Hey Everyone! I haven't posted anything on here in ages so you may not remember me! Anyway, I haven't really had much chance to wrote anything recently because college has been very demanding :P But I'm on christmas break now and I got this story in my head today and couldn't resist writing it so I thought I might as well post it! Hope you like it and as always feedback is most welcome ;)
Happy Christmas Everyone :) Xx
Sophie walked into the church, conscious of the fact that she was running late for the wedding. She swept her perfectly curled hair back from her face as she reached the big double doors. Giving herself one last look over and smoothing a wrinkle in her dress, before she pushed through the heavy wooden doors.
Her breath caught slightly in her chest as everyone turned to look at her. She had never been one for big crowds. Inhaling deeply, she began walking down the aisle, pretending nobody was looking at her. She trained her eye on the blond head near the top of the church, focusing on her destination.
"Sorry" she whispered pre-emptively as she slipped into the seat beside her mother. "You're late" her mother said almost simultaneous to her apology. They both turned to face the alter, waiting for the wedding to begin. Sally fidgeted with the large turquoise fascinator she had perched on top of her blond bob.
"Still got here before the bride kiddo" Kevin whispered to his daughter, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Sophie flashed him a smile as the music swelled from somewhere in the church, signalling both the arrival of the bride and the beginning of the ceremony.
Everyone stood and turned to watch the bride's entrance. There was a collective gasp as Tina started up the aisle, the music swelling and building the atmosphere. While everyone looked at Tina, Sophie glanced towards the alter, smiling sadly at the look of pure love on Tommy Duckworth's face as he saw his bride for the first time. Sophie bowed her head in contemplation, unable to keep herself from remembering the feeling she knew Tommy must have been feeling in that moment. It was something Sophie would never forget.
It had been nearly three years since Sophie's own wedding. Only, hers hadn't had the happy ending she knew Tommy and Tina would have today. Not a day had gone by that Sophie hadn't thought about that day, and wished she could change what had happened. She still dreamt about Sian sometimes. A few times, particularly around each anniversary of their wedding day, Sophie had woken from her dreams in tears. The dreams were so vivid that they brought back all the pain of losing Sian as if it had happened all over again. She often found herself thinking she'd seen Sian on the street, or heard her laugh and turned only to be disappointed. It was never really Sian. Sometimes Sophie found herself looking out the window of the bus she took to college, almost hoping she might catch a glimpse of Sian on the street. It never happened though.
Sighing, and trying to shake the thoughts from her head, Sophie looked up to watch as Tina passed by their seat. She looked beautiful. Sophie allowed a small smile to grace her features as they took their seats for the ceremony to begin.
As the ceremony progressed, Sophie felt like there was someone watching her. It was a feeling she tried to ignore but she couldn't shake it. Finally, towards the end of the ceremony, she glanced around.
There was somebody staring at her.
The sight of her nearly made Sophie's heart stop. She felt like she couldn't breathe.
It was Sian.
Sophie closed her eyes, opening them again slowly to make sure she was really seeing this. She didn't know what to do or how to react. She gave a timid smile and moved her hand slightly as though she was going to wave but thought better of it.
Her mouth had gone dry and her palms were becoming clammy. Sian returned the small smile and Sophie felt like her heart had stopped all over again. She didn't know how long they stared at each other but the next thing she knew, the people around her were standing and clapping and Mr and Mrs Duckworth were making their way down the aisle.
Sophie, turned back trying to find Sian in the crowd once more but she was gone. She could feel tears welling in her eyes, but she refused to let herself cry. She did wonder if she was going mad. Had she imagined seeing Sian there because she'd been thinking about their wedding day? She followed her parents absently from the church and into the car to head to the reception. The idea that she had seen Sian for the first time in three years had thrown her for a loop.
Sophie was sitting at a table, watching all the couples on the dance floor. As 'Everything has changed' by Taylor Swift Ft. Ed Sheeran began to play, Sophie necked the last of her drink, slamming the glass forcefully onto the table. "Fuck this" she muttered to herself as the song reached its chorus where the lyrics say 'Your eyes look like coming home'.
She hadn't been able to think straight since she'd thought she'd seen Sian in the church. She hadn't seen the blond since and had begun to think she really had lost it after all. Sophie made her way out into the garden at the back of the hotel. There was a gravel path with steps occasionally lowering it into the lower tiers of the extravagant garden. Fairy lights decorated the big trees that surrounded the garden. Sophie made her way to the end of the garden, ignoring the occasional couples hidden under the trees whispering sweet nothings to each other.
She found herself in a gazebo at the end of the garden. It was lit by fairy lights and had ivy growing up the white support posts. Sighing, she lowered herself into the swing bench to the left of the gazebo. A sad smile crossed her lips as she remembered laughing with Sian about the word 'gazebo' when they were planning their wedding. A tear welled in Sophie's eye as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her purse. She allowed the tears to fall this time as she lit the cigarette. She wasn't even able to smoke it; she just needed something to do with her hands. She sniffed back the tears and wiped her eyes, taking her first drag of the cigarette. "Get a grip" she scolded herself.
"Since when do you smoke?" a voice asked from the gazebo entrance. Sophie gasped in shock, dropping the cigarette as her head shot up to face the other girl.
"I-I don't" she whispered.
"Clearly" Sian answered, nodding towards the cigarette on the ground at Sophie's feet.
"What are you doing here?" Sophie asked, in spite of herself. She still wasn't sure if this was really happening or if she'd actually gone insane.
"I was invited" Sian shot back.
For what felt like an eternity they just started at each other. Both unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. Both afraid the other would disappear if they broke the silence. Sophie stood up from her seat, moving slowly as if she was approaching a deer. Afraid Sian would bolt if she moved too quickly.
She could feel the tears welling in her eyes once more. Sian looked as beautiful as ever, possibly even more so than Sophie remembered her.
"Sian, I…" Sophie began, unsure of what she was about to say. There were a million things she had imagined saying if she ever saw Sian again but none of them would come to her now. She knew she was still hopelessly in love with Sian and that she probably always would be.
"I know" Sian replied breathlessly. She took two steps forward, closing the distance between them. Their faces were centimetres apart and Sophie felt like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't take this anymore. She lowered her head, closing her eyes as the tears spilled from them.
Sian's hands found her waist.
Sophie froze. She slowly opened her eyes and raised her head. Her hands instinctively moved towards Sian's shoulders. She didn't dare close the distance between them.
After what felt like hours, Sian moved in and pressed her lips tenderly against Sophie's. She pulled back to gauge the brunettes reaction before they both threw themselves into a passionate kiss. Sophie tangled her hands in Sian's hair and tears fell silently down her cheeks as she lost herself in the strange but oh-so-familiar kiss. She was feeling way too many different things to even begin to figure out what was going on so she just let it happen.
Sian wrapped her arms tighter around Sophie's waist, pulling her closer. Sian was the first to pull out of the kiss. For a moment they just looked at each other. "I can't stand it" Sian whispered.
She didn't need to explain. Sophie knew exactly what she meant. She felt the same way. They couldn't stand not being with each other. After three years apart, they still couldn't go a day without thinking about each other. Sophie had spent every day for the past three years, resisting the urge to call or email Sian. Desperately wishing to have the blond back in her life. She knew now that whatever Sian had felt the day she left, whatever pain Sophie had caused her….. They were still them. Hopelessly, desperately, endlessly in love with each other.
Sophie gave Sian a small peck on the lips as she started crying all over again. "I missed you too much" She whispered through her tears.
"Do you want to get out of here?" Sian asked, a timid smile gracing her beautiful features as tears rolled down her cheeks aswell. "Go somewhere…somewhere we can talk" she added, breaking their embrace but holding out a hand for Sophie to take.
Sophie simply nodded, taking Sian's hand and allowing herself to be led away from the gazebo.
Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts :)