Astray

14 / Dress

There were seven people already inside the Amore Wedding Boutique when Emerson and Felix entered.

Emerson recognized three of them: Felix's mom Eliza, who looked positively elated to be there; Calvin, one of Felix's eldest twin brothers; and Logan, the middle brother. Next to his brothers stood two women who Emerson figured must be Calvin and Logan's wives. One of them was a tall, slender, blonde woman who looked to be at least thirty years old. The other woman, who was much closer in stature and age to Emerson, had long dark hair that fell in curls down to her waist.

Near the back of the store, two other women—employees of the boutique, Emerson assumed—sat waiting, chatting with each other. Based on their apathetic glances up at her, Emerson felt confident that they wouldn't help her even if she had the courage to ask.

"Em," Felix said pointedly, steering her towards the middle of the room, "I think we have some introductions to do. You know my mother and my brothers, of course..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Emerson saw Calvin and Logan move casually to stand in front of the doors. She had the urge to scoff at their pathetic attempt at being inconspicuous, but she knew better.

"Travis couldn't be here, but he and his wife Kira told me they're very excited to see what we pick out," Felix went on. "I'll let these ladies introduce themselves, I'm going to go have a quick chat with the workers." He squeezed Emerson's hand tightly—she knew this was a warning, not an affectionate gesture—then strode off to shake hands with the boutique employees. Emerson didn't have a moment to breathe before she was pulled into a tight hug.

"Hi, I'm Allie," said the tall woman who was hugging her. "I'm Calvin's wife. It's so nice to meet you."

"Um, you too," Emerson responded awkwardly, unable to return Allie's warm smile. She couldn't understand how she was supposed to act excited for this, like everything was okay, when she—and the women around her—had been kidnapped.

"Oh, you're so young," Allie said fondly, taking Emerson's hands in her own. "I can't wait to see your ring. I'm sure it'll be beautiful."

Emerson couldn't find it within her to respond, so she simply nodded and turned towards the other wife.

Logan's wife pulled Emerson into a tight hug as well. What she said, however, couldn't have been more different than Allie's brainwashed sweet-talk.

"I'm Rose," she said in a normal voice, and then, leaning in even closer, she whispered, "I know this sucks but I can help you. You need to let yourself get married to him first. Don't fight him too much, otherwise we have no chance to get out."

The words had been uttered so quietly, so discreetly, that Emerson wasn't sure Rose had even said them. As they broke apart from the hug, however, Rose fixed Emerson with an intense, split-second look that clearly said "keep quiet", so Emerson did just that.

She had so many questions, so many thoughts now racing through her mind. This was the first person she had interacted with in weeks that had not only acknowledged her situation, but offered to help her out of it. But in the same breath, she had told Emerson to let herself get married, otherwise they had no chance to escape. What could that mean? Why did Emerson need to feign compliance long enough to be married? It didn't make sense. In Emerson's mind, the marriage meant she was signing her life away; a contractual deal with the devil that would make escaping Felix infinitely more difficult. Once they were married, she would be seen as his property, even more so than she was now. So why did Rose want her to go along with it?

Emerson knew she wasn't going to get the answers right now. She knew she had to act as if Rose hadn't said anything, especially with so many watchful eyes upon her. Glancing around, she was relieved to see that no one seemed to have seen or heard the secret interaction. Allie and Eliza were talking excitedly about the many dress options, Calvin and Logan were whispering to each other, still blocking the doors like bodyguards, and Felix was just now making his way back across the store with the two employees following behind.