pieces | ethma

dont say yes

Emma

My best friend's wedding is tomorrow, and I have no clue if I can bring myself to go.

I'm at the hotel. I drove the three hours, my dress is perfectly steamed and ready to go, but I don't feel like going to Ethan's wedding.

It's one thing to watch someone you love get married, but it's another thing when you're in love with him.

I told Olivia that this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do—watch someone I've fallen in love with get engaged to someone else.

I told my mom I was in love with Ethan. She told me she was sorry that my heart was breaking.

Breaking? More like shattered a million times over.

There's a knock at my door as I stand in the mirror the night before, so I open the door.

"Grayson?"

"Hey," he says, walking into the room and sitting on my bed. "I just wanted to check on you."

"Oh. Why?"

"Cause Olivia told me what's going on."

"What exactly is going on?" I ask, pretending not to know.

Grayson gives me a look before patting the seat next to him.

"Sit," he says.

I quietly follow his direction, crossing my ankles and folding my hands in my lap while staring at the floor.

"Emma," Grayson says. "Is there anything you haven't been telling me?"

Unexpected tears pool in my eyes. I wasn't expecting Grayson to figure this out right now.

"Emma, it's okay. You can tell me."

"I don't wanna ruin anything," I say. "You won't see the wedding in the same way."

"I don't care. I just care about you, so tell me. Please."

One of the tears sliding down my face, I finally start sobbing. "I can't go to the wedding. I can't watch him marry someone else. It's too much for me. I don't understand why I'm not the one he chose."

"He hasn't married her yet," Grayson says. "As the best man, it's my job to stop Ethan from making bad decisions."

"But she's the one girl I'd want him to marry if it can't be me," I say.

Grayson shrugs. "I guess we have to find out if it could still be you," he says. "Ethan's my twin. I've known him since the womb. He hasn't admitted it to me, but I know how his brain works. He's not in love with her. Not in the way he loves you."

"I don't know, Grayson. We can't stop the wedding."

"Ethan can though. It's his decision in the end, even if he decides to leave with you. He's the one that has to make the final move."

"I can't ruin a wedding."

"You're not," Grayson says. "Because he's about to marry the wrong girl, and if we don't stop him he could be filing for divorce three months from now like Kim Kardashian."

I laugh. "Goodnight, Grayson," I say, leading him out the door.

I shut the door, turn the lights off and climb into bed.

Is this really happening?