The Second Tour of 44West

ch. 29 - getaway car

Elizabeth

--

I had just finished writing Robbie a letter, explaining why I was leaving and how I expected him to seek help for his gambling problem as soon as he could. I told him how I'll always have a piece of me that cares for him, but I just couldn't take vows in front of our friends and family promising to spend the rest of my life with him. I lied and told the girls around me that I was making some last minute changes to my vows, but my sisters knew better and promised to give him the envelope once I left.

Ashley was helping me out of the wedding dress when she walked in.

She called me 'Lizzie'.

Everyone in the room glossed over that fact because it seemed like such a minute detail, but it was everything to me. If I wasn't sure about my decision before, I definitely was after I heard that, and I knew I needed to go find her.

The moment she left, Ashley pulled me from my dazed stupor and helped me finish getting out of the dress. I ignored every comment coming from everyone else, only listening to Ash and MK when she walked in moments later.

"You little shit." Ashley said to her as she walked in with an innocent expression.

"What? Did something of note happen?"

"Oh, shut up you know what you did." I said, throwing my street clothes on and trying to act annoyed, but I couldn't help the little smirk that was pulling at the corner of my mouth. It was such an 'MK' thing to do, even if it was meddlesome.

"Seems like you might have liked what I may or may not have done." She teased back, smirking at me like she could read my mind and every thought that called it home.

"Well," I started, throwing the last of my things back into my bag and zipping it up. "I had already made up my mind before anyways, but seeing her and realizing how I felt when I did, kind of reassured me that I was making the right decision."

"Fucking, finally! Dear God, we've been waiting forever to hear you say that." Ashley said, making me pause my hurried movements to look at her with a tilted head.

"I'm so sorry I've been keeping you waiting." I shot back, unamused.

"What's going on?" A bridesmaid asked from somewhere on the other side of the room, and I couldn't help but laugh as MK just held her hand up to her to tell her to 'shut up' in the nicest way she knew how.

Putting her hand down when she was satisfied that the woman had been silenced, she said, "Yeah, well you better not keep Rion waiting. She's probably about to pull out of the parking lot now."

I widened my eyes at what she was suggesting. I know that's what I wanted to do, but I didn't really want it to be public knowledge. "I know I'm running away from the wedding, but I can't just run away with Rion."

"And why the hell not?" Ash asked, assertive fists on her hips.

"Because I -" I floundered, looking for any bullshit excuse as to why I couldn't jump into Rion's arms right now. "My car is here. I can't just leave it."

"Yes you can. I don't know if you've noticed, but we are two different people. I will take our car and MK will take yours back to your house." Ashley reasoned, making me realize that lying to my sisters was never going to work. Actually, it worked zero out of ten times if we want to get into the stats. Might as well just do what I want and not lie about it, and that was going with Rion.

"Actually, can you take my car to your place? I don't want to go home just yet."

"Of course." She replied with a wink. "Now hurry up before she's gone."