Chapter 2 REWIND
KAYLA
I blinked, the word ‘dead’ echoing in my ears and silencing everything else out. I didn't realize the first tear had slipped until I felt Mrs. Ponteris's thumb brush it away.
"Darling, I'm sorry—" she choked on a sob and pulled me into a hug instead. "We didn't mean to… to hide it from you."
I didn't respond. It felt like my mind had plunged into nothingness, like I couldn't process a single word coming out of her mouth. I simply nodded and pulled away. Mr. Ponteris stepped forward, his eyes already glistening with unshed tears.
"If you want to come inside and take a moment—"
"No." I shook my head immediately. "No, I just—I'm fine. I really should get going, I need to prepare for my graduation ceremony tomorrow," I lied, my words scrambling together.
"George can give you a ride home," Mrs. Ponteris offered, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
I shook my head again, already backing away. "I don't want to inconvenience anyone. I think some fresh air might do me good."
"Kayla—" Mrs. Ponteris pressed, but I was already racing down the porch steps and through the gate before I could stop myself.
My heart was beating so loud my chest felt like it was about to cave in, and the world around me seemed blurred out by the ringing in my ears. Memories of Zayn and me as children, running around this same street, riding bikes and ignoring the other kids that looked at us funny, coursed through my mind. I didn't bother greeting my mom who was ironing in the sitting room as I ran past and headed straight for my room upstairs.
"McKayla?" she called after me but I barely heard her.
I slammed my door so hard the vibration rattled through the windows. My chest rose and fell heavily, the air suddenly thin, making it hard to breathe. I clung to the wall, trying to force myself to steady my breathing. My eyes landed on the calendar on my wall where I'd circled today's date—June 6th—the day before my official graduation ceremony. The day I'd planned to find Zayn and bring him back in time to watch me walk across that stage as valedictorian.
I reached for the calendar and tore it straight off the wall, tossing it across the floor.
"No." I shook my head, spinning in slow circles, trying to convince myself this was some kind of bad dream. "He can't be dead. He can't be—"
I broke down, collapsing to the floor, tears spilling hot and fast down my face. "I never…I never got to say—" I choked on the words, my chest caving under the weight of them. The thought of never seeing Zayn again, the thought that I'd let him ghost me all those years even though we'd promised to be best friends forever—the guilt, the grief, the nagging feeling that maybe I could have done something if I'd just gone with him that day. I was stronger now, so much stronger with my magic. I could have stopped the accident.
"No!" I screamed, trying to force the pain out of my body.
"McKayla?" My door flew open and mom stood in the doorway, looking alarmed.
I felt it before I even understood what was happening—something rising through me, hot and electric and impossible to contain.
"I'm sorry, mom."
"What's going on—"
I threw my hand back. A burst of energy shot out, pushing her back just enough for the door to slam shut between us. Slowly I rose to my feet, my veins thrumming with something that felt bigger than anything I'd ever called up before, the pressure in my chest building and building with nowhere to go.
This time I didn't need any words. All I could think about was the chance I'd missed, the single moment where I could have changed his fate.
My windows rattled. The air thickened, heavy enough to lift the contents of my room and send them spinning around me, but I didn't care. I didn't stop. I just wanted my best friend back.
The windows burst open. Glass sprayed everywhere, and by the time it registered that I was tearing my room apart piece by piece, it was already too late.
"McKayla!" Mom screamed. The sound was distant but raw enough to yank me back.
"Mom—"
My words cut off as a piece of my bedside table came loose and struck me across the head. My vision blurred at the edges.
And then the floor rushed up to meet me.
"Kayla?"
A hand latched onto my shoulder, shaking me awake. I blinked, my mind sluggish until a face swam into focus. Lisa.
"Hey, you good?"
"Huh…what.. where am I?"
A snort echoed from somewhere behind me. "I guess someone didn't react well to Lisa's miracle stomach meds.”
"Kelly?" I glanced back and sure enough there she was—tall, slim, effortlessly brunette in a way I'd always low-key envied—standing with her arms folded, looking as glamorous as ever. "I thought your family left town?"
She frowned. "What are you talking about?"
I opened my mouth to explain, but then I took in what they were wearing. Body-fitted black and silver gowns. The theme from Shadow Ridge High's end-of-year formal. I went completely still.
"Is it—is today the formal?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Lisa and Kelly exchanged a glance. Then Lisa reached for me, pressing the back of her hand to my forehead, her eyes scanning mine. "I gave you some pills for your stomach upset—if you're reacting to them, that is not my fault, they're doctor prescribed. You better not breathe a word about this to anyone, got it?"
I barely heard her. These were my seniors. Zayn's classmates. And I remembered, with a clarity that made my stomach drop, that this was the last night any of them acknowledged me. Because the moment Zayn stopped hanging around me, I ceased to exist to them entirely.
“Yeah,” I croaked, my throat feeling dry.
"Good," Lisa said, then gestured at Kelly. The two of them drifted toward the bathroom door.
"Oh, and your date has been looking everywhere for you," Kelly added, giving me a slow once-over. "You better go save him a dance before I do." She disappeared after Lisa without waiting for a response.
The second they were gone I went straight for the mirror. My hair was curled and pinned up in an updo exactly as I remembered it. I had on the black suede gown Zayn's mom had sent over so we'd match, and the silver brooch he'd given me was still clasped at my wrist. Either that piece of wood had knocked me into some kind of coma, or I was trapped inside the most vivid dream I'd ever had.
I pinched myself.
"Ow."
Nothing changed. My reflection stared back at me, unbothered.
I didn't waste another second. I ran out of the bathroom and into the hall, weaving through the crowd, heart hammering so loud I could barely hear the music.
The noise hit me all at once. The slow hum of conversation, the same Celine Dion song drifting through the speakers, the decorations exactly as they'd been three years ago. Everything identical. Everything real.
I spun in circles scanning the room, desperate, half convinced that even if this was a dream I would still get to see him one last time.
"Kayla, I've been looking everywhere for you."
The world went still.
My heart slammed against my ribs at the sound of the familiar voice. I couldn't move, couldn't turn around. I stood frozen until he came around to face me himself.
"Hey, I know this might not be—"
I kissed him.
I didn't think. I just closed the distance, pressed my lips to his, and held on. He went completely still, his whole body tensing. When I finally pulled back his face was flushed, eyes wide, like I'd completely blindsided him.
"I know what you're about to say, Zayn,” I said in a hurry, afraid he might interrupt. “You want to pull away. Call off our friendship because you're scared of hurting me. But I'm stronger now, I can handle myself, and I would rather risk getting hurt than spend another second pretending I don't have feelings for you."
He blinked. "What?"
I took a breath, ready to say it all again more slowly, when an unfamiliar blonde appeared at his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek like she'd done it a hundred times before.
"There you are, handsome. Saved me a dance?"
I went very still.
Zayn cleared his throat. "I—look, I'm sorry, Kayla, I know the timing is terrible since I brought you here as my date, but I finally worked up the nerve to ask Rhea out and she said yes."
Rhea slid her arm through his like she was making a point. I tried to laugh, tried to convince myself this was some kind of silly joke, but what came out instead was something between a snort and a sob.
"I don't—I don't understand."
He let go of Rhea's arm and for one small, stupid second I had hope. Then his hand moved to the small of her back, pulling her close.
"Kayla," he said quietly. "I want you to meet my girlfriend, Rhea."
My heart sank.
