A/N This is the WORST day of my life part 1.

Chapter 36: World War 3

"I feel bad leaving you here again," Clara said as she put her flip flops on. It was the morning of the wedding and the rehearsal was soon to start. Clara had begrudgingly thought it best to leave Dom at the hotel. Again. A very shallow treaty had been established the night before and Clara did not want to jeopardize it. Bringing Dom would take the spotlight off of Teresa, and God forbid that happen. Besides Dom would only be sitting there bored out of his mind while everyone else ran through the wedding a few times.

"Baby, I told you I don't mind. As long as this is what you think is best," Dom told her softly. He didn't want to make things worse for Clara than they already were. Dom didn't agree with any of it, but he stood by all of Clara's decision. No matter how much he didn't like them.

"Still makes me feel bad," Clara said with a sigh as she came over to sit by Dom on the bed. Clara wanted Dom with her so bad it made her ache. Clara was terrified of going to the rehearsal. She knew all too well how easily things went bad for her at family functions. In the end, though, it all boiled down to what her family wanted, and what her family wanted was for Clara to lay low. So that was what she was going to do. No matter how much it hurt her.

Dom gave her a quick hug. "If you don't leave now you will be late."

Clara scrunched her nose, but picked up the keys to the rental car anyways. "I'll see you in a few, Cowboy."

Dom watched her leave and prayed that he would see her, all of her, come back.

Clara hurriedly ran into the building the wedding was going to take place in. Traffic had been a bitch and she was at least fifteen minutes late.

"Where have you been?" Laura shrieked at her. "I told you to be here at ten. It is a very packed day and we can't run behind!"

Clara didn't even try. There was no use. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Laura rolled her eyes at her niece. Typical Clara. She ran on her time table and no one else's. Laura gave up trying to help her years ago when Theresa made it clear that her daughter wanted nothing to do with the family. "Come on, everyone is waiting for you."

Laura grabbed Clara by the arm and led her into the hall where the wedding was going to take place. Everyone was already there standing around and talking amongst themselves.

Her uncle saw them first and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Now that our last part of the party is here, we can begin," he announced. Clara's atheist Uncle was going to officiate the wedding, a fact that never failed to earn an eye roll from Clara. When she asked him why he got his Minister license he replied dryly that he was bored and that it was only twenty bucks.

Colin caught Clara's eye and winked at her. Colin was the black sheep of the family when he was young and knew all too well what Clara was going through. He knew that there was time yet for the family to accept her. Hell it had taken him over 30 years to get there. Colin was often left to referee matches in the family and usually the only one to defend Clara.

The morning passed in a blur for Clara, mostly because of how tired and drained she was. Plus, it was all stand here, walk now, be quiet. When Clara wasn't needed, she spent the time with her brother and her soon-to-be stepdad's family, catching up and getting to know one another. Clara didn't know much about them and what they knew was mostly lies. A fact that none of them brought up. After running through the wedding a few times, the people were turned loosed for lunch. Everyone gathered in the main hall and quickly made plans for that night. The wedding was in four hours and there were still some last minutes details to go through.

"All the girls are meeting here at the hall at 5 to do hair and makeup. Do not be late!" Laura warned Clara before all the bridesmaids broke up.

"I won't," Clara promised. Clara walked into the main hall and stopped in her tracks. The tension in the hall was thick and Clara couldn't pin point what was going on. The rehearsal had run pretty smoothly with only glares from Laura every now and then, which was better than what Clara could ever hope for. Glares she could handle. They were the least of her worries and something she was all too used to. The tension wasn't something Clara had noticed when she walked in or during the periods of rest. So this had to be a new development. The night before had gone so smoothly. What happened between then and now? Clara's stomach started to churn. Something bad was going to happen, Clara just knew it.

Clara walked towards her Nana and Papa to see what they were doing for lunch. She didn't see them as much as she liked and their attending was the best part of the whole damn thing. The closer she got to them, however, the more pronounced the tension in the air became. With a sick dread, Clara kept walking up to them. Her Nana looked mad enough to spit nails, and her Nana's sister was right next to her, whispering in her ear. Clara looked at her Papa, but he just shrugged. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good.

Clara's Nana was only at the rehearsal for moral support. She did not have a role in the wedding, A fact that hurt her Nana deeply.

Clara went up to her Papa and gave him a hug. "Is everything ok?" She whispered in his ear.

"I think we should leave," her Papa whispered back.

The dread created a black hole in Clara's chest. Before Clara could turn to go get her Nana, Katherine took off across the hall.

SHIT! Clara thought. Her Nana was headed straight for her Grandfather. Katherine's ex-husband. The person Katherine hated the most in her world. The two barely kept it civil, but had managed to do so for longer than Clara had been alive. Never in a million years did Clara think they would ever break the thin treaty that they had in place for years. Never. It was also Clara's worst fear.

Paul was standing right in the middle of Clara's whole family and Katherine was headed straight for them. In a blink, Katherine was right in front of Paul with her finger in his face.

"This is all your fault! You're the reason why my son and daughter won't talk to me! You're the reason why they hate me! I have never, NEVER, done anything to deserve the way you all treat me!" Katherine yelled at Paul, tears streaming down her face. Kitty stood right next to her sister with a smirk on her face.

Kitty was Katherine's twin, but Clara didn't like her. The years had not treated her kindly and she had become a bitter, old woman. Why she was at the wedding was beyond Clara. Theresa didn't like Kitty any more than Clara did.

Clara's chest disappeared. Her nightmare was coming true. Clara looked up at her Papa in fear. Steve's face was grim and he marched up to his wife who was still screaming at Paul.

Within seconds Clara's whole family was in the middle of the hall yelling at eachother. Clara looked on in shock. This was her greatest horror. After years of living in tense peace, her two sides of the family were clashing. It has been decades in the making and it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Clara didn't even try to help defuse the situation. She meekly walked to the smaller hall off to the side and found her brother and her stepdad's family sitting around. Clara sat next to her brother and the siblings linked hands as they watched the battle. Both sat pale, hunched, and silent. It was the end and they both knew it.

After what seemed like ages, Clara's Papa finally led his wife to the car and drove off. The rest of the family slowly drifted away. Clara's mom left with her fiancée and her grandparents took off as well. Soon the only ones left in the hall were Laura, Coco, and Colin.

Coco started walking towards Clara. That's when Laura spotted her and stormed her way.

Clara was barely holding it all together and was on the verge of breaking. This had nothing on the pain she felt when Dean died. This was the end of everything she had ever known. This was when Clara finally had to choose sides and, God help her, she had no idea what she was going to do. She knew there was no way she could handle Laura then. Not when her world was falling apart in front of her eyes, and the only person who could hold her together was miles away in a hotel room. Clara never regretted a decision as much as the decision to leave Dom at the hotel. However, the only way out was behind Laura. Clara squared her shoulders and prepared for battle.

"I hope you're happy!" Laura screamed at Clara. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it? To make this day a disaster."

"Laura that is enough!" Coco yelled as she raced to Clara's side. "Clara didn't do anything."

"She did everything!" Laura cried. "She hates that her mom is getting more attention. This is a dream come true for her!" Laura turned her back to Clara and shouted over her shoulder. "You got your wish. Don't ever talk to me again!"

Laura stomped out of the hall with Colin at her heels bellowing after her.

Coco sat next to Clara and pulled her into her arms. Clara had not said a word since the fighting happened. She simply sat there. An empty shell. Coco smoothed Clara's hair back. "Go back to the hotel and meet us here at five. I promise you Laura won't talk you again."

Clara nodded and got up. Laura not talking to her was the last thing she was worried about. In fact it was the only blessing in the whole mess.

Coco's heart broke as she watched her strong niece walk away so destroyed. This was what Clara had always feared. To one day be forced to choose what side to be on. Her family had tried for years to force her to state what they all knew, but Clara wisely never side a word. She knew as soon as she voiced her desire she would be cut off from her family. While it would be the best thing that ever happened to her, Clara desperately clung to the only family she knew. Even though she had gone through more than most adults, she was still so young and still thought she needed her family.

Clara didn't even make it five minutes down the road before the tears started to fall. By the time she pulled into the hotel parking lot, she was sobbing.

Dom, who had been on the lookout, spotted her quickly. When he noticed she wasn't moving out of the car, he took off. In seconds, he was at the rental car and yanking the door open. Dom didn't waste any time in getting Clara out of the car and into his arm. With a swift kick he shut the car door and walked back to their hotel room.

Clara didn't talk. She simply clung to Dom and cried so hard her body shook with her sobs. Her breath came in short spurts as she frantically tried to get air into her lungs.

Dom's mind raced a thousand miles a second. Clara had left the hotel in somewhat good spirits. What the hell happened at the rehearsal? Dom had never seen someone so wrecked in his life. Clara looked like she had just lost everything.

Dom sat down on the bed and rocked Clara back and forth in his arms. He didn't speak, just pressed kisses into Clara's hair and ran his hands up and down her back in a poor attempt to soothe her. After over an hour, Clara finally stopped crying. It was another 30 more minutes before she spoke.

In a raw voice, Clara told Dom what happened. By the end of the tale, Clara was crying again. Dom's arms tensed in anger. Dom decided that he didn't care if Clara never talked to him again; Dom was going to make sure Clara's "family" never talked to her again.

HUGE thanks to my Beta ACullenWannaBe and my readers! It has been a long journey to get to this point. 4 years. I can't believe all of you have stuck by me this long! I promise this will be finished! One day :)