CHAPTER NINE
"Ok, how do I look?" Jessica asked as she walked out in a purple flowered skirt and a black shirt. "I know it not that great and I didn't want to over dress for this. But I did want to look nice and I wear this to all the funerals in my family."
"You look nice." Scott said sadly.
"It's not to late." She said. Scott looked at her confused. "To change you mind. We don't have to go." She said.
"You would like that wouldn't you!" he said angrily.
"What? Scott I'm here to help. If you don't want to go it's fine. We can just jump on a plane back home. I've already seen enough of Kansas in case you have already forgotten." She replied and looked into the hotel mirror.
"No I'm sorry. This is my only chance to get Shelby back. We have to do it." He said. "Come on, let's go ahead and go." He said. Jessica grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.
"Is it ok to be nervous?" he asked.
"Yes it's totally ok." Jessica said and waited a minute before speaking again. "Look I can't guarantee that this plan will work, but I promise I will try my hardest to make it work." She said.
"Why?" He asked.
"What do you mean why?" She asked back.
"TAXI!" Scott yelled while waving is right hand in the air. A taxi stopped and Scott opened the door for Jessica. She got in with Scott following. Scott instructed the taxi driver where to go. They remained silent until they made it to the church.
"SCOTT!" Jessica and Scott heard a yell for his name once they entered the church.
"Hey Jules, what's up?" He asked as she jumped into is arms with a hug.
"Oh it's so good to see you." She said. "Who's your date?" She asked once she released him.
"This is my girlfriend Jessica." He said as Jessica shook Juliette's hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you. Scott has told me some wonderful things about you." Jessica said.
"Really? Like what?" Juliette asked.
"Where's Auggie?" Scott interrupted.
"He's over there with Ezra and Peter." She said. Scott took Jessica's hand and they walked over to Peter and Auggie.
"Uh Hey guys." Scott said.
"Hey muchacho, what's happening?" Auggie said after shaking Scott's hand.
"Hey Scott, how's it going?" He asked.
"Uh it's good." Scott said.
"It must be, look at your date." Ezra said. Jessica smiled.
"This is Jessica, my girlfriend." Scott said.
"Ezra? Is that you?" Someone asked.
"Kat, hey!" Ezra said as he hugged Kathryn.
"Hi I'm Kathryn." She said to Jessica.
"I'm Jessica. It's nice to meet you." Jessica said as she shook Kathryn's hand.
"She's Scott's new girl." Ezra said.
"You and Shelby? Oh I'm sorry Scott." She said.
"It just wasn't meant to be." He said. Jessica could feel the palm of his hands, starting to sweat.
"Has anyone seen Daisy?" Ezra asked curiously.
"No I haven't." Kathryn said.
They all stood there talking for a while before Juliette came and dragged Kathryn away to see Shelby. Auggie took Jessica to introduce her to Sophie and David while Peter and Scott talked.
"Is everything ok Scott?" Peter asked.
"Yeah why?" He asked.
"You haven't returned any of my calls and I know how close you and Shelby were. I mean her getting married was all such short notice." He said.
"Shel and I are over. I'm happy with Jessica." He said. "Hey, where's Fern, Kim and Mark?" Scott asked.
"Fern is home visiting her mom. Mark didn't want to come and see Shelby get married so he stayed behind with another group and Kim's mom took her out of Horizon a week ago." Peter said.
"Why?" Scott asked.
"She felt Kim wasn't making any progress." He said sadly.
"I'm sorry man." Scott said.
"Hey we win some, we lose some." Peter said.
"Scott Barringer, there you are!" Sophie said as she walked up to Scott and hugged him.
"Hey Sophie." He said.
"I met Jessica, she's is such a nice girl." Sophie said.
"Yeah, I think she's a keeper." Scott said. Then he saw Daisy walk into the door. "Excuse me a minute." Scott said as he walked towards her.
"You look better." Daisy said. "Been to any bars lately?" She asked.
"No." He said. "I made a promise."
"I'm not stupid Scott, you promised not to go back to that one bar. I know you went to another bar." She said.
"I went to one more after that night and that's it." He said.
"Scott you have no idea how bad you scared me that night. My mom died because of drinking and then I find the ex-boyfriend of my best friend getting drunk and hitting on me. That was a really stupid thing to do." She said.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Forgiven." She said.
"Scott there you are." Jessica said as she walked up to him.
"Daisy, this is my girlfriend, Jessica. Jessica this is Shelby's best friend, Daisy." He said.
"Hi." Jessica said.
"Daisy, Shelby's been waiting for you, then you have to see Ezra. Scott Shelby wants to see you too." Juliette said. "I'll keep Jessica company."
Daisy and Scott walked to Shelby's dressing room. She looked beautiful in her white dress.
"Hey guys!" She said with a smile.
"Shelby, Ezra was looking for me. I'm gonna see what he wants." Daisy left Scott and Shelby alone.
"Hey Scott!" She said.
"Hey! You look beautiful." He said.
"Thank you." She said.
"Matt is a real lucky guy." He said.
"Well I'm a real lucky girl to have him." She said as she danced in the mirror. "Rumor is you have a girlfriend." Shelby said.
"Yeah, it's Jessica. You met her last time I was in Kansas." He said.
"Oh her. Well she is really lucky to have you. You know it's funny, the only person I ever saw myself marrying was you. Then I met Matt and you met Jessica. Before today, when I said yes to Matt, I couldn't help but wonder if I was making the right decision. You know like maybe, you were my one true love and we were supposed to be together. Then I found out you were seeing someone else and knew I had made the right choice. That everything would be ok because you were able to move on." She said.
"How does me dating Jessica let you know you made the right choice?" He asked.
"Because every time we had a fight back at Horizon, you always tried to make it better, to get us back together. You didn't come back this time. You knew it was time to move on. That we aren't meant for each other." She explained.
"You mean all I had to do was come back and you would be wearing that dress for me right now." He asked.
"Yeah!" She said.
"What about that night I found you with Matt. You told me it was over." He asked.
"And you listened." She said. "You realized, all by yourself that we aren't made for each other. And you helped me realize that." She said with a beautiful smile on her face. She really believed everything she was saying. "Wow, is it normal to be this nervous?" She asked while holding her stomach and grinning.
"I've never had to get married. I couldn't tell you." He said.
"Well it's almost time for the wedding. Give me a good luck hug." She said with open arms.
He walked to her and hugged her tightly before kissing her cheek. He looked her in the face and saw tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I know deep down inside I'm doing the right thing, it just doesn't feel right. That hug from you felt so good." She said. "Tell me something that will make me feel better."
"Shelby, Do you love Matt?" Scott asked.
"I love him more than anyone else in the world." She said with a smile.
"Then you should be with him." Scott said as his voice started to crack.
"Scott? Are you ok?" Shelby asked.
"I love you Shelby. I love you so much and I can't stand the thought of you with someone else." He cried.
"But what about Jessica?" Shelby asked.
"I love you! Not her!" Scott said.
"Scott I'm going to marry Matt. I thought you were past this. I love Matt." She said.
"I want us to be together." Scott said.
"Scott stop it. Don't make this harder for me. I love Matt. When you left that night you helped me realize that. When you didn't come back." She said.
"But I'm back now!" He yelled. Jessica heard him yelling.
"Scott please, please don't make this hard. When I made the wedding invitations, you were the first person I invited because you're my best friend and all I want is for you to be there and watch me walk down that isle." Shelby said.
"No, I'm leaving. I cant watch you give yourself to another man." He said through tears.
"Scott I love him. I'm marrying him with or without you there. But I'm asking you as a friend to please stay and watch this. Please?" She asked.
"Fine!" He said as he stormed out the room. Jessica saw him coming out and walked up to him.
"What happened?" Jessica asked in a concerned voice once she saw the tears.
"She's going to marry him. She said she didn't know if she was doing the right thing until she found out that I had moved on and found someone else to love." He said.
"Oh Scott I'm sorry!" she said sadly.
"Hey guys, the weddings starting." Peter said as he walked into the wedding hall.
"We'll talk about it later." Scott said and started walking to the wedding hall when Jessica grabbed his arm.
"Wait, let me clean you up." She said as she wiped his tears away. He grabbed her hand and they walked in and found a seat in the back, away from everyone else.
The music started and in walked the bridesmaid, maid of honor and flower girl. Then in walked Shelby. The music played as she walked in, looking beautiful and smiling. Scott watched her with tears in his eyes.
"Do you, Matthew Eric Roux, take Shelby Elizabeth Merrick as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The minister asked.
Matt turned and looked Shelby in the eyes and smiled. "I do!" He said.
"And do you Shelby Elizabeth Merrick, take Matthew Eric Roux as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in good times and in bad, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health?" Scott hand tightened around Jessica's. "Until death do you part?"
Shelby turned and looked Matt into his eyes. "I.."
"I can't stay and watch this." Scott whispered to Jessica as he got up and walked out the Wedding Hall with Jessica following behind him, never hearing Shelby's answer.
"Ok, how do I look?" Jessica asked as she walked out in a purple flowered skirt and a black shirt. "I know it not that great and I didn't want to over dress for this. But I did want to look nice and I wear this to all the funerals in my family."
"You look nice." Scott said sadly.
"It's not to late." She said. Scott looked at her confused. "To change you mind. We don't have to go." She said.
"You would like that wouldn't you!" he said angrily.
"What? Scott I'm here to help. If you don't want to go it's fine. We can just jump on a plane back home. I've already seen enough of Kansas in case you have already forgotten." She replied and looked into the hotel mirror.
"No I'm sorry. This is my only chance to get Shelby back. We have to do it." He said. "Come on, let's go ahead and go." He said. Jessica grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.
"Is it ok to be nervous?" he asked.
"Yes it's totally ok." Jessica said and waited a minute before speaking again. "Look I can't guarantee that this plan will work, but I promise I will try my hardest to make it work." She said.
"Why?" He asked.
"What do you mean why?" She asked back.
"TAXI!" Scott yelled while waving is right hand in the air. A taxi stopped and Scott opened the door for Jessica. She got in with Scott following. Scott instructed the taxi driver where to go. They remained silent until they made it to the church.
"SCOTT!" Jessica and Scott heard a yell for his name once they entered the church.
"Hey Jules, what's up?" He asked as she jumped into is arms with a hug.
"Oh it's so good to see you." She said. "Who's your date?" She asked once she released him.
"This is my girlfriend Jessica." He said as Jessica shook Juliette's hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you. Scott has told me some wonderful things about you." Jessica said.
"Really? Like what?" Juliette asked.
"Where's Auggie?" Scott interrupted.
"He's over there with Ezra and Peter." She said. Scott took Jessica's hand and they walked over to Peter and Auggie.
"Uh Hey guys." Scott said.
"Hey muchacho, what's happening?" Auggie said after shaking Scott's hand.
"Hey Scott, how's it going?" He asked.
"Uh it's good." Scott said.
"It must be, look at your date." Ezra said. Jessica smiled.
"This is Jessica, my girlfriend." Scott said.
"Ezra? Is that you?" Someone asked.
"Kat, hey!" Ezra said as he hugged Kathryn.
"Hi I'm Kathryn." She said to Jessica.
"I'm Jessica. It's nice to meet you." Jessica said as she shook Kathryn's hand.
"She's Scott's new girl." Ezra said.
"You and Shelby? Oh I'm sorry Scott." She said.
"It just wasn't meant to be." He said. Jessica could feel the palm of his hands, starting to sweat.
"Has anyone seen Daisy?" Ezra asked curiously.
"No I haven't." Kathryn said.
They all stood there talking for a while before Juliette came and dragged Kathryn away to see Shelby. Auggie took Jessica to introduce her to Sophie and David while Peter and Scott talked.
"Is everything ok Scott?" Peter asked.
"Yeah why?" He asked.
"You haven't returned any of my calls and I know how close you and Shelby were. I mean her getting married was all such short notice." He said.
"Shel and I are over. I'm happy with Jessica." He said. "Hey, where's Fern, Kim and Mark?" Scott asked.
"Fern is home visiting her mom. Mark didn't want to come and see Shelby get married so he stayed behind with another group and Kim's mom took her out of Horizon a week ago." Peter said.
"Why?" Scott asked.
"She felt Kim wasn't making any progress." He said sadly.
"I'm sorry man." Scott said.
"Hey we win some, we lose some." Peter said.
"Scott Barringer, there you are!" Sophie said as she walked up to Scott and hugged him.
"Hey Sophie." He said.
"I met Jessica, she's is such a nice girl." Sophie said.
"Yeah, I think she's a keeper." Scott said. Then he saw Daisy walk into the door. "Excuse me a minute." Scott said as he walked towards her.
"You look better." Daisy said. "Been to any bars lately?" She asked.
"No." He said. "I made a promise."
"I'm not stupid Scott, you promised not to go back to that one bar. I know you went to another bar." She said.
"I went to one more after that night and that's it." He said.
"Scott you have no idea how bad you scared me that night. My mom died because of drinking and then I find the ex-boyfriend of my best friend getting drunk and hitting on me. That was a really stupid thing to do." She said.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Forgiven." She said.
"Scott there you are." Jessica said as she walked up to him.
"Daisy, this is my girlfriend, Jessica. Jessica this is Shelby's best friend, Daisy." He said.
"Hi." Jessica said.
"Daisy, Shelby's been waiting for you, then you have to see Ezra. Scott Shelby wants to see you too." Juliette said. "I'll keep Jessica company."
Daisy and Scott walked to Shelby's dressing room. She looked beautiful in her white dress.
"Hey guys!" She said with a smile.
"Shelby, Ezra was looking for me. I'm gonna see what he wants." Daisy left Scott and Shelby alone.
"Hey Scott!" She said.
"Hey! You look beautiful." He said.
"Thank you." She said.
"Matt is a real lucky guy." He said.
"Well I'm a real lucky girl to have him." She said as she danced in the mirror. "Rumor is you have a girlfriend." Shelby said.
"Yeah, it's Jessica. You met her last time I was in Kansas." He said.
"Oh her. Well she is really lucky to have you. You know it's funny, the only person I ever saw myself marrying was you. Then I met Matt and you met Jessica. Before today, when I said yes to Matt, I couldn't help but wonder if I was making the right decision. You know like maybe, you were my one true love and we were supposed to be together. Then I found out you were seeing someone else and knew I had made the right choice. That everything would be ok because you were able to move on." She said.
"How does me dating Jessica let you know you made the right choice?" He asked.
"Because every time we had a fight back at Horizon, you always tried to make it better, to get us back together. You didn't come back this time. You knew it was time to move on. That we aren't meant for each other." She explained.
"You mean all I had to do was come back and you would be wearing that dress for me right now." He asked.
"Yeah!" She said.
"What about that night I found you with Matt. You told me it was over." He asked.
"And you listened." She said. "You realized, all by yourself that we aren't made for each other. And you helped me realize that." She said with a beautiful smile on her face. She really believed everything she was saying. "Wow, is it normal to be this nervous?" She asked while holding her stomach and grinning.
"I've never had to get married. I couldn't tell you." He said.
"Well it's almost time for the wedding. Give me a good luck hug." She said with open arms.
He walked to her and hugged her tightly before kissing her cheek. He looked her in the face and saw tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I know deep down inside I'm doing the right thing, it just doesn't feel right. That hug from you felt so good." She said. "Tell me something that will make me feel better."
"Shelby, Do you love Matt?" Scott asked.
"I love him more than anyone else in the world." She said with a smile.
"Then you should be with him." Scott said as his voice started to crack.
"Scott? Are you ok?" Shelby asked.
"I love you Shelby. I love you so much and I can't stand the thought of you with someone else." He cried.
"But what about Jessica?" Shelby asked.
"I love you! Not her!" Scott said.
"Scott I'm going to marry Matt. I thought you were past this. I love Matt." She said.
"I want us to be together." Scott said.
"Scott stop it. Don't make this harder for me. I love Matt. When you left that night you helped me realize that. When you didn't come back." She said.
"But I'm back now!" He yelled. Jessica heard him yelling.
"Scott please, please don't make this hard. When I made the wedding invitations, you were the first person I invited because you're my best friend and all I want is for you to be there and watch me walk down that isle." Shelby said.
"No, I'm leaving. I cant watch you give yourself to another man." He said through tears.
"Scott I love him. I'm marrying him with or without you there. But I'm asking you as a friend to please stay and watch this. Please?" She asked.
"Fine!" He said as he stormed out the room. Jessica saw him coming out and walked up to him.
"What happened?" Jessica asked in a concerned voice once she saw the tears.
"She's going to marry him. She said she didn't know if she was doing the right thing until she found out that I had moved on and found someone else to love." He said.
"Oh Scott I'm sorry!" she said sadly.
"Hey guys, the weddings starting." Peter said as he walked into the wedding hall.
"We'll talk about it later." Scott said and started walking to the wedding hall when Jessica grabbed his arm.
"Wait, let me clean you up." She said as she wiped his tears away. He grabbed her hand and they walked in and found a seat in the back, away from everyone else.
The music started and in walked the bridesmaid, maid of honor and flower girl. Then in walked Shelby. The music played as she walked in, looking beautiful and smiling. Scott watched her with tears in his eyes.
"Do you, Matthew Eric Roux, take Shelby Elizabeth Merrick as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in good times and bad, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?" The minister asked.
Matt turned and looked Shelby in the eyes and smiled. "I do!" He said.
"And do you Shelby Elizabeth Merrick, take Matthew Eric Roux as your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, in good times and in bad, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health?" Scott hand tightened around Jessica's. "Until death do you part?"
Shelby turned and looked Matt into his eyes. "I.."
"I can't stay and watch this." Scott whispered to Jessica as he got up and walked out the Wedding Hall with Jessica following behind him, never hearing Shelby's answer.