The Way We Feel

Chapter 1

(Warning: This is the SEQUEL to my two other stories, Out of the Ordinary and A Love Like Ours - in that order. So, if you haven't read those yet, I'd HIGHLY suggest reading them first. This might be pretty confusing for you otherwise :)

All was quiet. As silent as the pause between taking a breath, and letting it out again.

That's what I was trying to do—breathe. Take in air, and let it go again. That's what I was trying to focus on.

Well... that and not hurling my guts up.

But my heart was thumping hard against my ribs, creating a noise so loud in my ears, I couldn't hear anything else. My whole body was shaking, trembling with an energy I'd never before experienced, quaking from the violent current of my blood coursing through my vessels. Not to mention, my palms were so sweaty, I was afraid the flowers might slip right through my fingers.

That's when the music started.

My cue.

I felt Will looking at me then, and when I met his eye, I saw my father in his gaze.

"Here we go," he murmured.

I sucked in a breath when the doors opened, and forgot to let it go.

Will's arm tightened against mine, holding it a bit more firmly to his side as he guided me forward. But I couldn't breathe. The people seated in the rows on either side of the small church were nothing but a blur of color and faces beneath the almost imperceptible mesh of white hanging over my face, and I couldn't take another breath. It was a wonder I was able to take a step—particularly with the weight of my dress at my legs.

Kick it forward, Emily had said. I tried my best to do just that as I took step after step, terrified that I'd go down.

Will gripped my arm even more firmly.

It felt like an out of body experience—the only thing grounding me, my heart. It continued thundering, ensuring I knew that every moment was real, happening, and even though I could no longer hear it over the organ music, I knew it was beating differently now. Still in anticipation, but a different kind—like it was begging me to look forward. Straight ahead.

So I did.

All eyes were on me, but mine were only on him.

Air filled my lungs. The tightness in my chest eased completely. The faces around me remained a blur, but they didn't cause me fear or anxiety anymore. And the sound of the music faded away as I listened to my heart, focused on its beat as it urged me to move faster, to get to him sooner.

Because he was waiting for me—just like I'd always dreamed he would be.

As we inched forward, the music still playing, Will's arm bracing mine, keeping me steady, keeping me from racing toward the altar, I kept waiting for the moment I'd wake up. The moment I'd realize that this was all a dream.

But his smiling face grew nearer, made all the more handsome by the light in his eyes, the tie beneath the strong cords of his neck, and the black jacket covering his broad shoulders, tapering down with his strong waist. He couldn't seem to stay still—kept shifting from foot to foot, like he couldn't stand the wait either, like he was ready to run to me, too.

He brought a hand up to his eyes, just for a moment, rubbed them quickly with a knuckle, and when he looked at me again, it was almost in disbelief—in shock paired with happiness. And I smiled, and I smiled, and I smiled—for him. Even as tears streamed down my cheeks. Even when I couldn't catch my breath again. Even when those tears turned into the laughing kind.