Cinderella's Twist

chapter twenty-three: 2,243 miles away from me

I wake up to Lauren beating me with a pillow. You know, I've always dreamt about big beaten awake by my future sister-in-law on her wedding day. It brings true joy to my life. I sit up and grab the pillow from her and throw it back. 

"Lauren, it is-" i check my phone and read the time saying 5:20 AM. "Five o'clock in the morning. Why are you attacking me?"

"Because I am flipping out right now, Jaclynn!" she whisper-shouts.

I groan and fall back into my pillow. "Why?"

"What if Derek bails out on the wedding. What if he thinks I'm not worthy enough for his love?I don't want to be left alone at the altar. There's going to be my friends from high school and all of my family. I don't want that kind of embarrassment," she panics.

"Laur, you guys have been together since you were in eighth grade. That's ten years. He would have left you by now if he didn't love you. You're going to walk down that idle at two-thirty today with a big smile on your face. Mabe even cry a little because you're an emotional mess," I say and she laughs a little. "Then you're going to marry my brother and live happily ever after."

She sighs and leans back on my headboard. "I wish I knew how you do it."

"Well, I liked to think of it as special skill that no one else can acquire," I say with a smile and she hugs me.

"Since we're up..." she says trailing off.

"You want breakfast?" I ask her and she nods and smiles.

I look on my bedroom floor at all of Lauren's bridesmaids. Mom told Lauren that she'll have them here the day of the wedding and Derek would have all of the groomsmen.

"Can we not wake them up? I'd rather have a quiet breakfast," she says.

I nod and stand up with her. I find a zip-up hoodie and zip it up halfway over my tank top. I pull on my UGGS over my sweatpants. We carefully sneak out of the room and walk downstairs. I go into the kitchen and grab my keys and twenty bucks from the jar on the counter. I walk into the foyer where Lauren is waiting for me and walk out the door with her. The two of us get in the car and I start driving us to Bob Evans.

We get there and get out of the ca. The hostess seats us and gives me and iced coffee after I ask for one.

"So, how are you and Noah doing?" Lauren asks me.

I shrug. "Pretty good."

She narrows her eyes at me. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are. What's up?" she prompts.

I sigh and rub my face over my hands. "He told me he loves me."

"That's amazing!" she excites but sees when I don't show her excitement her facial expression drops. "Okay, so, not amazing."

"No, it is. It's just that...he's going away to college. In Ohio. 2,243 miles away from me," I say and sigh. "I didn't say it back."

"Oh, hun." she reaches out and touches my hand. "Listen, no one is forcing you to say it back. Sure, he's going to be 2,243 miles away from you but if you care about him as much as you show us you do, I have no reason to doubt that you're not going to stay with him. It's obvious he means a lot to you. If only you saw the way he gazes at you when your laughing or the smile he flashes when you're doing something. It's so beautiful."

"Everyone keeps saying that we're going to be okay. I just... I'm not so sure."

"The doubt you have," she says. "That's what is going to kill your relationship. Not the distance. The doubt."