Breathless

Chapter 7

The wedding is in two days and we're all fitted for our dresses. I gotta take Christian to pick up his tux. Everyone is panicked about the wedding and all of us are sitting in the kitchen planning.

Except for Kevin, Ben, Gabe, and Christian.

"I gotta take Christian to get his tux." I say.

I absolutely don't trust these three guys at all and I have a bad feeling about this wedding.

"Christian!" I hear Kevin yelling.

"No, go fuck yourself, you fucking dick!"

Everyone looks up. We've sitting about my grandmothers huge island.

I've never seen Christian angry before.

"Don't fucking tell!"

"Of course I'm fucking telling, you fucking dick!"

Christian comes out of the family room. I stand up.

I'm expecting him to come to me, but he doesn't.

"Christian!" Ben snaps.

"Don't tell!" Gabe snarls.

Christian, I've never seen him look so mad.

"Look, I know the three of you don't like me," he starts, "But all three of them are cheating on you."

"Oh, come on." Madeline snarls.

"I see why you're with him, Erin! He's just like you!" Annie snaps.

"You just don't want us to be happy!" Shannon says.

"I'm not kidding! Check his messages, the three of them literally just sent nudes to some girls! They said they're just with you guys to get their parents off their backs."

"That's bullshit!" Mom says. "Christian, I'm sorry, but you need to leave."

"Mom!" I snap.

"No Erin, I'm done. You really just can't stand the fact that somebody other than you might be happy."

I look at Kevin.

"Give me your phone."

"No, don't give it to her." Madeline says.

"Give it to me." I say, pissed.

"No."

It's like a fucking train wreck. Mom is pushing Christian out, I'm tackling Kevin, Madeline is trying to fight me, Gabe and Ben are coming at me to get the phone. I get the phone and get up, shove Kevin away from me. Madeline, Shannon, and Annie are trying to kill me.

I unlock his phone, because he doesn't have a password, and it opens right up to messages to some girl named Christina.

Christina: I love you. I know you're getting married but I don't want to let you go

Kevin: I love you too. Marriage is a paper and Madeline is blind. She's never gonna find out. She's just to get my parents off my back. You're the one I want to be with.

Christina: yeah? Show me what's mine

He sent a dick pic.

Oh my god.

"Give me the fucking phone." Madeline snarls.

Silently, I hand it to her.

She wasn't going to look at it, but she looks down at the screen to lock it and sees the dick pic, and I watch as she scrolls back up and reads the messages, and then slowly, she looks at him, and then me.

"Mom, go get Christian." She mumbles.

Annie and Shannon all check their boyfriends phones and find very similar conversations.

Mom does, and he comes back inside, and he doesn't look mad, he looks worried.

"Kevin, get out." Madeline says, handing him the engagement ring.

"No. We're getting married."

Gabe and Ben leave silently, but Kevin doesn't.

"No we're not. I'll never marry you. One good thing came from this lesson, and that's to trust my sisters. I turned on my baby sister for you!"

He moves closer to her and pokes her in the chest.

"You can't make me leave." He snarls.

Christian grabs his arm.

"Seriously, just leave."

"Are you gonna make me?" Kevin snaps.

Kevin is probably five foot two and he's strong, but not nearly as strong at Christian, and Christian is tall. He's over a foot taller than Kevin.

I watch him size Christian up, studying his muscles, and then he looks at Madeline, and then me.

"You're a dumb bitch."

"You're a dirty whore." I snarl.

He moves closer to me, and Christian puts his hand roughly on Kevin's chest.

"Don't get any closer to get. Leave."

Kevin grits his teeth, and silently, he turns around and walks out.

Christian goes to the door and watches him walk out.

<><>

Everything calmed down a couple hours later, and my sisters were crying and apologizing and everyone felt so terrible for being so cold towards Christian, but Mom asked if he was okay with her checking his phone also, since I met him only a few weeks before my sisters met their scumbags, and it's crazy, because Mom did find one girl, and he told him he was cute two months ago and he said he wasn't interested because he liked me.

Mom looks up for the umpteenth time.

"Christian, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Mrs. S. Really. My Mom, or any other Mom, would've done the exact same thing."

Madeline is laying with her head on my shoulder.

"I said a lot of mean things to you." She mumbles. "I made you punch a hole in the wall."

"I'm okay." I say. Annie is laying against Shannon, who is laying again Madeline, who is laying against me, and I'm next to Christian, and we've never cuddled on a couch before, but I want to, so I just lean against him. He looks down at me, and shifts, putting his arm around me.

Extended relatives left, so now it's just my all girl family, my three uncles, my father, and my grandfather, and Christian.

Everyone keeps glancing over at us. I yawn, nuzzling closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

He starts running his thumb up and down my bicep.

It feels nice. When I was little, my Mom would rub my back with her fingertips, and when I shivered, she would stop like I didn't want her to anymore, and I told her to keep going. I shiver now, and he stops.

I reach over and start moving his arm again until he starts doing it again.