Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
I make the drive in under twenty-five minutes, spotting Mikaela walking back and forth on the side of the road. "Thank God you weren't that far away. It's hotter than a whore in church," she huffs. "Luckily, the fridge has its own compartment." She opens the back of the cab, and the cold air rushes out. The tow truck shows up at the same time as I'm about to unload the van.
"Can you tow us to the venue?" I ask. "We can unload, and then you can take the van."
"It'll be an extra charge." He looks at me, and I just nod, turning to Mikaela. We get back in my truck, neither of us saying anything.
"I'm behind." She looks over at me, and I know what is coming next. "You are going to have to stay a bit and help me out." I don't say anything. Instead, I just nod my head because all the words are stuck in my throat. I definitely am paying my penance.
Chapter 11
Clarabella
The soft knock has me looking away from the mirror to the door. I pick up the bottom of my dress to turn and start walking to the door. All I wanted was a couple of minutes to push down the nerves, the jitters, but all I got were a couple of seconds. I guess I should be happy that they gave me at least that. "You've been gone for one minute," I say, pulling open the door, expecting it to be one of my sisters, but it isn't. It's a woman standing there, holding a baby in her arms. She has long black hair in a braid, the tail over her shoulder. Her brown eyes look very tired and are bloodshot to show that she has been crying. "I'm sorry,” I say, confused as to why she is here. "Are you lost?" I look around the empty hallway, wondering if she is stuck, but it's empty, the side door still closed.
"No," she says, her voice coming out soft, and the baby squirms in her arms. She looks down at the baby wrapped in a blue blanket. I don't know much about babies, but I don't think this baby is very old. "You must be Clarabella." She says my name, and the hand that is still holding the door handle is now in a death grip. My heart starts to speed up a touch as the blood feels like it's draining through my body. I can't explain how I know this will be a moment I remember forever, but I do.
"I am," I confirm to her, my arm dropping from the handle of the door. My body feels as if it's slowly detaching, and I'm watching a movie. A movie that I don't want to be a part of. Like a horror film, when you scream, “don't go in the building,” but they go in there anyway. That is exactly how I'm feeling now. My mouth suddenly goes dry when I ask the question my head has been screaming since I opened the door and saw her. "And you are?"
"I'm Louise," she replies softly. "May I come in?" she asks, and my head screams no, but my mouth doesn't catch up with my head.
"Sure," I say, moving my dress out of the way to give her some space to walk in. "Are you a friend of Edward’s?" I ask, thinking that maybe she is here for the wedding, but her attire of black leggings and a white T-shirt tells me otherwise.
"You can say that," she responds and stops in the middle of the room. Her head moves around, taking in everything before she says, "I need a minute of your time, and then I'll be gone." She turns to look at me. The tears run down her face freely as she holds the baby close to her chest.
"Are you okay?" I ask, suddenly worried for her. "Do you need water or something?"
She shakes her head. "This would be a lot easier if you weren't so nice to me," she admits, her voice cracking as she looks down at the baby in her arms. The love is written all over her face.
My hands start to shake now, my head putting the pieces together, but my heart does not believe it. "Listen, I don't know what is going on," I say. The sound of my heart beating fills my ears. "But as you can see, I'm about to walk down the aisle."
Her eyes roam from my head to the bottom of my dress. "Oh, I know," she says, smiling. "Trust me, I know."
My head is spinning right now, and I'm two seconds away from telling her to fuck off, but there is something inside me that stops. "My name is Louise." She repeats her name, and she just looks at me. I say her name in my head, trying to place her, but come up empty. "Well, from what I see on your face, I'm assuming you don't know about me." I can't answer her, nothing comes out, but my head shakes from side to side. "This is Edward," she announces, looking down at the baby, and everything stops in time. I feel the air in the room stand still. Time literally stands still. The only thing that doesn't stand still is the beating of my heart. "He's a month old today," she says, her voice filling with pride.