Shattered

Feelings

We walk further into the house.

We spend almost four hours helping Alice with arranging things and writting invitations.

Allyson and her eldest sister are out shopping for the dresses and tuxedos.

As we're , Al and I, are busy checking the list of things we should move up, Alice calls us down.

Alyster hasn't touched me since he left for Canada.

We spent almost four hours calling people in a secluded place from the rest of the family.

And he didn't even try to touch me. Not even a little bit. Hell he's barely told me anything about his trip. I don't even want to ask, because if he wanted me to know he'd have told me right?

"I have to go to the bathroom." I say and get right up.

I walk past him and out of his room. Two doors down the hallway , I open the door to the loo.

The white walls make the room feel cold, but the painting on the left wall is very inviting. I sit on the seat and I stare blankly at the wooden vanity .

Then suddenly I hear voices outside the door.

I hush everything I possibly can, just to hear them clearly.

"So? Tell me about her." I hear Alice say. I freeze, no like literally. I feel the blood in my veins pause for a moment.

"Who?" I hear Alyster reply.  I imagine his thick brow rising up in questioning the way they always do.

"The Canadian girl." Alice says. And I swear to God I think I just pooped my heart.

"Oh Willow? What do you want to know?" I hear Alyster say.

Willow? That's the name I wanted to give our daughter. Shame man.

"Everything, like how did you two meet, what does she like, how she's like. You know." Alice pushes.

"We met at the grocery store. I was confused because I didnt know the store well. So she found me in the ladies toiletry side. On the tampon isle. She walked me through the entire store and helped me.

She likes autumn leaves, the smell of vanilla and puppies. Her favourite colour is Yellow. She adores plants and she loves reading. She's a plastic surgeon.

She's kind, but can also be really tough to get to. She's a great cook, she has the best fashion sense. She has a sense of humor. And she loves kids." Alyster says, I can hear his smile.

"Oh, my boy is in love! I hear wedding bells." Alice says.

"Hell I might be mom." Alyster says. I feel my entire body heating up.

I flush the toilet and I wash my hands. I barely even did anything in there. It just seems appropriate to do so.

I walk out of the bathroom.

"Is she gorgeous?" Alice asks.

Alyster notices me before he replies and he tenses.

I walk to his room without even looking back.

That's why he didnt want to touch me. That's why he did talk to me. He's been so weird all because of ... Willow?

I pick up the phone and call the wedding planner.

"Jennifer's event planning. Elsa speaking. " the receptionist says.

"Hi you're speaking to Gemima, I'd like to speak to Jennifer about the Annabelle Black wedding." I tell her.

"Oh, I'll put you through.  Hold on." She says, and a soothing song sounds.

I look around. I'm really proud of the way I handled that, I could've just cried. But I'm okay.

Alyster enters. Speak of the devil hey?

"Jennifer here." Jennifer's hoarse voice says.

"Hey Jenn, its Gemima of the Annabelle Black wedding." I tell her.

"Hey Gemma. How are you? How can I help?" She asks. One thing about Jennifer,  she loves her work.

"I'm not sure what's happening here, but the Blacks are moving the wedding to a closer date." I tell her.

"Oh? To when?" She asks.

"This Saturday." I tell her. I feel her surprise in my ear . It's as if she fell off her chair.

"I cant do that Gemma, I'm still waiting on the venue people to respond. That's a short amount of time. The wedding was supposed to be in a month. And what am I going to tell the caterers and the designer? And I have a wedding this Saturday. I cant go forth with you guys. I'm sorry. " She rants.

"Oh Jennifer please. You know Annabelle is really depending on you . And we're not sure if we can find a new planner at such short notice." I beg.

"I'm so sorry Gemma, I cant do it.  Goodluck with finding a new planner." She says.

"Okay, thank you. Take care Jenn." I tell her. I end the call.

"We lost her?" Alyster asks.

I nod. My head hangs low in disappointment . Annabelle is a great person, she and Danny deserve the best wedding they can get.

"I'll ask dad to talk to his connections ." He says sitting next to me on the pillowed floor .

It goes unbelievably quiet fast, its like he is walking on ice and he knows it. I barely know what to tell him anyway.

"I'm not sure if you heard what Mom and I were talking about but..." he begins.

"I heard and I understand. " I tell him, and I stand up. Before this becomes something big.

"Listen Gem..." he tries.

"No you listen Al. It doesnt matter what you and Willow are, you were never mine and I was never yours." I tell him.

"For all it matters, I really did care about you. I really did love you." He says.

"That isn't going to change anything Al. I really did care about you too." I say then I leave the room.

I hear a muffled " I'm sorry."

I just need some air.

I sit on the swing set outside in the dark all by myself. I cant go sit with Allyson, Colt is over and also they're mad at me. All because I hang out with Jeremy.

Wait, do I have a right to be upset with Alyster when I was doing the exact same thing that he was doing? I dont. I wont even justify my actions.

The swing set dips on the side.  I look to my right and I see Ariana. She smiles at me in greeting.

"Hey Ari, what are you doing out here so late?" I asks with the same warm smile.

"I should be asking you that Gemmie. Is it about the fight with Ally?" She asks.

"She told you?" I ask, instead of answering her.

"Well yea, she tells me everything. Look Gem, I'm not saying stop what you have going with that Jeremy boy. I'm just saying, you didnt have to throw Colton's faults at her. That's what made her mad.

If I know my sister well enough, I know that she isn't going to be angry for long. Just hang in there, but also apologize. You were wrong." She says. She's really smart.

"Thanks Ari." I tell her.

"You know you're like a twin to Ally, so you're my sister. Let's go inside for dinner before mom comes and carries the entire swing set inside.

I chuckle and follow her suit.