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In the rearview mirror I watch as Abby eases toward Isaiah. I’m losing the two people I love the most. Dad tries again and the engine roars to life. He successfully shifts the car into First, and I close my eyes as he grinds the gears.
“Just let me drive. I’ll take us home, I swear. ” No matter how I try to stop them, the hot tears in my eyes overflow down my cheeks. “You can’t drive a stick!”
“You ruined today. ” Dad ignores me completely. “You’ve made your mother sick. This isn’t what I expect from you. ”
The cell stops and when it begins again, Dad reaches for it. “Goddammit!”
The light at the entrance of the dragway begins to change, and my eyes dart between the cell against his ear, the light and my father’s inexperienced hand off the gearshift. “Dad, I don’t think you should—”
I suck in a breath at the sound of the horn, and all I see is the grill of a semi. “Dad!”
Chapter 75
Isaiah
I SLIP MY WALLET INTO my back pocket and watch as her father murders the clutch. The ache in my chest is enough to kill me, but I hold on to the words I said to her: I swear we’ll be together. Rachel knows I’ll never break my word. This love between us—it will never stop.
Noah places a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry. ”
“I love her,” I say. “And she loves me. She’ll be eighteen in less than a year. Graduate in less than a year and a half. ” Then no one can keep us apart.
“And you have me. ” Abby appears on my other side. “Maybe my cover will work, and I can keep you connected. You never know. ” But she doesn’t say it like she believes it.
Abby stares after Rachel as if she lost her best friend. I place an arm around her. That’s because she did. “We’ll get her back. ” I don’t know if I’m trying to convince her or me.
She wipes at her eyes. “This is why I don’t do relationships. ”
At the intersection leading out of the dragway, the police officer turns right. The brake lights release as the Mustang rolls forward on a yellow and a tightness overwhelms my throat. The sensation that I dread, the tingling between my skin and muscles, crawls over me. I release Abby and take several steps. Terrified that if I lose sight of Rachel, I’ll lose her forever.
The light switches to red and the Mustang stalls in the middle of the intersection. I hear the attempt to turn over the engine, and my feet move faster as I watch the tractor trailer move into the intersection—speeding. My world goes into slow motion as my legs pump hard to reach the car, to protect Rachel.
There’s a sickening crunch and the white pony flips onto its side and rolls again and again. Like a ball hurling down a hill. From the other direction another car hits, and I scream out Rachel’s name. Brakes screech, glass shatters, more cars collide. The carnage lies in front of me as her car comes to a rest. The entire body smashed beyond recognition.
Buzzing fills my head as I continue to scream her name. I push my body harder, faster, but I can’t reach her. A few wisps of smoke puff from the hood.
And then fire.
I jump onto the hood of a sandwiched Civic. “Rachel!”
People are crying. Others screaming. Glass falls to the pavement. “Rachel! Answer me!”
The windshield of her car is a spiderweb, allowing me no visual access. Noah joins me on the hood of the Civic, and both of us use our arms as shields when a burst of flame shoots in our direction. Heat warms my arms. My eyes flicker, hunting for her exit. She’s wedged in. Both doors blocked by other vehicles. “Rachel!”
“We gotta move this car,” Noah shouts.
Her car is on fire. The thought races in my head. We slide off the hood and run to the back end of the Honda Civic. “Pick it up. ”
The driver of the Civic joins us. Blood stains his cheek. “It happened so fast. ”
Noah and I say nothing to him as we raise the back end with our bare hands. We both yell as the end lifts. My fingers scream in agony, but we keep going until we create a space. The Civic slams back on the ground. The gap isn’t much, but enough to wedge through. I cough as I inhale smoke and open the driver’s-side door. Blood soaks her father’s white shirt, but his eyes are open and he blinks. Beyond him, Rachel lies completely broken.
“Get her out,” her father coughs. “She’s not responding. ”
Panicked adrenaline surges through my body. She can’t be dead. She can’t. “Noah!”
“Pull him out!” Noah says on top of the Civic. “Hand him to me. ”
I squat down, in order to get a better grip. “Can you stand?”
