“Yeah. As a matter of fact there is,” I said as I rose to my feet and walked up to him. “Well, that’s not exactly true. I’m the one who has come here to help you with something.”
He looked at me oddly and asked, “Do I know you?”
I blew out my breath and said very quietly almost whispering, “Yes. Or rather you did.”
“I’m sorry then. You have me at a disadvantage. Your name is?”
I cleared my throat. “It’s Caroline. Caroline Cole.”
“Forgive me. I don’t remember meeting you.” But he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, as if he were trying to remember me.
“You once knew me as someone else.” I dropped my head and whispered, almost as quiet as the breeze, “You once knew me as Terri.” Then I lifted my eyes to his.
The iPod slipped out of his fingers and crashed to the brick driveway. He stared at me. Then his eyes darkened with anger and he asked in a voice laced with steel, “How dare you come on to my property and say such things? I don’t know who you are or what your game is, but get the hell out of here.”
I was prepared for this. I pulled the necklace from beneath my tank top out and slipped it over my head.
Tears were raining down my cheeks when I spoke the words, “There are so many things I need to say to you and I know what you’re thinking, but please hear me out.” My voice was soft so he had to strain to hear. I let the necklace dangle from my hand. He saw the engagement ring and the stone from the necklace he’d given me for Christmas.
“Where did you get those?” he asked, his eyes widened in shock.
“You gave me this ring at sunrise on Valentine’s Day at Amanyara when you asked me to marry you. You told me that I put the beat into your heart and the spirit into your soul. You gave me the necklace for Christmas right over there,” I said as I pointed to the upper piazza. I had to pause for a moment because I was nearing my breaking point. I bit down on my lower lip, but I dared not look at him for I knew I would certainly lose it. Then I continued in a soft whisper, “I didn’t die but they had to make it look like I did. My brother was an undercover agent and was working inside that huge drug cartel that was busted up a few months back. They told him he had to kill me and my mom. They faked our deaths but you couldn’t know about it because they would’ve killed you too.” I lifted the hem of my shirt to wipe my face. I was stupid and forgot about bringing any Kleenex.
I took a deep breath and blew it out. “I came here to tell you the truth. They didn’t want me to, but I felt since the cartel was busted, the worst was over. I can’t stay. Terri is dead. No one can ever know I was here. My life in Charleston is truly over. I’m a girl without a home. But Justin, you were so wrong about me,” my voice caught and I had to stop again. I wiped my eyes again with the heel of my hand. “I wasn’t strong at all. I was weak...so very weak. I broke...shattered really...into tiny fragments when they told me what I had to do and how you couldn’t know the truth.” I paused again, trying to collect myself. I needed to pull it together here. The pain in my heart was nearly overwhelming so I put my hand on my chest and clenched the top of my tank top, as if that would somehow ease it. I took I another deep, cleansing breath and continued. “I ended up in a mental hospital. This whole thing nearly destroyed me. You will...” I had to stop to breathe. The tears were rushing down my face now, dripping off my chin onto my shirt. My head was bent because it wasn’t possible for me to look at his beautiful face right now. “I love you...I will always love you and you will always be in my heart. I came here today to bring you these. I wanted you to have them because that girl, Terri, doesn’t exist anymore.” I took his hand and put the necklace with the ring and pendant in it and then I folded his fingers around it. “I’m so very sorry. For all the pain I’ve caused and for ruining your life.”
I started to make my way toward the sidewalk when his voice stopped me.
“Why do you look so different? What happened to your scars?”
I walked back to him and whispered, “Would you mind if we stepped inside?” I wiped my face again with the hem of my shirt.
He just stared at me.
“Please? I’m still not sure if it’s totally safe talking about this out here in the open.” He didn’t say anything. “Maybe in your car then?” I pinched my lower lip between my index finger and my thumb. And then I looked around, just to make certain no one was around us.
He just kept staring. Well, he wasn’t going to make this easy.