Chapter 354
Chapter 0354 Enzo ha At the last moment, Nina shoved me through the portal before I had the chance to try to stay behind. I knew, logically, that Selena was completely and utterly lying when she said that she would let my father and my friends live if I went with her. But my judgment was so clouded from the grief of my father's imminent death that I wasn't thinking straight, and if it weren't for Nina's quick thinking, I would have made the worst decision of my life.
But at the same time, for the briefest of moments, I resented her for that. I wished that I could have tried, even if it failed. Even then, however, I loved her
all the same, and I knew that she did the right thing in pushing me through that portal. = My father and I didn't always get along, especially after my mother died years before. That didn't mean, however, that I didn't love him. In fact, quite the opposite was true: I loved my father dearly. I just wished that had realized that before it was too late.
And now, I was out of time.
I fell to the ground on the other side of the portal along with my friends. Nina came through just seconds after me and fell down to the ground beside me, panting heavily. The force of our fall caused me to drop my father, and when I came to my senses on the forest floor, I looked up to see him lying on the ground a few feet away. His body was
so frail and limp, and I instantly felt panic rise up in my throat as I wondered if the impact was enough to kill him. I scrambled over to him on my hands and knees and grabbed his shoulder, rolling him onto his back.
His eyes were open and blinking, and he was breathing. But he wouldn't be for long.
I scooped my father up into my lap as he stared up at me. I had always heard that people would often have moments of lucidity right before death, almost as though death was giving them the chance to say goodbye. Someone who could barely breathe and was basically a living corpse just moments earlier could suddenly sit up and have a full conversation with their loved ones.
My father was too weak to sit up, but I knew that he was fully lucid as he looked up at me.
"Enzo," he said quietly, his voice sounding cracked and dry. "You're a good kid. I'm sorry I never told you that sooner." "It's okay, dad," I replied, feeling the pit of dread in my stomach open even wider. Around me, my friends were groaning and coming to their senses. I could hear Matt, Lori, and Jessica speak in confused, but hushed, tones.
They were waking up from Selena's spell and were certainly confused about what happened and where they were.
But none of that mattered to me right now. I only had eyes for my father. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see
Nina sitting up on her knees close to me, but she gave us space and privacy for our last moments together. "I'm so sorry, dad," I said. My throat felt as though it was closing around my words, and it caused my voice to come out sounding choked. Part of me wondered if I would die along with my father from a lack of air to my lungs. "I should have tried harder." My father only shook his head. "You did the best that anybody could have possibly done. And besides... I've had a good life. Now, I'll finally get to be with your mother." The pit of dread in my stomach opened even wider than before, and I felt my heart drop into it. I felt so heavy that I thought that I could simply drop through the earth now, boring a hole
straight out to the other side.
I wished that there was something I could do. Maybe if I had found my father just a day or two earlier, he would be okay now. Maybe if I had fought back against Selena that day that she took my father hostage, none of this would have happened. Maybe...
Maybe...
My father was always too astute for his own good, and he instantly saw my guilt- ridden face. He reached up and clamped his hand around the back of my neck and held me firmly, forcing me to look into his eyes. His hand was cold and his fingers were bony.
"Don't feel guilty, Enzo," he said sternly. "You couldn't have stopped this. No one could. But now, you can I stop it before more people die."
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. "But how?" 1 said, almost in a whimper. "How am.
supposed to stop her?" My father then looked over at Nina. I followed his gaze to see that she was now kneeling over our friends, inspecting each of them for
injuries.
She was in full-blown doctor mode.
part of me wished that she would have done the same for my father, but we both knew that he was beyond saving.
Now, it was just a matter of saying our goodbyes, and making sure that our friends were safe.
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