folklore; conrad fisher

47: charming, if a little gauche

I woke up the morning of the wedding to the sounds of charging footsteps and loud chatter in the hallway. Conrad poked his head up from my sheets, rubbing his eyes as the morning sunlight hit our faces.

Last night we had the rehearsal dinner, which went quite well. While Conrad and I were still trying to keep this newfound relationship on the down-low, throughout the night I'd feel his hand grab onto mine underneath the table, which always sent a rush of warmth up my face.

Now we'd been sleeping together every night. After yawning loudly, he looked at me and gave me a smile, before kissing the side of my cheek. I kissed him back before getting up and stretching to prepare for the new day.

It was then that Belly came barging into the room. She swung the door open and froze when she saw Conrad and I in the bed together. She looked at each of us, wearily, before relaxing and waving 'hello' to us.

"Finally, you guys are back together," She said, before soon returning to her panicked state, "Anyways, have either of you seen Jeremiah!?"

Conrad's eyebrows furrowed, "No, why?"

"He's missing," said Belly.

I gasped slightly, only before recomposing myself for Belly's sake.

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon," I said, trying to reassure the poor girl, "Weddings can be overwhelming. Maybe he went to get some fresh air."

Belly shook her head, "I don't know. We got into a fight after the bachelor party, and things have been weird since."

Conrad and I's eyes widened. After the description he gave of Jeremiah that night, we both could've sworn he fell right to sleep as soon as he got home. And to think, there was a tension between the two that lingered afterwards, that nobody seemed to have noticed.

She cleared her throat, "He came into my room, drunk and stumbling, even though we promised not to go too crazy that night. So, I called him irresponsible, and––"

Stifling a cry, Belly said, "I told him that maybe he's not mature enough to be my husband."

I ran over to give Belly a hug as she cried into my shoulder. Conrad came over, too, rubbing her back as we listened to her muffled sobs.

"Stay here, Belly. I'll look for Jere," he said.

Belly nodded softly, wiping away the remainder of her tears. I brought her a tissue so she could blow her nose, and she thanked the two of us before leaving.

Conrad immediately began getting dressed. He put on the suit he intended to wear for the wedding, and I figured getting started as well wouldn't be a bad idea. I had my bridesmaid dress hanging up in my closet. Belly wasn't too strict on what we were supposed to wear, but we still tried to coordinate somewhat. I wore a royal blue satin dress with a cowl neck, and black strappy heels. I tried to do my hair as quickly as possible, throwing it into a half-updo before returning to find Belly. She was in her room, still wearing her pink and white striped pajamas.

She and I kept trying to call Jeremiah, but it was no use. Each call went straight to voicemail, as it seemed he had his phone on Do-Not-Disturb.

In the midst of all this, Steven rushed in, only giving me a brief greeting before going to pester his sister.

"Yo, why aren't the two of you answering your phones?" He looked at Belly, "Mom keeps calling, she says you need to get your ass moving."

Belly looked like she was on the verge of absolutely freaking out, so I stepped in between the two siblings.