The Marriage Contract

8. Wedding Bells

            I woke up early Saturday morning. Not on purpose. My mind kept turning over and over itself and it was safe to say, sleep just wasn't a factor. Sitting up, I glanced over at the clock. A bright red 5:16am flashed in my face and I groaned, falling back onto my pillows.

"I'm getting married, today," I whispered to myself aloud as I let the fact sink in. I was marrying a man that I barely knew; a man that I can't seem to decide if I like or not.

Laying there for a few more minutes and realizing that going back to sleep was never going to happen, I pushed the covers back and got out of bed. Walking out of my bedroom, I made my way into the kitchen, only to find Ryland standing beside the coffee maker. "Couldn't sleep either," he asked, handing me a cup of coffee.

I shook my head, "Not in the slightest," I said, taking a sip from my cup; we didn't talk much after that, just stayed in silence and drank our coffee.

As I finished up my coffee, I could hear my alarm going off in my bedroom. 6:00am. Just as it started, the front door opened and in marched Ryland's mom, Lanah, his sister, Roxy, my mom and Hayley, all with exited, devious looks on their face.

Before I could do much of anything, they headed straight for me, dragging me back into my bedroom. As they pulled me down the hall, I could hear Ryland's soft chuckle and I glared. "Don't worry. The boy's will be here for him, shortly," Roxy said to me and I smirked, letting them pull me the rest of the way into my bedroom.

"Alright. Put these on and we'll be heading out," Hayley said, handing me a pair of yoga pants and flip flops.

I looked at her confused, "Out? I thought we were getting ready here," I said.

Then, as if on cue, they all began to laugh. "And risk letting him see you? I don't think so," Roxy said, hooking her arm through mine. "Now, let's get out of here."

They proceeded to drag me out of the apartment and to the elevator. As per usual, I tensed up, but soon enough, the doors opened. As we walked towards the front doors, we passed a group of men, two of whom I recognized to be Ryan Steel, Ryland's dad, and Axel. They were clad in casual clothes and excited – or proud in the case of Ryan – smiles as they started piling into the elevator that we all had just come out of. Axel sent a smile my way and waved as he made his way inside and the doors closed.

Making our way out of the building, I was steered in the direction of my mom's Suburban. The moms climbed in the drivers and passengers side seats while Hayley and Roxy pushed me in the back seat, each of them sitting on either side of me. After a few minutes-drive, we pulled into the Steel Estate. My mom parked at the front of the house; the girls let me out of the backseat, leading me into the house.

As we walked in, I was overwhelmed by the number of people scampering around to this, that and the other. As we passed the kitchen, I could see women cooking and a large cake plate sitting in the middle of the counter. I strained my neck to try and see more inside to get a glimpse at what was, obviously, my wedding cake, when my mom stepped in front of me. "Ah, ah, ah," she said, shaking her head, "No peeking. We want you to get the full affect like everyone else." I rolled my eyes, but complied, letting Hayley and Roxy drag me up stairs after the moms went into the kitchen to help out.

After walking down a couple halls, we came to a set of double doors. Stepping in front of me, Roxy opened the doors and ushered me into the biggest bedroom that I had ever seen. It seemed like it could be a small apartment tacked onto the back of the second floor. Windows stretched along the majority of the back yard where I could see more people moving around like ants, placing flowers, lights and chairs. Before I could look too deeply, again, I was pulled away and ushered into the most terrifying bathroom I had ever seen.