The One Left Behind (The One Series) (48 page)

It is really difficult to imagine myself with anyone else. Whenever I picture my future I still see Addison. I suppose that will take some time to get over.

“Yeah, maybe.”

The rest of the afternoon passes and Jeremy leaves. I’m climbing into bed thinking about the next day that lays ahead of me. I can do this. I’ve mentally prepared myself for this the best I can. Tomorrow will be closure and I’ll finally get to finish moving on.

TODAY IS THE day that starts the rest of my life. When I woke up this morning, I did so with a calming peace. I thought I would be a little bit nervous, but I feel amazing. Knowing that I will be meeting my prince charming at the end of that aisle to spend forever with me has a calming effect. Forever isn’t long enough in my opinion and I know I will always be happy as long as I have Pierce by my side.

Looking back on this past year of my life, I know I have grown as a person. Since meeting Pierce I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I am no longer carrying the burdens of the aftermath of the accident. I haven’t been for some time actually. Pierce has a way of helping me cope with simple kind words. He lets me figure everything out for myself, but a few sentences from him makes me see the whole picture clearly. I’m so glad I gave him a chance and didn’t put my life on hold waiting for my brain to recover. If I had waited, I would have missed out on this amazing love from an incredible man who has been nothing but supportive. In the end, I know I’ve made the right decision to leave my unknown past with Colin in the past and move toward my future with Pierce.

The bridesmaids come in and they all look beautiful in their dresses. I chose a very pale lavender, strapless dress that has a full long skirt with pockets. The pockets are hidden by being tucked away in the natural folds of the full skirt. The top is a sweetheart neckline whose fabric crosses around the waist which gives it a sleek silhouette look. The groomsmen are dressing in black suits with white shirts, silver vests, and ties that match the purple of the bridesmaids’ dresses.

The photographer comes in and calls us all together to get some pictures. He already took pictures of me getting ready this morning with my mother and Catherine. Of course, my mom broke out in tears when she saw me in my dress and my dad told me I looked beautiful. Staring at myself in the mirror makes this all seem finally real. A small smile spreads across my face as I picture myself walking toward Pierce soon. Before the ceremony starts, the photographer gets a variety of picture of me and the girls. Lastly, he gets some of my dad and me. I can tell he is fighting back the tears which warms my heart. I love my dad so much and I wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t push me to follow my heart.

I made Colby’s little sister, Phoebe, my flower girl. I don’t have any cousins that are young enough to fill this position, and since Colby’s family was a second family to me, it made sense to have her in the wedding too. The wedding coordinator comes in as we’re finishing and says we have fifteen minutes until go time and that the bridal party needs to get lined up. With this announcement my stomach drops and fills with butterflies. But it’s not out of nerves, it’s more out of excitement. I’ve been counting down the minutes and it’s finally time. I hug everyone goodbye and all that is left is my dad and me.

There is a sudden knock at the door and the event planner peeks her head in.

“Hey, Addison, Pierce is outside and wants to have a few words with you before you walk down the aisle. I told him he is not allowed to see you before the wedding so I’m going to leave the door cracked and let you speak to each other.” She looks at my dad and says,”Mr. Ramsey, I assume I can trust you to make sure they don’t see each other yet?” My dad nods his head and she leaves. I walk over to the crack of the door but make sure I’m completely behind it so that Pierce doesn’t get a glimpse of me yet.

“Pierce?” I say a little hesitantly. I have no idea what this is all about or what he could possibly need to say.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Not getting cold feet are you?” I joke.

“Not at all,” he says immediately with such confidence I know he’s as ready to do this as I am. “I just wanted to have a moment with you before we share our day with everyone else.”

I close my eyes and smile. I feel like I am dreaming in this perfect moment.

“I just wanted to thank you for giving me the chance to spend the rest of my life making you happy. You are the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me and I will never be the same again. I will make sure you never regret walking down that aisle and I will never take you for granted.” He reaches his hand through the crack of the door, and I take it making sure I’m still concealed from his view.

“No matter how close I am to you, I feel it’s never close enough. I
vow to hold you close to me and be there for you forever. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and I know I never could feel this way about anyone other than you. You make my world more beautiful and I will cherish you for the rest of our lives. Things are only going to get better from this day on, I promise you. My heart belongs to you, Addison, and I will always love you. Always, only you. Forever. ”

I can’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes listening to his beautiful words. In that moment, if I didn’t know it before, this confirmed that I am marrying my soul mate. And he is right. Things can only get better from here. I start to worry and feel like I am in trouble. We decided to write our own vows, and if he is saying this to me before the wedding, I am almost positive I will be full blown crying when he recites his vows. Not to mention he totally blew me away with this speech. I can’t imagine what else he could say in his vows to top this.

“Addison? Are you still there?” he asks, sounding somewhat cautious. Maybe he is afraid of my reaction.

“I’m here.” I choke out through my tight throat as I sniff.

“Don’t cry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, I just wanted you to know how I felt before I professed my love to you in front of everyone else.” I can’t see his face but his voice conveys so much sincerity, love and passion that I just fell in love with him a little more. And that surprises me because I didn’t think it was possible to love him more than I already do.

“They are happy tears. I promise. I love you so much, Pierce. I can’t wait until I’m your wife and we officially start the rest of our lives as one.”

“Well then, I better get going. But before I go I wanted to give you this.”

He pulls away from my hand and reaches back in holding a box. I grab and open it and nestled inside some tissue paper is a Swarovski crystal butterfly hair comb. I love it, especially the meaning behind it. Pierce was right at my birthday party. I’ve definitely transformed and am so ready for this new beginning.

“Pierce, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

I turn to my dad.” Dad, would you mind putting this in my hair please?” My dad comes over and places the comb in the top of my hair.

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll be waiting for you at the altar. I love you.”

“See you there. I’ll be the one in white.” I tease him.

I walk back over to my dad who has tears in his eyes. I wrap my arms around him and give him a huge hug. “Dad, I never thought I would see the day you cried.”

“I’m not crying. I just got something in my eyes,” he says gruffly as he rubs them to emphasize the fact that he has something stuck in them. Laughing at his tough guy exterior, I hand him a tissue. “Thanks, pumpkin. I can’t believe I’m giving away my little girl today. I know you will be in good hands, though. Pierce is an extraordinary man. I can see how much he loves you and I know that man will devote his life to making you happy. I am so proud of how far you’ve come this past year.”

“Thank you dad, that means a lot.”

The planner opens the door and says excitedly, “Its time! Let’s go get you to your groom, Mrs. Whitmore.”

I smile and put my arm through my dad’s as we walk out the door and stand behind the doors that lead to the sanctuary of the church.

I’VE ALREADY PICKED up Charlotte and am on my way to the church to watch Addison marry someone else. I have a large knot sitting in the pit of my stomach and I’ve noticed I’ve started to sweat. You would think I was the one getting married by the way I’m perspiring and being so anxious. But I know this isn’t how it would be for me at all. If I were marrying Addison today, I would be cool as a cucumber with no nerves at all knowing I was making the right decision. There was never a doubt in my mind I wanted to be with her forever. Too bad life didn’t pan out that way.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Charlotte says, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, I guess so. I think I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for what’s about to happen. I still can’t believe it sometimes.” I keep my eyes on the road as I’m talking to her. Charlotte is good at making me feel better, but right now I kind of want to be lost in my own thoughts to try and work this out before I see Addison coming down the aisle.

“I understand,” she says quietly. She grabs hold of my hand and squeezes it. I glance over at her and she gives me a small, reassuring smile. This is why I’m glad I asked her to go with me. Just that one gesture has me feeling somewhat better and has me thinking I can get through this.

We pull up to the church and park the car. The church façade is beautiful. It’s grand, elegant, yet has a historical feel to it too. I sigh readying myself to go in. I hold my arm out for Charlotte to take as I lead us in. Once we walk through the doors and enter the sanctuary, I’m actually taken back momentarily. It is a stunning wedding. There’s stained glass window on both sides of the church. The light is shining through the right side casting a beautiful array of colors on to the pews and aisle. There are white rose petals lining both sides of the aisle and beautiful flower arrangements on the side of each row of pews. At the front of the church is the altar which has huge, intricate candelabras standing tall. There are also huge flower arrangements on each side bringing life to the otherwise plain area.

Charlotte and I walk down the aisle and take a seat about five rows from the front. Jeremy and the rest of the gang, minus those who are in the wedding party, are sitting up there so I don’t feel out of place. Part of me really wanted to sit in the back but thought better of it and came up here anyway.

I’m sitting here mentally counting down the minutes. It’s like a clock telling me that our time together is about to expire, never to be renewed. I know that’s ridiculous since she hasn’t been
mine
for over a year, but it’s hard to give up hope on something like that. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. As much as I tried to be ready for this, whatever I told myself obviously wasn’t enough. I almost feel as if I’m on the verge of tears. I take another calming breath trying to reign in my emotions and keep it together. Charlotte must be able to tell I’m having a hard time because she rubs my back in a soothing manner. I look over at her with my eyebrows furrowed and a grim expression on my face and she offers me another smile. She grabs my hand and holds it tight. I take one last deep breath, close my eyes to clear my mind, and open them again to face this.

Right as I open my eyes, I see Pierce and his groomsmen enter from a side door at the front of the church. Pierce stands at the front of the altar looking like the happiest man that ever walked. He is so damn lucky right now. I would give anything to be standing where he is standing. He doesn’t look the least bit nervous either. He must know it too; Addison is perfect and spending the rest of his life with her would never be a mistake. I know since they’re standing there that the ceremony should begin shortly. I squeeze Charlotte’s hand for strength and hold my breath.

As I’m exhaling, the organist starts playing music signaling that the bridesmaids are about to walk down the aisle.

Oh, God. This is it.

My chest feels tight as I struggle to take in oxygen.

It’s official.

I’ve lost her forever.