Seneca State University - Senior Year

Chapter 8. The Sweetest Torture

Months passed and so did the holidays. Cathy and Brent went on with their lives as if nothing had happened between them. They didn't tell anyone about their decision to break up after graduation. What good would it have done except cause a lot of confusion among their friends which they didn't want. So, they pretended everything was fine between them; after all they were still together until graduation...

Cathy sat with Kiara, and the rest of their family feeling miserable inside, but putting a smile on her face for Kiara's sake. Chris and Kiara had finally decided on the date they were getting married and it just happened to be the day before graduation. The timing couldn't have been worse, but Chris and Kiara had insisted on getting married on that particular day.

The two had only dated for a couple of months, but their minds had been made up. They were perfect for each other in every way and Chris was exactly the type of person Kiara needed in her life as a husband. Still, to get married so soon, to watch two people enter a lifetime commitment so quickly and with such confidence and assurance made Cathy wonder if she and Brent were never meant to be together after all. He had been ready to jump in with her with his heart on the line and she had unintentionally crushed it. She wondered why she couldn't be more like Kiara because she knew she loved Brent more than anyone and yet...she wasn't quite ready to marry him...

So, she sat their accepting her role as the maid of honor and watching Brent accept his role as the best man. She didn't even want to think of what was going through his mind at that moment. As a matter of fact, the entire event was seriously hurting her. Her heart pounded painfully every time she made the mistake of looking into Brent's eyes and seeing the same fake smile she was wearing. Kiara chatted away excitedly with her mother and Chris' mother and Cathy's mother. Chris sister and brothers discussed what they were going to wear and the wedding rehearsal. Chris father was in the midst of discussing the financial situation of the wedding since he'd insisted on paying for the entire thing and giving them a wonderful honeymoon. It all got to be too much for Cathy and she quietly excused herself from the living room and ran outside.

Chris parents, like Brent's, lived in a huge house complete with a large immaculate yard in the suburbs. She wondered if she'd even come close to having a house like this on her own one day. Then again, she was more of a city girl than a country girl, even though she'd been raised in a small town in the country before she'd moved to Seneca. The city was always busy and made her feel alive since she was also the type who had to always be busy, always have something going on. The quietness of the suburbs would probably drive her crazy.

"Don't..." a masculine voice spoke close behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know it was Brent. She knew what he meant and sighed.

"This is hard, Brent."

"I know it is, but you have to be strong, we have to be strong for their sake. This is their happiness, their moment, their time...let's not ruin it for them."

Cathy nodded. Brent wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the top of her head. Cathy closed her eyes willing herself not to cry. "How can you still be with me knowing what's going to happen to us in a few months. You should break up with me now, being together like this is torture..."

"It is torture, isn't it?" Brent asked softly. "The most painful, sweetest torture I've ever experienced."

"There you two are! What are you doing out here?" Kiara suddenly said a few feet behind them. "We can't continue without you two, stop sneaking out and being all lovey dovey, you'll have plenty of time for that after the meeting!" She scolded and shook her head. "Sheesh, you two should be sitting right beside us planning a wedding right along with us. I don't understand what's the hold up, but then again that would cause a lot of problems having our wedding on the same date or right after each other..." Kiara laughed out loud. "Come on you two!" She went back in.