Page 18 of The Puck Decoy

Josh : You look beautiful in everything you wear

Josh : Just pick the one you will be most comfortable in

Even as I type the words and send them I know they’re pointless. None of those dresses are really her and despite this whole thing being fake, her feeling comfortable on our wedding day is important to me. So instead of pulling out of the garage and heading home like I originally planned, I pull up the map on my phone and search until I find what I’m looking for. It seems I need to make a little detour on my way home.

It’s almostnine by the time I make it back, and because it’s a Friday night I expect to find my house either empty or in full on party mode. Yet when I make my way inside all I find is Daemon sitting at the island in the kitchen, with half a bottle of whiskey already gone.

“Drowning our sorrows?” I ask, stepping towards him, surprised to find his usually dark and gray stormy eyes looking a little brighter than usual. He’s not a big drinker, not after what happened to him, but once in a while he will let go of his trauma and indulge a little. It seems like tonight is one of those times.

“Celebrating actually,” he muses, swirling the amber liquid in his glass before taking a slow, savoring sip.

“Well that’s a change,” I gruff with a smile, as I pour myself my own drink and hold it up to his. “What are we celebrating?”

“You,” he confirms, clinking his glass against my own as he gestures to our drinks. “This is your bachelor party.”

I can’t help but bark a laugh. I told Daemon about Hallie’s idea to get married on our own terms and he agreed it was a good plan. I even managed to persuade him to attend as a witness on my behalf, with Maddie of course being Hallie’s, despite the fact she is still barely talking to me. Yet not once did I ever imagine he’d actually participate in anything beyond attendance.

“No strippers and just us two present, what kind of bachelor party is this?” I ask with a smile, taking a sip of my own drink.

Daemon rolls his dark eyes, which are for once glossy from the drinking. “Please, you haven’t touched any woman in months, and you basically hate the rest of the team.”

Okay so he’s perceptive even when drinking, I’ll give him that, but still I find myself getting defensive.

“I do not hate the rest of the team.” Okay, so maybe I do hate Nova and his goofy housemates who think they are all god’s gift to women, but the rest of them are okay.

“Fine, thenIhate the rest of the team,” he says with a tipsy smile, clinking his glass against mine, and all I can do is laugh because this is the Daemon I love.

This is the broken boy who became one of my best friends in Freshman Year, the one I bonded with over shitty fathers and obscene demands. The one who has silently been by my side for three years and helped me through everything, whether he realized it or not, and the one who will stand by my side tomorrow when I promise another friend a fake forever.

As if reading my thoughts he nods his head towards the garment bag in my hand. “What’s in there?”

I glance down to the bag gripped between my knuckles and sigh, “This is something to try and soften the blow of being married to me.”

A silence stretches between us at my response because he knows the burden all too well. I’m sure it’s why I never see him trying to force a relationship with anyone, because how can you manage a relationship with a partner, when the one with your own father is a mess? Why invite someone into your issues when you haven’t even figured them out yourself?

Tomorrow is my wedding day and I can’t even fully comprehend the weight of how it will change things. Not when, in some ways, my father will still have the upper hand and I will no longer be the only one in the firing line. Hallie might be my best friend, or at least she was once, but becoming my wife will be a whole different game, and despite me thinking she is the best player for the job, it’s still going to be one hell of a match.

Oh well, for better or for worse I guess.

I’m getting married today, and instead of waking up well-rested after having plenty of beauty sleep for my big fake day, I am sitting in my car wearing my pajamas and freezing my ass off. Why, you might ask? Well because I’m getting married today and I haven’t even told my parents yet. My kind and loving, accepting parents who have supported me through everything for my entire life, and me, their only daughter, didn’t tell them I was getting married. What kind of terrible person am I?

Everything just happened so fast that I forgot all about them, but last night just as I was drifting off, I realized that as soon as Mayor Peters finds out I tied the knot with his son, and not on his terms, he will do whatever he can to spin it to his advantage. Which will include spreading the news like wildfire. Now it’s notlike people don’t already know that I am engaged to Josh, the Mayor practically told the whole of Fairfield between his party and the announcement in the local paper, but my parents no longer live in Fairfield and they tend to keep to themselves.

So here I am, sitting in the driveway of their house, contemplating between going inside, or turning back and driving off the bridge that leads into their town. Both are just as terrifying to me. The skin around my fingers is almost bleeding because I have picked it that hard, and I couldn’t listen to any kind of music on the drive over because I was rehearsing the conversation I am about to have in my head over and over. They’re not awake yet, I know because none of the lights are on in the house, which isn’t surprising considering it’s only 6am, but still I nervously gnaw at my lip as I wait.

I skipped all of my classes yesterday and went full wedding mode. I know Josh said he would sort everything out himself, but as a girl I still felt there was plenty of stuff I needed to do. So I went to the salon and had my hair freshly cut and blown, then I had a manicure and pedicure, before I moved on to being waxed within an inch of my life. It wasn’t until I was as slippery as a damn eel that I left and finally went shopping.

I bought makeup, shoes, and accessories, until I finally stumbled into a wedding boutique to look for something to wear. Around thirty dresses later, I finally settled on one I didn’t totally hate, which even left me time to run to a jewelry store and pick up a wedding band for Josh. I’m not sure he will even want one, as he didn’t mention wearing any kind of ring, but I thought it was best to have one just in case. I still can’t quite believe that I am getting married, and notjustgetting married, but to him in particular. Him, Josh, my best friend and the boy I have tried not to be in love with since I was nine, who will now become my husband by the end of the day.

Before that thought can take full flight and force me into panic, a light illuminates my parents’ house, and I know my father is now up to make my mom her morning coffee before she does her yoga. Something he has done every single day of their entire marriage, and the kind of thing I’d hoped my own husband would do for me one day, but I guess I’ll have to pray for a second marriage for that.

I’ve always aspired to have a relationship like my parents. They call themselves star-crossed lovers, which is actually total bullshit, but they have been together twenty-five years and still look at each other as if they are the only people on the planet. They have been through everything together, and not once has their love ever waivered. If I were to believe in soulmates, I would believe in them, because Jeremy and Beth Sanders are one for the ages.

It's with their love in mind, and the love they have for me, that I finally find the courage to climb out of the car and trudge up to the front door. I don’t bother ringing the bell, using my key to let myself in, and when I round the corner into the kitchen my dad turns and smiles. A smile that turns into surprise when he realizes the sound of my footsteps doesn't belong to my mother.

“Hallie Bear, what are you doing here?” he asks, using the nickname that Josh stole from him when we were still kids, while moving towards me with worry staining his face.

“I really need to talk to you and mom,” I say softly, my voice not holding any confidence in what I have to tell them, and it only deepens the frown on his face as he looks over my shoulder.

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