Bella
"You look beautiful, sweetie. Do you want some water before we get you into your dress?" My mom is smiling with teary eyes as the makeup artist puts the finishing touches on my lipstick.
"Uh, sure, Mom. Can you hand me my phone?" I'm jittery, and not just with wedding day nerves. Something's wrong; I can feel it.
I eye my sister Lauren and my two best friends, Alice and Rosalie. They've been by my side all morning, and they know I've had a bad feeling all day. Actually, the bad feeling started last night. We were packing for our stay at the vineyard for the wedding, and I just got this lead ball in my stomach.
I've never been one to trust my gut, but I've never had a feeling like this. I know something's wrong. When my mother hands over my phone, I see a text from Rose's husband, Emmett, and a missed call from Lauren's boyfriend, Mike.
Emmett: Garrett isn't here. I haven't seen or spoken to him since we all left the bar last night. Nobody has heard from him. I don't know what else to do.
I take a steadying breath. I've texted and called my fiancé close to a hundred times since last night. He was supposed to be staying at our condo last night, just like he had been for the last three months. We decided to live apart for the last few months leading up to the wedding and "abstain" from each other until our wedding night.
We had seen each other plenty, every day in fact, leading up to the wedding. But when I said goodbye to him two days ago, I knew something was up with him, even if he wouldn't say so. I excuse myself to the bathroom as quickly as I can and dial Mike.
"Mike?" I whisper. I shut my eyes, wishing for good news. Garrett and Mike have been best friends for years, and I'm hoping he can shed some light on what's going on.
"Bella, I … I don't know what to tell you." The line goes quiet except for some background noise. I can just make out Emmett's angry voice among the other sounds coming from the groom's suite. "He hasn't returned anyone's calls or texts. I sent Jasper over to your place to check on him and—"
"And what? Mike, what's going on?" I can feel myself starting to hyperventilate. I grope around until I sit down on the closed toilet, pulling my white satin robe tighter around me.
"I'm not sure who helped him or how he did it, but Jasper peeked in the front window, and it looks like he moved out. His car is gone, and the leather chair in the living room is gone. He said there were some boxes in the living room." Mike goes silent, letting the information sink in.
He left. He left me and our home. Garrett packed up all of his belongings and left.
And he's leaving me at the altar.
I suck in a stuttering breath. "Okay. Okay, thanks, Mike."
"What do you need me to do?" Mike sounds … desperate. He's one of the nicest people I know; he always has been.
"I need …" I look down at my left hand, trembling in the weak bathroom light with my engagement ring glistening. "I need all of you guys to get down here to the bridal suite, but I need about twenty minutes. I need to get my dress on."
"Uh, okay. Bella, why don't we get your parents and Garrett's parents and talk everything out?"
"No, be down here in twenty." I hang up before I can change my mind.
Taking a few deep breaths, I stand up and open the door. Rose, Alice, and Lauren are standing there, looking concerned in their coordinating bridesmaid dresses. Rose reaches for my hand, dragging me out of the doorway. "Emmett called me. What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that everything is already paid for." I take a deep breath, looking at each of them. "Rose, go talk to the caterer and the venue coordinator and let them know the change of plans. Alice, go talk to the photographer and the officiant. Lauren, I need you here for Mom and Dad and Garrett's parents."
"I'll go grab them. They texted me when they got here." Lauren hugs me tightly and dashes out of the room. Rose and Alice share a look before running out to do my bidding.
"Mom? We need to talk."
"Unfortunately, the wedding won't be happening today as planned. Bella would love for all of you to stay, but we appreciate and understand if you feel you can't. Bella has planned for a wonderful party, and she still wants to celebrate with everyone who's here." Lauren is speaking in front of all of Garrett's and my gathered friends and family while I stand off in the hallway with my parents, hiding.
"We just ask that everyone be positive today. Obviously, this is a hard time, so let's just have a good time and enjoy it as much as we can." Rose finishes, and Alice begins to usher everyone out of the hall and into the reception area.
What follows is five of the most chaotic and fun hours of my life. I dance, I drink, I smash my wedding cake, take pictures, and smile. I smile more than I think I have in the last three months or the last three years.
All the groomsmen twirl me around the floor, the DJ doesn't play a single slow jam, and the photographer takes a ton of pictures. By the end of the night, I'm exhausted and dreading heading home. Our honeymoon isn't planned for a few more days, and I'll still have to call the resort to see what I can do about the trip.
Just when I'm not sure what to do next, my sister, Rose, and Alice come gather me up and take me home. They help me out of my dress, take down my hair, and climb into my bed. As I'm lying there, trying to get comfortable, when I notice that everything that screams "Garrett" is missing from our bedroom.
Climbing out of bed, I open the drawers of our dresser to find only my clothes. Moving to our closet, I find only my clothes, shoes, handbags. It freaks me out, and I start crying, falling to the carpeted floor in the walk-in. That's where Lauren finds me. Instead of picking me up and shushing me, she sits next to me, wrapping me in her arms, and rocks me as I cry my heart out.
"How, how could he j-j-just leave me?" My sister rubs circles on my back as I try to make sense of what happened, but I just can't. I still haven't heard directly from Garrett, and that makes me even more worried.
I understand that he's safe, but on some deeper level, the fact that he hasn't reached out to me directly has me feeling something … unfamiliar. I hiccup as Rose and Alice appear in the doorway.
"Garrett is a piece of shit for treating you like this. You are the kindest person, Bella." Alice has always been my fiercest friend, defending any one of us at all costs. "I'm gonna go find him!"
"Alice, have a seat. It's 3 AM; you're not going anywhere." Rose pulls her back into the room and sits her on my bed. "What do you want to do, Bella?"
"I need some sleep. I'll have to call the resort tomorrow. I can't go as a single person; they don't allow it." I shrug as I wipe at my face, and Rose pulls both me and Lauren up off the floor.
"We could go," Lauren says slowly. I turn to look at them. "We were talking about it earlier at the recep- party. I have some vacation time I could put in. I might not be able to leave with you, but I could meet you there."
Rose nods. "Same here. Alice and I already emailed our bosses and explained what's going on. It might be a couple days, but we could all meet you there."
I tear up again, but this time because I know how loved I am. "I love you guys so much. I—" A huge yawn escapes, and I laugh lightly. "Can we talk more about this tomorrow after I call them?"
"Of course. Let's get some sleep." Lauren tucks me into bed and lies down next to me as Alice and Rose cram on either side of us. We haven't all slept in the same bed since we were children. It takes a few minutes for all of us to get situated, and there's plenty of giggles before I drift off.
When I wake in the morning, I'm alone in the bed, but I can hear the girls downstairs. I take time for myself, cleaning up and taking stock of what my life looks like now. I grab my iPad and phone off the bedside table that someone had the sense to plug in last night.
Pulling up my email with the reservation information, I take a deep breath and dial the customer service number. It takes more than several minutes to get to a live person, but once I do, he's kind and listens to my plight as I explain my situation.
Just as I knew last night, I can't go to my planned resort as a single person; it's specifically designed for couples and romance. But since it's all-inclusive and the company owns several resorts located on sister islands, they can relocate me to one of their family resorts.
"It's designed for families, singles, and friends. I can change your booking to over there, and I can cancel a lot of the honeymoon specific activities. Unless there's something specific you still want to do?" Laurent has been nothing short of a miracle worker with me on this call, and I'll definitely be taking the survey when we're done.
"I think I'd like the massage but, obviously, not for a couple. Could it be split into two separate sessions?" I'm making notes on my iPad as Laurent types away.
"I can make that happen for you, absolutely." He hums as he taps, and it makes me smile. "You mentioned that your sister and a couple of your friends might join you later in the week. I can move you to a double queen room or a double queen suite?"
I bite my lip, thinking. I love my girls so much, but as much as I love them and as much as spending two weeks in Turks and Caicos with them would be wonderful … "I think it's just going to be me, Laurent. I appreciate it, but—"
"How about a nice king suite for you? Plenty of room for one person, but you don't have to feel like every minute you spend in your room is spent sitting on your hotel bed." I can almost hear the smile that must be slapped on his face.
"That sounds perfect, Laurent. Thank you. Do I need to change any of my arrival info?"
He gives me all the info I need, and I make the necessary notes before thanking him one more time and taking the survey, giving him an excellent rating before hanging up.
"So, you're going alone?" Rose is leaning in my doorway with her arms crossed.
I sigh but smile when I look up. "Yeah, I think it's for the best. You three don't need to put the next two weeks of your lives on hold for me. I'm going to take some time for myself and come back feeling refreshed."
She climbs onto the bed next to me. "You're taking this exceptionally well. I mean, last night aside, and cry whenever and for however long you want, but you seem … clear-headed and optimistic."
Dropping my head to her shoulder, I mull her words over in my head. "I love Garrett; I've loved Garrett for far longer than he loved me. I want to know what happened, but mostly, I want to know that I didn't cause this. I want to know that I didn't drive him away or say something to make him change his mind."
She wraps an arm around my shoulders. "I can't answer that for you, but you should know that the Millers showed up about twenty minutes ago. They want to talk to you. Lauren's distracting them with coffee and cinnamon rolls."
This perks me up slightly. "How do they look?"
"Like shit," Rose tells me with a wry smile.
Garrett's parents never liked me, as much as tolerated me and our relationship; although, I doubt they ever anticipated this situation. They haven't been terrible to me over the years, but I wouldn't have called them kind. "Good. I hope they slept like crap last night."
I follow Rose downstairs to find Mary and Steven Miller looking incredibly uncomfortable in our, my kitchen surrounded by my sister and Alice. "Oh, Bella. Look who stopped by to see you."
Lauren and I are so alike it's insane. We're both peacekeepers, always trying to even things out and keep situations calm. She eyes me over the table, and I smile gently. "Good morning. How are you two doing?" I take the cup Lauren offers me as I sit across from my would-be in-laws.
"Well, we haven't spoken to our son yet today, so I'm not sure what to say to you," Steven starts, and I watch Mary side-eye him hard. "Could we speak in private?"
I nod as the three girls head out to the living room where I know they'll do everything in their power to eavesdrop as much as possible.
"You didn't stay for the party last night. We ended up having a lot of fun." I sip at my coffee, eyeing them over the rim of my mug.
"We would like to try to recoup some of the money for the wedding." Steven tells me, and I almost choke on my drink.
"Recoup some of the money? What money? You two didn't pay for anything." I'm so confused right now; Garrett and I had asked his parents for help, and when they refused, we cut down costs for the wedding as much as possible. I took out a small personal loan to pay for much of the wedding, but Garrett wasn't approved.
My parents kicked some in, but they'd helped pay for both Lauren's and my college tuition, so they didn't have much to fall back on. I, Bella Swan, paid for ninety percent of this wedding myself.
"I know you and my son took out a loan, and I don't want his name and credit dragged down with interest and—" I cut off Garrett's dad with a look.
"Garrett wasn't approved for the loan; I was. And you saying you want to 'recoup' money makes it out like you want me to cut you a check for something you had no hand in helping with. So, unless you have some insight into why your son decided to humiliate me on what was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, you can see yourselves out." I sit back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest, staring them both down.
"Garrett told me he was the sole lien holder," Steven tells me.
"Well, I think we've proven that Garrett is a liar." Steven and I both turn to look at Mary, who's been silent during this whole interaction up until now. "Steve, shut up. Bella, I'm sorry. I thought we were coming over here to apologize and see if you'd heard from Garrett and how you were doing."
We both look at Steven when he emits an actual "harumph", but I refocus on Garrett's mother. "I'm all right. I don't know what happened, and he won't contact me. I thought we were each other's person, but—" I suck in a sob. I don't want to cry in front of his parents, especially after this little interaction. "I just wish I knew what happened."
There's a long pause before Mary reaches across the table with an open hand. It takes me another moment, but I uncross my arms and place my hand in hers. "I can't answer that, Bella. And I'm sorry we were never closer. I hope you get the closure you need. If I speak to my son, I'll encourage him to reach out to you."
"Thank you, Mary. I appreciate that. I wish a lot of things had been different." I deal Garrett's father a deadly stare, and he has the good sense to wither a little. "Thank you for coming by. I need to handle a few things and get myself packed."
"Packed?" Mary asks as she and her husband stand up from the table.
I nod. "I'm going on my honeymoon."