“Allie,” I say, holding off the hardest for last. Instantly, more tears fall from my eyes in a flood, and Allie lets out a sad “oh,” reaching out to me again.
“Allie, I never expected to become so close to you over such a short amount of time, but I feel like this year we’ve become like sisters. I’ve watched you struggle, and it hurts me so much, which is why from this point on, I want you to focus on finding your happiness and your self-love. I don’t want you to search for love in the wrong people. I want you to be confident in who you are because you are one of the most beautiful, most talented people I have ever met. You amaze me, and I want you to believe every word I say because I know it’s hard for you. I hope you continue to sing and to love, and I hope you’ll continue to come to me when you need help. All of you‒I hope you’ll all still come to me, even if I am really far away,” I say and then look back at Allie.
“You’re about to start on an amazing journey, and I believe in you 100%. You can do anything and everything.” I look around to these three girls who have changed my life and who I don’t know when I’ll see next, and my heart hurts. I’m about to lose so many people when I move to Washington.
“I love you guys so much,” I say and stand up to give them each a hug. They stand too.
“I love you too,” they each say, and I give each of them a long hug. My mom slowly walks over to us with a shy smile.
“We’re waiting on you,” she says, and I look around to see that everything is already picked up as if there wasn’t even a wedding here half an hour ago.
“Okay.”
I follow Mom out of the gym, and my bridesmaids follow after me. I dab under my eyes and hope my makeup isn’t too messed up. The rest of my family and Dane’s family stand by the exit. Dane stands closest to the door and smiles at me.
“Ready to go?” He asks, and I nod. I take his hand, and we lead the group outside into the warm sunshine. Pam’s car waits at the end of the sidewalk for us to drive away in for our first night as a married couple. Dane opens the passenger side door, and a bunch of balloons start to fall out. Jessica and Alec run up towards the car and each grab one to play with, and I turn around to watch them.
“Come on,” Dane whispers to me, inching me towards the car. I carefully get in, so I won’t mess up my dress and find myself sitting in a bunch of glittery sequins that the groomsmen must’ve put in here. Dane closes the door, and I quickly roll down the window. I smile at my family and friends, feeling a sadness looming.
Dane gets into the driver’s seat and turns up the radio loudly. He smiles wildly and waves goodbye to everyone. I start to wave too, and everyone on the sidewalk follows suit. Dane slowly drives away, and I watch my friends and family get smaller in the rearview mirror. I let out a breath, and a tear falls down my cheek. Dane notices and turns down the music.
“Why are you sad?” He asks.
“Because,” I say, “I’m going to miss them so much.”
Dane and I walk into this fancy hotel, still wearing our wedding attire. The click of my heels against the marble flooring creates far too much attention, and everyone glances at us. Some people smile. Some seem confused. A group of women wearing skimpy dresses congratulate us and tell me I look beautiful. The attention makes me self-conscious, and I worry that people think I’m only a twelve year old, playing dress up. Even the man at the front desk looks between Dane and I like we’re children. He hands over the room key with a skeptical eye, and we head up to our room.
My stomach swarms with butterflies because this will be the first time Dane and I have slept in the same room, let alone the same bed. In the elevator, he looks down at me with a sweet smile. Those adorable dimples show, and I take the initiative to kiss him. We only stop when the elevator doors open. Then, we find our room and open the door, revealing a beautifully decorated suite.
“Wow,” I say, walking in first.
This hotel room is like a mini apartment; there’s a living space with a mini fridge, a gorgeous white bathroom, and a huge bedroom towards the back. Dane stares at the bed and raises his eyebrows at me, smiling mischievously. Then, he walks over to me and kisses me slowly. My heart beats faster, and I lean away. Dane frowns.
“I’m Penelope Sutton,” I say and smile.
“Penelope Sutton,” Dane says it slowly and smiles too. “It’s perfect.” He kisses me again, and I kiss him back. All the time apart melts away, and the nonsense fights we had over the last year are forgotten. We have a clean slate, and now, I’m confident that I’m about to be the happiest eighteen year old wife in the world.
The next morning, Dane and I wake up in the same bed with huge smiles on our faces. Our love lights my heart up, and I can’t believe I get to wake up next to him every morning for the rest of my life. God’s blessings are apparent to me today, and not only is Dane one of them, but my family is too.
After we check out of the hotel, we go home to spend our last day with our separate families. I spend the day soaking in my siblings’ bickering and eating Mom’s cooking like it’s my last meal. We talk, watch tv, and stay up too late. But eventually, I go to sleep in my bed for the last time, and in the morning, I wake up in my parent’s house for the last time.
The Suttons come over, and everyone sits around in a weird funk until it’s time to drive to the airport. Dane and I split up in separate vehicles, and we try to be the strong ones for our families.
Once we’re at the airport, Dane and I check in and get passes for our family to go past security with us. Going through security takes a lifetime, but any additional time with our family is sacred. We find our gate and fill up a lot of seats with all eleven of us. We sit around for a bit until our plane is ready for boarding, people-watching and talking about random things. Until finally, the flight attendant calls for boarding to begin. Everyone stands, and Dane and I start hugging each of our family members.
“I’ll see you guys next weekend,” I say to Mom and Dad, “And I’ll see the rest of you when you come to visit.” I hug Jessica, Alec, Keagan, and Kevin, while Dane hugs Joseph and his parents. When I hug Mom, I feel myself choking up, but I try hard to hold the tears in. Then, I hug Dad, and Dane and I step away from everyone.
“We’ll text you in between flights if we can,” Dane says.
Most of my family has tear-filled eyes, and I try not to make eye contact with them because I know I’ll start to cry too.
“We love you,” both my parents and Dane’s parents say at the same time.
“Love you too,” I say.
“Love you guys. Bye,” Dane says.
Dane takes my hand and leads me away from our families, and I drag my big suitcase behind me. We don’t look back, so I allow the tears to finally fall. We get on the plane and find our seats, and I take the one closest to the window. Dane takes my hand again and squeezes.
“Are you okay?” He asks.
“No, I’m sad.”
“It’s going to be okay,” Dane says. I nod.
Somehow, I know he’s right. I’m moving to a new place to become a new version of myself, and there couldn’t be a better time to do it. Missing my family and friends will be hard, but now I have Dane. No matter what life throws my way, Dane will be by my side to get through it. No matter what obstacles, difficult decisions, and hard days I experience, Dane will be there with me. And that truth is enough to get me through this because it means Dane and I will be okay too.
Despite everything thrown at us already, we made it. And we’ll continue to make it until death do we part.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Savannah Totten grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana with her four siblings. This book is based on her life from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen. At nineteen years old, Savannah’s dream is to become a distinguished author, and she hopes her debut novel, Love Lasts, will push her in the right direction.
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