AN/: I originally wanted this out on Valentines Day but eeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhh life has been super shitty recently. I'm also sorry it's a bit shorter than other chapters. But happy (late) Valentines Day and I hope you enjoy! :)

The

"Perfect"

Day

Song recommendation: "Ptolemaea" by Ethel Cain

The Wedding

Maria

-.-

I smiled at my reflection within the mirror. With a gentle smile, I placed the veil over my face as I took a shaky deep breath. Today was the day! I was finally getting married. Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamt of this experience; being surrounded by my friends and family while walking down an aisle to marry the love of my life. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach as I wiped a single tear away. I can't cry, not yet at least. I didn't need to ruin my makeup and redo everything. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest as my hands trembled. I was so nervous and happy that I could almost explode. I smoothed my hands over the corset that bound me into the very vintage dress with the puffy and lace sleeves. I adjusted the lace turtleneck part of the dress before letting out a shaky breath.

Well, here goes nothing.

I slowly stood up and grabbed the bouquet of wildflowers - the same I had handpicked; marigolds, bluebonnets, indian paintbrushes, pink primroses, and a few sunflowers. It was a unique and wild assortment of flowers but I loved them. They reflected my true love of nature and photographing it well. The petals of the sunflowers brushed against my nude colored nails, reminding me of my love for them and the man I was about to marry soon; such as the bright yellow color of the petals mirroring the happiness I felt when I was with this young man. I held the bouquet up to my nose, taking a small whiff, before enjoying the natural floral and earthy smells.

Suddenly, someone softly knocked on the door of my little dressing room. I smiled softly before lowering the bouquet and looking over at the door. It creaked open before a head popped in while covering their eyes. I could tell by the slight mustache that it was my papa. I smiled wider as I saw him trying his best not to peek unless it's okay to do so. I took a few steps towards him as he clumsily stepped further into the room with his eyes covered.

"Is it okay to look?" He asked with a large smile.

I chuckled before nodding, "Yes, you can see me."

Without wasting any time, my papa lowered his hand before opening his squeezed shut eyes. His big brown eyes, that my sister inherited from him, started to well up with tears. A lump formed in his throat that he swallowed and choked back. My papa gently grabbed me by my shoulders and rubbed the lace fabric before sniffling. His mustache trembled as his lips quivered before turning into a large smile. My papa took a deep breath before mustering up the courage to speak.

"My hija," He whispered before reaching underneath my veil and wiping my own tears away, "you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen… don't tell your mama!"

I let out a breathless laugh as I felt a few more tears slip down my face. He continued to wipe them away with a gentle and loving smile. I shook my head before gently placing my hand on top of his. My papa was always the nicest, hard working, and loving man I've ever met. I sniffled before gently rubbing his hand that still was placed on my upper arm.

"Mama would kill you." I chuckled.

"Yeah, we don't want that today." He leaned forward and gently kissed my forehead through the veil before pulling away. He held his arm out with a reassuring smile, wanting us to lock arms. Papa wore a black suit with a matching black bow tie. In his outer breast pocket, he had an assortment of wildflowers instead of some fancy handkerchief. His hair was combed back with a gel as he wore his large bifocal glasses. He truly looked handsome. I slid my own arm through his before holding the bouquet up to my chest.

We walked out of the building, following a little brick path before it became nothing but dirt. The bottom of the vintage cream colored dress started to get dirty but I didn't mind. I could easily brush or wash it off when I had the time. Nothing could ruin my perfect day. It didn't take long for us to be at the doors of the white wooden chapel. I could feel my nerves skyrocket as I trembled lightly. My papa looked over at me with a reassuring smile, patting my hand that was wrapped around his arm.

"You're going to be just fine." He whispered over to me.

"You sure?" My voice was a shaky whisper. He doesn't say anything in return, giving me another small smile. The pair of double doors opened, exposing a red carpeted aisle to walk down. That's weird, I don't remember agreeing to that. My brows knitted together in confusion before looking up. None of this is what I planned. None of this is what I wanted. All the hard work of planning and saving was for nothing. My happy smile faltered for a split second before seeing something - my smile regaining its place.

At the end of the altar was my future husband.

His back was turned towards me while standing on the right side of the altar. His broad shoulders were covered with a black suit jacket, similar to my papa's, along with matching black dress pants and shoes. His hair was longer in the back but gelled down neatly, obviously trying to look his absolute best. His hands were placed behind his back, overlapping each other, nervously fidgeting in a cute way. It was nice to know I wasn't the only nervous one. His hands were bare of any jewelry, waiting eagerly to have me slide the wedding band on once it came time. Candles illuminated my journey as I continued down the aisle. Surrounding me were friends and family, such as Leland and Julie who were happily holding onto each other. Or Sonny and June, who were giving me bright smiles to reassure me. Not to mention Connie, who was standing next to June, and had tears in her eyes as she was happy to see her best friend's special day. But most importantly, I saw Ana and mama. Mama was crying and wiping her tears with a tissue as Ana held her own back. Everyone I have ever loved was going to witness me marry another person I truly loved.

Danny.

I turned my head towards the figure that I was now faced with, his back turned towards me still. The cliche tune of "here comes the bride" stopped on the piano nearby as I had made it to my destination. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves, before slowly letting it out. Here's to forever. I was about to marry Danny - the man who I've loved for a while now and planned to continue loving until the end of time. His back was still turned towards me, probably waiting for my father to tap him on the shoulder and hand me over to him. My father smiles weakly before turning towards me, a small pain within his smile. Is he sad because I'm no longer his little girl? No, no there's something that lies deeper underneath the surface. I looked over at him before trying to give him a reassuring smile. Or maybe it's to give myself one at this point. My papa gently lifted the veil over my face, raising it up, and then letting it gently fall - having it rest on my back. His hand moved to my face where he gently cupped my cheek, having me lean more into his loving touch.

"Oh, Maria." He sighed out as his thumb gently stroked my cheek, "What have you done?"

What?

My brows knitted together in confusion at his words. What does he mean by that? Did I do something bad? I looked into his sorrowful eyes when something suddenly light fell onto him. I thought it was a water droplet but… it was red. Not even a second later, I then felt something land and started to roll down my face. I raised my fingertips up to touch the droplet - having it smear across my forehead and then across my index finger. I rubbed my finger and thumb together, trying to make sense of what it could be. But there was only one obvious answer.

Blood.

My eyes widened at the blood that now stained my skin. More blood droplets began to rain down around us - slowly at first and then more rapidly like a rain storm that was creeping in. I looked back at my papa who seemed to be covered in blood now. But somehow, the bloody rain was like acid on him. He began to look more sickly and older - such as when the cancer had completely taken over him. But then the blood began to wash away his skin, having him start to deteriorate in front of my eyes. The random rainstorm of blood mixed in with his own as his skin completely washed away - showing his muscles. His teeth fell out as his eyes dangled loosely - their sockets completely deteriorated. It wasn't long until his skeleton was only left - dropping limply to the floor around my ankles and being drowned with the river of blood.

I looked around me - seeing all the guests in the audience murdered. Leland was sawed in half, Julie had a deep cut between her chest, Connie had several little cuts on her body, Sonny had his neck snapped, and Ana had a deep gash in her stomach. Other guests, such as June and my mama, also had very grotesque endings. Some had cuts all over their bodies, some looked like their heads were bashed in, some had bruises around their necks as if they were choked, and so forth. My eyes widened as I looked back at the man I was supposed to marry. He still had his back turned. Why wasn't he turning around?! As I started to come back to my senses, after the huge shock of what happened to my dad and guests, I heard something. It was coming from above. I tilted my head back, noticing a large cross right below the circular stained-glass window. Hung on the cross, as if he was Jesus himself, was the man I thought I was marrying.

"Danny?!" I called out in shock.

His own palms were nailed in the same locations as my lord and savior. He also had a very deep wound in his stomach - part of his intestines hanging out of him as blood spilled from his wounds. He was dying. The man who would do anything for me - becoming my own personal savior - was now paying the price. My bouquet dropped to the ground - quickly becoming stained from the blood of those around me. Danny's breath was severely raspy, as if he was struggling to continue living. I shook my head in disbelief as tears welled in my eyes. Everyone I ever knew and loved was dead. The love of my life was strung up to an audience of corpses - slowly accepting his fate of death.

At that moment, the person at the altar - that I thought was Danny - had begun to turn around. Upon further examination, he wasn't looking forward to the wall in front of him. No, his head was tilted back as he was looking up at Danny on the cross. Why didn't he say or do anything? Who would just sit back and watch someone die?! I felt tears roll down my face as the figure had completely turned around and faced me now. I wasn't even shocked anymore after all I had witnessed. It was easy to tell by his sharp jawline, slight smirk on his lips, his dark brown and captivating eyes, the slicked back hair, and of course the iconic scar on his face.

It was Johnny.

I was about to marry Johnny.

Johnny's little smirk grew into a toothy grin as he looked at me. I was covered in blood - my cream colored dress now completely ruined. I knew I couldn't wear white, not after fully cheating on Danny. But the fresh blood staining my blood to a dark crimson color must've been my karma. I deserve this. I deserved to be completely alone after all I had done. I was a disappointment to my papa for not stepping up enough to take care of mama and Ana. I was a bad girlfriend for cheating on Danny with a man I barely knew - just because I thought it could buy me more time along with thinking the man truly cared about me. I failed Virgina, the mother who just wanted to find her son but ended up dying due to my fear. Lastly, I hurt my friends for making them worry so much which ultimately is leading them to their demise.

This is all my fault.

"Look at my beautiful bride." Johnny spoke softly, his breath being taken away. His index and thumb gently grabbed my chin, pulling me close, but I snapped my head away as I looked up at Danny and then back at Johnny.

"I'm not your bride." I shook my head with a glare in my eyes, "I never will be, Johnny."

Johnny's little smile dimmed - noticing how serious I was. He searched my eyes, trying to decipher if I was joking or not. Spoiler alert; I wasn't. Johnny's soft gaze turned into a glare - which if looks could kill would've had me join everyone else around us - as his jaw was wired shut. His nostrils flared as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

"Oh? Is that so?" Johnny chuckled. Within a split second, Johnny had grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him. The fear that consumed me was intense - causing me to start shaking violently as tears rolled down my face harder. He raised my left wrist into the air before glancing over at it. He laughed lightly before properly examining it. With a cocky smile, he spoke once more; "It looks like you already are, sunshine."

It was now my turn to look. My gaze left his eyes before going towards my hand. Sure enough, on my left ring finger, was already one ring; it was a large diamond with tinier diamonds clustered around it. Johnny reached into his front jacket pocket and pulled out a wedding band with even tinier diamonds - perfectly complimenting the engagement ring on my finger. He forced my fingers apart before sliding the band onto my finger - right against the engagement ring. Johnny then reached back into his pocket and handed me a larger wedding band - the one that would fit his own finger. I shook my head no as he forcefully placed it into the palm of my hand. I didn't want to marry him. I only wanted to marry Danny - who was now dead at this point. Johnny reached behind him, grabbing that large knife he would always carry, while aiming it at my throat. I had no choice in this situation. I had to obey him - just like he wanted all along - and go through with this. I choked back a sob as I grabbed his left hand before sliding the silver band onto his finger. At that moment, the large bell of the church rang before the piano began to play. Except the man who was playing the piano had completely disappeared. I wondered if he was murdered like the guests or ran off. Instead of doves being released, a bunch of loud crows began to scream in horror instead of victory in our new marriage. I looked back into Johnny's eyes who now had a sinister smile - as if he had everything he ever wanted and knew it wasn't what I wanted at all. Johnny leaned in before gently kissing me. But then the kiss became more aggressive and possessive - his lips pressing hard against mine to the part that my mouth had broken open and I could feel his teeth clashing against my own. His tongue was trying to desperately explore my personal space without my own consent and enjoyment. It's almost funny; how the sparks and excitement from our past stolen kisses had died. Our short lived affair was nothing but ashes now. Instead, all my feelings towards him had died and had been replaced with anger, disgust, and fear. The most fucked up part of this all was that he knew this and didn't care.

Johnny let out a small laugh before speaking a final time; "Until death do we part, Mrs. Slaughter."