Chapter Thirty
Val
"I can't do this." My sister was pacing the floor as I walked into her bedroom.
The rest of the guests were waiting on the back patio where my dad had rented large heaters that were affixed to the underside of the roof. It would be an outdoor wedding in the middle of the winter because my sister wanted it.
"What?" I closed the door behind me and turned to face her. The last thing she'd said the night before as she drifted off to sleep was that she did care about Bart and wanted to see if they could make things work. Now, she was freaking out.
"I can't do this." She turned toward me and stopped. "I'm not going through with it. Sneak me out of here. Now."
"Allison. Let me just go down there and tell Dad that you're not coming. I'll figure out what to say, but-"
"No!" She moved toward me, and I almost flinched. Her eyes were wide with something like terror and I felt a chill run through me. My poor sister was cracking.
"Okay. Tell me what you want and I'll do it. I'll do whatever you need me to do. I'm here for you." I reached out and gripped her arms tightly.
"Go downstairs and tell Bart that I'm sorry, but I can't do this. Then sneak out the back and get me the fuck out of here." She reached up and pressed her hands to her mouth. "No, I can't run. Then what?"
"Allison." I gripped her tighter. "Are you running because you don't love Bart or because you're just freaking out?"
"Neither. Both. Fuck, I don't know." She pulled out of my hold and started to pace the floor again. "I'm not ready for this."
"Then we put it off while you figure out what you want. Marriage is a big deal." I jerked back as she spun around and pinned me with a stare that our mother would be proud of.
"I fucking know that." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I like Bart, a lot. I'm not sure about love, but how do you know if you really love someone, anyways?"
"Sis, listen to me. If you have any doubts about this, then let's not do it." I walked across the room to her again and pulled her into a tight hug. "How about we fake you being sick? Like you have the torrential shits or something?"
She laughed loudly and nodded. "Yeah. Maybe that's the answer. If we could just put it off for another hour or so..."
"Alright. Stay here." I turned on my heel and walked to the door, pausing before I walked out. "You're going to have to fake being sick. Mom's going to come up here. You know that."
"Right." She moved to her bed and dropped down. "Just forget it. I'm a horrible liar. We'll just do it. I'll get a divorce in a few months if this doesn't work out."
"Allison." I opened the door and shook my head. "Just fake-"
"No. Just get things ready so I can get this over with." She glanced down at her hands which were shaking horribly. "Just promise me that you'll never marry because they want you to. Promise me."
"I'd never, and you don't have to, either." I hovered in the doorway as my heart broke for her.
"Yeah, I do." She glanced up at me, her composure almost back in place. "It's okay. I have a way out. This isn't a ball and chain. I'll see what happens. If I still feel this way in a few months, then I'll just file for divorce."
"Promise?" I hated the way the conversation was going, but she wasn't going to relent now that her determination was set in stone. She was too much like our father for that.
"Yes. I love you. Thank you for being the sane one among us." She smiled sadly. "You look beautiful in that dress."
"You do, too. If you change your mind, I'll have Tate drive his bike up in the middle of the ceremony and steal you away. Sound good?" I wagged my eyebrows at her.
"Please. Do it." She laughed and shook her head. "Get out of here before I change my mind yet again. I'm good."
I turned and closed the door behind me, passing my mother on the stairs. She acted as if she didn't even see me, but I was used to it. She was the master of ignoring people when she was upset.
I walked down the stairs as my eyes found Tate. He looked incredible in his black suit and dark gray shirt. He was every bit the man I wanted in my life, for the rest of it.
He glanced up and a smile pulled at his lips as his eyes met mine. He licked his lips subtly and moved through the crowd to wait at the bottom of the stairs for me.
"Everything okay?" He extended his hand and I took it.
"Not really, but my sister seems to be trapped at this point." I moved into his arms and breathed in deeply. "Let's just hope this thing goes off without too much of a ruckus."
"Oh, yeah? Someone causing more fireworks?" he chuckled.
"No, just my parents forcing her to marry someone she's not really in love with." I shuddered. "I can't imagine that."
"I wouldn't do it." He glanced around as the wedding coordinator walked up a few stairs and announced that it was time for everyone to find their places. People started to move toward the patio, and Tate released me. "I'll see you after it's all said and done. Everything is going to be okay."
"I hope so." I smiled at him and turned to see Kade walking toward me.
"Tate," Kade called out as he moved up in front of me. "Hey, man. I wanted to tell you what a great girl you have here. She's classy, beautiful, and everything a man with a good heart could want. You're a lucky bastard."
Tate chuckled. "I figure you've been trying hard to take her from me. Am I wrong?"
"Nope, but after last night, I figured that it was time to stop being a dick and own up to the fact that she's completely lost to anyone but you."
I smiled. "This is true."
Tate chuckled again and reached out to take my hand. "She's my girl, for sure. Don't get any ideas, Mr. All-Star Football."
"Shit, you're the one that's been invited to the Olympic tryouts. Who gets to do that?" Kade extended his hand to Tate. "Forgive me. I'm too much like my father, though I fight against it day after day."
"Nothing to forgive, but stay away from my girl." Tate shook his hand and turned to me. "See you soon, baby."
"Okay." I watched him go before turning to Kade. "You know...there's a really pretty girl in a black dress walking around here who thinks you're pretty special."
He rolled his eyes. "You're not giving up, are you?"
"Nope. Go find her and tell her she's welcome for me." I pushed at his shoulder as he turned and walked off. Things felt right for the first time in a long time, even though my heart ached in my chest. My sister shouldn't have been marrying someone she wasn't completely head over heels for, but I wasn't surprised that she was. She'd always been compliant with my parents, no matter what.
"You know that I'm quite disappointed in your choice to invite that slug to your sister's wedding." My father moved up to stand in front of me as I waited patiently for the wedding coordinator to come get me. I was the maid of honor and would be walking down the aisle first.
"Not any more disappointed than I am that you would stoop so low as to threaten his mother." I kept my stance relaxed, but made sure to hold his eye contact.
"I did no such thing. He's full of lies." My father's eyes narrowed slightly. "If you think I'm going to allow you to be disobedient and still pay for your schooling, you're dead wrong."
"Take it away, Dad. I don't want your money. I'll get loans like every other kid on campus and when Channel Two News calls and asks for another interview on the Scott family and their giving heart, I'll be sure to be honest this time. I have no problem explaining to them that as long as people do exactly what you want them to, you're willing to help. Otherwise, you turn into a monster." I couldn't believe I was talking to him like that, but I was done. I would pay for my own schooling.
"You better watch your mouth, young lady." He moved toward me, but I ignored him.
The wedding coordinator stepped up beside him, oblivious to our heated discussion. "You're up, Valentine. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be." I smiled and moved past my father. "This is the last time I plan on being in this house."
She glanced down at me as we walked toward the patio. "What? Why is that?"
"Oh you didn't know? My parents are monsters. They just have great make-up artists." I smirked and moved up to the open door at the back of the ceremony. She chuckled and patted my back.
"Everyone turns into a three-headed monster on wedding days. It's natural." She nodded and gave me a knowing look. "Start walking. You look magnificent."
"Thanks," I mumbled and stepped out onto the porch. I was a bundle of nerves as I walked down the aisle until I spotted Tate sitting among our friends to my left. As long as I kept my eyes on him I was fine. His face was expressionless, but I could tell he was keeping it that way just for me. He knew how nervous I was, and that I would feed off of his emotions if he gave me anything to work with.
I made my way to the front and turned, keeping my eyes locked on him. The smile that finally began to play on his mouth caused me to smile, too. I could easily see us moving in together, finding some little run down house like his mother’s, and working together to make ends meet. There were tons of scholarships that I could apply for. I'd start looking the minute the wedding was over and things settled down for us.
The music changed, and everyone stood as my sister moved into the back of the room with her arm wrapped around my father's. She looked incredible, and I couldn't tell that she was nervous or worried, at all. The girl who was freaking out upstairs only moments before was now completely tucked away.
My eyes shifted to my father, who looked like the perfect gentleman, the loving father. Sickness rolled through me, and I couldn't help but wonder how many other people in the room were hiding their true selves behind their fake smiles and nice clothes.
The ceremony was over within a matter of minutes. My sister turned and pulled me into a hug before walking down the aisle with Bart. I moved down behind them and tried to keep my emotions in check. I knew she was walking into a loveless marriage, but she'd yet to figure out how to break her willingness to comply with my parents’ wants. Fear held her captive, but she would find someone like Tate one day and realize that freedom meant far more than security.
Someone wrapped me in a hug from behind and I looked back to see Tate grinning from ear-to-ear. "You were great. I'm ready to find a broom closet and show you how much I like this dress on you."
"Not yet, lover boy." Amy moved up beside me and tugged me out of his hold. "I hear they have a DJ, wine, and lots of desserts. We have a party that needs to be properly attended, and then you two can go off and do whatever you biker-types like to do."
"You'd like to know what that is..." Lucinda walked past us with her hand in Sam's.
"So would you," I called after her and turned to find Tate watching me intently. "What?"
"You. That's what." The music started and he reached for my hand, spinning me around a few times before trapping me against his chest. "I thought this was going to be a disaster, but it wasn't. We did it. Together."
"It's not over yet." I laughed at the look on his face and moved us to the center of the room to get lost in the sea of bodies. "I'm glad you're here. I couldn't have done it without you."
"Sure you could have." He brushed his nose by mine, slow dancing with me even though the music was moving at a much faster tempo.
"I don't know. What if I don't want to do anything without you?" I lifted up and brushed my lips by his.
"You don't have to." He nipped at my lips. "How long do we have to stay here before it's appropriate to leave?"
"Another hour or so." I smiled devilishly. "We should keep up appearances and go now. I am the black-sheep of the family."
"And, I'm your biker-boy, right? Is that the name you guys keep using?" He lifted his eyebrow as I laughed loudly.
"You're no boy at all." I pressed myself to the front of him. "You're my man."
"Good. Your biker man is ready to go."