Hi all - happy Wednesday! Sorry about the delayed posting - I live in Florida... so, yeah... Hurricane Irma and all that. Fortunately, my neighborhood in Miami only had some blown down trees. Unfortunately, that means the power and cable/internet is out. Yup - I'm living in literal hell right now. Luckily, I am able to use my cell as a personal hotspot so that I can post this chapter! Enjoy (:

twelve

The Fiancée

At nearly two thirty a.m., I'm awoken by the incessant buzzing of my phone.

"Hello?" I answer groggily, struggling to sit up in bed.

"Babe," Edward slurs through the receiver. He's drunk. "Did I wake you?"

"No, no. 's okay," I mumble, wiping the drool residue from my chin. "What's up?"

"You never texted me back," Edward whines. "I was worried."

"Sorry," I mumble. "Got caught up in a good book and then I took a nap."

"Oh," Edward mutters, pausing to yawn. "Okay, good. I'm glad you're okay."

"How was your night?" I ask, rubbing at my bleary eyes.

"Fun," Edward laughs. "Riley lost $300 already. He's a shit gambler."

"Clearly," I laugh, imagining Riley's grumpy face posted up by the slot machines. "That must have been a hoot."

"You've no idea," Edward laughs. "We're all off to bed now."

"Mmm," I hum, snuggling back into the blankets. "I'll let you go to sleep, then."

"Okay," Edward sighs. "Night, baby. Love you."

Eyes wide open, I gnaw on my lip before answering. "You too."

-Hallway-

"Will you or will you not go out with me?" I ask, sighing in exasperation.

"I just don't get why you'd want to go out. You never want to go out!" Veronica cries. I can just picture her face screwed up in confusion.

"C'mon, Ronnie. Edward's out of town – in Vegas, no less – I think I ought to have some fun as well." I'm met with silence on the other end before Veronica lets out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, sis. I'll go out with you." Squealing with excitement, I quickly hang up with her to plan my outfit.

Tonight, I'll be back. But as a different person.

-Hallway-

"You can't be serious." Veronica states the moment I open the door for her.

"I assure you, I am." I tell her, adjusting the neckline of my dress.

"If Edward saw you dressed like that…" she says, whistling lowly.

"He'd what? Tell me to change?" I laugh, leaning closer to the mirror as I apply lipstick.

"No," she laughs. "He'd cream his fucking pants."

"How are we related?" I laugh, wrinkling my nose at her crudeness. "You've got the mouth of a sailor."

"And the pussy of a virgin." Veronica adds, winking. "I'm the perfect woman."

"Oh really?" I laugh. "Then remind me why – again – you're single."

"Eat my ass." Veronica grumbles, flipping me the bird before stomping off into the living room.

"How old are you, again?" I call after her, fluffing my hair.

"Old enough to drink all of your liquor if you don't hurry the fuck up!" She calls back, heels clicking as she makes her way to the kitchen. "Shit," she mutters suddenly. "The fuck happened in here?"

Swallowing, I adjust the neckline of my tight, bandage dress before joining my foul-mouthed sister in the hallway. "Oh, just redecorating." I tell her, eyes briefly taking in the mess that is Edward's office.

Scowl firmly in place, Veronica nods solemnly. "Right. Redecorating."

-Hallway-

"Jesus, this place gives me the creeps." Veronica mutters, following me into the same bar from last night.

"It's cool, right?" I say, leading her to the bar. "I found it on Yelp the other day. They have really good reviews."

"You would find a bar on Yelp." Veronica mutters grumpily while sliding onto the barstool next to mine. "I need more alcohol for this."

"Are you ever happy?" I ask her jokingly, toying with the napkin sat in front of me.

"Not when I'm off my pills." Veronica teases, poking fun at the time mom thought she was stealing her Xanax.

"She's back!" Garrett, the gorgeous blonde bartender from yesterday, exclaims. "And she brought a friend."

"Hi, Garrett," I smile, motioning to Veronica. "This is Veronica, my sister."

"What's up?" Garrett says, nodding at Veronica in greeting. "What can I get you, ladies?"

"Two mojitos." Veronica answers, giving Garrett an obvious once-over.

"Coming right up." Garrett says, glancing at me quickly before smiling at Veronica.

"He's pretty hot," Veronica says appreciatively when Garrett's back is turned.

"I guess," I mutter, glancing around the room for a distraction.

"Mhm," Veronica hums. "So, you met him yesterday, huh?" Shrugging, I ignore her question. "And you decided to come back again tonight, except this time wearing a dress that shows off all of the goods."

"What a fantasy you've dreamt up." I remark flippantly, watching as a couple across the bar from us snaps back and forth at each other.

"Right," Veronica laughs. "That's me, off in fantasy land. Please, I know you better than I know myself. You've got the hots for this dude."

"No, I don't. I'm spoken for." I snap at her, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yeah?" Veronica says tauntingly. "Then where the fuck is your ring, huh?"

Swallowing, I shrug. "I-I left it at home. Didn't want it to get stolen."

"Sure," Veronica laughs. "Keep telling yourself that, but you're not fooling me."

Stumped at what to say to her, I let out a sigh of relief when Garrett returns with our drinks. "Anything else I can get you ladies?"

"Yeah," Veronica says, twirling the little straw in her drink thoughtfully. "You can get my sister here your number."

If Garrett's shocked by her request, he doesn't show it. Instead, he swings his beautiful blue eyes in my direction and quirks his lips up in a smile. Meanwhile, I break into a full-on cold sweat. I don't know if I want to rip Veronica's hair out or run.

"Anything for you, gorgeous." Garrett drawls, grabbing a pen and napkin and unhurriedly scrawling out his number. With a shaking hand, I accept the napkin as he passes it to me, but when I go to withdrawal it, his fingers close over mine. "Text me," he tells me, eyes glittering, "so I have your number, too."

"Okay," I manage to stutter out, smiling as he smirks and saunters away.

"You're welcome," Veronica mutters after taking a mouthful of her drink.

"Ronald," I gasp, shaking my head in disbelief. "I don't know whether to kill you or kiss you."

"How about neither?" Veronica suggests, downing the rest of her drink. "This isn't Game of Thrones. A simple 'thank you' would suffice."

"Thank you," I laugh, twirling my straw through my drink. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know," Veronica quips, smiling at me. "But that's what sisters are for. Now text the boy your number so he can stop checking his phone every five seconds."

"What?" I laugh, cutting my eyes over to where Garrett's standing next to the bald bartender from yesterday. "He's not checking his phone."

"He was." Veronica sasses. "But he put it away when he saw me looking."

"You are so creepy," I tell her, taking out my phone and programming his number under 'G.' Biting my lip, I tap out a simple text – my name with a smile emoji. With a deep breath, I hit send.

"God, you're acting like you just pushed a button that detonates an atomic bomb or something." Veronica laughs, nudging me with her shoulder. "It's just flirting, babe. It doesn't mean you have to do anything."

"I know," I sigh. "I'm just upset… because I'm not more upset. Does that make sense?"

Nodding solemnly, Veronica clinks her glass against mine.

"Let's get fucking wasted tonight and order pizza." Veronica says, motioning to Garrett to get us another round.

"I like the sound of that," I tell her, smiling at Garrett as he picks up my empty glass. "As long as we get garlic knots."

"Fucking garlic knots!" Veronica moans, fanning her face exaggeratedly. "You know exactly what to say to get me all riled up."

Fresh drinks in hand, we clink glasses to hot bartenders and garlic knots.

So, TF is upset that she's not more upset... What do you guys think?

See you tomorrow with chapter 13 (hopefully)! Get excited - the big reveal is coming soon!

xo