I may not be able to post a chapter next week. I'm going on vacation this coming week (leaving Sunday, February 26, and coming back Wednesday, March 1) so I'm going to be catching up on all of my missed schoolwork.
Enjoy this for now!
-CL
Marlee gasps. I hear everybody else hold their breath. "Yes!" Marlee says, throwing her arms around Carter's neck. We all blow our breaths. Carter laughs and grabs her hand, putting the engagement ring on her finger. He kisses her passionately. So much so that Aspen feels the need to call it out.
"Get a room!" he shouts, pointing to the door.
Carter flips Aspen off and continues kissing Marlee. America laughs. "That's the spirit, Carter. You kiss that girl silly." Carter either doesn't hear or ignores her because Marlee moans right then. I see Carter gently back off, knowing it's going a little far for being in front of an audience.
Once Marlee and Carter finally pull apart, they are flushed. "Oh hell yeah," Carter says,
squeezing Marlee's ass. She giggles.
America and I run over to Marlee, squealing. I hear Maxon and Aspen head over to Carter; I hear them slapping his back playfully. "Congrats, man," I hear Aspen say. Then I tune them out.
"Oh my gosh, Marlee!" America says, jumping up and down, squealing. "I'm so happy
for you! Now my two best friends are promised to a man! I think I need to hop on this train!" she says, giggling.
"Thanks, you guys! I had no idea he was planning on proposing. I didn't think it would be this soon," Marlee says. She glances back at Carter and sees him looking at her. "If you would excuse me," she says, walking toward Carter.
America and I look at each other and laugh. "How the hell are they going to not be in the bedroom right now?" America says through her giggles.
"I don't know," I say, wiping tears from my eyes. I see Marlee jumping up and down, rushing toward us. "What's up, Marlee?"
"Carter says…he wants to get married…right now! Like in…this room!" Marlee says, out of breath.
America gasps, but then starts screeching. "Oh hell yes. Bella, we need to get her ready!"
I nod. "Of course. Let me ask Maxon something first," I say, rushing toward Maxon. "Maxon!" I say, waving my arm.
Maxon turns to face me. He rushes to meet me. "What's the matter, my dear? Are you ok?"
I nod, ignoring the fact he's worried about me again. "Marlee and Carter want to get married right here and now. Can you be the officiant?" I try to catch my breath, clutching my stomach.
Maxon leans so he's leaning against me. I can feel his anxiety radiating off of him. "Are you sure you're ok, my dear?"
"Yes," I snap, probably a little too harshly. "I mean, yes," I correct myself. "I'll tell you if I'm not, Maxon. It's ok," I say, standing up straight. "So can you be the officiant, or should I get Fr. Christopher?"
"Of course, I'll be the officiant," Maxon says. He kisses my hair. "Now, you and America get Marlee ready for Carter." I feel him smirk against my hair.
"Don't worry, she'll get ready. And so will I," I say, smirking right back. "You'll just have to wait until they're gone, though. I guess it'll be a good time to practice your patience," I say, flaunting away. "Let's go, girls! We have a bride to fix!"
We've been working on Marlee for the past two hours. America worked on her hair while I worked on her makeup. Now we're trying to find her a dress, but we can't find one that suits her. "What if you wore the dress that you used at Bella's wedding?" Ames asks going through all of my dresses.
"I don't want to use a recycled dress. And I want a white dress, not a pale blue. Ugh, maybe we should just wait," Marlee says burying her face in her hands. "It was a stupid idea to begin with."
I kneel down next to her, placing my hand on her back. "Marlee, no. It wasn't stupid. It was a great idea to get away from all the planning that would have gone into the wedding. We'll figure something out. Why don't we-" I start to suggest, but America yells out. I whip around. "America? Are you ok?" I rush over to where I last saw her.
Tears are streaming down America's face. "The baby! It…I felt it kick!" Her hands are placed on her stomach, ready to feel the baby kick again.
"Ames, that's great! Can I try to feel it?" I ask. America nods. I gently place my hand on her stomach. I feel a light tap against my hand. "Ames! I felt it!" I hug her knowing this is a big thing for her.
I see that there are tears in her eyes when I pull away. "Thanks, Bella. You've helped me get this far. I hope you are the best aunt to my daughter," she says, squeezing my arm. "Now, besides that, I found a dress! Here it is!" America pulls one of my dresses off the hanger and shows it to me. "Do you think this will work?"
I stare at the dress. "I forgot I still had that," I say. I never liked this dress. I have no idea how long I've had it, but I knew it would look terrible on me. I know Marlee can pull it off beside the fact that we have similar body types. It's a sleeveless dress with a V-neckline. Marlee has a similar body type, but she's skinnier than me. At least, she was until I stopped eating. The dress could work for me now, but I hate my arms, so I would never be comfortable wearing a sleeveless dress, which is why I had off-the-shoulder long sleeves on my wedding dress. It's slinky, but modest enough, with the skirt going to the floor. The back is bare, with a huge swoop that just covers the ass area.
"Do you think Marlee will like it?" America asks. Luckily, I don't have to answer.
Marlee walks into the room, hearing America's question. "Would I like what?" she asks. When her eyes land on the dress she gasps. "Oh my…it's beautiful!" She rushes forward and gently pulls the dress against her body, admiring it in the mirror.
"Let's get you dressed!" America says.
"You help her, Ames. I'm going to run to Marlee's room to grab her a pair of heels. Do you need anything else?"
"We need to figure out what to use as a veil," America says, already having Marlee get undressed.
I bite my lip, knowing well enough that I have a veil that she could use. "Ummm…well…I may have something that may work. It's my mantilla…I use it when I go to Mass. Marlee, you can use it." I quickly grab it and bring it back. It's white and spills down to my mid-back and it has a clip to hold it in place. "Will this work?" I ask, putting it on to show how it looks.
"Yes! That'll work. Now all I need is some heels," Marlee says, already putting the veil on.
"I'm on it," I say rushing to Marlee's room. I get to her closet and look around. I find some cute glittery white stilettos that will work perfectly. I start walking out of the closet when I'm hit with another dizzy spell. "Oh, hell no." I try to stand upright, but I end up sinking to my knees to avoid falling and hurting myself. I place the stilettos away from me and try to breathe through the spell. "Fuck. Please, God, no." I try to fight off the darkness, but it soon consumes me and I fall to the floor.
