“She’s a lot to take, isn’t she?” Millie looks across the room to where Iris is talking to Anita.
“I think the two of them have hit it off.” I’m grateful that Anita being here has distracted Greaser's mom's attention from me. I have enough to deal with today without dealing with her erraticness.
“You know, we should probably start thinking about getting you into your dress,” Eden tells me excitedly. She designed it herself and has altered it three times since my baby girl decided that my waistline needed to stretch some more.
“I haven’t finished her hair yet,” Freya tells her, still working on creating a masterpiece on top of my head, all while I focus on keeping myself from being sick. I didn’t sleep last night; all I could think about was how wrong all this feels. So many thoughts are swirling around my head right now, and with all the chaos in the room, it’s starting to feel like it’s spinning.
The door opens, and when Peyton steps inside, she looks like she’s had even less sleep than I have.
“Where the hell have you been?” Eden scolds her. “You were supposed to be here hours ago. We have to be at city hall in just over an hour.”
“Raze never came home last night,” she tells Eden, her eyes wide and scared.
“Well, did he say where he was going?” Eden places down my dress and goes to her, gathering her shaking hands in hers and attempting to steady them.
“No, he said he had something he had to deal with, and then he left. We had a fight; I said some things I shouldn’t have, and I could tell he was upset.” She suddenly bursts into tears.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Eden wraps her up in a hug.
“Because I thought he’d come home. I didn’t want to worry you,” she explains through her sobs.
“Peyton, I’m sure Raze is fine.” I get up from the chair and join them, stroking my hand across her back.
“Oh, look at me, ruining your special day…you look beautiful.” She lifts her head from Eden’s shoulder to tell me.
“You're not ruining anything. You’re worried, and that's understandable, but wherever Raze is, I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Maybe he just needed some time to himself after what happened yesterday.” Eden smiles sadly.
“What happened yesterday?” Freya asks, making her way over and looking confused.
“We were told we couldn’t keep Leo,” Peyton explains, wiping her eyes and looking deflated. “Obviously, I didn’t take the news well, and Raze kept blaming himself. I lost it with him....How did you know?” she questions Eden.
“Raze told Sinner; Sinner told Wrath.” She leads Peyton over to the kitchen table and pulls out a chair for her. “You should have called us; we would have all been there for you.”
“I love you girls, but I wantedhim.” She drops her head into her hands and cries.
“I know this sounds obvious, but have you tried calling him?” I check.
“It just goes straight to voicemail.” She shakes her head. “I really don’t know what to do,” she answers.
“Peyton, my brother is a proud man; he thought a lot of that kid, and he probably just needs a little time. He probably wants to comfort you but has no idea how. He’ll be somewhere safe, getting his head around everything,” Eden assures her. “I’ll bet he’ll be home later today. Let’s use getting you ready as a distraction. You can get a little drunk and then, together, we can figure out how we’ll kick his ass for making you stress when he gets back.”
“That sounds like the perfect plan,” Freya agrees.
“I really am sorry, Alicia, today's meant to be all about you.” Peyton wipes away the rest of her tears and tries to look excited for me.
“Honestly, don’t be sorry,” I tell her, feeling all the nerves knot in my stomach when the attention’s on me again.
“And you must not overdo it.” Iris moves toward me, placing her hand on my stomach.Again.We don't want little baby Iris making an early appearance; she’s not fully cooked yet.”
“Iris?” Millie mouths the name at me from across the room, and I quickly shake my head back at her, letting her know I’ll explain later.
“Guess you better give me that dress to put on.” I smile at Eden, needing a little time alone, and everyone standing around me, expecting me to be an excited bride, suddenly feels very suffocating.
I take the dress and head down the hall toward my room, closing the door behind me and staring at my bed. Next time I get into it, Greaser will be with me; he’s expecting us to make love tonight as he’s been waiting for so long, but I really don’t think I can do it.
I appreciate his kindness and commitment. He’s stepped up in a way that I wouldn’t have expected from anyone, and I’ve tried so hard to make myself fall in love with him, but he’s not V?—.
