Hate Notes

Chapter 10

I was emotionally spent, and the wedding hasn't even been officiated yet. The heavy toll of emotions dumped on me felt like an entirely new experience I absolutely hated. Don't get me wrong, weddings were great, but what happens before a wedding was not.

Kelly had freaked out over a lot of things in twenty minutes, had a meltdown, cried, and laughed. I could never understand the emotions a bride goes through on her wedding day, but it was enough to make me not want to see more.

I didn't get the whole point of the crying part. It was a joyous occasion, one to be remembered, but neither one of these ladies had stopped crying when Kelly came out in her wedding dress. I admit, it pulled a smile on my face, but the women in the room started bawling, which made Kelly bawl too, and the poor makeup artist had to redo the makeup for the third time.

It was at that time Kelly noticed I haven't put on my dress yet. I had done my makeup, but the dress was still hung up in the closet. The other bridesmaids were wearing their dresses, looking pretty in it.

Kelly was sitting in front of the mirror. Her makeup was beautifully done and her veil was pinned to her dark hair. "Iris, why are you not wearing your dress? Is something wrong with it? Do you need it altered? I have someone for that. I could call-"

"No," I rushed to say, shaking my head. "I just finished eating, and I didn't want to stain it."

"Yes, we can't have the sister of the groom walking down the aisle with a stain on her dress," she replied, handing a list to her maid of honor, a list I was sure was the to do list I saw her writing last night. Everything needed to be checked, I remembered her saying.

I approached. "You look so beautiful, Kelly. Jason is truly lucky."

She smiled through the mirror. "We're finally going to be sisters." She seemed too happy about that. "I have always wanted a sibling."

I, on the other had, had dreamt of not having a sibling. Living through my childhood with Jason and Jesse made me wish I was an only child. Though, having a sister didn't sound all too bad. At least, sisters weren't built with the brain of a peanut. They were not messy and annoying.

The bridesmaids dresses were gorgeous. If there was one thing I was sure about Kelly, she knew my taste.

"Oh my god," Cece shrieked when she saw me in the dress, doing a dramatic inhale with a hand pressed to her chest. "You look divine!"

"You really do," Kelly added with a grin. "I knew the color was going to look good on your skin. Your mum wasn't sure, but I knew it."

"Yes, but..." I looked down at my exposed cleavage, suddenly feeling like it might be over the top. The rest of the bridesmaids weren't as exposed as I was. I frowned. "This feels like revenge." My brows shot up at Kelly.

Cece tilted her head, studying me. "Why does it matter if it's a revenge dress when you look great enough that we all hope you will find someone today?"

"Ugh, I can't believe you altered my dress hoping my cleavage would get me a boyfriend. What fresh hell did I fell into?" I drifted past her to get to the mirror, twisting my lips in a curl. "People might think I'm trying too hard."

"Don't worry," my cousin answered. "No one is going to look at you. You're not the bride."

I drilled Cece with a sharp glare, but she waved me off with a laugh. The rest of the bridesmaids were doing their hairs, and there was so much bottles spraying into the air that we were all inhaling, curling and flat irons being worked, and a loud, collective chatters and laughter.

"Oh!" Kelly's sudden exclamation had the entire suite break into action, spilling questions after questions, wondering if something had happened to the bride-if her dress had torn, if she had stained it, or if the makeup was ruined. Every other problem had the bridesmaids carrying the answers for it. It made me realized how ready they were to tackle any problem.