jasper | part two

chapter six

'My house 4.45pm, tomorrow' was the text I received from Jasper at seven am three mornings later. The tightening of my chest was something I instantly shook off - I wasn't about to turn into a weak-willed, fluttery hearted teenager. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned.

Once again Ariel was absent from our room. I patted the empty space beside me, the spaciousness of the room almost made me feel lonely. I wasn't surprised about Ariels absence; she tended to sneak off in the middle of the night to 'hang' with Tanner. At least I didn't have to worry about her getting pregnant...ha..ha. 

I snorted at my own pathetic joke as I sat up and stretched my arms up to the roof. Today would be the last day in paradise. Joanna would have to say goodbye to her ten, Ariel would have to say goodbye to Tanner (thank god) and I'd have to say goodbye to the bacon and eggs David cooked every breakfast. Funnily enough, he was the head chef in a low-key restaurant in the city. I now knew why Juliana was in such a rush to put a ring on his finger, god I was almost jealous, every meal he cooked brought a smile on my face and a tear of respect down my cheek.  Okay that might of been an exaggeration but prior I had been living off cereal and toast...You can see my reason for such dramatics, because only I could stuff up making cereal.

Today was going to be a big day, Juliana and David would share their vowels and unite as one or something cheesy like that. Unfortunately, I would be spending the whole morning getting my hair and makeup done when I'd rather stuff my face with coco pops and watch TV but it was not the time to dwindle on petty thoughts - there was a wedding to be had. Nor Juliana or David wanted a huge reception but they did not skim on the overall aesthetic of the venue or hair and makeup, I'll put that to Juliana's artistic background and her desire for perfection. She wanted to look 'banging'. I shrugged on a robe, slipped my feet into fluffy bridesmaid sandals and traveled down to the kitchen. 

It was crazy how things happened so quickly, not just with Juliana and David but everything, my mum getting back with my dad, my art being exhibited in a real gallery and the fact that I now know my sister. It was hard to believe that my simple life had changed so drastically, whilst still simple as hell, it was different. Different was weird, something that I didn't know how to comprehend. Instead of worrying about what is and what might be, I followed my nose down to the kitchen where I could hear the frantic calls of bridesmaids and footfalls of children. Not only was I late, but someone had let children inside. Sure, I can do children. Children are easy. 

Sure enough the lounge room was a mess, full of people I couldn't recognize running around like headless chickens with ants up their butts . There were also little children, some crying and others...well I'm not sure what they were doing. I raised an eyebrow at the child slapping his own butt in the corner. Who the hell owns these things?

"Lauren! Hey!" Joanna gripped my arm. "There's no time to talk, you sleepy head!" 

She dragged me past the mess of people and into Juliana's room where a  makeup and hair artist busily worked on the bride to be. The room smelt heavy of hairspray and floral perfume, I crinkled my nose at the pairing. Joanna shoved me into one of the chairs facing the cabinet mirror and another lady, the hairdresser I assume, hastily tied an apron around my neck. 

Juliana gave me a crestfallen look. "I can't believe you slept in."

I gave a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry?"

"All I asked was for you to be here by 6:50am, its currently ten minutes to eight." She muttered, tugging her robe tighter around her body. Joanna gave me a look as if to say, 'I know.' The strain of her face suggested she had been dealing with it all morning. Perhaps bridezilla really was a thing. In an instant my hair was tugged in multiple directions as the hairdresser looked quizzically at the brunette strands. Juliana's focus was elsewhere as she attempted to ignore my existence. Yes, 'bridezilla' was definitely real. I got nervous when I heard the snip of scissors resonating near my ear. 

"Just some dead-ends," The hairdresser said, reading my mind. She almost looked disgusted at the dreadful sight of them, which were in fact, for everyone's information, very common. It was torture when the hairdresser and makeup artist worked on me at the same time. For the third time that morning I had gotten a puff of powder up my nose and sneezed, this in turn made the two more angrier. So I guess they were also angry that I was late. Line up ladies. 

I was out of the seat as soon as the hairdresser and makeup artist were done, my butt had begin to ache and my stomach was rumbling up a storm. Joanna and Juliana had left before me and were probably already downstairs stuffing their mouths. I sped downstairs, still dressed in my robe and entered the kitchen. There were only a few people downstairs, most had gone to add finishing touches to the venue. I was glad, people, especially strangers made me uncomfortable. 

"You finally done?" Juliana looked up from her meal, she was seated at the bar with a plate of syrup-covered waffles. 

"Yeah, they sure like to take their time." I muttered. 

Juliana raised an eyebrow, obviously commenting on my own lateness before gesturing to a plate on the counter, "David left that for you, he knows how much you like your food covered in syrup." 

I picked it up with a smile of thanks and sat beside her, "So why are you still here, shouldn't you be running around like crazy?" 

"Nah, Joanna told me to sit my ass down and chill out. She's currently getting the dress," She snorted. "Sorry about earlier, I was freaking out a little." 

"No problem, I'd probably be the same on my own wedding day," I said with a mouth full of waffle. 

Juliana sighed, "Do you think I'm rushing into this? David and I only got back together not even a year ago. I'm worried I'm forcing him to marry me because I don't want him to runaway from me again." 

"I can't really say, I mean  after all the crazy shit that's happened in my life I think my opinion is valid," I drop my fork on my plate and glance at her with a smile,  "Do whatever feels right."

"I guess you're right," She laughed. "You're life has been pretty fucked up, aye?" 

I grin, "Yeah thanks for laughing at my own mishaps. Now where is my sister?" 

"Well about that...her and Tanner left early in the morning for the beach." 

A/N:

omg. hello. it's been like 5 months but here i am? 

My life is currently a mess, but I pushed through and finished this chapter, hopefully I can push through and finish this book one day. Fingers crossed.