Love's Second Save

The sky exploded with Fourth of July fireworks, painting red and gold, but all I tasted was sulfur and betrayal.

My hand instinctively went to the fresh, tender scar on my side, a chilling reminder of what they' d stolen.

My family, the people who were supposed to love me, held me down for a doctor to take my kidney for my 'perfect' adoptive sister, Savannah.

Chase, my boyfriend and duet partner, celebrated with Savannah, his secret lover, after calling me his "hero."

It was all a meticulously planned conspiracy: nurture my career, use my body, then discard me.

I, Ava Monroe, country music sensation, was nothing but a spare part, an orphan adopted for good PR, now reduced to a literal organ donor.

With nothing left-no family, no love, no reason-I stood on a cold bridge, the canyon a black mouth waiting to swallow my despair.

A kind stranger, Liam, tried to pull me back, speaking of bad breakups, oblivious to the monstrous truth.

They didn' t just break my heart; they cut me open and took a piece of me, leaving me utterly shattered.

As the finality of my decision set in, a gut-wrenching twist of fate occurred: Liam, the only person who cared, jumped with me to save my life.

But instead of darkness, I awoke, healthy and whole, in my dressing room, one month earlier, before the betrayal.

I wasn't just given a second chance to save myself; I was given a chance to save him, the hero who sacrificed everything for me.

My mission became crystal clear: First, I would live. Second, I would make them pay. And third, I would find Liam Sullivan and keep him safe, no matter what it took.

The Fourth of July fireworks exploded in the sky, painting the darkness with red and gold, but I couldn' t feel any of the celebration. The air smelled of sulfur and hot dogs, a sick mix that churned in my stomach. Below me, the canyon was a black mouth waiting to swallow everything.

My hand rested on the fresh, tender scar on my side. They took it. My family, the people who were supposed to love me, they held me down and let a doctor steal my kidney. For Savannah. My perfect, sick, adoptive sister.

"It' s for the best, Ava," my mother had said, her eyes cold, not meeting mine. "Savannah needs it. You' re healthy, you can spare one."

Chase, my boyfriend, the man whose duets with me topped the country charts, held my hand while I was still groggy from the sedatives. He called me his hero. Then he went to Savannah' s room to celebrate with her. I found the texts later. His secret lover. My sister. The whole thing was a plot to save her, and my career was just the fuel for their plan.

I was just a spare part. An orphan they' d adopted for good PR, and now, for a literal organ.

The concrete of the bridge was cold against my bare feet. It was over. I had nothing left. No family, no love, no reason. The world was loud with joy, but my own world was silent.

"Ma' am? Are you okay?"

A voice cut through my haze. It was calm and steady. I turned my head slowly. A man stood a few feet away, his hands held up gently. He wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, but he stood with a kind of solid presence, like a mountain. He was tall, with broad shoulders and kind eyes that looked worried.

"Please step back from the railing," he said, his voice low.

I laughed, a broken, ugly sound. "Why? So I can go back to them?"

He seemed to misunderstand. "Chase Vanderbilt? I saw the news. A bad breakup is rough, but it' s not the end of the world."

The irony was so thick I could taste it. A bad breakup. If only it were that simple.

"It' s not the breakup," I whispered, the words catching in my throat. "They took something from me. He and my sister... my family... they cut me open and took a piece of me."

The man' s face changed. The casual concern sharpened into shock and disbelief. He took a half-step forward. "What are you talking about?"

"They needed my kidney," I said, my voice flat. "For her. So they just... took it."

His eyes were full of a horror that validated my own. For the first time in weeks, someone looked at me and saw the victim, not the hysterical, heartbroken girlfriend the media was painting me as.

"My God," he breathed.

"It' s over," I said, turning back to the canyon. "There' s nothing left to save."

"No, wait!" he pleaded, his voice cracking with urgency. "I care. My name is Liam. Please, just talk to me."

He cared. A stranger. A man I' d never seen before. He cared more than anyone I had ever known. A flicker of something warm touched the ice in my chest. I looked at him, really looked at him, and saw the genuine panic in his eyes.

I saw the news reports in my head. A brave rescuer trying to save a jumper, only to be pulled over the edge with them. I couldn' t do that to him. I couldn' t make this kind man a casualty of my miserable life.

I took a step back from the edge, onto the solid ground of the bridge.

He let out a breath he' d been holding. His shoulders slumped in relief. "Thank you. Just come over here. We can get you some help."

He held out a hand. It was strong and calloused. I almost took it.

But then I thought about tomorrow. Waking up with one kidney. Waking up to a world where Chase and Savannah were together, celebrated, while I was just the broken girl left behind. The help he was offering couldn' t fix that. It couldn' t put my kidney back. It couldn' t erase the betrayal.

This was the only way to make it stop.

While he was relaxed, while his guard was down, I turned and jumped.

It was a clean, fast movement. I heard him scream my name, a sound of pure anguish.

"Ava!"

Then, unbelievably, I felt a weight crash into me from behind. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against a hard chest. He had jumped too. Without a second of hesitation, he had leaped into the abyss with me.

Why? The question screamed in my mind as we fell. Why would you do that?

His body twisted in the air, maneuvering to place himself underneath me. He was trying to shield me from the impact. A stranger was trying to save my life with his own.

I felt a tear finally break free and whip away in the wind.

"I' m sorry," I sobbed into his shoulder.

Then everything went black.

A blinding white light. The sharp, sterile smell of antiseptic. I jolted awake, my heart hammering against my ribs. I wasn' t dead.

My body was whole. I instinctively touched my side. No scar. No phantom ache where my kidney used to be. My skin was smooth and unbroken.

"Where am I?" I croaked, my voice raw.

"Ava? You' re awake. Thank God."

It was my manager, Brenda, her face etched with worry. We weren' t in a hospital room after a fall. We were backstage at the CMA Awards. The cheap champagne in a plastic cup on the table next to me confirmed it.

"You fainted on the red carpet," Brenda said, handing me a bottle of water. "Exhaustion, the doctor said. You' re a trending topic on Twitter, by the way. Not in a good way."

I ignored her. I scrambled for my phone. The date on the screen stared back at me. June 4th. One month. I was one month in the past. One month before the Fourth of July. One month before they would take my kidney.

The fall. The bridge. Liam.

He died. He died for me. A man whose name I only knew for a minute.

My breath hitched. I wasn' t just given a second chance to save myself. I was given a second chance to save him.

The memory of his horrified eyes, his desperate plea, his selfless sacrifice, was burned into my mind. He was the only person who showed me an ounce of genuine kindness in my final moments. I owed him a life.

"Brenda," I said, my voice eerily calm. "Cancel my next month of appearances."

"What? Ava, you can' t. You have the duet promo with Chase, the album launch..."

"Cancel it," I repeated, my tone leaving no room for argument. "I have something more important to do."

I stood up, my legs steady. The girl who fainted on the red carpet from stress and heartbreak was gone. The woman who stood there now had seen the end. She knew what was coming. And she was going to change it.

My new mission was crystal clear.

First, I would live. Second, I would make them pay.

And third, most importantly, I would find Liam Sullivan and I would keep him safe. No matter what it took.