Say You'll Love Me Again

Author's Note - My computer has been messing up a little, and my shift keys aren't cooperating with me. So that's why all the quotations are singles and not the typical doubles. Mibba head-honchoes, please do not delete this because of that. I am going to get it fixed over Thanksgiving break, but I know everyone was ready for this chapter to come out so I wanted to do that for them.

I think I'm afraid to be happy, because whenever I get too happy, something bad always happens.

‘Happy Birthday, Keilah!’ everyone exclaimed as Joe and I walked into a small back room in Wyckoff’s fanciest restaurant, Maggiano’s. I jumped in shock as I realized just what was happening. Joe had thrown me a surprise party. I crouched down and put my hands over my nose and mouth, trying to hide my shock and surprise, but I definitely wasn’t doing it well.

‘Happy Birthday, baby,’ Joe said as he leaned down to my level and kissed my temple. ‘Surprise.’

‘If I didn’t love you so much, you would so be dead right now for doing this,’ I whispered to him. He was just beaming from ear to ear, knowing that it was just an empty threat. He took hold of my hand and pulled me back upright, and immediately both Rachel and Erin ran over to me and hugged me tightly.

‘Were you surprised?’ they asked in perfect unison. I just laughed and nodded. ‘Good. We were afraid Joe was going to blow the surprise.’

‘Hey, I’m a lot better at keeping secrets than I was,’ Joe exclaimed, overhearing our conversation.

‘Apparently,’ Erin said. ‘Come on. Tonight’s only begun. We have a lot of surprises in store for you, Keilah Chase. Are you ready for the best birthday ever?’

‘Do I have a choice?’ I asked hesitantly. If it were up to me, I would be sitting at home with Joe, snuggling under a blanket while watching an old scary movie, eating popcorn, and making fun at the horrible effects and stupid girls who would walk around alone at night and NOT expect to get killed by a deranged murderer.

‘Not a one,’ Joe said, answering the question for my best friends. Rachel and Erin walked away, joining Denise at a table that was covered in present after present, and I just fell back into Joe, who had come up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. ‘I know this isn’t what you want, but my mom has never gotten to throw a party like this for anyone except you. Please just…just humor her. Look at how happy she is. Have you seen her smile like that in the last six months?’

‘I guess not,’ I said. ‘Alright, fine, I’ll play along, but only because it’s Denise. If your mother was anybody else…’

‘Well then let’s be thankful that she’s not,’ he laughed. ‘Come on. I promise you that this isn’t going to be as bad as you think it’s going to be.’

And he was right…kind of. I admit, Denise did a very good job with the party. It seemed like everyone in town was either there or had sent their love in the form of a gift. There was so much food I thought I was going to have to eat leftover spaghetti and lasagna for the rest of my life. Nick, Joe, and Kevin came out of their ‘retirement’ to perform not one…not two…but three songs for me. Rachel and Erin then pulled out a karaoke machine and made me perform ‘I Will Survive’ with them to kick off a party-long karaoke competition.

By the time the party was finally over, it was close to midnight. I held on tight to Joe as I said goodnight to those who stayed until the very end, thanking each and every one of them for coming and sharing this amazing night with me. I held by breath as Brandon walked up to us, his girlfriend Monica by his side. The last time Joe and Brandon were in the same room together, they had almost come to blows and I had to stand in between them. But Brandon just stood in front of us, smiled at me, and then extended his hand to Joe. Joe smiled slightly and shook Brandon’s hand.

‘I was wrong about you, Jonas,’ Brandon said. ‘You are the only guy for her. I can see how much she loves you. Please, just take care of her. I know we all don’t want her to go back to that place again.’

‘I definitely don’t want to be the guy that makes her go to that place again,’ Joe said. ‘Thank you, Brandon.’

‘Happy birthday, Keilah,’ Monica said. They left, and Joe and I stood there for a few seconds without speaking, still in shock by what had just happened.

‘So, did you have a good twentieth birthday?’ Kevin asked as he and the rest of the Jonas family walked up to Joe and me.

‘It was, without a doubt, the best birthday ever,’ I said, hugging him.

‘I’m glad you had fun,’ Denise said. We all walked out of the restaurant and got into our respective cars. Joe and I followed behind Kevin and Nick, but as their car turned right to head back to the house, Joe turned left.

‘Where are we going?’ I asked him.

‘I still have to give you my birthday present,’ he said while smiling. I narrowed my eyes at him, but the smile never dropped from his face. ‘Don’t give me that look, Keilah Chase. You are going to let me give you a present and you are damn well going to like it, got it?’

‘No, I don’t ‘got it’, Joseph. I can’t believe that you think that you even need to get me a gift after this amazing night. I just want to go home and hang out with my family for the rest of the night. Please, can we just go home?’

‘No, we can’t ‘just go home’, Keilah,’ he said, mocking me just a little bit, I think. ‘I have been planning this whole thing for the last few months, and we are not turning around. Now just sit in that chair and enjoy the view. In about half an hour I think you’ll be extremely happy.’

‘Half an…? Joe, you do realize that it is after midnight, right? Where in the world are you taking me that it takes half an hour to get there?’

‘Think really hard about that before you ask again,’ he said with a small smirk still planted on his face. I screamed loudly and slumped down into my seat. The knee-high boots I was wearing were starting to get uncomfortable, as was the short skirt of the dress I was wearing. I hated dressing up, but I did it because Joe told me that I needed to for my birthday dinner since we were going to Magianno’s. Needless to say, I could have worn jeans.

Sure enough, close to half an hour later, my head shot up as I saw the familiar lights of my favorite city coming in to view. I was no longer in a bad mood as New York City was lit up in front of me. Even though I lived so close, I had only been here twice in my entire life. I missed it, and I couldn’t believe that Joe was actually bringing me here.
‘What the…?’ I gasped as I looked over at him.

‘Surprise,’ he said. ‘See. I told you that you’d be happy with the surprise. When are you going to learn to trust me?’

‘I will from now on,’ I said as I looked around at the sights surrounding our car. Even though it was almost one in the morning, the streets of Manhattan were anything but deserted like they always were in Wyckoff. ‘So where are we going now?’

‘Sorry, my lips are sealed. You’ll find out in about ten minutes.’ We pulled onto 42nd Street and then, a few moments later, turned onto Park Avenue. Beautiful building after beautiful building appeared, and my jaw dropped. I had definitely never been on this particular side of New York before.

The car began to slowed down and I frantically began to look for where we were going. I heard Joe chuckle beside me as he watched me out of the corner of his eye. His hand came down onto my knee and he squeezed it tightly. The car stopped, and my jaw dropped.

‘You’re kidding me, right?’ I gasped.

‘Happy birthday, baby,’ he said.

‘You’re freaking kidding me, right?’ I said a little louder. I was jumping around in my seat a little bit at this point. I know I looked ridiculous, but I didn’t care. I was too excited. ‘Joe, I’ve always wanted to stay here. How in the world did you know that?’

‘Three words,’ he said as he put the car in park. ‘Rachel and Erin.’ My door opened, and a man in a hotel uniform extended his hand to me. I took it and stepped out of the car, and the doorman gently shut the car door behind me.

‘Welcome to the Waldorf-Astoria, Mister Jonas,’ he said as he walked over and shook Joe’s hand.

‘Thank you William,’ he said back.

‘Is this the girl you told me about on the phone?’ William said as he turned to look at me. Joe was soon by my side and his hand grabbed onto mine tightly.

‘Yes, yes it is,’ he said. I looked up at him and he kissed me softly. ‘Are our accommodations exactly the way I asked for them to be?’

‘Yes sir,’ William answered. ‘Barbara at the front desk will be able to check you in. I will personally see to it that your bags get up to your room safely.’

‘I didn’t pack a bag,’ I gasped.

‘Relax,’ Joe whispered in my ear. ‘Three words…’

‘Rachel and Erin,’ we both said together. I smiled as I said my best friends’ names.

‘This whole trip wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for them,’ Joe said to me. ‘Come on. Your dream vacation awaits.’ I smiled and followed him into what I believed to be the nicest hotel in all of New York City. Barbara checked us in, and I think I heard her murmur the words honeymoon suite to Joe. ‘Are you ready, Keilah?’

‘My heart is beating so fast,’ I said. He smiled and took hold of my hand again. We rode the elevator up to the thirty-eighth floor and I couldn’t help but smile the entire way up. After tonight, this smile would never leave my face. It would be permanently attached. And it was all because of Joe, the guy who I almost didn’t have in my life.

‘Here we go,’ Joe said as the elevator stopped. The doors opened, and Joe and I walked to our assigned room. Joe put the key in and opened the door, and I sank to the floor as I saw the sight that had appeared. The room was absolutely breathtaking.

There was a single king-sized bed in the middle of the room. It was covered in red rose petals. White votive candles were scattered all over the entire room, and they were all lit. The New York skyline shone brightly outside of our window. Two small suitcases were sitting at the door, and Joe lifted one and handed it to me.

‘I’m sure you want to get out of that dress, although I think you look sexy as hell,’ he murmured in my ear. I took the suitcase from him as he placed a kiss on my lips, and I let it get a little hot and heavy before pulling away.

‘I’ll be right back,’ I said. I slipped into the bathroom, and giggled a little under my breath as I heard something solid fall back against the door. I zipped open the suitcase, and all I saw clothing wise was a see-through black teddy and three inch stiletto heels. ‘Oh my God, you guys, are you freaking kidding me?’ Luckily, I had looked over an oversized t-shirt and plaid pajama pants in the front pocket of the suitcase. As I unfolded the shirt, a piece of paper fell onto the floor.

Only use these if you are a prude and don’t want to have sex with your hot boyfriend on your perfect birthday getaway to New York City.

‘Hilarious, you guys,’ I muttered as I read the letter. But I knew that they were right. A lightbulb went off in my head, and I had the perfect idea. I put on the sexy lingerie, and then slid the t-shirt over it. It came down perfectly right above my knees. I left the heels off of my feet, only because they were still throbbing from my boots. I pulled my hair out of the ponytail it was in and made it look as presentable as I could. I dabbed a small bit of perfume on my neck and then, after a few deep breaths, turned to the door and grabbed the handle.

Joe was sitting on the bed, still wearing his clothes, but he had added one small thing to his outfit that made me break out in a fit of giggles. I walked over to him and climbed into his lap, letting the red bow that was around his neck slide through my fingers as I played with it.

‘Is this part of my present, too?’ I asked as my fingers ran slowly down his chest.

‘Only if you want it,’ he said back. I grinned and kissed him. I re-positioned myself so that my knees were on the bed, on either side of his hips. I raised my arms above my head, and Joe looked me up and down before grabbing hold of the hem of the shirt. He pulled the shirt off, and his eyes widened at the sight of the lingerie. ‘Well, this is quite a surprise.’

‘Three words,’ I laughed.

‘Why am I not surprised?’ I leaned my head down and I kissed him with all that I had inside of me. His hands slid around my neck and dropped slowly until they were sitting on my butt.

‘Three more words,’ I whispered as I pulled away from his lips. I placed kisses down his jaw and on his neck, and I heard a moan escape from the back of his throat. ‘I love you.’

‘I love you too,’ he said. He leaned back, taking me with him, and we spent the rest of the night showing each other just how true that really was.

-----

Joe and I spent two whole days in New York City. Although we weren’t able to go out much, we definitely found ways to keep ourselves entertained inside of our room. When we returned to Wyckoff, we went back to our daily lives. My bakery was busier than ever, if that was possible, and Joe definitely didn’t like it that I was basically at work from five in the morning to five in the evening. But I was making great money, and he could get over it.

I also placed my house for sale. I didn’t know how I would sell it, considering that everyone in Wyckoff knew what had happened inside of it, but then again that wasn’t stopping at least four couples a day from out of town looking at it, desperate for a house their children could be happy in. I told the realtor that, if the interested buyers asked, she was more than welcome to tell them the back story of why the house was on the market, but if they could avoid it, to please do.

On the one year anniversary of the night I was kidnapped from the Jonas house, Joe and I spent a night alone. We cooked dinner together and had a Grey’s Anatomy marathon, much to Joe’s distaste. By the time we got to the second disc, Joe and I were so distracted by each other that Meredith and Derek would have been jealous.

‘I can’t believe that it’s been a whole year,’ I said to him as he kissed up my arm.

‘Let’s not talk about it,’ he said. ‘This is not a celebration of you being taken. This is a celebration of you surviving and coming back to me. I’m not going to lose you again, Keilah. I want to be with you forever.’ I smiled at hearing this, but suddenly I was struck by a pang of panic. The word forever really scared me, even if it was coming out of Joe’s mouth. ‘Keilah, are you okay?’

‘I need a minute,’ I said. I stood up from the floor, where Joe and I were sitting on top of a bunch of blankets and pillows, and rushed up to my room in the Jonas house. I didn’t want Joe to see me having a panic attack. I told him that, since my dad was killed, I didn’t have them anymore. Truth be told, this was the first one I had had since the day in the bakery, but this felt different. It felt powerful, permanent.

‘Keilah?’ Joe said as he softly knocked on my closed bedroom door.

‘Joe, I just need to be alone right now,’ I said.

‘I’m worried about you, baby,’ he said.

‘I know, and that’s what I love about you. But I just need to be alone, please.’

‘Okay, fine,’ he said. ‘Come back down when you’re ready. I have something that I really need to talk to you about.’ I listened carefully as I heard him leave, walking down the stairs. I ran around my room, gathering up as many clothes as I could, and I shoved them all in a bag. I put a jacket on and made a mad dash for my bedroom window. I opened the window and threw my bag out of it.

I took one more look back at the door before I did what I didn’t want to do, but I knew I had to do. If I knew Joe the way I thought I did, the ‘thing’ he wanted to talk to me about probably had a sparkly accessory to accompany it. As much as I loved him, and I did love him, I definitely wasn’t ready for that. I had to get away. But I couldn’t do it like he did it. I couldn’t leave without telling him why I was doing it. I pulled a piece of paper and pen and scribbled down a note to him, promising him a more detailed explanation later. I put the note on my bed, kissed it, and then threw my legs out of the window. I grabbed hold of the vine that traveled up the side of the house and climbed down it.

‘Goodbye, Joe,’ I whispered. I grabbed my bag and ran into the night, not stopping until I had gone almost six blocks away from the Jonas house. I pulled out my phone and dialed the first number I thought of.

‘Hello,’ the voice on the other end of the line said.

‘Hey, I need somewhere to stay. Can you come pick me up?’

‘Where are you?’ he said.

‘Near the high school. I will just meet you there.’

‘Where do you want to go?’

‘Honestly, as far away from Wyckoff, New Jersey as I can get.’