His muffled voice cuts through the darkness for a nanosecond, and then I’m subsumed into the darkness again.
Chapter 14
Sarah
I’m standing with Jonas on the side of a Belizean highway.
“As a member of the Jonas Faraday Club,” he says, shooting me a shy smile, “you need a color-coded bracelet.” He ties a multi-colored friendship bracelet to my wrist.
“Oh yeah,” I say, laughing. “To designate my freaky-ass ‘sexual preferences.’” I look at the braided bracelet on my wrist. “I’m not a purple?”
“No, you’re not a purple, you big dummy—neither am I. We’re a brand new color—a color designated for just the two of us.” He holds his wrist right next to mine. “Because we’re a perfect match, baby.” He leans in and kisses me. “Because you were made for me, Sarah Cruz.”
I smile at him. “You were made for me, Jonas Faraday.”
“Please, please don’t leave me.”
I feel pain everywhere. Holy fuckity-fuck-fuck, what is that goddamned pain?
“S-A-R-A-H,” Jonas says, diverting my attention from the pain. He hands a platinum bracelet to a saleswoman behind a jewelry counter. “S-A-R-A-H,” he repeats.
The woman behind the counter nods. “And you, miss?” she asks me.
I’m disoriented for a moment. I look around the jewelry store and then back to the clerk. “Um.”
“Say it, baby,” Jonas coaxes. “You know what to say.”
Holy hell, I feel like shit.
“Baby,” Jonas says. “Think about our love. Let it lead you back to me.”
I take a deep breath. “J-O-N-A-S,” I say, handing her the platinum bracelet that’s suddenly appeared in my hand. I turn to look at Jonas and the pain in my body subsides. “Jonas, no matter what happens from here on out, if I have to leave, always know I loved you with all my heart and soul.”
“That’s not what you say right then,” Jonas says, clearly panicking. “Say what you’re supposed to say.”
“Sorry.” I twist my mouth, trying to remember. I look down at my hands. Where’s my wedding ring? Oh no. I never, ever take it off. Where’d it go?
“Sarah?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t remember what I’m supposed to say.”
“‘Our bracelets have to be a perfect match because we’re a perfect match. End of story,’” Jonas says. He flashes me a beaming smile. “That’s what you say. And then you jut your chin like a little badass.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
He puts his finger under my chin. “We have to get these memories exactly right, my love. If you think about them, if you let your mind relive them exactly like they happened, they’ll bring you back to me—I know they will.”
His smile is melting me right now. Damn, he’s a good lookin’ man. I nod. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”
“Good girl. Now say your line,” he says softly.
“Our bracelets have to be a perfect match because we’re a perfect match. End of story.” I jut my chin.
“There’s my badass!” He laughs and sweeps me up into an embrace. “God, I love you, Sarah Cruz.” I feel his hand clasping mine. “Stay with me, love. Never leave me. I’m right here.”
“Is that what you’re supposed say right then?” I ask. “I don’t remember it that way.”
“Please, please come back to me,” his voice says softly in my ear. His fingers graze my cheek. “Please, baby, please.” He sounds like he’s crying. “I love you.”
“That’s not what you say, Jonas.” Tears well up in my eyes. Shoot. I can’t remember what he’s supposed to say. The blackness is pulling at me, coaxing me. I can’t think straight.
He squeezes my hand. “I love you,” he whispers. “Stay with me, baby.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You have to.”
“I don’t know if I get to decide.”
“Of course, you do,” Jonas says. “Who the fuck gets to decide, if not you?”
“Well, you know. God.”
“Fuck God.”
“Jonas. You can’t say that.” I look around, paranoid someone will overhear him.
“I’ll say it again. Fuck God. As far as I’m concerned, God’s been a fucking asshole to me my whole life and I’m fucking sick and tired of his bullshit.” His face is pure anguish. “So fuck it. I’m God now. I’m in charge. And my first order of business is decreeing that my beloved Sarah shall come back to me.”
“It doesn’t work that way, my love,” I say earnestly. “And, seriously, you can’t talk that way about God. You’re gonna get us in big trouble. Take it back.”
He exhales loudly. “Just stop being so difficult and do what I tell you to do for once in your goddamned life, woman.” I feel his hand