Second Chance

Chapter 19

I sped along the streets of the town, feeling the adrenaline in my body rushing swiftly through my veins. This was exactly how I felt a year ago, except this time I wasn't a stupid sixteen year old desperate for money. For some reason, I thought I would be able to pull off a bank heist all on my own. In reality, I didn't even get to the bank. I was pulled over five minutes into my little joyride by a police car hidden in an alleyway. This time however, I was a stupid seventeen year old drunk out of my mind.

"Justin, can you please slow down?" Riley shouted over the wind pouring into the truck, due to the broken window beside me.

"We do something crazy stupid every time there's a celebration going on, Riley. Don't ruin the fun!" I called back to him, speeding up slightly.

"I'm not trying to, but I'm also not super interested in being a road pancake." Riley defended, clutching onto his door as I made a sharp left turn.

"Trust me, bro. I won't get us killed." I assured him.

I turned down another road, which led me to a neighbourhood I didn't recognize. I took several different turns until I drove into a cul-de-sac. I circled the loop several times until I started making donuts. I glanced over at Riley, who was still clinging onto the door, and I laughed. This was one of the very few times that I genuinely enjoyed my life.

"Justin!" Riley suddenly screeched, and I looked to my left and saw another car driving around the bend too.

At the very last second, before we collided, I swerved to the right and just grazed the other car, leaving behind a trail of sparks. I then floored it out of the neighbourhood and made it back to the main streets.

"You're a psychopath, you know that?" Riley breathed, looking terrified but also grinning at the same time. I let out a breathless laugh, and continued exploring the town, slightly slower this time though.

We eventually made it to a less populated area, and on Riley's side there were a long line of trees. At one point there was a clearing, and I vaguely recognized it. It was sort of like déjà vu. I pulled over and examined the area, trying to recall where I remembered it from.

"What are you looking at?" Riley asked, looking where I was looking.

"I know this place, but I've never been here before." I said slowly, getting out of the car.

I walked into the long grass and stared up at the stars glowing brightly above me. Riley joined me a moment later, and we stayed like that for a while. I thought about my life, and all the people in it. It has been a dumpster fire so far, but it didn't always have to be like that. I could make a better life for myself, very soon. I wanted to start over. I wanted to have a second chance.

"I love you, brother." I said randomly, not taking my eyes off the sky.

"I love you, brother." Riley repeated, and I felt him take his hand in mine.

I had a sudden urge to check the back of the truck, so after a moment I pulled away from Riley and walked back over to it. I looked in the back, and to my surprise found fireworks and a box of matches.

I looked back at Riley and grinned. "Want to do one last crazy thing to end off the night?"

He grinned back and helped me take out the fireworks. One by one we set them off and enjoyed the bright sparking colours and the thunderous booms that came with it. As Riley was setting up the second last one, I was rummaging around in the back seat of the truck to find something to make the last firework, which happened to be the biggest, a little more extreme. As I was moving away a blanket that was crumpled on the ground, I came across something that would definitely be extreme.

"Hey, Riley." I called out to my brother, holding up the object for him to see. "What do you think Jake needs dynamite for?"

Riley stared at it in surprise. "You're not thinking what I'm thinking, are you?"

"I think it would make this little light show of ours go out in a bang." I said, a grin growing on my face.

I started towards the last firework, crouched down, and started wrapping the dynamite around it. "Dude, I'm all for big explosions, but I think this might be a little dangerous." Riley said nervously.

"Of course it's dangerous, that's the whole point." I explained, lighting a match.

The rope attached to the firework caught fire, and I glanced up at Riley, who's eyes widened at some realization that I was too slow to comprehend until a few seconds later. Dynamite has a much quicker explosion time than fireworks do....meaning this thing was going to blow up before it even lifted off....which meant it was going to blow up straight in my face. The dream. Holy shit, I remembered the dream. It was an omen! I stared at the rope in shock and horror, trying to get up, but I wasn't fast enough. I realized I was about to die.

I braced myself for the unbearable pain that was about to stab into me, but it never happened. Instead, Riley flung himself in front of me and wrapped his arms around me, making himself a human shield. Less than a second later-

BANG!

We were both flung backwards onto the edge of the field, near the truck. My ears were ringing, my vision was blurry, my entire body ached. But I was alive. I could barely move, but I managed to drag myself over to Riley.

Once I saw him, my heart instantly shattered. My eyes filled with tears and my hands started to tremble as I grabbed onto his shoulders. He was covered in burns and blood, but I could still see his eyes, which were reflecting the stars above.

"Riley. Riley! RILEY!"