CH. 11: Family Reunions
As I place my tie around my neck, I can't ignore my nerves. My reflection in the mirror is displaying the Austin Moon who is calm and collected; the one who isn't afraid of anything. But deep down my nerves are eating me away. I can feel my stomach doing flip flops and I'm not sure how to make them going away.
My hands keep fumbling as I try to put on my tie. With each second that goes by through, I'm getting more irritated. It's just that right now I can't even put on a stupid, fucking tie. I run my fingers through my hair as I grunt in frustration. I stare at my reflection in the mirror once again as I give up on my tie. I leave it hanging, undone, around my neck.
The only thing I can think about is how this isn't me. The suit, the tie, he nice black shiny shoes that Halley got me… it isn't me. Besides my physical appearance, it's unlike me to be with a girl that I don't love. It's unlike me to marry a girl who I can tell has some sort of feelings for me. I just can't be this cruel with her. I need to tell her the entire story and then let her decide if she want go through this or not.
I take a deep breath, refresh my concentration, and try once again, to tie this stupid tie of mine. As I start to makes folds, I realize how the beat of my heart is going faster than usual; how there's a funny feeling in my tummy. Something tells me that it has to do with the fact that tonight we have another family dinner.
After the last family dinner, I'm not quite sure what to expect. I don't know if I should be worried with the fact that I could choke again if Halley says something unplanned or excited that I am going to eat a nice meal. I think my nervous have something to do with the fact that I might see Ally… with Zayn… moving on.
The stupid tie is still coming out wrong and this time I can't help myself from cursing under my breath. Halley walks out of the bathroom at this exact moment and is struggling to put on an earring as she says, "Hey there, need help?"
I let out a sigh as she makes her way towards me. My frustration is clearly shown on my face and Halley is finding this moment funny for some odd reason. When she finishes putting on her earring she slowly turns me around to face her. She places her hand on my cheek gently as her shine brightly at mine. She caresses my face before she slowly moves her attention to my tie and starts to undo the mess I made with my tie.
At first I stand there awkward as I see her concentration on getting my tie right. I really want to move away because it reminds me how Ally used to do this for me. In fact the first time that Ally tried to do this she failed horrible at it. It turns out that Miss Know-It-All had never tried to tie a tire when she attempted with me. The next time she tried though… she actually did it perfectly. When I asked her where she learned to tie it, she joked around by saying that she had been practicing on Zayn. That got me jealous but then she quickly told me she was just kidding and said she got her teddy bear and instruction from the internet and kept practicing until she got it right.
I chuckle softly as I remember how red her cheeks were when she answered me. Halley's eyes make a quick glance at mine as she looks back to my tie with curiosity. She has a small smile playing on her lips as she sweetly asks me, "What?"
She's doing the last minute touches on my tie before turning me around to see her work in the mirror. It looks good. In fact, she does it better than… yea. I look at her eyes through the reflection and I know that she's waiting for me to answer her question. I let a small, weak, smile to form in my lips and turn around to pull her into a hug. I give her a kiss on her head before say, "I just remembered that I could have worn this clip-on tie that I have in the bottom of my suitcase for emergencies." She gives me a playful, disapproval nod before we make our way to her parents' house.
When her parents open the door, I can tell that Halley hadn't told everyone about our little "break-up." Her dad pulls me into a bone crushing hug as he explains to me the excitement he feels of having us over again. Her mom, on the other hand, is glaring at me. Something tells me that Halley talked to her about the second thoughts I was having.
Her mom pretends to be happy about seeing me, but I know that later on, I'll be getting a lecture. And to think when I turned 18 that I wouldn't be getting anymore lectures from adults. I guess I spoke too soon.
We're the first one to arrive as we help with last minute details. Tonight I am going to meet the rest of the bride maids and I am going to introduce my best man, Dez, to Halley and her family.
After thirty minutes of boredom of setting plates, utensils, and helping with dinner and desert, people starts to show up. The first one to come is Halley's best friend, Alice who happens to be very bubbly. She has long, blond, wavy hair, and is really pale. She's pretty but nothing compared to Halls.
Then I got the pleasure of meeting Patricia who sort of reminds of me of Trish… except this Patricia is mean and annoying. Trish is sassy and likes seeing people suffer, but deep down, once you get to know her, she's cool to hang around with and has a big heart. So far, Patricia has insulted me and told me she's seen better grooms. So far, Alice is my favorite.
When the doorbell rings again, I go open it and yell in excitement as I find Dez and Trish at the front door. Automatically we start shouting random things in happiness and once he steps inside we do our handshakes. I can see Trish rolling her eyes at us playfully. As soon as we're done, I turn around to Trish and pull her into a hug as I tell her how much I've missed her. "Well I've missed you too stupid," she tells me in a teasing voice.
The three of us continue laughing at her comment and it feels like the good old times. When we calm down I see Halley looking at us like we're from another planet. Or much better, that Trish and Dez, are from another planet. This lightly bugs but I let it go. Most likely I'm imagining it. After all, Halley is the sweetest person that I have ever met.
I introduce them and it seems to be going ok. But after some small talk, Halley goes back to her other friends and I stay with my buds as we wait for the other guests to show up.
A few minutes go by and I am meeting Cristina and her husband, Boyce. They are both clean and… perfect. I mean it's like they are Barbie and Ken. Everything about them is in order and they talk so formal. Even when they laugh they sound professional. Cristina has glasses that frame her face and Boyce has the type of combed over hair that mom's do when you are young.
I feel awkward as Halley and them get into a full on conversation about a trip in college or something. I have my hands stuffed into my pocket and am trying my hardest to not yawn at their boring conversation. I keep focusing on random details of the housed when the door opens. Before I can see her I recognize her by her laugh. When the door is pushed open, I try my hardest to not drop my jaw wide open.
She looks impeccable and beautiful as the simple blue dress hugs her curves perfectly. And the fact that the fabric hangs teasingly at mid-thigh makes it hard for me to suddenly breathe at a relatively normal rate.
As she laughs she looks radiant. She's completely oblivious to the four pair of eyes staring at her. Once the door is completely open I can't help but frown as I see the reason of her laughter; the one and only Douche Bag.
As she turns her head to step in we lock eyes for a quick second. And although it's only for a second, it feels like an eternity. Her lips, her nose, her rosy cheeks… her eyes remind me everything we went through. Every single time I made her smile, or blush or made her eyes shine in that certain way… rushes through my mind.
I know she's sorry for not loving me back. But 'I'm sorry' isn't going to cut this time around. Suddenly, feeling hurt and angry, I do the only thing I can do. I act like we never happened; act like I've never shared kiss with her… I act like I don't care a fuck about the fact that she doesn't love me anymore.
Shifting my gaze to my fiancée, I place my hand on her waist possessively as I pull her closer to me. I lean down and whisper hushed words in her ears that express how amazing she looks in that tight, fitting, yellow dress.
The whole time though, I'm just staring at Ally. Except this time is the first time where I show no emotion towards her. No hurt, no anger or hatred; no love, no happiness, no regret… just… nothing. After all, a little birdie told me that the difference of love isn't hate. It's indifference.
At some point Halley giggles and all of them turn to stare at us. I'm, looking at Halley lovingly before I tell her for everyone to hear, "I. Love. You."
This makes Cristina squeal like she just saw a chick flick and the main actors just declared their love for each other. I chuckle at her and then we are all going to the dining room to finally eat dinner.
The seating isn't too bad since Ally isn't directly in my sight. On one side I have my best man next to me and on the other my fiancée. We are doing small talk as we try to get to know each other around the table. It's weird meeting Halley's friends, but I think that they are all likable in some way. I think I can find some ground with all of them… well at least all of them whose name isn't Patricia. Every single chance she has, she corrects my behavior or eating habits or just plain insults me. Something tells me that I am her least favorite person.
The conversation is very stiff as Halley's guests and family keep giving Dez and Trish weird looks. Well everyone does but Ally and me. I want to tell them to stop staring and it seems like Ally does too, but I can sort of understand their rude stare; Dez and Trish seem a little bit off at first. They are bickering one second, and making goo-goo eyes at each other the second… I don't even know where to explain their relationship but if you ever hear their love story, it sounds like a fairytale.
As time ticks away I find myself getting bored. I've never been good for these types of things. It's only an hour after we've finished eating that we finally start talking about the wedding. Halley is starting to announce the basic plans and all of her girlfriends are giggling crazy. Seriously, if there's one of those magic remotes that can mute people, please let me know. Her friends giggle fits drive me nuts!
"So I have already decided who is going to be my maid of honor," she starts to share with them the big news. All of her friends look at Alice as they expect to say her name. Me… well I'm just trying to pretend that I've never liked pickles in my entire life as I stare at the pile on my plate. I keep poking around at my food and then she says, "With much thought and consideration, I have decided that Ally will do the honors!"
Halley has a big smile as she finishes her speech but the other people don't seem to take to well. At the same time Dez spits out his drink and Alice is shouting on top of her lungs, "WHAT!?" The rest of the bride maids have their mouths hanging wide open and Trish is just catching on the reason why Ally's even here in the first place. I'm just taking a nice sip of my champagne as I enjoy the sweet scene unfolding in front of me.
Ignoring the commotion around her, Halley continues to say, "And to start preparing for my wedding…" She claps her hands together as she stands up to make her big announcement. A humongous smile is playing on her face and she looks like she's just found heaven. By now I'm trying to see how much of my drink I can gulp down without getting the attention of the people around me. Everyone else is fully paying attention to Halley. Dez looks like he's in deep thinking but I never really know the answer.
Halley takes a deep breath as she shuts her eyes close from not being able to contain the excitement before looking around the table while saying, "Austin and I are going to go to Lake Buena Vista that is a couple of hours away from here to start getting ideas on what kind of wedding we want to have! And the best part is that all the bride maids get to come!"
Hearing that ALL the bride maids, meaning Maid of Honor, are coming with us I do the only thing I can. Spit out all the drink I had been gulping down. And to my luck, Zayn is sitting right in front of me. Everyone stops and stares at me. It only takes me a second later to realize that Ally was choking on something too.
Halley turns her stare from Ally to me and back to Ally. "Hey are you guys alright?"
Ally and I sneak glances at each other and none of us dare to say anything. Besides, we're both trying to catch our breaths. And in my case, am trying to lower my heart rate and see how I can loop myself out of this.
"Oh that's simple," as soon as Dez starts talking I feel panic rush through my body. I never know what he's going to say and if he spills anything about Ally and me before I explain the whole situation to Halley, the news will tear her apart. As he starts his next few words my heart sinks to my stomach and I'm trying to give him hints too shut up but he's not realizing them.
"They're most likely feeling awkward to spend time together since Ally and Austin used to da-" before he can finish he yells out in pain and a few seconds is followed with, "Who kicked me? That wasn't very nice!"
To cover myself up I say, "Trish are you guys getting out of hand again?"
From the look on her face she's about to protest but one look at my eyes she can tell that I will explain everything to her later. So thanks to my lucky star, she pretends to go with it and says, "What Dez meant to say is that Austin and Ally are most likely to feel awkward at the idea of spending time together because they used to dislike one another when they met here a couple years ago."
Everything is silent and sudden it feels like a hundred degrees hotter in here. I can tell Halley lets it go for now but when we get home, something tells me I'm in big trouble. As the spotlight leaves Ally and me and turns to give some attention to Cristina and her news of being pregnant, I steal a quick glance at Ally. My plan was to avoid her at all costs until the wedding. How the hell am I supposed to do that if I'm going to go on vacation with her with four other people!? How the hell am I supposed to hide from her!?
A/N: So I said I was going to upload on Sunday but life happened. My dad broke my computer (old people disability to understand technology) and then my mom got sick. I know that the whole mom thing's confusing but I live with just my mom (parents divorced) and its been like that pretty much all my life so I take care of her and she takes care of me. We're a team and she was in so much pain that even if I tried to write this weekend i wouldn't be able to concentrate so yea. But i took her to the doctor today and now she's feeling better hence update. :) But i'm still feeling tired of not getting any sleep for the past three days (nursing mom). so I was hoping if you all would be nice enough to leave me a review and excuse my rude behavior for not thanking you all, But if you've noticed, I'll say an extra big thanks on the next upload. So please review? With a cherry on top? :)
PS. thanks to all of you that are reading you belong with me! I love you all! :)
Have a Rossome Day or Night!