"Hey, it's Kate. I can't take your call at the moment, but leave a message and I'll try-"
"Hey, you've reached Doug. Sorry I missed your call, but please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."
"Hi, you've reached Dr. Stuart Price with Divine Dentistry. Please leave a message after the-"
"Hey, this is Phil. Leave me a message, or don't. But do me a favor and don't text me, it's gay."
"Dammit," Tracy muttered under her breath as she pressed the end button, for what seemed like the 10th time in the last minute.
Tracy's mother, Judy, turned around after hearing her daughter's quiet curse. She had been scouting the window, looking for any signs of the four men and woman, with no luck. They were all suppose to be here hours ago, but there was no evidence of them being here, or even showing up.
"Anything?" Judy asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"I've tried them all, but it keeps going straight to voice mail," Tracy quietly said while glancing coldly at her phone. She ran a manicured hand through her straight hair and sighed, "How could this have happened? I purposely sent Kate with them so that we could avoid this, but still, it happens," she exasperated angrily.
"Listen, sweetheart, there has to be an explanation-"
"It's Vegas, sweetie," Sid, Tracy's father, cut in. Both Judy and Tracy looked at him coldly, but still he went on, "you lose track of time in those casinos. There's no windows, there's no clocks...he's probably on a heater. And you never walk away from a table when you're on a heater." Pointing a finger in the air, Sid then went back to his magazine and ignored both of the glares that two of his family members were giving him.
"You do if you're getting married, Sid," Judy said.
Before Sid could marvelously continue to explain Vegas, Tracy's phone burst into her classic ring-tone. She hastily grabbed at it, and preceded to flip it open without looking at the caller-id.
"Hello?" she desperately greeted.
"Tracy, it's Phil," a man said through the speaker.
"Phil, where the hell are you?" she quietly screamed at him. Tracy abruptly stood up from her chair and walked away from her family, clutching the phone to her ear, "I'm freaking out."
"Yeah, listen, Trace. We fucked up," he said, defeated.
"What the hell are you talking about, Phil?"
"The bachelor party, the whole night, it...things got out of control and...we lost Doug," Phil tried to explain to her.
"What?"
"We can't find Doug."
"What are you saying, Phil? We're getting married in five hours."
"Yeah. That's not going to happen." Phil said while Tracy turned back around to her parents and dropped her, making it smash into pieces.
(Kate's POV, two days earlier)
"Kate, come on, stop being a baby! It's for one night, just one! It's not going to kill you!"
"Yes, Trace, it is. You know it will."
Tracy ran her hands through her medium length, dark brown hair, and then locked her eyes on me, "Listen, Kate, I know that you and Phil have a past-"
"No, we don't," I growled back at her.
That wasn't completely true. Yes, Phil and I did have a past, but not a major one. We slept together, twice- once in college and the other two years ago- but those were two very stupid mistakes. Those two times I thought that we might have had something special there, but the moment he walked out on me those thoughts disappeared. He met his- then- finance a month after we last slept together, but the last I heard they had split; something about her cheating on him.
"Oh, bull," Tracy spat out. She scooted a little closer to me on the couch we were sitting on, "I see the way you two look at each other, and..."
"And what, Tracy?"
She sighed, "And Doug told me about you two a few years ago."
"Fuck," I muttered under my breath.
"At least I heard it from some one, Kate! How could you not tell me about this?"
"I didn't tell you because it wasn't a big deal! I finally won the law suit against Greg, we met up at a bar, we both were drunk out of our minds, and stuff happened! When I woke up, I knew what would happen, and so I left! It's exactly what he would have done!"
"How do you know that, Kate? What if-"
"Okay, you know what? We are not having this conversation now...or ever. I'm not going, that's final; end of whatever the hell-"
"Hey, Katie?" Alan poked his head through the door of the den, making our 'sisterly' talk come to an end. Both of us shut out mouths, plastered fake smiles on our faces, and turned to our older brother.
"Hey, Al," I called out to him, inviting him in the room, also.
He slowly walked into the den, wearing long khaki pants, tennis shoes, and wearing a white t-shirt that had a weatherman on it. Once he reached the side of the couch, he cleared his throat and said, "Doug wanted to let you know that we're leaving in twenty, so you might want to change into something," he looked down at my outfit, "more decent."
I looked up at his blue eyes, an innocent and understanding mask shielding my face, "Sure, bud. I'll be there soon, 'kay?"
"Gotcha," he said as he walked briskly through the door he previously entered.
Once Alan was clear of hearing distance, I let my wrath rein down on Tracy, "What the fuck did you do?!"
Tracy defensively placed her hands over her face and scooted away from me, only to be met by my hands forcing them down, making her look at me. She tried to explain confidently, but slight fear glazed her eyes, "Let me explain, Kate."
"I'm tired of explanations, Trace. I want the truth. Now."
"Okay, fine. I really just need you to go with the boys, to make sure that Alan, and the others, don't get into major trouble. I can't have anyone killed two days before our wedding! Plus, you need a break, Katie. You've been working non-stop for the past two years after you got your life back, and I can see in your eyes that you're exhausted. Go to Vegas; have some fun, get drunk, meet a couple of guys. You'll have fun Kate, I promise."
I let go of her hands and let her run them up and down my arms. Sighing, I looked up at her with tired green eyes, "You know that the only reason I can't say no is because Alan already thinks I'm going."
"Yeah...that too."
"Well then," I said while getting up from the couch, "let me go and pack. Thanks to you I only have," I turned at looked at the clock, "seventeen minutes to do it."
Tracy smiled mischievously at me and said, "Way ahead of you, sis'. You're bag's next to the door in the kitchen."
"Thank God...everything's in there right?" I asked while moving closer to the door.
"Yep," she answered back, "Hey, look at me," I turned to face her smiling face again, "This will all work out in the end, I promise. With you there, I'm sure that everything will turn out perfect."
"Times like these I almost love you."
"Ha, you're hilarious. Now, get your hot ass out of here and out to Vegas, baby!"
"See you tomorrow, Trace."
As I opened the door to get into the kitchen, I heard Tracy call to me, "Oh, and Kate?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"Condoms are in the front pocket," she winked at me.
I flipped her off as I walked out of the door, "Fuck you, Trace."