Echos of a Genius | Spencer Reid

Church Bells

Stephie

It's the big day.

The church is breathtaking—not exactly how I'd always imagined it would be but still pretty nonetheless. Sunlight filters through the towering stained-glass windows, casting a kaleidoscope of colors across the pews, the altar, and the aisle stretched out before me. Each color feels like a memory, bittersweet and tangled in what should be the happiest day of my life. My feet are rooted at the entrance, but inside, I'm crumbling. This isn't the fairytale moment I had once dreamed about. My heart pounds, not with excitement, but with dread so deep it feels like it's suffocating me.

I look down the aisle, and there's Austin. His smile is warm, comforting in a way that only makes the guilt gnaw at my insides more. He's everything good, everything safe—someone I should want to spend my life with. But that's the problem, isn't it? I should feel happy, I should feel safe, but all I feel is trapped.

I'm standing at the entrance of the church, my hands gripping my bouquet so tightly that my knuckles turn white. The moment I've been waiting for—terrified of—has arrived.

And I'm not sure I'm ready.

A warm, steady presence beside me pulls me from my spiraling thoughts. I glance up to find Gideon standing next to me, his hand lightly resting on my arm. He doesn't say anything—he doesn't have to. The way he looks at me is enough. His eyes, full of that quiet, patient understanding he's always given me, calm me like a soothing balm on a wound. He knows. He's always known.

"You look beautiful, Stephie," he says, his voice low and steady.

I try to smile, but it wavers. "I feel like I'm going to faint."

He chuckles softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "That's normal. Everyone feels a little scared before a big moment like this."

I nod, but my chest is tight, my thoughts racing. "What if I'm making a mistake?" I whisper, the fear clawing its way to the surface.

Gideon turns to face me fully, his hands resting on my shoulders. He looks at me in that way only Gideon can—like he's reading every thought I'm trying to hide. "Stephie," he says gently, "the only mistake would be walking down that aisle without knowing what's in your heart."

I swallow hard, my breath shaky. "What if I don't know?"

His grip tightens ever so slightly, grounding me. "You do. You've always known. You just have to trust yourself."

His words settle over me, and for the first time, the frantic rush in my mind begins to slow. I take a deep breath, nodding. Gideon's been my rock through so much—more than anyone else in my life. He's the one who's seen me at my worst, pulled me back when I was falling apart. It makes sense that he's the one standing here with me now, ready to walk me into whatever comes next.

He offers me his arm, and I loop mine through it, feeling the steady strength of him beside me. The music swells softly, signaling that it's time. The doors to the sanctuary creak open, revealing the long aisle ahead. At the end of it, my future waits—Austin, smiling nervously at the altar. And, just behind him, Spencer stands with the other groomsmen, his eyes unreadable but locked on me. The sight of him, so close and yet so far, sends a pang of something sharp and confusing through me.

But now is not the time for that. I made my choice.

Gideon looks down at me one last time, a hint of pride and something fatherly in his expression. "You ready?"

I nod, even though I'm not sure if I ever will be. "Yeah."

With that, we begin to walk. Each step feels surreal, like I'm moving through a dream. The sound of our footsteps on the polished floor echoes in my ears, and for a moment, everything else fades away. It's just me and Gideon, moving toward something bigger than either of us.