Page 40 of Second Chances
Leaning in close to him, she whispered, “I have to go.” The implied ‘how could you do this,’ went unsaid but permeated everything about the moment.
Unable to even meet his eyes, she quickly ducked underneath his arm as he registered her words, before he could try to stop her. Grabbing her cell, she all but ran for the door to the apartment, grabbing her purse and punching the elevator button furiously, expecting Darcy to come out any minute and carry her back inside over his shoulder. Just as she stepped inside the elevator, she heard a loud yell followed by a horrible crash and the shattering of glass from inside the apartment. With tears streaming down her face, she realized that for the first time since she’d started staying with him, she didn’t plan on coming back tonight.
Chapter Thirteen
Beth walked two blocks,letting the cool, crisp air numb her face and her feelings, before hailing a cab to take her to the bridal salon. She couldn’t think right now, everything inside her was a mess. The heart wrenching pain of knowing that in those few moments, all of the progress that Darcy and she had made so far in their relationship had evaporated.Not evaporated, exploded, into a million tiny fragments.It was mind numbing and too much to process knowing that she had to meet with her mom, Jane, and Caro right now, and pretend to be enthusiastic about someone else’s love story.
Her phone buzzed; she assumed it was Jane calling to see where she was and how long until she would be there, Beth frantically dug through her purse to find it, only to pull it out and catch herself seconds before answering a call fromhim.
God, fuck you, Darcy.
Holding on to the threads of anger permeating her hurt, she declined the call and forced herself to bottle up her emotions as she got into the cab. There was no time for feelings now. Maybe, if she was just going to see Jane, she could let them loose, open up to her sister, but not with her mom and Caro there. Now it was her turn to put on a mask, to put up a wall between her and the world.
Guess it’s a good thing you’ve been learning from the master of masks for the past couple of months.
She let out a harsh laugh at herself, for her foolishness in thinking that Darcy could change, that he would want to, for her. Her heart ached, trying to tell her that he had changed, that he had made progress, that ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ but that only made her urge to cry stronger. Beth redirected her thoughts to the situation she was going to be entering; her sister, her mom, and Jane’s future sister-in-law/her client, all happy and excited for this integral part of the wedding planning journey. Jane was going to be such a beautiful bride.
God, Jane is getting married.
There had been a few times when Beth had had to stop and remind herself that this was reality. That only a few short months ago, her sister had resigned herself to never finding that perfect person and now, here she was, trying on wedding gowns about to get married to the love of her life. Right now, the almost miraculous quality of Jane’s relationship was hitting her even harder.
How did she and Charles always seem to get along? Do they just never fight?I mean, it is Jane but still, they have to fight about something, right?!How do they work things out?Well, Charles probably doesn’t have all the baggage that Darcy does.
Beth’s mind was preoccupied the whole ride to the bridal salon in a comparison between what she knew about Jane and Charles’ relationship and what was happening between her and Darcy. On the one hand, Jane and Charles were very similar, but mostly in their kindness and willingness to accommodate others, something that would be a benefit to a relationship. On the other hand, maybe she and Darcy were too alike, their need for independence and control too strong, their stubbornness too overbearing, that as consuming as their love and passion for each other was, it would just never be able to work between them.
“You ok, miss?”
Startled, Beth realized the cab had stopped and the cabbie was looking at her with a face of concern.
“I’m fine, thank you,” she responded, wiping the rogue tear from her cheek and giving the man a grateful smile for his concern.
Stepping out of the cab, she took some long deep breaths of the cool air as she rushed inside. She’d never been in Kleinfeld’s before, she hadn’t even watched their showSay Yes to the Dress, so she had to stop for a moment once inside and take in everything about this infamous bridal salon, beautifully decorated with everything in white or cream. Beth made her way to the reception desk to ask where her sister would be. As the receptionist led her back into the salon, the happy and excited energy that infused the air instantly lifted Beth’s mood. The walls were lined with wedding gowns of all different silhouettes and in varying colors -who knew white could have so many variations?Beth watched future brides looking at themselves in the full-length mirrors with their friends and family sitting nearby, lovingly giving their opinions and support. She was led off to the left to where the fitting rooms were, and quickly saw -more like heard -her mother talking at the end of the hall.
“Beth! Where have you been!” Mrs. Bennet yelled from down the hall, standing with Caro outside what she presumed was Jane’s room.
Beth respectfully waited until she joined her mother and Caro before answering.
“Sorry, Jane called me last minute and then I had to wait for a cab and traffic,” she muttered her excuse, giving her mom and Caro a hug and hello. “Did Jane try any on yet?” Beth asked, trying to redirect the conversation from her tardiness.
“She’s trying on her first one now. We already went around and picked out several for her to try. She tried to stall as long as she could for you to get here but there are only so many times you can look over the same selection of dresses,” her mom scolded.
“I’m sorry,” Beth mumbled, rolling her eyes, before turning to knock on the dressing room door. “Jane, I’m here. Sorry I’m so late!”
“Beth? It’s ok! I’m just glad you’re here! Be right out!” Jane’s muffled reply came amidst the shuffling of material.
Plastering a smile on her face, she turned back to face her mother, whose sour expression had diminished slightly, and Caro, who was watching her intently.
“So, Beth, it looked like your event was a success last night,” Caro began, before Mrs. Bennet could hijack the conversation again.
“Yes, from what I’ve heard it sounds like everyone had a great time. Renée is really great so I’m glad that everything went well,” Beth replied with a smile, wondering if Caro had enjoyed the party after she had left.
“I thought I would see you again before it was over but I couldn’t find you.” Even though it was a statement, her tone implied that she expected Beth to provide a reason for her absence.
“I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling that great so I ended up leaving early,” Beth responded, following the cover story that Darcy had forced on her.
“Oh, really? I’m sorry to hear that. You seemed just fine when I saw you earlier.”Was she questioning her? What was her point?
“Yeah, it came on kind of suddenly so I figured it was best just to go before it got worse or I passed it on to someone else.”
