Chain Letter Omnibus Read online

  He stared at me. “God.”

  “What?”

  “You remember it word for word.”

  “I’ll remember it till the day I die.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t say that word again. Tell me why.”

  “I just told you why. She was pregnant. I felt I had to do the right thing and go back to her.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

  “I was ashamed, it’s true, but I honestly thought the truth would hurt you more.”

  “That’s so lame. Didn’t you stop to imagine how I felt? You left me hanging. Hanging above nothing ’cause I knew nothing. One moment I’m the love of your life and the next a cheerleader has taken my place.”

  He nodded. “It was dumb, I made a mistake. I should have explained everything to you. Please forgive me.”

  “No.”

  “Jessie?”

  “I don’t forgive you. I can’t. I suffered too much. You say you felt you had to do the right thing so you went back to her. Let me ask you this—were you still in love with her?”

  “I was never in love with Kari.”

  “Were you in love with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what you did was wrong. So she was pregnant. So she wept and begged you to come back for the sake of your child. That doesn’t matter. I was more important to you, I should have been more important. You should have said no to her.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?” I demanded.

  “Because when she rolled up her shirt and I saw that growing bump, and realized that it was true, that it was mine, my flesh and blood, I knew I had to take care of that baby.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “You’re wrong, Jessie. At that moment, nothing mattered more to me than that child. And yes, forgive me, but it mattered even more than us.”

  I stood. “Get out.”

  He stood. “We should talk more.”

  “No, leave. This was all a . . . mistake. Go stay with Ted.”

  Jimmy stepped toward the door, put his hand on the knob. He was going to leave, he wasn’t going to fight me. That’s what I liked about him, how reasonable he could be. And that’s what I hated about him, that he hadn’t fought for me. I was the one who had to stop him.

  “Where’s the baby now?” I asked. Kari had graduated at the end of January and left campus early. I assumed she’d had the child.

  But Jimmy lowered his head. He staggered.

  “We lost him,” he said.

  “She had a miscarriage?”

  “No.” The word came out so small. I put my hand to my mouth.

  “Don’t tell me she had the baby and it died?” I gasped.

  He turned and looked at me, pale as plaster. So frail, so hollow. I felt if I said the wrong word, he’d shatter.

  “His name was Huck. He lived for three days.”

  “Why did he die?” I asked.

  The wrong words. Jimmy turned, opened the door, spoke over his shoulder. “You’re right, I should go. We can talk later.”

  He left; it was amazing how much it hurt. It was like he was breaking up with me all over again. It was then I wished I hadn’t said the “why” word. We should have left it at the hug.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHRISTOPHER PIKE is a bestselling author of young adult novels. The Thirst series, The Secret of Ka, and the Remember Me and Alosha trilogies are some of his favorite titles. He is also the author of several adult novels, including Sati and The Season of Passage. Thirst and Alosha are slated to be released as feature films. Pike currently lives in Santa Barbara, where it is rumored he never leaves his house. But he can be found online at christopherpikebooks.com.

  ALSO BY

  Christopher Pike

  THE THIRST SERIES

  REMEMBER ME

  THE SECRET OF KA

  UNTIL THE END

  BOUND TO YOU

  WITCH WORLD

  * * *

  Thank you for reading this eBook.

  Find out about free book giveaways, exclusive content, and amazing sweepstakes! Plus get updates on your favorite books, authors, and more when you join the Simon & Schuster Teen mailing list.

  CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com/teen

  * * *

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SIMON PULSE

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This Simon Pulse paperback edition July 2013

  Chain Letter copyright © 1986 by Christopher Pike

  The Ancient Evil copyright © 1992 by Christopher Pike

  Chain Letter was originally published in 1986 by Avon Books, a division of the Hearst Corporation.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  SIMON PULSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond.

  Cover designed by Angela Goddard

  Cover photograph copyright © 2013 by Jana Leon/Getty Images

  Library of Congress Control Number 2012943074

  ISBN 978-1-4424-7215-0

  ISBN 978-1-4424-7216-7 (eBook)

  These books were previously published individually.