Shoot. Me. Now.
“He asked if I knew. And out-of-looper I am, I told him that you wouldn’t ever do something so stupid. And yet, here you are—so I have to ask, are you stupid, or what?”
Hey now. “Excuse me?”
“Chloe,” she says in this withering, judgmental voice, “you were sick as a dog last week with an ulcer aggravated by stress over these two. If I’m not mistaken, you’re also suffering from depression and insomnia. No, don’t bother to argue; I’m a Shaman and by saying I’m not mistaken, I’m saying I already know. So I can’t help but ask, has something changed? To make Jonah the easier pick? Because I saw you and Kellan together. There’s no way to mistake the feelings between you two. If I didn’t know you were with Jonah, I’d never have any doubt who you were meant to be with.”
The walls around me close in. “I . . . I thought, because Jonah was so unhappy . . .”
“Are you telling me that you’re eloping because Jonah is unhappy?”
I swallow hard. It’s not that cut and dry, but yeah, that’s basically the gist of the situation.
“So you’ll be okay being around Kellan now, being married to his brother?”
I whisper, “You don’t understand.”
“You’re right about that. But more importantly, you don’t understand. You’re a wreck over these two. Marrying Jonah today won’t make this situation better. You need to take a good, long, hard look at what’s what. You need to think about what’s best for you—not Jonah, not Kellan. You gotta look out for numero uno, baby.”
I sag against a nearby wall. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Exactly. And let me tell you this: if you get married today, without at least having the balls to tell Kellan first, you’ll destroy him.” She turns and notices Jonah and Raul watching us intently.
“Take a walk with me.” She yanks me around a corner. Then she hands me a phone. “Either call and tell him you’re marrying his brother, or text him you’re not. Don’t be a coward. You’re not a coward, Chloe Lilywhite.”
“I . . . I thought you loved Jonah,” I stammer, staring at the phone.
“I do. The worlds don’t seem to make sense if you and he aren’t a pair. But it turns out there’s another person in this equation, and whether or not I think he’s the one for you, he doesn’t deserve the blindside.”
My fingers stroke the buttons. “He called you?”
“Yeah.” The corners of her mouth curve up. “Hell froze over and pigs flew. You know he’s got to be desperate if he came to me for help.”
I told Jonah I’d marry him. Today. If I was to cry off now, he’ll be so pissed and hurt that I can pretty much guarantee the ulcer’ll be back by night’s end. On the other hand, marrying Jonah today will hurt Kellan so much that the ulcer’ll be back by night’s end.
I am worse than screwed.
“Don’t cry,” Cora says, alarmed. I touch my face; it’s wet and I didn’t even know it.
It’s because I’m numb.
“What do I tell him?” I whisper.
“Anything.” There’s an urgent, sad tone to her words. “Use Lizzie. Meg. Alex—me, for gods’ sakes. Tell him there’s an emergency and I need you. Just do not go through that portal today, Chloe. You need time to think about what is best for you. Getting married is the worst thing you can do today.”
Which is, of course, a direct contradiction to what Jonah’s been saying.
She loops an arm around me and pulls me close. “Tell him that you’re not going to Las Vegas today.”
So I do: I’m not going to Las Vegas today.
I don’t bother putting my name. He’ll know.
And then, I turn around and make my way back to Jonah and pray that whatever excuse I come up with will be okay.
I can’t speak for Kellan, but it’s hard to believe, with his personality, that he likes Cora nowadays. Even after she went out of her way to help him.
I pretty much can speak for Jonah at the moment, though. He’s so furious that I’m surprised he didn’t strangle Cora in the middle of the Transit Station. Poor Raul was forced to practically shield her from Jonah’s wrath.
She did her best to not cower under the weight of his anger, but I could tell she was rattled. I wonder if Jonah will now feel the same way about her as his brother does. Kellan blames Cora for breaking us up and leading me back to Jonah.