An SK Kind of Wedding

Chapter 4

Wedding day

I run, feeling my fitted gown ripping at the seams from my hips to my knees.

If anything happens to him, I don't know what I will do!

He is my life.

I scream out a word.

"Drop!"

He doesn't wait another second.

Except . . . along with my scream, I also hear a shot.

Which one's faster, Nick's reflexes or a bullet?

o o o o o

Five months ago

Slow burn. And because it was slow, the effects are longer lasting. Like a brand on every part of my body. Most importantly, my heart.

Nick and I had been together for seven months, and it just got better and better with time. We integrated into each other's lives so effortlessly that it just felt like it was meant to be.

"Carrie, if I die today, would you be sad?" Nick asked out of the blue.

I was speechless. Any life without Nick would not be a life.

"No . . ."

He frowned.

"I'll be devastated. A large part of me will die with you."

He smiled. "I feel the same way."

I smiled.

"What do we do about it?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Let's stop the morbid talk."

"Says an SK fan to another."

I laughed.

"Oh hey, speaking of SK, look what I found in a hole-in-the-wall bookstore in Malate."

He handed me a small music box designed with vivid images from SK's Dark Tower series. A tower, roses, guns, a turtle, a bear, a door, a boy. It was exquisite. I opened it, and inside was a lone gunslinger, going round and round in a never-ending circle. The inside of the box was likewise filled with images from the series.

And then I saw it. Around the gunslinger's neck. The music slowed, and finally, the gunslinger stopped moving. I took the ring from around its neck.

I stared at it mesmerized. A solitaire diamond in an old-fashioned setting of white gold, filigreed with an intricate rose design.

"Carrie, I want to spend my life, in all possible worlds, with you. Marry me," Nick whispered in my ear.

Trust Nick to propose SK style.

I couldn't answer. I was choked up. I reached up and caressed his cheek, then I pulled him in for a kiss.

He found me alone in a bookstore. It was totally out of character for Kurt. A bookstore was always a place I felt safe because I knew Kurt never frequented any. He was not a big book person. He was also not into movies and music. He was a strange person, to be honest. He just seemed to focus all of his energy on his job and, when we were together, me.

"Carrie." I felt his lips near my ear as he whispered my name, and I knew at once it was him. The hairs on the back of neck stood up on end, and I shivered.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, whispering. I stepped away from close proximity and stared him down.

"You used to enjoy that, Carrie. You would always close your eyes when I did that, and little shivers would run down your entire body. That's when I knew you were ready for me."

God! The gall of this man!

"Not anymore," I said, hissing.

"Oh, really? Nerd boy doing you better than I ever did? I don't think so."

I was tight-lipped. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of getting affected by whatever he said. His smile stayed on his face, but I saw in his eyes that my lack of response was grating on him. I started to turn away from him to leave.

"What is that?"

I turned back, wondering what he meant. I saw his eyes, and I followed where they were looking. His eyes grew wide when he realized what he was looking at.

My engagement ring.

He then stared at me, his voice seething. "You think you'll have your happily ever after with your nerd boy? Well, you're in for a big disappointment."

Then he turned and left me speechless.

o o o o o

Wedding day

I reach the altar as soon as Nick starts dropping. I am praying he is faster than the bullet I am sure is flying to hit him. I push him farther down and I turn to face the figure responsible and I see Kurt's face stare at me in disbelief, as the men from Nick's entourage tackle him to the ground, wrestling the gun away from his grasp.

I hear screaming from the guests, as they realize what is happening.

I hear Kurt utter a guttural sound and I realize he is stronger than the men who tackle him. He hits them and they're both out cold. He is free, although, thankfully, gunless. He runs toward my direction, shouting my name.

I have had enough. This has got to stop!