Through The Dark

by Jae

  “You ready, Little Miss Daisy?” Liam asks, standing in front of me.

  I nod my head, getting up and shutting the trunk of my Dad’s black Compass Jeep before climbing into the backseat with Liam. The entire car ride is filled with Liam and me taking silly pictures with my camera while my parents talk about something business related. When we get to the church, I go check on Mallory and take some pictures of her while she finishes getting ready.

  “You look like someone out of a fairytale book.” I tell her when I’m done taking pictures. Her dress is an ivory strapless tulle ball gown with lace appliques, a diagonally draped bodice with a matching grosgrain sash, and a two-tiered tumbled tulle skirt with three dimensional taffeta bouquets organically positioned along the skirt and bodice. I can’t see her shoes, but I’m sure they look amazing and match perfectly with her dress. Mallory has always been a very structured and organized person. Her hair is in a curly up-do with a diamond encrusted headband holding everything in place. Her makeup is light and shimmery; not too much, but not too little. I’ve never seen someone look so beautiful in my life.

  “Thanks!” She beams at me. “I feel like someone out of a fairytale book.”

  “I’ll see you out there.” I tell her after we give each other a quick hug and then I walk out of her dressing room and make my way over to Jake’s.

  “Hey, Daisy!” Jake smiles when I walk in and instantly pulls me into a hug. “You look beautiful as always.”

  “Thank you!” I laugh. “You look pretty slick yourself.”

  He’s wearing an all-black tux with a black vest, a white dress shirt, and a white and pink diagonally striped tie underneath. Just like I expected, he’s also wearing a pair of all black high-top Chuck Taylor All Star Converse shoes and I can’t help but wonder how much convincing he had to do with Mallory to get her to let him wear them. I watch as he nervously runs his hands over his short buzz-cut hair.

  “Have you seen Mallory yet?” Jake asks after he sits down on a chair. “How is she doing?”

  “It seemed like she was doing fine. She looks so amazing, Jake. You are going to fall over when she walks down that isle” This makes him smile as he glances out the window beside him. “I actually came in here to get a few pictures of you.”

  Jake nods his head as he stands up and I assist him in pinning his pink and white flowered boutonniere to the lapel of his jacket. Once he’s comfortably situated, I snap a few pictures of him before telling him good luck and I’ll see him out there. I walk down the center isle in search of the group I came with. It isn’t long before I spot my Dad talking to his Dad towards the front of the church. I set my camera down on the pew next to me when I reach them and my Grandpa pulls me into a bear hug.

  “How’s my beautiful Granddaughter?” He asks with a big smile after he releases me.

  “I’m great! How are you Grandpa?” I ask, his contagious smile spreading across my face.

  “I’m good.” He nods his head. “Your parents introduced me to Liam. He seems like a very nice guy.”

  “He is.” I confirm, turning my head to the side when I hear my Grandma’s laugh and see she’s talking with Liam and my Mom. “I see Grandma’s already got a hold of him.”

  “May the Lord help him!” My Grandpa jokes, making us laugh.

  I chat with my Dad and Grandpa for a while longer, other relatives of ours also coming over to say hello to us. Eventually Liam notices me and we excuse ourselves from our conversations and meet each other in the center of the pew beside me.

  “Hello, beautiful.” Liam greets as he places his hands on my waist, slowly moving them around to my back.

  “Hi.” I respond, receiving a quick kiss to the tip on my nose. “That’s all I get?”

  This makes Liam laugh as he dips his head down and kisses my lips.

  “That’s much better.” I tell him when we pull away from each other and then sit down. “I heard you met my Grandparents.”

  “Yeah, they’re both really nice.” He smiles. “I’m pretty sure I got felt up by your Grandma though.”

  We both bust out laughing.

  “That actually doesn’t surprise me at all.” I tell him once we’ve calmed down.

  A few minutes later Ella and Tony join us in the pew.

  “Oh, here’s your camera, Daisy!” Tony says as he picks it up and hands it to me before sitting down where it was.

  I smile him my thanks and then we all start to chat about how nicely the church is decorated with pink and white tulips.

  “I’m sorry I can’t sit with you during the ceremony.” I tell Liam, resting my head on his shoulder.

  “It’s alright.” Liam responds while resting his hand on top of my crossed thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze.

  Just then my Mom walks over to us, my Grandma trailing not far behind, and demands to take another picture of me, Liam, Ella, and Tony. After I hand over my camera, we four squish together and make funny faces at my Mom. She laughs and snaps a few pictures before instructing us all to smile now. When my Mom is finally done, I greet my Grandma just before she starts gushing on and on about how great all of us look together. When it’s time, I get up and move around the church, getting the perfect shots of the ceremony. I even snap a few pictures of Liam and our friends when I get the chance. The ceremony goes smoothly and I can see Mallory and Jake visibly let out sighs when they get to the end of the isle.

  “Give me something good!” I say and they both make funny faces at the camera that I’m surprised I’m able to capture because I’m laughing so much. “Perfect!”

  Before we can go to the reception, I have to take a ton of posed pictures of the bride and groom, the wedding party, the bride with her maid of honor and bridesmaids, the groom with his best man and groomsmen, and finally the bride and groom with their parents and grandparents. I can hear Tony, Ella, and Liam telling jokes from somewhere behind me to pass the time and it takes everything in me not to laugh at some of them. Eventually the torture of taking these pictures is over and we leave for the reception.

  When we get to the hotel that the reception is being held at, we quickly check into our rooms and then rush over to the ballroom the reception is being held in. My eyes widen when we walk in. There are white twinkly lights everywhere. Each round table is set up with pink and white tulip center pieces. Overall, the large room looks absolutely stunning. Liam and I follow my parents to our table that’s set up with Ella, her parents, and Tony. While we’re waiting for Mallory and Jake to make their grand entrance, I take pictures of Ella and Tony throwing the M&M’s that is sitting on the table into each other’s mouths. After the DJ announces Mallory and Jake’s arrival I get up from my chair and move around the room and take pictures of them walking in. For the next hour or so, I’m taking pictures of the toasts, Mallory and Jake’s first dance as a married couple, the dances with their parents, and when they cut their cake.

  Eventually I decide to take a break and eat. After I sit down at my table with a plate full of food, Ella comes skipping over to me with two drinks in her hand. I’m surprised to see Tony and Liam aren’t with her and look around the room to see them talking to some of my cousin’s that are around their ages.

  “Here, drink this!” Ella exclaims, handing me one of the cups in her hand while sitting down next to me. “It’s a Shirley Temple.”

  I take a big gulp after swallowing my food and then start coughing as it slides down my throat.

  “Oh my God, Ella!” I exclaim pressing my hand to my chest while she pats my back. “Is there vodka in this?”

  “Of course!” She beams.

  “You could’ve warned me or something first.” I scold and then go back to eating my food.

  “Sorry!” She giggles and I roll my eyes.

  When I finish eating my food, Ella drags me to the packed dance floor when the electric slide starts. We do the dance moves that go along with the song and laugh our heads off the entire time. After that song is over, a few more upbeat songs tha
t we dance along to with my younger cousins play before a slow song comes on. I jump a little when I feel someone wrap their arms around me from behind.

  “May I have this dance?” Liam whispers into my ear.

  “Yes, you may.” I smile while turning around in his arms.

  Liam keeps his arms around my waist and I raise mine up to around his neck. I notice that the first two buttons of his dress shirt have been undone, showing off his prominent collar bones, and his sleeves have been rolled up to his elbows; causing multiple inappropriate thoughts to speed through my mind. I shake my head a little to clear what I’m thinking at look up at Liam to see an amused look in his sparkling emerald eyes.

  “I’m sorry you haven’t seen me much.” I say, trying to force some innocent energy between us while we sway back and forth to the music.

  “It’s okay.” Liam grins.

  “Are you having a good time at least?”

  “Yeah,” He nods his head. “You have a lot of really cool family members.”

  I smile when Liam pulls me closer to him and we keep moving with the music; so much for innocent energy. I force myself to focus on something more PG and my mind drifts off to other thoughts that I’ve been trying to hold down. A part of me wants to ask Liam more about his family and press on when I might be able to meet them, but the another part of me tells me this isn’t the right time and I should wait until later; when we’re alone. When the song is over, we make our way over to the bar and get something to drink. I spot Ella and Tony a few feet away and we walk over to them. I’m listening to Tony telling us a story about his little brother when I feel Liam’s warm hand slowly travel down my arm until he intertwines our fingers, squeezing gently and I subconsciously move closer to him.

  “Liam!” An extremely high pitched voice suddenly squeals, interrupting Tony’s story.

  All of us turn around to see who the voice belongs to. I hear Liam mumble something that resembles a few colorful curse words under his breath while we all watch a busty platinum blonde haired girl near closer to us. Her red dress is tight and leaves very little to the imagination. My eyes grow wide when I feel Liam squeeze my hand tighter and I look up at him questioningly. When I don’t get a reaction out of him, I look at Ella and Tony, but they both just shrug their shoulders and shake their heads, clearly just as confused as me. I’m snapped back to attention when I hear the mystery girl’s voice again.

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe it’s you!” She gushes.

  I let my eyes completely take in her appearance now. On top of the very small dress, she has on a heavy amount of makeup and large earrings. The longer I look at her, the more I realize she would actually be pretty if it weren’t for the extreme amount of makeup caked on her face. I frown as I watch her playfully rest her hand on Liam’s chest and not to subtly push her breasts out. Something deep inside tells me that Liam and this girl know each other a lot better than I would like. An irritated feeling starts to build in my stomach the longer she holds physical contact with Liam. All I want to do is tell her, not so politely, to remove her hand from my boyfriend.

  “Hi, Missy.” Liam greets her through slightly clenched teeth.

  My eyes grow wide and I can hear Ella gasp in disbelief as Missy’s hand slowly slides down Liam’s long torso, the lingering touch making the irritated feeling in my stomach start to build even more. I turn my eyes up to Liam again and see an almost pained expression on his face.

  “I haven’t seen you in forever! Where have you been hiding?” Missy questions, quirking up her eyebrow.

  Once again, I realize I am completely invisible to everyone when it comes to Liam and my irritation boils over. I clear my throat and her sharp eyes fall on me, a hint of annoyance crossing her features before she speaks again.

  “Who’s this?” She questions and Liam instantly tugs my body closer to him.

  “This is Daisy and these are our friends Ella and Tony.” He introduces while gesturing his hand to each of us.

  “Are you two together?” Missy asks before anyone else can say anything.

  I narrow my eyes on her, ready to say a few choice words about how my and Liam’s relations ship is none of her business. But before I, or anyone else, can get a word out, I hear my Dad’s voice calling Liam and Tony over to him and a group of guys he’s talking with.

  “I – Uhh…” Liam trails off, panic beginning to build in his eyes as they shift between me, Missy, and my Dad.

  “Go. I can watch after them.” Missy tells Liam as she waves her hand for him and Tony to shoo away.

  Unfortunately the scoffs Ella and I let out go unnoticed by Missy whose eyes are currently scanning up and down Liam’s body hungrily. Liam and Tony look unsure as my Dad calls for them again, both of their eyes now darting between all of us.

  “Go.” Missy encourages.

  “We’ll be right back.” Liam tells me before placing a quick kiss to my cheek.

  I narrow my eyes on Missy when Liam and Tony hurry over to my Dad and Ella moves closer to me.

  “You know, a girl like you shouldn’t be mixed up with someone like Liam; he’s dangerous.” Missy says, completely ignoring Ella next to me.

  My suspicions on how well Missy and Liam know each other are instantly confirmed by these words. There’s no doubt in my mind that Missy thinks I’m too innocent for Liam and that she is better suited for him.

  “He’s not dangerous.” I tell her.

  She scoffs at me before laughing. “You obviously have never seen him in one of his fights.”

  “Actually I have.” I state matter-of-factly, feeling Ella somehow move even closer to me and squeezing my hand.

  Missy doesn’t respond; only raises her thin eyebrows up in clear surprise.

  Seeing Liam beat the crap out of the guy at the party at his frat house is something I will never forget. Neither are the injuries Liam received from the fight he got in with Colin.

  “And you’re still with him? I would figure seeing Liam like that would scare a little thing like you off. He can be pretty frightening.”

  I narrow my eyes even more and bring my cup up to my lips for a drink; not bothering to respond to her backhanded insult.

  “Despite that though, Liam is the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  My drink nearly comes sputtering out of my mouth at her words, which only makes her laugh. I glance at Ella to see her eyes are wide in shock. Obviously talking about her sex life to two absolute strangers isn’t a problem for Missy. Then again, I’m sure there isn’t a whole lot about Missy that she isn’t willing to put on display to whoever is around.

  “The things he can do with that tongue.” She continues. “I mean, it’s just… I can’t even think of any other words than ‘Wow’!”

  My eyes shift over to Liam and as if on cue, his tongue slips out just the tiniest bit, wetting his plump lips.

  “And those lips - I really don’t have words for those.” Missy says once I look back at her. “I bet you have no idea what that mouth of his is capable of.”

  Little does she know, I actually do. It’s obvious she only see’s Liam on a sexual level and it isn’t too surprising that her thoughts only go as deep as what Liam can do with his mouth. I shake my head in disgust. Liam is so much more than that. This conversation has made me realize that Missy and Liam must’ve not spent too much tme together. Or if they did, talking wasn’t exactly high on the to-do list.

  “Who even invited you?” Ella asks, clearly not being able to keep her mouth shut any longer.

  “I came with a friend of the grooms.” Missy responds, her eyes narrowing on Ella for a moment before a smirk graces her face. “This has been a nice chat, but I’m going to head to the ladies room.”

  I roll my eyes, not really caring about her departure. I would rather Ella punched me in the face right now than have to engage with Missy any longer.

  “That girl is the definition of a thirsty hoe!” Ella declares.

  I agree with her as I scan around the large
ballroom, searching for any sign of Liam when I see he isn’t standing with my Dad and Tony anymore. Unfortunately though, I can’t spot him anywhere.

  “Will my daughter do me the honor of dancing with me?” My Dad asks, appearing behind Ella and me while we’re getting another drink.

  “Of course!” I smile and follow him to the dance floor.

  I laugh when my Dad bows in front of me. Following with the formal act, I curtsy and then let him pull me to him in a fatherly embrace and we easily sway along to the music.

  “Are you having fun taking pictures?” My Dad asks, pulling my wandering attention to him.

  “Yeah, it’s been so much fun!” I tell him. “I think Mallory and Jake are going to be really happy with how the pictures have turned out!”

  “That’s good! I’m really glad!”

  We continue dancing until the song is over and then my Mom cuts in. I absorb all of the people around me, greeting the relatives I know, while I move around the ballroom in search of Liam. I frown when I hear the squeaky laugh that I’ve already come to figure can only belong to Missy. Her platinum blonde hair is easily identifiable as I make my way down the long, oddly dim, hallway that leads to the bathrooms. My eyes grow wide when I hear the annoying laugh stop and I feel like my heart drops to the pit of my stomach while I watch the unbelievable scene unfold before me. Missy’s lips press tightly to Liam’s as one of her hands fists the fabric of his dress shirt and the other hand holds tightly to the hair at the nape of his neck.

  I can’t help it when my eyes start to fill with tears. The sight of them in front of me makes me feel sick to my stomach. I can’t believe I ever trusted Liam when he told me I’m the only girl he wants. I feel so pathetic.

  I watch as Liam pushes Missy back by her shoulders, a smirk growing on her face when she reaches for him again and he grips her wrists. I quickly wipe away the tears rolling down my cheeks when Liam’s eyes suddenly snap to me. I look away from him, not being able to look in his eyes as I turn and run back towards the ballroom. I hastily weave through the people in the room, making a beeline for the table where I was sitting at. Even without looking, I know Liam isn’t far behind me as I grab my purse and then break for the exit. Once I’m out of the ballroom, I run down the long hallway to the door that leads to the lobby of the hotel.