Lewis is next in line, and Wendy knows he'll be harder to persuade than the others. Plus Wendy's parents are coming home. What does it mean for her, Kevin, and Julie? Thanks for the reviews, not just for this story but my others! They motivate me to keep writing.

Chapter Six

Homecoming

Wendy woke up the next morning with a growing sense of dread. At first she couldn't place it, but then she remembered that her parents were coming home today.

She slowly rolled out of bed and began her morning routine. At breakfast she said to Kevin, "My parents are coming home today, you have to leave for now. They'd freak if they found out a boy's been sleeping over here." Wendy gnawed her lip, really wanting Kevin to stay. She knew he couldn't, though.

"Come over later," she added quickly.

Not long after that Kevin left. Wendy felt her sense of dread growing even more. Even with Julie for company she felt extremely lonely. She felt like the only person in the world who understood what she was going through.

Around lunchtime Wendy forced herself to eat a sandwich, but she couldn't stomach much else. Then she heard the garage door opening.

"They're home," Julie said softly. Neither girl looked happy about their parents' homecoming.

"We're home!" sang Mom as they came up through the garage with their bags. "How are you girls?"

"Good," Julie said, forcing a smile. "How was your trip?"

"Good, thanks," Mom said, kissing both of them on the cheek. "Wendy, are you okay? You seem a little…I don't know, sad and quiet."

"I'm fine, really," Wendy murmured absentmindedly. "I'll be in my room." She quickly hurried upstairs to her bedroom, closing the door. She lied down on her bed and stared at a crack in the ceiling, thinking.

Now she had trouble remembering what day exactly Lewis was supposed to die. Was it tomorrow or the next day? Oh, shit. What if she started losing her mind? What if she couldn't remember the exact days and was unable to save the others? What if she lost her second chance? Would she get a third? Or was it really impossible to beat Death?

Get it together, Wendy, she thought, sitting up and shaking her head a little as if to clear her thoughts. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. The carnival pictures were still on Julie's computer.

Wendy stood up and crept into Julie's room down the hall, sitting at her computer. She opened the file with the carnival pictures. There was Lewis's picture, with the weight that looked as if it was coming down on his head, same as before. It didn't help.

For some reason Wendy felt a strange feeling in her stomach, as if she was about to throw up. She quickly closed the photos and went back into her own room. She decided to take a nap.

THE NEXT DAY

The next morning Wendy decided she needed some time to herself. Escaping from everyone else, she drove to the cemetery and immediately went to Jason's grave. She bent down and fingered the plaque in the ground, feeling a tear slip down her cheek.

Wendy flipped out her cell phone and quickly dialed Kevin's number.

"Hello?" came his familiar, comforting voice.

"I'm with Jay," she said softly, just as she had originally at the Ashes' funeral.

"Wendy?" asked Kevin. "Do you want me to come get you?"

She shrugged, and then remembered he couldn't see her. "I don't know," Wendy replied. "I just…have this feeling, you know?"

"Yeah," Kevin said, but he sounded as if he didn't know. "Is Lewis supposed to die today?" He sounded awkward saying it, as if the idea of knowing when someone was going to die was still uncomfortable for him.

"I can't even remember," Wendy wailed miserably. "Oh, Kevin! What if I start losing my mind? I think I already am."

"You're not crazy," Kevin said soothingly, but his words didn't help. "Look, are you sure you don't want me to come get you?"

"I have my car, I'm fine, thanks," Wendy muttered.

"Well, do you want me to come over to your house later?" Kevin asked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't know," Wendy said slowly. "My parents and everything…"

"Oh, yeah," said Kevin softly. "I forgot about them. I've gotten so used to staying at your house." They both laughed a little, though there was nothing funny. "Well, call me later." Kevin hung up.

Wendy shut her cell phone and put it back in her pocket, somehow feeling worse than before. She fingered Jay's name on the grave: JASON ROBERT WISE. She felt so miserable. Why did she have to lose her boyfriend and her best friend all over again?

At least she had Kevin.

"Wendy, your mother and I are busy unpacking," Dad said later that day. "Will you be a big help and start a load of laundry?"

"No, I won't," Wendy snapped, surprising both Dad and herself. She didn't normally act like that and always respected her parents.

Instead of getting mad Dad asked, "Wendy, are you okay? You've been acting different lately."

"I'm fine," Wendy snapped.

"Well, if you need anything…" Dad said. He was talking, but Wendy wasn't listening. She felt a chill down her spine and shivered. There was a twinge in her stomach, and suddenly something dawned on her.

"Lewis!" Wendy exclaimed suddenly, sprinting to the hall closet to grab your jacket and her shoes.

"Lewis?" Dad called from the kitchen. "Is there a boy I don't know about?" But Wendy was already sprinting down through the garage to get into her car.

She started driving to the gym, calling Kevin on her cell phone alone the way.

"Hello?" he said after he picked up.

"Kevin, it's Wendy!" she explained in a rush. "Lewis is supposed to die today!"

"What?" Kevin exclaimed. "Where does he die?"

"The gym!" Wendy cried. "I'm driving there right now. Meet me there, okay?" And with that she hung up, tossing her cell phone onto the front seat. Her hands clutched steering wheel tightly and she hunched forward, peering out the windshield intently. What if she was too late?

Wendy pulled into the parking lot of the gym and climbed out of her car just as Kevin's truck pulled in. She waved to him frantically without a trace of a smile and ran over to the truck as Kevin got out.

"I'm here," he said. "Come on, let's go." They hurried into the gym together. Once inside Wendy felt a little intimidated by all of the big, muscle-y guys working out in the gym, but she soon got over it.

Her eyes scanned the gym, searching for Lewis…There he was! They weren't too late!

"Come on, over there!" Wendy said quickly, and the two hurried over to Lewis just as he sat down on the weight-lifting device that would cause his death.

"Lewis, get up!" Wendy said quickly. "I mean, uh, I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" Lewis asked. He smirked. "Aren't you that freak from the carnival?"

"Whatever!" Wendy cried. "Look, I need to tell you something…" Lewis started lifting weights. Wendy gulped, the hairs on her arms standing up.

"Lewis, listen to her," Kevin said firmly. Wendy looked up, her jaw trembling with fear, at the sign that read WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU, MAKES YOU STRONGER with the fake swords on it. They were quivering, just like Wendy expected them to be.

As Kevin continued to try and persuade Lewis to listen to them, Wendy looked around the gym and realized that she would have to do something drastic to save Lewis.

She leaned in to Kevin and whispered in his ear, "Do you have a lighter with you?" He seemed surprised.

"Yeah, but," he began before Wendy cut him off.

"Give it to me," she hissed. Kevin dug it out of his back pocket and handed it to. Clutching it in her hand, Wendy edged over to the big bear statue that had started the accident that cause Lewis's death. She stood right next to it, pretending to be examining it, and discreetly flicked open the lighter, letting the flame catch onto the fake fur of the bear. Then Wendy dropped the lighter as the fire spread.

"Fire!" she shrieked. "Everybody get out!" Then she ran right out the door of the gym into the parking lot. Everyone began piling out after her. She let them pass, waiting by the door for Kevin and Lewis to come outside safely.

Wendy began to worry. What if someone actually got hurt? What had become of her lately? Before all of this ever happened Wendy had never been the type to set a gym on fire or even snap at her parents.

Finally Kevin and Lewis came out of the gym, Lewis muttering angrily under his breath. Wendy thought she caught the phrase "crazy bitch".

"Was it you that started that fire?" he snapped.

Wendy knew she had to act fast. She quickly thought of Jay and Carrie and managed to squeeze out a few tears, faking a sob and putting her face into her hands.

"Now look what you did," Kevin said to Lewis, playing right into the act. "Come on, Wendy, let's go." They turned away from Lewis and headed toward their cars.

"They don't think that was a little too drastic?" Wendy asked worriedly under her breath.

"You did what you had to do to save Lewis," Kevin said pointedly. "Talk to you later." He headed to his truck and Wendy climbed into her own car, giving herself a minute to calm down before driving back to her house.

"Another person saved," she muttered.

Bet you didn't expect that! Wendy, setting a building on fire? Well, she doesn't want to waste her second chance. Next is Build It. Will Wendy and Kevin be able to save Erin (my favorite character)? Find out in the next chapter! Dun, dun, DUH!