaven, I’ll be okay.

But my smile falters as everything comes rushing back to me in sharp, brutal fragments. Lynn. Her plan to kill me. The fire. Kyler and Hannah helping her…

The heart monitor reacts to my fear, the beeping increasing. Kai starts to stir, coming out of his slumber, his eyelids lifting open. When he sees me, he blinks and blinks again before jumping to his feet and rushing to my bedside.