Camille looked her daughter up and down in the mirror. “Fix your makeup. You have five minutes. See you out there.”
With that, Camille sauntered out of the bridal suite and left Glimmer alone. Another thing she couldn’t believe. She was completely alone on her damn wedding day. Not only did she not have the groom of her choice, but she also didn’t have any friends. After so many years in isolation, Glimmer was used to feeling lonely, but on a day like today, it hit differently.
She chose to use the next few minutes to do her best to hype herself up into doing this. She didn’t really have much of achoice. Trick had promised a slow and painful death to her if she did anything to mess up their union. He’d gloated about their wedding night and how he couldn’t wait to finally get a taste of her. She shivered at that thought. Glimmer didn’t have a whole lot of sexual experiences, but the ones she had were her decision. Trick was completely taking that away from her for the rest of her life. She felt like she was drowning with the loss of herself, and nobody could see that.
Nausea made her bend at the waist as she grabbed her midsection. She wished she could tear the dress off and take in a deep breath, but there was no time for that. With a power that had to come straight from her ancestors, she straightened and wiped her tears once more. She decided to deliberately not fix her makeup to spite her mother as she took short steps toward the door just as it swung open.
Stacy, the wedding coordinator, popped her head in. “Oh, good. You’re still in here. We’re ready for you, honey. You look beautiful.”
Glimmer tried to muster up a smile, but all she could manage was a neutral face as she followed behind Stacy.
The venue they rented for the occasion was extravagant. Had this not been forced on her, Glimmer would have genuinely wanted to get married there. The ceilings were high with paintings of beautiful angels and clouds on them. The floors were shiny marble that seemed to glitter as people walked on them. The designs were a mesh of Victorian century and modern-day sleek. The views of the ocean were photo worthy. Glimmer had the sudden urge to cry again because the beauty of the place shouldn’t be wasted on such a terrible occasion.
When they reached the closed doors that would lead into the room where all the guests and Trick waited, Glimmer felt bile rise into her throat. Her pace slowed, and Stacy turned to look at her.
“Come, dear. The music is already playing. We have to open these doors.”
Glimmer stared at her for a moment before taking a few more steps to get into place. She tried to take a deep breath, but she could only inhale small bursts of air at a time. She felt like she was about to hyperventilate, but before she could warn Stacy, the bubbly lady flung the doors open.
Time stood still as she stared at the man she was about to marry. He was dark-skinned with a bald head and a full beard. He wasn’t even bad looking, but his aura was all wrong. The energy he exuded felt pure evil, and as the bride, Glimmer wanted nothing to do with him.
Gasps sounded through the room over the sound of the soft music playing, but Glimmer barely registered it as she glanced at her mother. Of course, she sat in the front and center of the space, ready for her daughter to marry an evil man to make sure she got her lavish lifestyle she missed so dearly.
Daddy.
He was the one person Glimmer wanted right now more than anything. The day her father got locked up was the day Trick came and got her. He forbade her to see her father or even talk to him. She had no idea how Juke was doing behind bars, and she was sick about it.
Her feet planted in place. Glimmer physically couldn’t move forward. Her feet refused to carry her to her dreadful future. Trick grinned at her. He stood there tall and mighty in his expensive white tux, and reality hit her. This life wasn’t one she could stomach. For six months, she’d tried to be strong to save herself and her family, but she couldn’t do it for a lifetime. Not when six months had already dwindled her down to a shadow of herself.
Run.The voice in her head was loud and clear.Run. Run as far and as fast as you can.Glimmer still couldn’t move.Trick had a brow raised now, as if to ask her why she hadn’t brought her ass down the aisle. She knew Stacy spoke to her, but Glimmer couldn’t make out the words. She stood in a trance. Her eyes found her mother again, who looked like she wanted to curse Glimmer out and drag her down the aisle by her ear.
Run. Now. Run!
Glimmer blinked and snapped out of her fear for just a split second. It was enough time for her feet to move though. Not toward Trick, but away. Far, far away.
She lifted her dress, kicked off her five-inch diamond encrusted heels, and she ran.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she pushed open the front doors of the venue and sprinted toward the wooded area. The only thing on her mind was to disappear. What better way than to slip into the woods?
Her legs pumped as she ran faster. The sun beat down on her, and sweat settled on her forehead. The woods welcomed her just as she heard someone shout her name. It sounded like her mother, but Glimmer knew she’d disappeared behind the trees before anyone could spot her. Still, she ran. She needed to put as much distance between her and those people as she could.
A branch snagged her dress. She yanked at it, and the slit tore further up her body, exposing her underwear. Glimmer didn’t care. She balled the fabric up and held it up as she continued her run.
The dirt beneath her toes was soft in contrast to the crunchy leaves, sticks, and rocks that cut the bottom of her soles. The feeling of pain didn’t register. All she knew was she needed to keep running.
Fear of getting lost in the woods struck her, but that would be a fate far better than marrying Trick.
For thirty minutes, she ran until she came out on the other side of a clearing and into a street. A car horn honked, andbrakes screeched. She saw her life flash before her eyes, but she merely got tapped by the white car at the side of her hip. She cringed. It hurt like hell, but she didn’t fall, so she continued running, now with a limp.
“Hey! Are you okay?”
Glimmer heard the concerned woman, but she couldn’t take a chance accepting help from a stranger. She couldn’t trust anyone, but she also didn’t want to drag an innocent person into her mess.
She tried to get her bearings and realized she recognized the area. It had been years since she had been on this side of Desmore Bay. Decades. She didn’t even think about where she should go. Her heart simply knew. It wasn’t far from there, so she half ran, half limped as fast as she could.
It only took her another ten minutes before she saw the house looming in the distance. She didn’t even know if anyone she knew still lived there, but it was her only hope. Her toe stubbed on a curb when she tried to cross the street, and she tripped. Her ankle twisted, and she cried out in pain. Her knees smacked on the concrete, and her hands skinned when she tried to catch herself.
Tears clouded her vision as she gritted her teeth. She didn’t come this far to give up, so she allowed her tears to fall as she stood again and stumbled toward the house.
