Marry Me

Chapter 22

Chelsea's Point of View

     I scanned the room for Chris, but he seemed to have disappeared. I had just seen him with my mom, but had gotten distracted by my great aunt Barbra.

     I wandered over to my mother as she finished her wine.

     "Where did Chris go?" I asked. Her smile fell and she said "He had to leave." My brows pulled together in confusion.

     "But why? Is everything okay?" I asked. I bet Alondra called and had him leave. I could tell she didn't like me. Chris' girlfriends never liked me. Always threated by me, I was sure.

     Mom looked me in the eye and said "He... just needed some air. Today is hard for him."

     I tilted my head in confusion. Why would today be hard for him? I knew we hadnt spent much time together since I started planning the wedding, but I planned to make it up to him after our honeymoon trip.

     My mother shook her head and asked "Do you really not know?"

     I was starting to get annoyed. Today is the happiest day of my life and I really wanted my best friend there.

     Mom took my head and said "Honey, he has been in love with you since the day you met."

     I laughed. There was no way he was in love with me. Mom kept a straight face, and my laugh slowly faded away.

     Then, it all hit me. Like a feight train screaming down the tracks and hitting a brick wall.

     The way he never had a long term girlfriend, the almost kiss in high school, the way he reacted to the me getting married...and the distance between us since I told him.

     I thought I was just busy, but he had stopped texting and calling me too.

     "Oh my God." I breathed. I felt tears prick my eyes and my breathing kicked up. I needed to find him. I needed to tell him everything.

     I turned and rushed through the crowd and hoped to find him in the parking lot. I was such an idiot, for so damn long.

     I'd been in love with Chris since the third grade. He never seemed interested in anything else other than my friendship, so I just supressed it. When he almost kissed me in high school, I had never been happier.

     Then that waitress interrupted, and Chris lost his nerve. I thought he was going to try again, but he never did. He never tried again, so I thought he changed his mind about us, so I forced myself to move on. I should have pushed him. I should have made the first move.

     I burst through the front doors and looked around the parking lot. Only sleeping cars dotted the lot and glistened in the sun. I sighed and went back inside. Maybe he went out the back.

     I took one of the side hallways and found another exit. My heels clicked loudly around the empty hallway. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. I looked left and my heart stopped.

     I saw Chris, back to me, talking on the phone. I gulped in a few breaths and started walking in his direction. When I got closer, I heard him say to whoever was on the other line "Yea, it's going to be weird but I like the area. Tennessee is pretty nice in the fall, Alondra said. Maybe you can come visit us."

     I stopped in my tracks. He was moving? He was moving with Alondra and he didn't even tell me?

     Of course he didn't tell you. You probably broke his heart today. I thought. Chris kept his back to me as he leaned against his car, still in his suit. God he looked amazing in a suit.

     "I don't know, it's only been a few months but... I can see myself marrying this girl."

    My stomach rolled. I couldn't imagine sitting there and watching him marry someone else. Tears threatened to fall and my chest got tight. Chris married... to someone else.

     Get out of here. It's too late. My heart whispered. I lifted my dress and slowly stepped back until I reached the door. I yanked it open and quietly slipped inside. Once the door closed, I took off running for the bathroom.

     My sons echoed through the halls, but I could swear I could hear my heart breaking. I scrambled into the bathroom and locked myself in the biggest stall, which I felt bad about, but was too busy panicking to change.

     He's moving on, and I'm married for Gods sake. I needed to pull myself together... but the image of it was killing me.

     He was going to get married one day, but he wasn't going to marry me...