Chapter 13: Goodbye second chance

Parker is lying flat on the floor. He’s gasping for air. His vision is slowly blurring. And he’s all alone.

The spoon he scooped the last fried rice with is lying at his head.

This didn’t happen to him in his previous life. This wasn’t something he experienced at all. Parker is too much in pain to even fight with himself about it. He needs help.

’System. System. System!’ Parker cries out in his head as he chokes on a breath. He’s trying his best to crawl to help. Ben promised an EpiPen, but if the EpiPen doesn’t show up right now, he would die.

Is it possible to die in his second chance life? If yes...what next?

A roar tears past Parker’s throat as he puts in work to fight for his life. He can feel the painful swelling on the inside of his throat. The betrayal hurts worse than everything he has experienced from Ben of the future.

"System..." he wheezes once more in a desperate attempt and suddenly everything goes black.

Parker opens his eyes and finds himself in an isolated space. It looks like he’s standing on a giant floating, immobile disc. He gasps as he looks around the place. Everywhere is dark and there’s not a single light.

He must be dead.

"No...no...I can’t be dead yet!" he protests as he tries to run from the disc. He falls off the edge of the silver disc, but lands on another. He tries again, and the same thing happens.

"What is this?" he asks in panic.

[System: Parker Ross. Second Chance System anomaly detected]

"System?" Parker calls out.

[Last status: Charm – 200. Wealth – 100. Intelligence – 1100. Confidence – 200]

[Current rating: failed]

"No...wait, please give me another chance. I can fix this. I CAN FIX THIS" Parker yells into the void. He doesn’t know how exactly he’d go about fixing his mess, but he’s determined to do anything. This isn’t fair. The same man called Ben can’t be the one to steal his first chance and also ruin his second chance.

"I can fix this" Parker repeats and drops to his knees.

[System: look.]

From the disc, Parker looks down and sees the house his parents lived in while he was in his twenties. It seems like he was there with them, but he isn’t really there. He can see them, but they can’t see him.

His mom and dad are talking to each other aggressively. It’s a sight he fucking hated. It was one of the reasons he proceeded with the university’s acceptance letter despite having little to no money.

"Let’s stop sending that loser our money" his dad says as he snatches a wad of cash from his mom. Parker’s heart clenches in a way it has never done. He clearly remembers when his parents stopped sending him support during his university days.

"No, that’s not fair. Parker is our son" his mom snatches the money back.

"Come on. He’s only going to be a big disappointment. Do you want to regret supporting a kid who would end up disappointing you, huh?" his dad yells at his mother and the money in his mother’s hands shakes.

"He’s our son and he needs all the support he can get, why don’t you understand?" his mom yells back.

"Why can’t he be like Ben or someone else. That money better be ready for my next bet when I’m back, or else!" his father says and storms out of the house.

Parker’s mom starts to cry as she picks up the phone to call Parker, but he can’t receive the call. Back then, he couldn’t receive the call too. His phone had been locked away at the repair store.

"I can...fix this" Parker says in a small voice that sounds like giving up.

[Second chance system comes to an end in thirty seconds. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight.]

Parker’s shoulders slump as he stares into nothing. Damn it. The system gave him a warning, but his greed made him take the food. He has seen Ben’s evil act for twenty years, yet he chose to eat it.

Fuck.

"Good-bye world. It was nice knowing you twice" Parker says to himself. He’s completely dejected and exhausted. He can still feel the phantom pain of the allergy in his throat.

[System: twenty-six. Twenty-four.]

"What about Tim, who’s going to take care of that guy?" Parker asks no one in particular and his head suddenly snaps up with realization.

Tim! He has Tim.

"System, how can I contact Tim to get help for me?" Parker asks.

[System: you can’t connect anyone outside of this place.]

"Does that mean it’s really over for me?"

[System: twenty-one. Twenty. Nineteen]

’Tim...Tim where are you when I need you?’ Parker thinks to himself and suddenly, the countdown stops. He has seventeen seconds left, but it’s no longer counting.

Parker slowly turns around in confusion. "What’s going on? Why did the count stop?" he asks loudly.

[Stats: Charm – 200. Wealth – 100. Intelligence – 700. Confidence – 100.]

[Second Chance System reactivated]

Parker gasps at the new message. His jaw drops open as a loading bar fills up to a 100 percent. He doesn’t fully understand what is happening, but he stays still with his mouth hanging open in shock.

Suddenly, he feels two harsh slaps landing on his cheeks from an invisible hand and he yelps in pain. "What the hell?" he asks, cupping his cheeks, staring at the darkness around him in an even deeper confusion.

"Parker? Parker? Parker wake up!" Tim’s voice calls and Parker’s eyes slowly open.

He’s no longer in that strange space. He’s in his apartment lying on the floor. He gasps at the painful sensation in his leg.

His eyes move around the room and he finds Tim looking at him with pure worry.

"I thought you were dead or something, are you okay?"

"Allergy" Parker manages to wheeze. His throat still feels blocked and his head heavy.

"I thought as much. Luckily I have an EpiPen on me all the time. Come on let’s go get help at the hospital" Tim says as he helps Parker off the floor.

Tim saved his life...he almost died, but Tim showed up. He really got a second chance in a second chance system.

[System: yes, and don’t fuck it up this time, Parker. I need you as much as you need me.]

Something about the system’s reply felt ominous, but Parker doesn’t say a word.