Death Will Bring Us Together

Chapter Four: Can't Save Everyone

CHRIS POV 

When Antonio was about to shoot Alexis, my heart literally stopped. 

"Alexis." I choked out. Antonio moved his finger to the trigger, and I went numb. Then, Alexis closed her eyes and disappeared. Antonio looked stunned for a minute, but then he shrugged and raised the gun again, pointing it back at me. 

"Nice working with you Christopher." he said. And then I heard a gunshot as he pulled the trigger. I expected to feel impact, but I felt it from the wrong direction. I opened my eyes just in time to see that my body was gone. I felt a warm hand gripping my arm, and I knew it was Alexis. I sighed in relief. She had saved me. I saw April's terrified face in the corner, but she had probably guessed what had happened. I saw Antonio's eyes widen in shock and then he sputtered helplessly, looking wildly around the room. I smirked. He couldn't see any of us. He finally gave up and walked out the door, and Alexis waited a few more minutes before she let me go. The warmth flooded back into me and I sighed in relief, looking down at my now visible body. I hadn't been shot. The bullet went through me. Before I could take another breath, I felt the wind knocked out of me as April threw her arms around me. 

"Chris." she sobbed into my shoulder. I held her tightly and let her cry her eyes out on my shirt. Then she threw her arms around Alexis instead. 

"I thought I was going to lose both of you." she said. 

"Well technically you'd lose us again in a week..." I began. April glared at me and I snapped my mouth shut. I knew what she meant. Seeing your whole family murdered in front of you...for the second time...could really do something to someone. Anyone. I was surprised April had even pulled through it the first time when she saw her parents die. 

"Alexis...how did you know this was happening?" I asked as April finally let her go. 

"I was already awake. I-I had a bad dream." she said, averting her eyes. She was just  as horrible of a liar as her mother, but I wouldn't question her now. I was just thankful that she had saved me. Without her I would be dead. 

ALEXIS POV 

I was breathless as I realized that I had actually saved him. I had saved my Dad. 

Good job. My grandmother's voice said in my head. I jumped a little, not expecting that she would comment on my heroic act. 

Thank you. I replied. 

After everything calmed down a little, my parents went back to bed and I made my way back to my room, sitting on the bed and hugging my knees to my chest. I knew how I could use my powers now, but I didn't see how I could change the past. I wished that it could be this time tomorrow night so that I could figure some things out, because right now I was completely in the dark. I had almost no clue what was going on. I laid down and closed my eyes, and minutes later I drifted into a peaceful sleep that I hadn't had in days. 

When I woke up the next morning, I instantly jumped out of bed and ran to my parent's room, opening the door and making sure they were okay. They were sleeping peacefully. I couldn't believe what had happened last night. I slowly went downstairs and made breakfast, staring into space as I ate. It sucked that I couldn't tell anyone about what I could do yet, and I wished I could. 

Be patient. my grandmother said. I didn't even flinch this time when I heard her voice in my head. I just nodded. I would have to be patient until I knew the time was right. 

I turned around when I heard footsteps on the stairs, and I saw my dad rubbing his eyes sleepily. 

"Alexis, why are you up so early?" he asked. 

"Why are you up so early?" I fired back, raising an eyebrow. A small smile appeared on his face. 

"Good point. I guess we both have a lot on our mind." he said, sitting down in the chair next to me. 

"Thank you." he said, and I knew what he was talking about. 

"You're welcome." I replied in a voice that could hardly be called a whisper. He just looked back at the table, and I realized he was thinking hard about something. 

"What's wrong?" I asked him. He looked up at me. 

"Before you were born and I knew April had to go, I just thought about getting on someone's bad side, making them want to kill me. Someone like Antonio. Then maybe I could join her earlier than I expected too. Last night when I was about to get shot, I realized that I might be getting that wish... eighteen years late." he said. 

"Did you want to die?" I whispered. It made perfect sense. He was going to let Antonio kill him because he wanted to be with Mom forever. He loved her that much. Maybe even more than me. 

"No." he said finally, looking up at me. 

"I couldn't leave you alone." he said. And as I looked into his chocolate brown eyes, I knew he was telling the truth. He did care about me. He wasn't going to leave me. And I wasn't going to leave him. 

Don't be so sure... my grandmother's voice echoed through my head. I froze. What was she saying?

You can change the past, but if you choose to do so, you can't save everything. Some things will change permanently. she said. Permanently. Like what? I didn't want to lose Chris...my father...

"Alexis?" he asked worriedly. I snapped back into reality and looked at him. 

"Yes?" I asked. 

"What's wrong?" he said, raising an eyebrow. 

"Oh. Nothing." I replied. He had no idea....