"Healing may take more pain and more time, but it will find its way to you."
-------------------------
•Rae•
"Rae, come on, I'm waiting here!" Jess calls out from the bedroom.
"Okay, okay!" I yell back as I walk out of the shower wrapping a towel around my body.
My jaw drops at the sight of her flawless makeup and fishtail French braid. "Woah."
"I know, I know, my hands can do magic." She fans herself with a proud smile.
The wedding is in an hour and we're about to start getting ready. Jess has just finished doing her hair and makeup, and is now waiting for me so she can do mine as well and get changed into her dress.
"Where are the guys?" I ask her as she pulls me into the chair in front of the mirror.
"In the living room," she answers with a distracted look. She pulls her lower lip into her mouth as she tries to decide what she should do with my hair and makeup.
"Jess, it's okay, just do whatever takes less time. It's not like it's my wedding." I chucke at her, shaking my head in amusement.
"Oh shut up, let me think." She bites her lip as her eyes scan my face like she's seeing me for the first time.
Now I'm starting to regret asking her to do this for me, because at this rate we might as well be in here all day. But I had no choice since I was never good at doing my makeup or hair.
After ten long minutes of her thinking and me whining, she finally decides which hairstyle would go with my short hair. She ends up curling it and letting it loose with a simple down do and a subtle flip at the ends, and then does my makeup asking me what color my dress is and explaining to me why that matters.
Almost half an hour later, I stare at my reflection in the mirror and can't help but smile in awe. "Thanks Jess, it's beautiful." My hand shoots up to touch my hair, and jess swats it away with a look that said 'don't you dare ruin my hard work.' "The make up is a bit much, but it looks good." I add, staring at my bright red lips.
Jess snorts. "This is a wedding, not a lunch date with your grandparents."
We both pause at the mention of my grandparents, and a smile forms on my face. They're still strangers to me, we haven't even talked after that day, but there's no denying how much I already love them. They made mistakes in the past, but they had already paid for it, and I have no intentions of hurting them even more by mentioning it again and again.
I change into my dress while Jess goes into the bathroom to use the toilet. She wanted to get ready here with me so she brought her dress with her in a bag, but Trevor was already wearing his suit when they came over. Before we went shopping yesterday, I had suggested the idea that we girls could go together and let the guys do the same. But Jess told me if we let them go by themselves, they would end up making horrible decisions. They rolled their eyes at her, but we all ended up agreeing that it was the best thing to do. So I went with Kyle, and she went with Trevor.
"Oh my gosh, you look gorgeous." Jess grins at me, staring at my long silver dress.
"Thanks. Kyle's choice." I grin back at her as I wear my black heels. "We'll wait for you in the living room, hurry up," I tell her as she rushes to get her bag. I can't wait to see her dress, because she has a better fashion sense than anyone I know.
The guys look up as I walk into the living room, and Trevor whistles, earning himself a playful glare from Kyle. I laugh as I sat next to Kyle, and his eyes scan my hair and making up. "Took you long enough."
"You know Jess, she wouldn't be satisfied unless everything's 'perfect'." I roll my eyes with a smile.
"Hey, hey, no badmouthing my fiancé in front of me." Trevor warns.
He asked her to marry him after they went to his home together last night, and obviously her answer was yes.
"Suits look really good on you two," I say, admiring Kyle's gray and Trevor's black suit.
"And you look..." Kyle searches for the right word, making me chuckle in amusement. "I've already seen the dress on you yesterday but with this hair and makeup... you're just... you look breathtaking."
I kiss his cheek. "Thanks."
"Babe! They're making me feel lonely over here! Come out already!" Trevor calls out dramatically.
We all look up when Jess walks out of the bedroom, and I suck in a sharp breath at the sight of her. Not her, but the dress. The blood red mermaid dress.
Trevor whistles at her, and they're both oblivious to what's happening inside my head, but Kyle quickly turns to me and holds my hand.
"Are you okay?" he asks me softly.
He knows how much the color red affects me. I remember stopping him from painting using that color, the first time we ever talked in that therapy room. Even after we were released, and had went on our first date two years ago, I remember how much it bothered me to see the waitress wearing a red shirt. It might seem ridiculous to keep associating the color with fire, but I can't help it. All I saw when I looked at the color, was my old home burning down in flames and my parents lifeless bodies being dragged out of it right before my eyes.
But right now, as Kyle asks me the simple question, 'are you okay?' I realize with wide eyes that I am.
"I am. I'm okay." A smile forms on my face. "It doesn't... it doesn't bother me anymore."
Kyle can't hide his surprise either. "Really?"
I blink as happy tears gather in the corners of my eyes. This is what Mom and Dad would've wanted for me too. To stop being overwhelmed with pain whenever I think of them, and remember all the good memories instead. To just be happy and live my life to the fullest.
I nod and Kyle pulls me into a tight hug. I wrap my hands around his neck and blink back my tears for the sake of Jess's effort to perfect my eye make up.
I look up to find Jess and Trevor blinking at us. "What's happening?" Jess frowns in confusion.
Kyle and I pull apart and he turns to his sister, but his hand is still resting on my waist. "Let's go," is the only thing he says, and they exchange confused looks but don't question us about the reason why we're suddenly emotional.
We all get into Trevor's car and start the twenty minutes drive to the place where the wedding is being held at.
The sound of classical music reaches our ears as we climb out of the car. It's a perfect day for an outdoor wedding, the whether warm and the pleasant breathe cooling the guests. The sight of balloons and streamers greet us, a mixture of pink, light blue and white. I gladly inhale as the smell of freshly cut flowers drift to my nose.
I search for familiar faces in the crowd but I can't spot anyone from the therapy group. People are getting seated on either side of the walk leading to the gazebo, so we also take our seats towards the back.
Kyle nudges my side and I look up towards the direction he's staring at. Star and May are sitting next to each other towards the front, chatting excitedly like they haven't seen each other in years. Maybe they haven't. I feel guilty for not keeping in touch with Star after being her roommate for a year. But I'm sure she's been busy with her life just like I was, so I'm not at fault here.
"Where are the others?" I wonder out loud.
"Maybe they're not coming," Kyle says.
I hope they're running late, because no matter how little time we'd known each other for, that therapy group still has a place in my heart, and I want to see them all leading a happy life just like I am.
-----------------------------------------------------
A/N The rest of the wedding will be in the next chapter which is also the end. But there will be an epilogue. Thank you so much for reading.💙
YOU ARE READING
Beautiful Mess (Book II)
Romance[Completed] Two scarred lovers trying to leave their past behind them, but it comes back to torture them when they least expect it. The difference is, they won't go through it alone because they have eachother now. They want to lead a happy life tog...
