Dawning (Dysmorphia Series #3)

The Stage

The stage was set.

Today was the biggest day of Florence's life yet waking up she didn't feel like it was going to be, it hadn't dawned on her that today was actually the day she was going to get married, an empty space beside her on the bed marked that today was the day, Andrew had left the night before because it was of course bad luck to see the bride on the wedding day.

It was their wedding day, today was her wedding day she repeated to herself as she looked at the sunlight that was just peeking in through the window, today was going to be a sunny day she hoped that meant it would be a good day, Florence wondered why she didn't feel more elated, people always talked about the inner glow and radiance of a bride on her wedding day, looking in the mirror all she saw was a girl with a pale face who looked anxious.

She wanted this day to go well more than anything, to be a day that would be remembered fro years to come, but with mounting worry she was also anticipating Cooper's reaction to seeing Sam after two years, she'd either sob or be furious, or both, probably both.

Florence had decided beforehand that she wasn't going to turn her phone on today, not at all the messages from people would only worry her even more, she didn't need the snake pit writhing in her stomach to get any worse, it was only six a.m, her stylists, makeup artist and her bridesmaids would all arrive at eight, for now she would just sit here in silence trying to get around the fact that after today she would be a married woman.

It wasn't the actual marrying part of the ceremony that scared Florence, as bad as it sounded it was the commitment part that scared her, loving someone till death do them part seemed tragically misguided, you couldn't love someone every single day for the rest of eternity, could you?

Though she'd never told Andrew, Hello Magazine had offered her a ten million pound deal for exclusive coverage of her wedding, she hadn't even be tempted, having a national magazine covering her wedding would have made her anxiety rocket skywards, and this wasn't some public event, this was big, the biggest thing she'd ever have to undertake.

She lay back on her bed, and tried not to think.

"Have you been to many weddings?"

They were in the park under Chase's tree, Levi had gone to his cousin's wedding so they were at liberty to spend as much time here as they wanted to without the fear of being caught.

"Nope, Mum wasn't really into the whole going to places thing, she's a right home bunny, we did go to one but I don't really remember it well aside from the fact that it was boring and there was a clown which terrified me"

Chase laughed.

"What about you?" 

Florence always had to ask, he didn't just give up personal information unless he was prodded gently.

"Me and my brother were quite the double act at weddings, Dad had a lot of family so when we were growing up we went to a lot, we'd cause the most havoc at them, once he drank an entire cup of chocolate from the chocolate fountain and was sick all over the seats of our new car"

It was her turn to smile, Chase didn't talk a lot about his family and when he did the conversations were always light-hearted and never serious, she got the feeling that was the way he wanted to remember his childhood, all laughter.