I’d thought him still before. Now he didn’t even seem to be breathing. “Yes.”
I closed my eyes, ignoring the cool stroke of air against my skin. A live wire seemed to run through every inch of me, and his kiss had just used it to delve past a layer of dark clouds and into an ocean of memory. The good, the bad and the ugly. A storm in my mind. The first six years of my life with Helen. Coming to love my dad and Miranda. Emma. The crash. Meeting Cole. Falling in love with Cole. Being captured by Anima the first time, being tortured. Kat, oh, the joy of Kat. The heartache of losing her. Being captured by Anima the second time.
Finally, victory.
A tide of emotion. Happiness, regret, sadness, sorrow, more joy, more heartache, anger—triumph. The storm calmed. The dark clouds thinned...cleared.
“We won,” I said, shocked to the bone.
Cole stiffened, as if he didn’t dare hope. “You remember?”
“I do. I really do.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I remember everything.”
“Thank God!” He launched himself at me, throwing me back on the bed, wrapping his arms around me, pinning me with his weight. A kiss on my brow, the tip of my nose. Both of my tearstained eyes and, finally, blessedly, my lips. Kiss, kiss, kiss. Between kisses, he said, “Rebecca—has your—”
“Abilities. I realize that.” Now. “I’ll take them back...and then I’ll take her memories.” The decision solidified as I spoke. “She’ll never be able to hurt us again. The war will be over.” Once and for all.
And we could live, I realized. Really live. We could cleanse zombies. Have a new purpose. A greater one. Gift with life, rather than end with death.
A girl couldn’t ask for more than that.
“I love you, Cole Holland.”
“I love you, too, Ali Bell. And now...I think it’s time we stopped talking and put our mouths to better use.”
“Hey! I once said that to you.”
“And it was definitely the smartest thing I’ve ever heard.”
I laughed as he kissed me.
*
Here I was, at Kat’s celebration of life. I’d lost her twice already and should have been prepared for the emotional turmoil. But I wasn’t. I cried like a baby and didn’t care.
Deep down, I knew it wasn’t about how long we lived, but how we lived. And she’d lived well. She’d made an impact. She’d loved. She’d forever changed me for the better.
Detective Verra had found her body inside Anima’s building, along with hundreds of others. She’d then made an official statement, saying the company had kidnapped people to illegally test medicines they hoped to sell on the black market.
The world was shaken.
And rightfully so.
Kat’s dad stood in front of her casket, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed. Since the moment of her birth, he’d known he would one day lose her, but like me, he hadn’t been prepared. A bright ray of light in a very dark world had been snuffed out. We needed more of those, not less.
Wren and Poppy were here. Both had hugged me, and though they’d said nothing about zombies, I knew they’d accepted the truth. They were on guard now, distrustful of those around them.
Though the sun was shining, the air was bitterly cold, a sharp wind slapping my hair against my cheeks. Breath misted in front of my face. I distantly heard people talking about Kat, about how she’d touched their lives, but none of it registered. I was too lost in my own memories.
How she and I had laughed and teased. How we’d bonded to each other. Nothing and no one could destroy that bond, not even death. It was far too powerful. Too precious.
Even still, I missed her.
But one thought kept me from breaking down. We’d have all of it again. Her body was dead, yes, but her spirit lived on. She was up there, and one day, I would join her. I would hug her and never let go. It would be cake.
Frosty stood off to the side, separated from the crowd. He wore a pair of sunglasses, hiding his eyes. His head was bowed, his hands fisted at his sides. My heart broke for him.
But it was quickly put back together when I noticed the two girls standing hand in hand a few yards away from him. Emma and Kat. They were here!
I wanted to run to them but didn’t. Disturbing the ceremony would have been so uncool. So I stood in place and waited, squeezing Cole’s arm to hold myself back. He kissed my forehead, his comfort and support unwavering.
Finally, everyone ambled away from the site.
Kat watched Frosty, her expression concerned.
“Ready, love?” Cole asked me.
“Let’s talk to the girls.”
“They’re here?”
“Yep.” I released him and bounded over. Both Kat and Emma smiled at me, and I would have sworn the sun got brighter.
“Dude. Did you notice how many people were here? Tons!” Kat exclaimed. “I put the fun in funeral.”
Only Kat.
She arched a brow and said something I’d said to Cole many times before. “Too soon to joke?”
“Forever will be too soon,” I muttered.
Cole came up behind me, wrapped his arm around my waist. “Girls still here?”
“You can’t see them?” I asked.