Lucid

NINE

"Hey babe" he slowly kissed her shoulder and gently rubbed her arm, hoping she would wake, it was 3:45am he knew she wasn't going to like being up this early "You up babe?"
Violet slowly turned her body toward him her eyes were still closed she was still very sleepy.
"Aw babe let me sleep just ten more minutes" she groaned but she was smiling a litte though " why are you waking me?" She fake fretted. She knew what day it was and it was the one time she didn't mind waking at 3:45am, Jonas wrapped his muscular arm around her pulling her closer to him and whispered in her ear he sang "going to the chapel and we're..."
"Gonna get ma-a-a-ried" she sang back smiling and kissing his chest, Violet suddenly sprang up and off the bed surprising Jonas he couldn't help but laugh "honestly if this is what it took for you to be a morning person I would've proposed years ago!"
"I have to call Sam, she's going to be late for sure oh my god" she grabbed her phone and dialed her bestie's number, there's no way she was going to make them miss their flight"
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door, breaking the stillness of the early morning it was the strangest thing. Who could that be? They looked over at each other both confused.
"Don't worry about it babe let me get it"
Jonas looked very confused but he put on his robe and went downstairs. A few moments later,
"BAABE!" He called, 
"Ugh Sam I've go to call you back, get uppppp please hun" she hung up the phone and threw on her clothes scrappily and rushed downstairs
"Babe is it the Uber alrea-" she trailed off and stopped midway as she looked at the somewhat familiar man standing in her doorway, familiar but still somehow she couldn't place his face.
"Hi" she said weirdly squinting her eyes.
"My love How come you didn't tell me your cousin was coming this morning to meet us? Now we don't even need the Uber! What a nice surprise and look He's airport ready, that's just fantastic we should be ready in a jiffy" Jonas quipped "anyways I still have to throw a few stuff into my suitcase so I'd leave you two to it" he touched their guest on his shoulder and hurried back upstairs. Kissing her on the cheek as he passed her descending.
Violet slowly walked down the staircase as if each step she was trying to make sense of the gentleman standing in their hallway, her eyes intently on him she stopped on the second to last stair.
"Violet" his voice was soft and calm  "this is going to sound very strange and bold but I need you to trust me please" his eyes were fixed on hers "You have to come with me, er- I'm sorry, let me give a little more context, you're not safe here, and when we are away from here I would explain everything but for now you must know that Jonas isn't who you think he is. You're in danger and If you want to save your life you need to come with me right now" he was absolutely serious
Her face went from kind of confused to utterly confused and upset,
"What the-wait what??? how do you know my name and my fiancés name? and who the hell are you??? Come with you??? I don't even know who you are!" Her voice grew in volume and frustration, why did she know, but not know this stranger? "listen buddy you can't just show up on my doorstep and tell me that I don't know the man I'm about to marry, I should call the cops, did you escape from a mental institution like what the hell man you'd better Explain yourself right now!!" She said angrily but she lowered her voice because their was something very familiar about the stranger she couldn't explain the paradoxical feeling "Like hell I'm going anywhere with you!"
He deliberately stepped backward into the porch hoping to lure her outside of the house "Please Violet, come with me right now and I'd explain everything, I promise, I know you're scared and this is indeed very strange especially for the morning of your wedding" her head shot up as he said this and she looked at him piercingly "but you need to trust me, and it's crucial that we go now, I promise you I would explain once we're on the road, I know you think you don't know me but you're feeling like you do and there's a reason for that it's beca-"
"BABE HAVE YOU SEEN MY RED TIE??!" Jonas called from upstairs. With her eyes fixed on the stranger she replied " YEA BABE ITS IN THE SECOND CLOSET, Coming in a sec!" She trailed off, stepped outside into the porch and closed the door behind her.
The stranger continued "listen to me very carefully okay? tell Jonas you'd meet him at the airport, tell him it's a small emergency and you're going to help me."
She thought for a moment, he did seem familiar, very familiar but she knew he wasn't family no he was something else why could she not remember? "Does this have to be right now? Can I think it over at least??"
"Violet this is literally life or death we don't have time"
She felt compelled to go because he was so convincing and sincere but She hesitated "First of all what if you're a psycho or- or a stalker maybe like a cyber stalker or something i can't Leave with you!" but she realized within her gut that she was not feeling uneasy or threatened because in fact she did know him but she just could not remember, still she continued "I don't know who you are!"
" Vi" he looked directly into her eyes, pleading for her memory to kick in. "Violet" he held out his hand, instinctively she grabbed it and then she felt it, familiarity. Holding his hand felt absolutely natural, like home. Then she randomly hugged him, she did know this man, but why and how? she felt safe in his arms though, he definitely was not a stranger, everything felt too familiar, she looked up at him with confusion in her eyes, "oh my god who are you and why can't I remember" still she didn't let go of him, he pulled her back and said
"Violet you know me and you know that you do I am going to explain everything to you once we get in the car but we have to go now"
"Okay... but, but am I going to miss my flight? Am I going to miss my wed-" he put his finger up to his mouth,
" I promise you everything will be okay, I promise" . Violet trusted him but she did not know why she hurriedly opened the door and grabbed her coat, nodded at him "okay let's go"
They rushed out into the dark morning and got into his car, he sped off, and she sat silently in shock. What was happening she thought. Still undecided if this was some sort of joke or prank. After some time in deep thought she suddenly remembered Jonas, she didn't call him! She pulled out her phone and dialed her fiancé he would surely be confused, as was she but she had to sell it that everything was going to be okay.
"Babe hello it's me-"
"Why are you calling me from downstairs my love?" Jonas asked
" That's just the thing babe, I'm not. I'm going with uh-my cousin, their is a tiny um family emergency and he needs my help..so I'd me—"
"Well if it's an emergency let me come meet you,  Id make the call to reschedule the flight for lunchtime instead."
Ten gestured 'No' with his hand.
"Er-Um babe listen it's not going to be very long I'm going to meet you at the airport, don't worry I'm going to meet you there.—"
"Okay babe see you there" he cut her off and hung up the phone, she looked at the phone puzzled
"That was strange" she saids slowly and confused still looking at her phone like what just happened, Jonas would never accept that, he would never take that so calmly. Like never ever.
"But see it isn't strange" Ten replied
"What?" She looked at Ten even more confused
"You said that was strange but really it isn't, that's why I'm here to tell you why none of this is really strange" he was trying to focus both on the road and on her. As if suddenly she came to her senses she started to panic, she said "Stop the car, STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW, I'm serious stop the car!!!"
Ten quickly pulled off to the side of the road, it was completely black outside and the forest trees shrouded them on both sides of the road. Violet hopped out the car and slammed the door and starting pacing ahead, Ten right behind her. She took a quick few shallow breaths,  "I swear to you I'm going to walk back to my house and go get on a plane with my alleged " dangerous" fiancé and marry him on the most beautiful beach on the planet in the Bahamas because nothing about this" she gestured back and forth between them "is making sense but - but I know that does," she pointed in the direction of her house "I've been planning our wedding for two years and he says to me 'okay' and HE hangs up on ME ??? Like what the hell dude??? I could've been kidnapped, Jonas would never- like what?? How??? ohhh now I am very suspicious oh no I'm calling him back right now!" She was utterly irate at this point, ten realized she was spiraling and with good reason too, it was all confusing, she went on "and you If you don't tell me what in the LIVING HELL is going on right now!!" She could not have been but ten minutes from her dream house and dream guy but he did not want to risk her walking back, now that he had found her he could not lose her. She had to stay with him.
"Vi wait listen..."
"AND HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!!" Her voice was shrill with anger. Ten needed to try and fast.
"Vi, listen to me just listen, my name is Ten and I-"
"Ten? TEN?? You name is TEN??like the number ??!" She pulled her coat tighter as she was now feeling the coldness of the whole situation "What kind of parents name their kid a freaking number, who the hell are you and how do you know me??!"
"Vi listen-"
"Stop calling me Vi" she said through clenched teeth "that's it I'm walking" she turned and started walking away muttering under her breath, feeling all the chills as she walked
"WOULD YOU LET ME EXPLAIN??" He ran behind her "Stop, Stop! Violet just stop! Please!" She slowly turned and looked at the man she knew but not how she knew. She looked at him in confused angry silence. He sighed, he knew he had just a few moments to connect to make some sort of sense to her, he knew that if she walked back toward her house there'd be no house, no fiancé, maybe not even a road, no, had to keep her with him he had to convince her.
"If I ask you one question and the answer is yes can we at least get back in the car?"
"Seriously a riddle?? You seriously think I'm going yo play your game??? I-"
"VIOLET!" He said sternly "Listen to me! I promise you this is for your own good" her eyes softened slowly back to confusion only.
"do you know me? Do you recognize me? Do I seem familiar at all??" He knew she would never say no, he had been to this dream several times he knew she knew him. Violet squinted  but then she sighed and shaking her head she just walked back to the car and got in, he was so relieved. As he closed the door she said "at the very least you could tell me where we're going" he started driving but he did not answer her for in fact there was no answer all he needed was to get back to dream ten to get in his lab and find a way to bring her back to reality.
"I promise you were going somewhere safe, right now I just want to get us off the road perhaps find an inn or a hotel and over coffee I will explain everything to you I promise" 
She said nothing, he glimpsed over at her she looked a bit depleted he took one hand off the wheel and held her hand she didn't pull away, he could see the tears glistening on her by the light of the moon, to her.
He felt very familiar, his touch did not startle her it was exactly what she needed and she thought more of it; his voice, his gaze, everything felt normal, Violet was confused and tired, she even felt a bit sleepy now. Why was she suddenly feeling safer with than with Jonas?
" Ten?" She said softly " is he really dangerous?"
He had to maintain the facade "Yes, I'm so sorry Vi" he replied, he had to think of something and quick he hadn't tried the 'dangerous' tactic before, he continued slowly "Jonas works for an international spy syndicate, the only way he could get information on the government was to get close to Samantha, because -"
"Because of her job and her clearance level" she chimed as if any of this made any sense to her
"Yes," he was trying to maintain a sympathetic tone "he couldn't go directly with Samantha because she's married but all he needed was access to her, so the next best thing was to make you to fall in love with him and you would connect that dot for him..." he was quite literally making this up as he went along "once he befriended her, he stole her access codes and began collecting very dangerous and compromising information about the government, he succeeded he was going to be extracted from the mission, in the Bahamas hence the we-"
"The wedding" she said shocked but softly "oh my god that was all this was?" She gave into her emotions and her tiredness and started to sob. Well that was enough of that he thought, the explanation had worked and—
"Wait" she stopped crying "how do you—-" she was watching him with squinted eyes "oh god are you a spy too? Am I kidnapped?? Are you going to kill me??"
"What? No nooo, no, Vi, I'm your friend that's all , and I never trusted Jonas so yes I did some underhand things to find out what I did but I'm not a spy, I just needed to get you out of that situation I didn't know what he was going to do with you when you got on that island but I had to step in and rescue you, I couldn't let him"
"But if you're my friend how come I don't remember?" She asked
"I promise you as soon as I find an inn or a hotel on the way I'd explain why"
He saw her relax back into the seat but her mind was deep in thought he needed her to focus and get them off the road, he would be driving aimlessly if she didn't,
"You look like you need some rest, there should be a hotel near here I think" he strongly suggested
A few minutes later, there it was ; a very beautiful looking hotel up the way. 'Thank goodness' He thought. He pulled in the entrance driveway got out an opened her door,
" let's see if they have good coffee here" she got out the car feeling dazed her head spinning a bit.
"maybe I could go back to sleep for a bit and get my head together I mean this is a lot for one morning." She said sadly
"Yea that would be best for you to get a bit of rest, maybe they have rooms available" he tossed the keys to the valet as they walked inside.
"Maybe sleep first then coffee?" She suggested
"I'd get the rooms" he showed her the large sofa in the lobby.
Violet was just tired now she just wanted some sleep.