"Oh, please, this isn't even the worst I've seen,” she lies to me and goes to grab an eye mask with cooling gel inside. "This should help but no more tears."
"No more tears," I tell her, smiling. "I'm getting married." The stinging of tears comes, but I fight them back.
I'm doing my hair when Presley comes over with her own hair in curlers. "This is for you." She hands me a mimosa. "How are you doing?"
Like my world is spinning around me, I almost say. "Like I'm getting married." I smile at her, and she just nods at me.
I drink the mimosa in one gulp, and Mallory comes and hands me another one and winks at me. All I can do is smile; the smile is plastered on my face so much that I think my face will crack. The mask comes off, and the swelling is down. By the time she's done with my makeup, it doesn't even show.
"How are you holding up?" Clarabella looks over at me while she gets her hair pinned up.
"As good as I can be," I say, grabbing my bottle of water and taking a sip.
"Well, if it's any consolation." Clarabella looks at me, and she blinks away her own tears. "You look stunning."
I blink away my own tears and fan my face. "Don't make the bride cry!” the makeup artist yells at her. Turning my head and laughing, I see Sheila, and we share a smile.
"Okay, everyone," Presley says. "It's dress time."
I look at myself in the mirror, and it is exactly how I always envisioned I would look on my wedding day. My hair is pushed back on one side with a diamond headpiece while the other side is sleek and curled. My blue eyes shine with light smoky eyes, and all I can do is put a hand to my stomach as the butterflies start to come full force.
"You look beautiful," my mother says from beside me, and I look at her and see her dab the corner of her eyes.
"Mom," Clarabella chastises. "If I see one tear come out of her."
"Would you hush your mouth," she hisses at her. "And don't tell me what to do." She turns to look at me. "I don't necessarily care for this new Clarabella. I can only deal with one person that way, and it's you."
For the first time since last night, I throw my head back and laugh. "Well, after today, she'll be back to the carefree Clarabella that we all know and love."
"I hate to break up this moment," Mallory says. "But you guys are five minutes behind schedule."
I nod at her, and everything is a whirlwind around me. I'm placed everywhere while pictures are being snapped. I smile for all the pictures, and I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience. Everything is a blur, and I mean, everything except for one thing.
I slip into my dress, and when I look at myself in the mirror, I wait for the butterflies to come, but nothing happens. I do everything and follow every single step that I need to do. I walk into the venue and spot Travis in his suit, waiting for me.
My mother walks in with Sheila behind her. "Are you sure about this?" Travis asks, and I look up at him.
"It's not too late to change your mind," Clarabella says, blinking away her own tears.
"Whatever you want to do, we are going to do it," Presley confirms, and no matter what it is, her own eyes are glistening in tears. "I just want you to be sure."
"I don't know if it's right or wrong," I admit, the lump in my throat getting bigger. "But I'm sure about this." I nod my head, blinking away my own tears. "Are you guys ready?"
The three of them share a look and then look at me, smirking. "Always."
Chapter 6
Shelby
My sisters line up behind Sheila and look over at me, not knowing if I'm still going to go through with this. I give them a silent nod, and they turn to look forward. Sheila walks in first, and the white bouquet in my hands starts to shake. The top of the dress suddenly feels like it's getting tighter and tighter on my ribs. I look down at the Cinderella dress that I put on less than an hour ago. It is a tradition that every girl dreams of, but it was hard to fake a smile knowing what I did. My mother helped me get dressed just like I've always dreamed. She fastened the fifty little buttons that go up my back. A daunting task but one she was adamant about doing.
One that I wanted to say no to or else everyone would get suspicious, so instead, I smiled for the camera. My nerves were in my stomach the whole time and then formed a lump in my throat. At times, I couldn't even speak or say anything with the fear that my plan would be ruined, and after everything that happened, I was not about to let that happen.