𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐒 ~| 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘴

Strawberry Wine

~'~ 

𝙉𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠

𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨, 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪

𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨

𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚, 𝙬𝙚'𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙩

‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿

Cassi

I was running.

As always.

The lace veil fluttered in my hand like it was trying to escape, and I was late. Of course I was late. My heels were uneven on the polished floor, one click always sharper than the other, echoing down the corridor like the world's most chaotic drumbeat. The hallway blurred past, flower arrangements and ivory ribbons tied in bows so perfect they made me irrationally angry. Somewhere in the distance, a string quartet was tuning, elegant and serene and absolutely useless to me right now.

"Move, move, move," I muttered under my breath, weaving past a confused server taking a break.

There was a low thrum beneath my ribs, something like nerves. Excitement. A reckless kind of joy. All tangled together in a heartbeat that felt too big for my chest.

It was happening. After everything, the years, the near-misses, the ridiculous detours and second guesses, it was really happening. The white dress. The vows. The promises.

I skidded to a stop outside the suite, breathless and flushed and catching a glimpse of myself in the hallway mirror. Hair slightly askew, makeup still intact (miraculously), veil still clenched in one fist like a captured flag. My heart thudded hard against my ribs.

I raised a hand. Knocked.

The door burst open before I could knock a second time.

"Oh, thank God," Rory groaned, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me inside like I'd just returned from war.

Inside, it was a storm of hairspray and silk and flower petals. The room was warm with perfume and perfume-adjacent panic. Thea stood near the vanity, somehow managing to look ethereal and composed despite the chaos, adjusting a bouquet like it had personally offended her. Rory, on the other hand, looked like a hurricane with eyeliner, blonde hair already rebelling against the pins that had tried to tame it.

"Do you have it?" Thea asked, like she hadn't seen it trailing from my hand.

I held it up triumphantly, breath still catching. "Veil acquired."

I barely turned in time before Callie, eleven and currently on a sugar high, whipped past me in a blur of white lace and glitter sneakers. Jules, four and very determined, toddled after her shouting something that sounded like, "Wait for me, chicken beans!"

"I don't even want to know," I muttered, dodging Callie as she bounced onto one of the velvet chairs.

Then just as quickly, they were back, circling my legs like sharks frenzied by chum. I raised the veil out of their reach. I loved the little scamps to death but... it was just so pretty.