The Remaining (3 page)

“Isn’t it the bride or the groom who usually end up having second thoughts about the wedding?”

Lauren Hall rolls her eyes and wants to throw her cell phone across the room. But that would require too much effort. Right now she’s frozen and can’t move. Blake’s on the other end trying to talk some sense into her.

Lord knows I need a little sense right about now.

“Lauren, we were just talking about this last night.”

“And now we’re talking about it today.”

“Do you want to be late?” Blake asks.

She doesn’t need to hear the obvious. Yes, sure, she might be late, but what she
really
wants is not to go. This
thing has been building up for a year now, and even though the strange nightmares and visions seemed to go away, lately they’ve been back. With a vengeance.

“Sweetie, you’re going to be fine. You’re just anxious about your friend getting married and about letting her down
 
—”

“I’m afraid of thinking I’m losing my mind,” Lauren says.

She holds up a perfectly manicured hand that got done earlier this week. She and Allie went with Skylar for a fancy day of getting all spoiled. It was part of Skylar’s gift to them for standing up in her wedding.

“Skylar’s going to lose her mind if you don’t show up.”

Lauren knows that’s true. Yet she still doesn’t want to get up off this bed. She doesn’t want to go downstairs. She doesn’t want to pick up her dress and then have to go through everything that will follow.

I don’t want to let anybody down. Especially Skylar.

“Lauren, remember what I told you?” Blake asks.

Such an assured and confident voice. She loves him so much.

“You told me a lot.”

“Let’s say the world
does
end.”

“Oh, that,” she says. “That wasn’t very helpful.”

“I’m being honest.”

“Don’t be honest.”

“Let’s say the world ends tomorrow. What can you do about it? Huh? Tell me.”

She shakes her head and stands up. Well, it’s a start.

“Nothing,” she says.

“Absolutely. Nothing. You can’t live in fear of tomorrow. You have to celebrate today.”

“Who said that?”

“I’m saying it. What? You think it’s a quote?”

“I’m sure it’s a quote.”

“All right then, I’m quoting someone. Mr. Anonymous.”

“Okay, okay, I’m heading out of the apartment.”

“Well, that’s good. I was afraid I was going to have to come and carry you out.”

She grabs her purse and keys. “Well, I’d prefer that. Can you still do that?”

Soon Lauren is in her car and driving.

“Look, I need to go too,” Blake says. “I’ll see you shortly, okay?”

“Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”

“There’s no ledge here. Only natural anxiety.”

“The end of the world is not ‘natural anxiety.’”

Blake’s laugh is like his voice. Calming. “Just make sure you save me some champagne before everything blows up.”

“Not funny,” she tells him before hanging up.

She knows Blake is only trying to cheer her up, but it’s definitely not amusing. She wonders if she made a mistake telling him about the nightmares. They finally began to stop days after coming back from the trip to the beach last summer. Soon they were long gone, and she felt comfortable enough to tell him about them. He didn’t have any
sort of big explanation or even much to say at all related to it. He just told her she didn’t have to be so guarded about things like that. Not with her friends and especially not with him.

A week ago, the nightmares began again. For no apparent reason. They’re the same as they were before. Images of her friends all trapped and dying and suffering. That’s the part that bothers her most. Hearing and seeing her friends hurting and suffering is painful.

The drive to downtown Wilmington takes longer than usual. There’s a lot more traffic than there used to be when she lived here. She’s staying with her father, who lives outside the city. Skylar offered her a room at the hotel but Lauren said this would be a nice opportunity to get some time with her father. She still sometimes feels guilt for not living closer ever since moving away a few years ago.

She turns the radio up to shut out her thoughts. It’s a good thing she looks at her phone because she didn’t hear the incoming text message.

Are you almost here?

It’s Allie. Again. She keeps pestering her.

Lauren speaks her message back into the phone, a slightly safer way to text while driving. But she’s stuck on the bridge anyway. It looks like they must be doing some construction up ahead.

Almost there. Traffic.

Hurry up!
Allie writes back.

For the moment, Lauren’s car is stopped on the Cape Fear Bridge. She looks up and realizes this bridge is a lot like her father. It’s always been around. She’s so accustomed to using it and passing over it and seeing it in the background. It’s a fixture in her life.

Just like her dad.

It took her mother passing for Lauren to finally wake up and realize how important her parents were. It’s like being forced to stop and examine the bridge. She had to slow down and stop in order to realize this very important thing was right in front of her.

She closes her eyes and reminds herself she needs to get her dress from the bridal shop before arriving at the hotel.

When she opens her eyes, the sky above her has darkened. It’s an angry shade of purple. There are things flying down from the heavens
 
—dark, hideous things.

What is happening this can’t be happening I can’t be seeing this.

The flying specters are swarming straight down toward her. Lauren holds her breath and covers her face and expects to feel some kind of violent impact.

A car horn makes her open her eyes.

The lane in front of her is empty. The sky is blue again. The bridge intact.

Nothing is flying toward her from above.

She moves her car forward even as she feels the pounding in her chest.

This is ridiculous.

Maybe Allie can give her one of her Xanax pills. That and a glass of wine would do nicely right about now.

God, what is going on? Are these visions from You? Why are You showing me these things?

She gets all the way to the bridal shop before her heart stops racing. She’s only minutes away from the hotel. Lauren knows she has to get her act together. Now.

She’s got a dress to put on and a friend to support. Her meltdown is just going to have to wait until another day.

Allison Costa can see the Cape Fear River from her hotel window. Looking out over the rooftops of Wilmington, she sees the familiar sight of the bridge in the distance. The image seems inviting to Allison right now. How appropriate would it be if she got in her car right now and drove over a river with
fear
in its name? Crossing the bridge toward an unknown future far away from this North Carolina city, far away from all the frustration here?

Allison turns away from the striking view and notices another one. The dark-haired beauty facing her in the mirror across the room is quite a strange sight. She doesn't really like getting dressed up, and she especially doesn't like being a maid of honor. But for her best friend, it's the
least she can do. She'll gladly wear these high heels and this violet strapless dress. Some brides might fear a dress like this on someone like Allison would overshadow them. But Skylar has no fears.

And there's no overshadowing Skylar Chapman.

Allison looks at the time and knows she needs to get up to the rooftop pavilion to help out with last-minute details. She's the maid of honor, but she's already failed miserably with her responsibilities. The bride is the one who's supposed to be on an emotional roller-coaster ride, right? The bride is the one who's supposed to get all weepy and sappy in front of people when saying thanks and telling them one of the many good-byes? But last night, it was Allison, not Skylar, who fell apart.

As she touches up her makeup one last time, she still feels embarrassed. She can still hear herself babbling on, becoming emotional about losing a best friend, then getting choked up talking about this day they all knew would happen eventually.

This day . . .

A text comes to her cell phone. For a second she thinks it must be Lauren telling her she's finally arrived, but it turns out it's Jack.

Did you decide to bail on us?

That's not funny,
she texts back.

After your speech last night, I'm not sure.

Shut up. I just had too much wine,
Allison writes.

Yeah, right. Easy excuse. You coming?

I'll be there in a minute.

Tommy's on the loose,
Jack says.
Be on the lookout.

I always am.

She slips the phone in her purse and glances back outside for a moment. She takes a deep breath and lets it out.

It's going to be fine. I'm going to be fine and I'll make it through today and tomorrow we'll see what happens.

That river and that bridge aren't going anywhere. Allison, on the other hand, just might be.

She has to see what happens today. She has to see about a lot of things.

Allison finds Skylar's door ajar and slips in to try and find the bride. Skylar's suite on the twentieth floor has a large living room and kitchen area right next to the bedroom. The front rooms are empty and messy, with clothes on the couch and the backs of chairs. A buffet of appetizers sits out in the kitchen, but most of the plates look untouched. The table in the kitchen has a variety of makeup and hair products on it.

“You look fabulous,” Skylar calls out when she enters from the bedroom.

The bride still has her hair pinned up, and she hasn't put her dress on yet. She wears a short silk robe over a pair of sweatpants.

Allison hugs her friend and gives her a big smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Anxious. There are a hundred things that need to be done. Have you seen Lauren?”

Allison shakes her head. “Not yet. I texted her earlier. She was picking up her dress this morning. It needed an alteration after she tried it on last.”

“That girl
 
—always waiting till the last minute.”

Skylar's makeup looks extra glamorous today. “Good job,” Allison tells her, circling a finger around her face.

“My mother helped. You know what a perfectionist she can be.”

Allison knows because Skylar takes after her mother. Even in the designer sweatpants, Skylar looks like a Miss America contestant.

“Have you seen any of the boys?” the bride asks.

“No.” For a second Allison hesitates to share what she's thinking, but she knows she has to. She has to get it out in the open before the rest of the day happens and the moment is gone. “Sky
 
—I'm sorry about last night.”

The puzzled look on Skylar's face tells her she doesn't understand. “What do you mean?”

“What I said. My mini breakdown.”

“Oh, girlfriend.” Skylar gives her a hug but avoids messing up their makeup. “So far,
that's
been the highlight of this weekend.”

“Great. Seeing me totally get all mushy.”

“I thought it was sweet.”

Allison moans. “I just
 
—I feel so stupid. Jack was laughing at me all night.”

“
Jack
is the last person who should make you feel bad about what you said. Seriously.”

“I know; it's just . . .”

Skylar comes over and takes her by the hands. “Listen to me. I'm not going anywhere. You're going to be seeing plenty of us. We're not planning on moving out of the city or state, you know. So, what about you? Do you have some bit of news you need to tell me?”

Allison can feel the emotions coming on again.

Stay away tears get away from my perfectly done eyes don't even think about it.

“Well, you know,” Allison says, “I do have a secret to tell you.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. I'm pregnant, and Jack and I are eloping. To Vegas.”

Skylar laughs. “Yes. The place you elope to when you're pregnant.”

“I'm going to become a card dealer in a casino. Seems like a great place to raise a child.”

They both howl out in laughter.

“Maybe that's why you have this glow about you,” Skylar says. “You're expecting.”

Allison grunts. “At this rate, I'll be lucky to be pregnant by the time I turn forty-five.”

A call comes in on Skylar's phone and she takes it.

“Can you help me?” the bride asks her maid of honor after the brief conversation. “They need us in the reception hall. Some last-minute arrangements.”

“That's why I'm here, right? To help and support. Not vice versa.”

Skylar puts an arm around her. “We're here for each other and always will be. Understand that?”

“Yeah.”

Before leaving the room to head upstairs to the roof, Allison pauses for a moment.

“What is it?” Skylar asks.

“Thanks for being you.”

“Oh, stop.”

“No, I'm serious. Dan is a lucky man.”

Skylar's face lights up as bright as her blonde hair. “You got that right. Remind him about that again when you see him.”

“I don't have to remind him. He knows, Sky. Trust me. He knows.”

“It's good to know
some
men get it.”

They share a knowing look, then both smile before leaving the room.

Perhaps this day and this ceremony and this whole thing will help a certain other unknowing man finally get a clue. That's all Allison is going to hope and pray for today. For someone to finally, finally get a clue.

Tommy knocks again on the door and waits to see if a bride opens it. He’s pretty sure this is Skylar’s room, but nobody seems to be inside. He checks his phone for any messages, then starts to walk down the hallway, ready to head back upstairs. A figure rushing toward him makes him laugh. He makes sure to capture her with the video camera.

Lauren Hall’s bright eyes look extra animated under her newly short bangs. The light-skinned black woman stops right in front of the camera, the bridesmaid dress in a plastic bag draped over her shoulder. “Seen Skylar?” she asks.

“That’s who I’m looking for.”

“She gotta be freaking out that I’m late.” Lauren
shakes her head and sounds out of breath. She begins to move past him.

“Hold on. I need to get some prewedding advice for the lucky couple.”

Lauren doesn’t even think before staring right at the camera, her face angling perfectly like someone accustomed to being filmed. “Put the other person’s needs first,” she says. “You’ll be amazed at how strong your love will grow.”

Tommy knows she’s speaking from experience. He’s met Lauren’s man, Blake, a big guy who’s as crazy about her as she is about him.

As Lauren heads toward her hotel room, Tommy sighs and stops filming. “Maybe that’s why I’m still single.”

Lauren doesn’t even look back as she finds her room key in her pocket. “Quit chasing after the wrong girls, buddy.”

“What am I gonna do? All the good ones are taken.”

After getting the door opened, Lauren just gives him a sparkly smile. “If I don’t put this dress on, someone else is gonna have to take my place. Skylar’s definitely freaking out about now.”

“I’ll find her,” Tommy says. “I’ll take care of it.”

“You’re a good guy,” Lauren shouts out. “Even if no girl knows it.”

She laughs and disappears into the room. Tommy knows Lauren is one of his biggest fans, and she’s often joked that she might’ve tried to bring him home years ago in college if her very traditional mother didn’t mind her bringing home a white boy. That’s been a constant source
of amusement between them, and for years Tommy has joked about the reasons her mother would love him.

He heads back upstairs, assuming he’ll find Skylar busy with something.

In so many ways, it seems unlikely that Tommy should be here at the Plantation, pressing the button of the elevator and heading up to find the bride and the rest of the wedding party. This band of friends started when Tommy ended up rooming with Dan at UNC Wilmington his sophomore year of college after attending a junior college the year before. Dan could’ve gone to University of North Carolina or Duke but chose to attend UNC Wilmington because his father had gone there. Their pairing in a dorm room seemed like a fluke, with Dan being the jock and playing both soccer and basketball. Tommy was the party guy interested in making movies but having no clue what else he wanted to do in his life.

It was through Dan that Tommy got to know Jack Turner. Dan and Jack were friends from the same neighborhood and grew up going to the same schools. They would go up to Duke for parties on the weekends. It was only a couple of hours away, and the parties there were a lot better than those on their campus. Jack was already pretty serious with a Duke girl named Allison, and her best friend happened to be this gorgeous blonde named Skylar. She was attending the rival school on Tobacco Road, UNC, but fate and chance met up at a party at Jack’s apartment one night when Dan and Skylar met.

The circle was complete when Tommy recognized Lauren in a class of his and realized he’d had a conversation with her at one of the parties at Duke. She was a longtime friend of Allison and Skylar.

And just like that, the six of them were suddenly inseparable. Another thing Tommy and Lauren joked about was the fact that they weren’t a couple while the others were. Sometimes they would pretend like they were one. All in good fun.

If I hadn’t decided to go to a junior college my first year, I would’ve gotten a different roommate at UNC Wilmington. That would’ve changed everything.

He steps out of the elevator knowing he’s a lucky man.

Life’s all about luck. All about being in a random place at a random time.

Sometimes your timing just happens to be very good. He thinks about this as he glances around and finally sees Skylar. Then he sees the maid of honor.

Then again, sometimes your timing is just a bit off.

The rooftop of the Plantation is made up of two halves: one half is a large indoor reception room, and the other half is the outdoor deck, where the wedding ceremony will be held.

Moving away from the elevator, Tommy thinks the hallway resembles a beehive that’s been turned over. Servers are going in and out of the reception hall while early guests slowly meander around trying not to appear too nosy.

The bride is in the banquet room, just as Tommy suspected. She still doesn’t have the wedding dress on, but otherwise she looks perfect with her hair all set and her face made-up like a movie star’s.

As Tommy approaches, he can hear Skylar rattling off instructions to the workers. No wonder they’re rushing around like crazy people. This is what Skylar does. She makes you crazy. She says jump and you don’t just ask how high. You look for a trampoline.

From the entrance to the room, Tommy films Skylar acting like a catering supervisor.

“Captured on film,” he says into the built-in microphone, “the elusive Bridezilla in her natural habitat.”

He moves closer to her as she stands near a table set for ten. She’s working on a napkin.

“Two folds, then one,” Skylar says.

Tommy starts laughing and has to fight to hold the camera steady as he films her talking to the servers.

“If this is the most compelling content you’re getting, then we may be in trouble.”

“I got some great stuff with Dan earlier. You’re gonna love it.”

“I’m sure,” she exaggerates. “I can’t wait.”

He moves the camera over the table, getting the ornate flower arrangement in the center. “I’m just trying to document your big day. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

“There will be no ugly,” she says, staring at the flower arrangement.

A voice behind them calls out in mock astonishment. “Did you just say the word
ugly
at Skylar’s wedding?”

He turns and sets the camera’s sights on Allison, who moves from table to table helping to straighten out the place settings.

“Here’s the maid of honor, ready to assist the bride with whatever Skylar needs. Ready to break down in tears at any given moment.”

“Be nice,” Allison says to him, not looking his way. “You could help out a little too, you know?”

“I am. I’ve got you in focus.”

Allison turns those dark Italian eyes and lashes his way, then blows a kiss to the camera. Lauren isn’t the only one comfortable with being in front of a video recorder. This girl he’s facing could be an actress. In fact, she might be acting a bit even right now.

He really wants to tell her how stunning she looks, how the bright bluish purple dress complements her, or maybe how it really does fit her like a glove, but that would be too much. She’d roll her eyes and laugh at his comments. So instead he goes for an easy jab.

“You going to catch the bouquet?”

The playful, busy, and assured air suddenly vanishes. Allison gives him an honest look for a moment, the same expression she wore last night during the toast. Then she feigns being annoyed with him as she quickly brushes past and heads toward Skylar.

Allison stands next to the bride and puts her arm
around her. It’s a quick and spontaneous moment, the kind Allison has all the time. Tommy is glad to capture it on film. He likes seeing these two ladies together.

Allison isn’t the only one who’s going to miss the way things are right now.

With footage of all the wedding party now complete, Tommy decides to get some footage outside on the deck before he gives the camera over to Skylar’s cousin Johnnie. Tommy won’t be holding the camera during the service. He volunteered but the bride thought it was a bit too much.

He takes in the view of the city of Wilmington. The September sky is blue and perfect for an outdoor wedding. The day is warm but not too stuffy. He can see the bridge and the river from here.

For a second Tommy lets the camera just settle slowly over the city.

“This is pretty great, Skylar,” he says. “Your wedding is going to be perfect.”