𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝙰𝙻

𝚃 𝚆 𝙴 𝙽 𝚃 𝚈 - 𝙽 𝙸 𝙽 𝙴

𝚂𝙸𝚇 𝙼𝙾𝙽𝚃𝙷𝚂 𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁

"Alright and one...two...three, Iyana... Serena... you're up!" Carla, the wedding coordinator beamed.

She was trying to manage between clapping her hands, all while holding onto a clipboard that was filled with tonight's agenda as she ushered all of us out, one by one.

Iyana was first, walking down the white carpet that led to the archway, where she met and hooked arms with Chris.

Then, they walked the rest of the way down together, arm in arm where 'Vonte stood patiently. Moments later, Carla sent out Serena, where she and Nico will do the same.

Jada was always a fan of old school R&B music, so it wasn't a surprise that Brian McKnight's Back at One was the song choice for the wedding party to come out to.

Starting with 'Vonte, his and Jada's parents, and his nephew, the ring bearer, the slow tempo was also a good reminder of how to time our steps through the intimate setting of the garden venue.

Jada was farther back, making her way up to be the last one out. Her beautiful lace gown hugging her curves perfectly.

She's so beautiful.

Once we shared a gaze, I teared up. Fanning my face to keep my makeup in check. It was her smile, really.

"I love you." I whispered and pouted towards her.

The joy and obvious jitters that took over her went away as I silently reassured her, letting her know that everything would be okay, just like we talked about all day yesterday.

Then she whispered back, "I love you too."

"Okay, Soriyah. Let's go, girl!"

Now it's my turn, and I looked at Jada one more time, blowing her a kiss before walking out onto the narrow carpet, all eyes were now on me.

The photographer was crouched on the sidelines, taking pictures of almost every angle of me and I sucked in a quiet breath, clutching tightly onto the bouquet of roses, my nails digging into the smooth velvety petals.

So I walked down, one foot after the other, and I could hear the low voices getting even quieter as everyone turned to watch.

The last six months have been hard on all of us.

We'd been through hell and back, trying to slowly pick up the pieces of our lives that one long, painful night had shattered so badly.

I didn't think we'd be here, right now. Because most nights felt like endless cycles of fear, guilt and grief to the point where I had to go to therapy, just to cope.

And we rehearsed so many times, just two days ago but knowing that today's finally the day that Jada and 'Vonte, my two best friends, are finally getting married, it's all starting to feel so surreal to me.