An hour later, the door opens, and a familiar face is on the other side. “River, your parents are downstairs. I’ll take you to them.”
“Kyle? What are you doing here?” It’s a stupid question. Of course he’s here. Why wouldn’t he be? “Did you see him? Did you see them take Huff away?”
“Yes, I saw him.”
“He’s not dead. Why did they take him away?”
“River, he’s gone. His body is downstairs if you want to see. I’ll take you, but no more screaming.”
I can’t breathe. “He’s really gone?”
“Yes. And I really need to help my parents right now. I need—” Kyle’s voice cracks.
“Oh god. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Kyle needs to be with his family, and here he is worrying about me.
“Do you want to see him or not?”
I do. “Yes. Yes. I want to see him.” I’ll never believe he’s gone if I don’t.
A week later, I’m standing at the back of the church in my old hometown, staring at a giant photo of Huff’s sweet face. The photo next to the casket is from before that night, when his face was thinner. It’s the same smile I’ve known since we were in the second grade.
What gets me is how many people have shown up. Strangers. Acquaintances. His family and mine. The parking lot is packed with news vans and creepy assholes who just want to get a look at the faces of those who loved the world’s first human being with abilities only seen in the movies.
They call him Mr. Ultra Mega Love now, and it makes me want to cry and laugh hysterically every time I hear it. It’s so corny. Why did I say that to those reporters? I know it was the heat of the moment, but this isn’t how I want him remembered. It sounds like a name belonging to one of those dumb cartoons Huff loved so much. What I hate most is that it makes him sound like he wasn’t real. A real guy. A real person. The man I loved. Now he’s been reduced to wild debates and conspiracy theories on the internet.
Everyone has an opinion about the drug and where it really came from. Super-soldier potion developed by the military. Extraterrestrial-DNA-infused serum. They call the forty people who are hooked on the stuff “crazy.” Others call them junkies. Some have genuine sympathy for my sisters who were given nearly toxic doses of the drug without knowing. They started crashing almost immediately, which was why they all got sick.
Keni is evil. She did it to teach them a lesson. And then control them.
All I can say is it’s too much. And I don’t have my best friend by my side to help me cope.
Yes, he’s dead.
I saw the body. Kyle held my hand the entire time. Huff looked so peaceful and handsome. But the life was gone from his face.
After that, my parents showed up and took me home. Our sorority house was flooded on the first floor, and it’ll be months before we can all move back in. If I move back at all.
I know Huff would want me to muscle through all this, but how can I? People stare everywhere I go. Reporters follow me all hours of the day, begging for interviews.
Huff’s stupid roommate, Ronno, was offered six figures for some lame book, My Roommate, the Secret Superhero.
Seriously, Ronno? You knew him, like, what? Two days? Idiot.
But I don’t have the energy to get angry anymore. My life as I once knew it is gone and replaced with a heart that doesn’t work anymore.
I wipe away a tear from my raw cheek as Kyle goes up to the podium to talk about his brother. I can’t watch. I can’t be here.
I don’t want closure.
I just want Huff back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Huff
It’s been seven months since I died. Yes, and survived. My brother, Kyle, is such a stubborn dick. And probably the best brother a guy could ask for.
I don’t know how he pulled it off, but he made sure I was given a dose of that crap to keep me alive. Then everything happened so fast. He said he’d made arrangements to get me out of there. Of course, I didn’t want to leave. Not without River, but he laid it out for me.
“If you love her, Huff, you’re going to have to let her go. Think about why you refused to take the drug. You’re afraid what you might do to her. And even if that weren’t a problem, what kind of future will she have with you? Someone’s going to take you, and you’ll be dissected like a lab rat. If not by our government, then I can think of ten other countries that’ll want to figure out how a scrawny kid turned into a two-hundred-pound gorilla with the strength of a hundred men. This is the only way to give her a shot at a normal life. A happy life.”