*Chapter Two*
“Make sure the person you fall for catches you.”
Standing near the big double doors of the reception hall, Elodie looked out over the crowd of happy wedding goers. She felt conspicuous and out of place, especially when she saw Daniel's mother headed her way. She'd known this would happen at some point, but she'd hoped to avoid it.
"Elodie, darling!" said the voluptuous woman, her simpering smile painted on with too much lipstick.
"Hi, Mrs. Maxwell," Elodie tried to smile, but she imagined it came out as more of grimace.
"I'm surprised to see you here, to tell the truth, Elodie. I didn't think you'd show your face."
"Oh, well, life is full of surprises," It was definitely a grimace now, but it was better than the scowl she was holding back.
"But really, darling, is it appropriate for you to be here?"
"Excuse me?" Elodie wanted nothing more than to walk out of those doors that were behind her, and never look back to see if Daniel was following. She didn't need closure. She shouldn't have come. And where was Mike anyway? Her resident wing man seemed to have disappeared, probably dancing with some random on the crowded floor.
"Well, you didn't separate on good terms, did you? And from what Daniel has said, you never reconciled. How did you manage to get an invitation? Did you come with someone who did? Because that might appear to be--"
Elodie, having had enough, interrupted quickly. "We didn't separate on good terms, no. But please take into account, we were both very young to separate on good terms. I never wanted to reconcile, but when I received my invitation, I decided to come and cut my losses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get a glass of champagne."
"Better get something stronger," said the bulky woman behind her, "it'll take a lot to hide the jealousy on that pretty face."
Elodie's shoulders tensed, but she didn't turn around, instead started shifting her way through the people to the bar. "What can I get for ya?" the tender asked, his cockney accent so heavy she could barely understand him in her haze of anger.
"What? Oh, um, a bloody mary, I suppose. Don't forget the vodka."
He nodded, and started mixing the drink. How fitting, she thought, standing and waiting for the glass of alcohol. That I'm drinking another bloody mary because of Daniel. She suppose it's become her signature 'Daniel' drink. She didn't know why Daniel's mother bothered her so much, except for the fact she'd never really approved of Elodie. She thought Daniel was dragging himself down because of all of Elodie's problems when they were young. Well, she'd be pleased to know those problems had never left. Elodie had just got better at hiding them.
She picked up the drink, tipped the tender, pasting a smile on her face and turning away from the bar. "Elodie!" shouted a voice, obviously drunk.
She turned and was greeted by the sight of a large man barreling through the crowd towards her. "Oh, hello, Alan."
"Where you been, girl? We've missed you! I haven't seen you in..." his eyebrows drew together, as though he was trying to think of the last time he'd seen her.
"It has been a while," she jumped in, smiling for real this time. Alan, Daniel's best friend, had always been a source of entertainment for her.
"It has! Way too long! What've you done with your life?"
"Not much, I have to admit."
"Same here. Still in school?"
She nodded, "You forget, I'm younger than you and Daniel and the crew."
"Speaking of the crew, you gotta come talk to them! They'll be so excited to see you."
In the back of her head, she knew it was a bad idea to surround herself with drunk friends of Daniel's, that something would be said that couldn't be taken back, something that would hurt. Something that would send her into a tailspin. But she wasn't known for doing things that were healthy for her, so she decided to follow Alan into the crowd.
~*~*~*~
"Look who I found, wandering around in the crowd with no one to talk too!" Alan cried, clapping his hand on her shoulder, causing her to stumble, her drink sloshing dangerously around in the glass. There were cries of greeting from the men sitting around the table, their ties undone around their necks, vests hanging open lounging in the chairs with drinks in their hands. She smiled, her heart beating quicker than normal.Calm down, Elodie,she thought closing her eyes for a second.You know all of them. Just take a deep breath and make small talk.She let her eyes fly open again, and said a hoarse hello.
"Here, El, sit here," said Andrew, swiping a chair from the next table over, earning a reproving glance from the stiff old lady sitting there, the flowers on her hat quivering. Andrew ignored the look of disdain, and gestured for Elodie to sit down. "So, how've you been?" Andrew asked, settling back into his chair and taking a large swig from whatever he was drinking in a glass.
"I've been good," the lie slipped off her tongue so easily.
"That's good! What happened to you after you and Daniel went your separate ways? You disappeared! We've missed you!"
"I changed majors, Andrew. I wasn't around you guys anymore."
"Well just between us," Chuck interrupted, "Daniel never got over you. He dated the ugliest bitches for a long time, and then he met this whore, and decided it would be a good idea to marry her. He's never made good decisions."
Elodie managed to strangle out a laugh, smiling indulgently at Chuck, who was swigging beer from his bottle and watching the dance floor with feigned interest.
"Well, El, Dan obviously missed his chance. You've turned into quite the hot--" Alan started, but was interrupted by a girl coming up behind him. "She's turned into quite the what, sweetie?"
"Oh, nothing," Alan jumped and turned around. "This is my old friend Elodie, princess. Haven't seen her in years."
"Oh," the girl said frostily, tossing her perfectly curled blond locks. "Nice to meet you, Elodie."
"You too."
"Come dance with me, Al," said the girl, fluttering her fake eyelashes. "you've been ignoring me all night!"
Alan sent a pleading look in the direction of Andrew, who started laughing and waved. "See you later,Al." Turning to Elodie, Andrew began to explain "he hates her. It was a blind date and now he can't get rid of her."
Another forced laugh. Elodie looked around, hoping to catch sight of Mickey, so he could come save her. There he was, getting a drink from the bar and talking to some guy. Elodie stood up, looking back at the boys sitting around the table. "Let me go get my date, I'll be right back."
She walked towards Michael, praying he wasn't too smashed. "Mickey," she grabbed his arm, pulling him away.
"Elodie!" he whined, glaring at her. "I was talking to him! Do you know how little action a gay working college student gets?"
"Shush, you're supposed to be straight for me, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he stumbled a bit into her, and she tightened her grip on his upper arm. "Pull yourself together, you're going to meet some of Daniel's old friends." A groan was all she received in response. "Please, Mickey. For me." Another groan.
She ignored this one though, because they were standing at the table. "Everyone, this is Mickey." A chorus of hello's greet the two of them, and Michael grinned and waved. "Hello, all." he sits down, hard, pulling Elodie down on top of him. "Oh," she gasped, her heart swooping up into her throat. Andrew raised his eyebrow at the two of them, then shook his head. "Young love," he said to Chuck, raising his beer and then gulping from it. "It abounds."
Chuck raised his tumbler to clink against Andrew's bottle and then gulping. His face turned red, and Elodie had to repress a real laugh at the look on his face. "What's in that drink?" She teased, picking up her own and taking a gulp from it. Proud of the fact that her face didn't even turn red from the sharp taste of the alcohol. Chuck raised his eyebrow. "Well, I suppose things have changed. The El I knew never drank."
"Elodie? Not drink?" Michael laughed a little too loudly, his eyes widening beyond their normal capacity.
"yeah, she never used too. And when she was around, Daniel wouldn't either. He was so whipped."
Michael continued to laugh. "I've only know Elodie for a year, but she can definitely party."
Elodie had to stop herself from leaning back and digging her elbow into Michael's chest. She let him ramble, watching the dance floor, looking for that head she knew so well. She knew he was dancing withher, somewhere out there. He hadn't seen her yet, she'd sat at the very back of the church, behind the tallest people she could find. Though she thought her mind might have just been playing tricks on her, she thought she might have seen him scanning the pews, his face looking a little hopeful. She thought he might have shifted from one foot to another after looking up and down the padded seats, in obvious disappointment. She knew she was fooling herself, knew that it couldn't have been her he was looking for. They hadn't spoken in three years, why should he expect her to come?
She had lost track of the conversation while watching the dance floor, but she was drawn back by Michael telling her to tell the story about the time she'd drunk so much she collapsed on the dance floor. Elodie blanched, then blushed. A forced laugh, panic rising in her throat like bile.Calm down, calm down. They won't know, you'll be fine, just brush it off.Shaking her head at Michael, she started chattering about how he was over exaggerating, as usual. "You'll have to excuse him, he's drunk."
Andrew and Chuck roared with laughter, and Elodie felt her chest loosen.Life, she decided, looking back out at the dance floor,was a terrible thing.
~*~*~*~
"Elodie?" heart frozen in her chest, breathing suspended. She hadn't heard the voice, she hadn't felt the swooping of her stomach at the sound. At her name issued from those lips. She turned slowly, looking up under her eyes to see him, her heart resuming it's steady thumping, quickening at the sight of his face. She hadn't been this close since that day, since the day he'd stood there, shouting at her for there being no food in the fridge, screaming about how there were dishes in the sink. Hadn't stood this close since she told him it was over and watched him walk past her and leave. Never come back. "Hi," she said, finally fighting the words out from behind the feelings that were swimming into her mouth, wanting so terribly to spill out.
"How are you?" his face was unreadable, though flushed.
"I'm good," the fake smile wouldn't even come to her, she was unable to move. Whether closer or farther away, she didn't know, but she did know she wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't start the process of taking her away from this. This sharp unbearable pain that was shocking through her veins. On his finger, shining like a lighthouse lamp on a storm sea, was a silver band, a band that connected him to that slut, the vile evil creature in the bejeweled wedding gown. There were so many words she wanted to say, so many slurs she wanted to throw at him. So many whispers intended only for his ears. "Elodie? Are you quite alright?" he said, reaching forward, to touch her arm. She now had the power to move, he can't touch her, he can't. He has to stay far far away from her, or she'll vomit all the words she never said before. She jerked away, stumbling back a couple of steps, her eyes clouding over with tears she swore she wouldn't shed. "No," she spat, her breath rising in uneven gasp into her throat. "I'm not okay."
He opened his mouth, but she was gone, out the doors of the reception hall and into the soft evening air that filled her lungs with the sweet sorrow of being able to breathe again.
"Elodie?" she closed her eyes. It wasn't Daniel's voice, but the slightly uneven voice of Andrew.
"Yes?" she meant it to sound cold, meant it to sound indifferent and soft, but instead it came out like a strangled scream.
"Are you okay?"
"Of course!" Now her voice was unnaturally high, and she stayed turned away, trying to get the emotions flitting across her face under control.
"No you aren't." he stepped forward to stand beside her, looking out across the parking lot. "Want a smoke?"
She hesitated, thinking of how she used to hate cigarettes. "Sure."
He handed her a Marlboro, and she took it, letting him light it. Lighting his own, he took a drag, blowing the fragrant smoke into the air. She lifted the cigarette to her lips, and tried sucking in the nicotine, wondering if it was true what they said, that the drug would calm you down. Instead, an overwhelming sense of burning in her lungs. She coughed a bit, spitting out a puff of smoke. An ache began to form behind her forehead already, and she decided to just stand there and hold the cigarette instead. "Don't like it?" he said, grinned and snuffing out his own cigarette below his toe.
"Not really."
He plucked the cigarette from between her fingers, and puffed on it himself, his eyes closed as he sucked the drug into his lungs. "So, talk to me, Elodie. Tell Andy about your troubles."
"You don't need to hear about my problems. And you don't want to either." A chilly wind blew, and Elodie hugged herself to keep warm.
"Are you cold?"
"No," she said sarcastically.
"Here," he put his jacket around her shoulders, squeezing them and then letting go.
"Thank you."
"No problem. I may be a drunk gentleman, but I'm still a gentleman."
The laugh that Elodie let out wasn't quite forced, but it's ringing quality wasn't quite real either. She pulled the jacket tightly around her shoulders, closing her eyes and breathing in the chilly air, tainted with the smell of cigarette smoke. "You know," she said, watching his shaking hand lift the Marlboro to his cracked lips. "When I was younger, I hated the smell of cigarette smoke. When I'd smell it, my stomach would cramp up and I'd have a headache for days."
"Intriguing," Andrew said dryly, dropping the second cigarette to the ground by his shining dress shoes, watching it burn on the cold asphalt for a second before smashing the light out with his toe. Elodie watched, the sparks dying from the burnt end, the cigarette cooling and just becoming litter on the otherwise clean parking lot. Just a few seconds ago, there had been a point to those white cylinders. They'd had a job to do, whether it be calm down Andrew, or kill him. Now, they were just a blight on the landscape. She didn't know if she was just distracting herself from the pain floating at the top of her stomach, but the idea of those cigarettes almost dying under Andrew's shoes fascinated and repelled her.
"What are you thinking about?" Andrew asked, watching her stare at the ground.
"How much I want to go home, but that Mickey won't be willing to leave so early."
"I'll take you home."
A hopeful flutter inside her heart rose into her throat. "Would you?"
"Sure, kid," he ruffled her once perfectly styled hair, now limp and slightly frizzy. She ducked out from under his hand and followed in his slightly uneven footsteps.
"Where are we going?" he asked, after they were both enveloped by the warm heat from the car.
"To the stars," she said, grinning.
"You did not just reference the Titanic."
Her grin was all he got in reply.
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