TIFFIN 2

99

After an hour, my friends came knocking on the door. Before Hero could even utter a goodbye, they bombarded me with questions about what had happened. 

I was utterly honest. 

"That girl we saw earlier- Ellen- she assaulted Hero at some club. We had her arrested not too long ago." 

"What?" Rose exclaimed. "How did she-?" 

I sighed as I buckled into my seat.

"I'm not sure. My guess is that she's been following him." 

"I wouldn't doubt it," Kylie admitted while typing away at her phone, "she scared me a lot, saying how she wanted to get even. She was always stalking his Facebook page." 

"He has a Facebook?" I asked incredulously. I never saw it when I was searching for Rose. 

Kylie shrugged. 

"He does, but he hasn't posted since he made it years ago." 

After a minute of silence, Brendan broke through it with a cheery voice. 

"Forget about her! All you need to worry about, Kristina, is a good nights rest. Tomorrow is going to be hectic and you are going to be the most beautiful bride." 

I giggled. 

"Hardly. Josephine looked pretty damn good."

Jo gave me a pitiful look. 

"It was all because of you. Now it's my turn to help you." 

The strength of our friendship hit me like a wrecking ball as we made our way down the road. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up, screaming bloody murder as I realized where I was. I was in an empty black room, unable to see much. I had a sharp pain coursing through me. 

"Hello?" I shouted. "Hello? Anyone?" 

A strong sense of fear catapulted into me, making me clutch my stomach. 

Before I could make sense of all this, I saw a white hole form in the darkness, as if there was a small opening.

Someone's head peeked through. It was Josephine. 

"Jo?" I called out desperately. 

She merely turned back towards the opening, waving at me casually.

"I'm sorry," she called back silkily, "you're on your own now!" 

As she walked away and shut the door, I tried to wriggle my way to my feet, but it was impossible. My feet slipped causing me to look at the ground. 

Seeping horrifically and red was blood from my dress. I screamed again, trying to clean it but it still ran strongly. 

"What did I do?" I cried. "What did I do?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I shot up in the bed, awoken by a pair of curtains clanking open. Instead of Rose, Josephine made preparations, jumping onto the bed like a crazed fanatic.

"You know what day it is?" She exclaimed, reminding me of what happened in the dream. 

I frowned. Had that dream been a warning?

"M-my wedding," I painfully stuttered, "Jo, I need to ask you something." 

I held onto her hands, as if afraid she would run off. 

"You would never... abandon me would you?" 

Josephine stood to her feet. 

"Abandon? Kristina, where is this coming from?" 

I shrugged, knowing I couldn't keep this a secret long. 

"I had a dream that you'd had enough of me.  You said and I quote: 'You're on your own now'." 

She gasped shaking her head.

"Kristina that could never happen. I do admit that you can act dumb sometimes but... you're stuck with me forever."

I looked down at my lap, smiling. 

"Good. I'm glad."

Josephine plopped back down on the bed, grabbing ahold of my wrists. 

"Okay, enough of all this nonsense. It's time to get some breakfast into you before we get to work on your appearance."

I coughed. 

"Do I really look that bad?" 

"Well..." Jo trailed off, flicking at my hair that resembled a haystack. "Not usually but I have to be honest: you look like a mess this morning." 

I giggled. 

"Fair enough."

I allowed her to lead me to the kitchen. Immediately I caught a strong meaty smell. As we crossed the island counter I saw that Rose was flipping bacon and mixing pancakes. 

For some odd reason, my need to eat leafy greens crept into my mind. 

I was happy to see that the gang was here. Brendan and Kylie were sat in the living room, waving at me with what looked like hair supplies. They were all dressed in their bridesmaids dresses and tuxes. 

"Get a good sleep?" Brendan called from over the sofa. 

I grinned. 

"Yes. I'm just a bit nervous."

"Relax," Rose said, passing me a few pieces of bacon, "all you have to do is sit and let us do all the work." 

I reluctantly tasted the greasy meat, closing my eyes.

Everything faded into the background. I pictured my husband, and what he looked like as I made my way down the altar. 

His eyes were softer than usual; he smiled widely, holding out a tattooed hand. I nearly lost my breath as I caught sight of what he looked like. 

He looked so good. And he belonged to me. Was this actually reality? 

"Kristina?" 

I was pulled out of my reverie, with Rose looking disturbed.

"Are you alright?" 

I cleared my throat, aware that I had phased out. 

"Yeah... I just can't wait to see what my husband looks like."

Rose snapped her fingers aggressively. 

"Hey- stop that. He can wait. Just focus on you. Finish your breakfast so we can dress you." 

I did as I was told, shoving my bacon down with orange juice. They all eyed me intensely as I finished, making me nervous.

They didn't allow me more than ten minutes in the shower. They were a force to be reckoned with, tapping on the door every so often. 

As soon as I dressed in a robe, they threw me in a salon styled chair. 

Brendan was a perfectionist, assessing my entire face. I learned to let go of my pet peeves as he applied the makeup.

As if plucking my eyebrows wasn't enough, he used light pallettes, using ivory concealer and blush. 

My face became sharper as Kylie spent a good hour or two tying my red hair into elegant knots. When it all had come together, I didn't recognize myself. I was pixie-like, with purple shades and nude lips. 

I was about to step into my wedding dress when a knock sounded on the door.