"Ty what are you doing here?" I asked as I sat down next to him. He looked like hell. I hadn't seen him in nine years, but I wrote letters to him all the time. He had no one else. He needed someone at home to write letters to.
"I just had to see you." He said as he looked at me. He looked like he had been crying. "But, you weren't here. How did you know I was here?" He asked me.
"Daphne called me. Wilke heard a noise down here." I explained as I looked at him.
"That was me. I broke a beer bottle over there. Total waste of beer." He said as he pointed towards where my dress was. I was freaking out in my head that he might have spilt beer on it, but this was more important right now. "I found this in your cabinet. I assume that it's the same one you had hid there when you were in high school." He said as he looked at me. "Don't you know that this stuff is no good for you? Your mother was an addict." He said as he looked at me.
"I never drank it." I said as I looked at him. "What's going on?" I asked him.
"It's so stupid." He said as he looked at me. "I got the invitation to the engagement party. I spent the last nine year thinking about you. I would tell people that you were my gal. I would lay in bed picturing you walking down the aisle next to me. I know it is sick. I know that in every letter you talked about how much you loved Emmett. But, in my head you were mine." He said as he looked at me. "You were all I had." He said as he looked at me.
"Oh my." I said as I looked at him. I wasn't sure what to say to him.
"If I asked you to marry me, what would you say?" He asked me.
"You're about nine years too late on that one." I said as I looked at him. "But, when you first left I would have." I said as I looked at him. "You have to know one thing. Emmett is so great to me and he loves me with all his heart. He is there for me in ways that you couldn't." I said as I looked at him.
"I know." He said as he looked at me. "It killed me to leave you." He said as he looked at me.
"I know. Come on lets get you sobered up before anymore secrets come out." I said as I looked at him. I helped him up and led him out of the studio.
"Mother fucker." I said as I looked at my dress. There was a stain right in the middle.
"I will buy you a new one." He whispered.
"I made it." I said as I pulled him towards the house.
"Ty!" Daphne said as she looked at us. He didn't seem to care. I passed him over to her before going back into the studio. I looked at my half-finished dress and wanted to cry.
"Sweetie can I come in?" My mother asked from the doorway.
"Why not it's ruined." I said as I looked at it.
"Beer?" She asked as she looked at the large stain.
"Yeah." I said a I looked at her. "I worked so hard on that dress too." I said as I looked at her.
"You will make a better one, sweetie." She said as she hugged me.
"Maybe." I said as I looked at her. "Can you help Daphne?" I asked her. "I have some things to finish up out here." I said as I looked at her.
"Sure." She said as she looked at me. I sat there for a minute trying to figure out how to savage some of my hard work. That is when I saw something on one of my cabinet's that caught my eye. It was ax girl. It seemed so long since she held me together. I found myself traveling back to that night when I found out that Ty enlisted.
I was slamming dishes into the dishwasher. I was working in a fog of anger and pain. I was going to miss him. With him here, things seemed easier. I just could breathe even when everyone was so focused on Daphne. I was fighting back tears when he came. "I didn't mean for it to come out that way." He said as he looked at me.
"Cleary you didn't mean for it to come out." I said coldly as I looked at him. I couldn't believe that he would hide this. I put all of my cards out on the table. Why couldn't he do the same?
"I was going to tell you." He said as he moved closer. Anyone would say that with their back against the wall. He was just trying to underplay this and that wasn't going to happen. I was breaking into pieces right there in my own kitchen. I thought he was different.
"On a postcard from Afghanistan?" I asked. I was feeling my world crumble around me. How am I going to hold myself together now?
"Look…Bay I know you don't get this, but this is the right thing for me." He said as he looked at me. What about the right thing for us? Can't you tell that I need you? "Your options are like Harvard or Princeton. Going to Europe or volunteering in Africa for a year." Who says that? Has he seen my grades? I will never be as great as she is.
"That is so unfair." I said as I looked at him.
"No offense that is why I wanted Daphne and Regina here." He said as he looked at me. There she is again.
"Because I couldn't possibly understand." I said as I looked at him. After that it was just words. Pointless words. Till my mouth went against me and said "Fine then. Go." He left then. He left and I crumbled. I was all alone again. There was a tearful goodbye the next day. Then weeks passed and the first letter came. By then I was with Emmett.
"You came a long way." Someone said behind me. I looked see my father.
"Yeah, I can scare away my own drink guys." I said with a laugh.
"I am sorry you had to come over, but you didn't want anyone in here." He said as he looked at me. "I thought it was a rabbit."
"Right, well come in and look." I said as I looked at him. "I don't think I am going to keep this design." I said as I looked at the mess of a dress.
"Well if you ask me after all this time it doesn't matter what the dress looks like, Emmett wants to marry you no matter what." He said as he moved closer.
"I know, but it would look awful bad if I wasn't wearing a perfect dress." I said as I looked at him. "This is my career."
"I know that, sweetheart." My dad said. "Come on your mother made some coffee." He said as he took my hand.
"Everything seemed to be going great." I said as we walked towards the house.
"It is." He said. That was the last thing I remember. I woke up in my old room. The room I had as a child. I looked up at the red walls and saw the quote on the wall. I never understood why mother was so unwilling to change this room till now. She knew I could always come home. I sat up and saw Emmett asleep in the chair across the room. I got up and tripped over the bag that he had placed by the bed.
"Really." I muttered to myself as I hit the floor. Emmett just sat there sound asleep. I got up and went to get ready. I was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee with my mother when Emmett came down. "Morning sunshine." I signed to him before I kissed him.
"Morning Princess." He signed to me. "What's for breakfast?" He signed.
"Ask mom. I don't cook here." I signed as I laughed.
"Right. You got a vacation for the day." He signed.
"You are so lucky I love you." I signed to him.
"Of course I am. You are so amazing." He signed before he wrapped his arms around me. I felt his lips on my neck as I heard footsteps coming in the room.
"Wow. Dad in the room." My dad said as he came in the room.
"I think you should get something to eat. He is not liking you touching me like this." I signed to Emmett as I pulled away.
"This is why we have our own place." He signed to me.
"Yeah I know that." I signed to him. "I am going to go talk to Daphne." I signed to him. "I love you." I singed before I walked out the back door. I saw Ty sitting on the hood of my car.
"I can't believe you have been driving this around for nine years." He said as he patted 'the thing'.
"Well, good morning to you too." I said as I looked at him. "I would really love to chat, but I have to talk to Daphne and then go to work." I said before I walked away. I took just a second to talk to Daphne before heading to my meeting. I sat there for an hour listening to a mother and daughter fight about the use of pink or black. By some miracle we finally made a compromise. Now I just have the hob of making it perfect for both of them. No pressure right.
"So, it's ruined?" Daphne asked as we got dressed in some of the sample dresses in her room. Emmett was looking out in the yard for the best places to take the pictures and stay out of the way of the party people.
"Yeah." I said as I looked in the mirror. I couldn't help, but smile at the fact that I was standing in a wedding dress. I was in one of my favorite dresses. It was a simple dress when I think about it. It was Royal Duchess Satin gown covered all over in lace overlay, scooped neckline, and a small chapel train. The natural waist was accented by a mauve ribbon sash.
"You know you will be wearing one of these for real in no time." She signed to me before she asked me to tie her up. We walked down the stairs to find our mothers waiting for us.
"Look how amazing they look." Regina said and signed as she looked at us.
"I am getting prom flash backs." I said as we walked towards Emmett.
"Wow." He signed to me. "How about we get hitched tonight?" He signed as he looked at me.
"How about you do your job and snap some pictures before I agree to that?" I signed to him.
"Come on that would be so us." He signed to me. "We are all about surprising people. Doing the unexpected." He signed to me.
"We will talk about it." I signed as I looked at him. "Now take some pictures." I said with a laugh.
A/N: LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. SHOULD THEY OR NOT?