Page 124 of Stay for Me
“There is an engine failure. We are going to make an emergency landing. I need you to get into a bracing position and try to stay calm.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I’m going to be in my jump seat right across from you. I need you to know how to get out of the plane if something happens to me. This is the door. You need to pull the lever up and then you’re going to push. If I’m incapacitated, I need you to unbuckle me and take me out of this aircraft with you if you’re able to.”
“We’re going to crash?”
“We’re going to make an emergency landing.”
Is there a fucking difference?
Jesus. I’m going to die.
I think about my brothers and how I didn’t talk to them before I left. I didn’t hug Hadley, BethAnne, Austin, or Deacon. I didn’t get to teach them all the things to do to their fathers to drive them crazy. I’ll never meet Sean and Devney’s baby.
Heartbreak takes over as a gorgeous woman with red hair and blue eyes fills my thoughts.
Brenna.
I’m going to die without Brenna knowing I still love her. She won’t hear me tell her that I forgive her. I won’t get to tell her about the life I want with her and the kids. I didn’t make things right with her, and now she’s going to have to go through this—again.
“Jacob?” the flight attendant calls out. “Do you remember what I said about the door?”
I nod because, if I open my mouth, I might throw up. We’re going down fast. I can hear the pilots going back and forth at one another.
“Stay calm and just follow my directions,” she instructs.
My heart is pounding, and I am trying to focus, but I can’t fucking breathe. “What’s your name?”
“Jessica.”
“Okay, Jessica, it’s great meeting you, and we’re about to go down in a plane crash together, so that means we’ll be lifelong friends if we survive.”
She tries to smile, but it looks mangled. “Get in your position, Jacob.”
I nod. “If I don’t make it, I need you to tell Brenna I loved her and I was thinking of her.”
“Don’t think that way.”
“My family. I need them all to know that I love them.”
“Focus, Jacob. Remember, getting off the aircraft is imperative.”
“Will you tell them?”
Jessica doesn’t say anything and then I see treetops. This is it. This is the end. I’m going to die on this plane and never see the people I love again. They’ll never know how much I care about them and the regrets I have.
I close my eyes, bringing the woman I love to the forefront.
I love you, Brenna.
“Jacob.” Jessica’s voice is strong and forceful.
“I’m ready.”
We are both bent forward, arms crossed over our chests, but her wide eyes are on me the whole time. “Brace! Brace! Brace!”
And the world goes black.
