1. Willow #2
Nathan moves forward, reaching out to grab my arm and help me up, but I brush him away, disgusted by the idea of him touching me after what I just saw. “Get away from me! Both of you!”
Kimberly opens her mouth, but I can’t hear the words coming out. It doesn’t matter what she has to say. Whatever friendship we once had is over. I knew it as soon as I heard Nathan say her name.
Slowly, I pick myself off the floor, using the wall for balance as a coldness settles in my bones. It’s like I can’t take a breath, like there’s not enough oxygen in the room—and I need to get out.
“Where are you going?” Nathan demands. “Stop Willow! We can work this out!”
“No,” I say. “We can’t.”
“You can’t just leave! Where the hell are you going to go?”
“I don’t know.” With trembling hands, I reach up and pull out the diamond earrings, barely registering the spike of pain as I throw them to the floor at my feet.
Next comes my engagement ring, which elicits a different kind of pain deep in my heart as it clatters to the tiles.
“I can’t stay here any longer, though. It’s over. ”
Without so much as a glance at either of them, I push through the door and start running down the hallway, kicking off my heels when I hear Nathan and Kimberly chasing me. I run and run, turning down hallways to disorient them before ducking into an unused room with a window.
I slip out through the window, barely able to hear the sound of my gown ripping past the pounding in my head. I can’t think, can’t breathe—all I know is I have to get away. I have to be alone so I can think and process what just happened.
I look left and right, debating which way to go. There’s a Spruce forest behind the venue space, and it looks like the perfect place for me to escape to.
Without another thought, I start running toward the trees.
Now…
I sniffle, wiping my cheek with the back of my hand, smearing mud across my face. The bottom of my gown is caked in mud, the train torn and frayed all along the hem from getting caught in low-lying branches. Ruined beyond repair—just like my heart.
Letting out a sigh, I stare up at the darkened canopy, wondering what I did to deserve this.
Nothing, a voice in the back of my head whispers. You did all you could.
A fresh wave of tears blurs my vision, but I blink them away, pushing the emotions deep down. Perhaps this is for the best. Now, Nathan can find someone more fitting for his flashy, wealthy family, and I can go back to being the meek little mouse picking up shifts at the diner.
Even as I think it, raw pain clenches my chest, stealing my breath.
Yet, buried beneath all the betrayal and heartache, is relief.
Relief that I don’t have to be tied to Nathan and his family.
Relief that I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not.
Relief that I don’t have to fake a smile and pretend to care about those horrible, awful people.
Relief that maybe, just maybe, I’ll have time to paint again…
Then I think of all the time I wasted on him, and the pain comes back tenfold.
Three years. Three whole years spent on a man and a love that ended up wrecking my heart beyond repair. And then there’s Kimberly. My best friend, my closest confidant. Her betrayal cuts just as deep as Nathan’s, but in a completely different way.
I don’t know how I’m going to go back to my normal life after this. I don’t know how I’m supposed to trust anyone ever again.
Maybe it’s better if I don’t. Maybe love and friendship just aren’t in the cards for me. Or maybe that’s just my broken, icy heart crying out in pain.
Shivering, I wrap my arms around my torso, walking deeper into the forest. I’m cold, dirty, and most likely going to get lost, but my heart hurts too much to care.
I can’t go back there. Not now. Not ever. I’m not running away, I’m just… done.
It’s not like I have no family to face, either.
My parents died before I could form lasting memories of them, and my great-aunt—the only family member willing to take me in—passed last spring.
My one friend that was able to travel to the Wyndridge mountains was Kimberly, and for obvious reasons, I don’t need to explain anything to her.
So really, I’m off the hook. Let Nathan deal with that awkwardness and heartbreak. I’ve been through enough today to last a lifetime.
I walk for at least an hour, letting the sounds of the forest lull me into a peaceful numbness. Eventually, I come across a stream, and the water is so clear and inviting I can’t help but move closer to it.
I sit at the edge, the muddied bottom of my dress splaying out around me as I dip my feet into the water. The cool stream feels great on my cut and aching feet, and I lean my head back, letting out a low moan as some of the pain is washed away.
After a few minutes, I tuck my legs under me, scooping some water into my palm and splashing it over my face to get rid of the mud and tears.
As I’m leaning over the stream, I notice my reflection and gasp, reaching up to my neck. Horror settles low in my gut as my fingertips are greeted by nothing but skin, and I know the worst has happened.
My mom’s locket. It’s gone.
Pain, greater than any I was in before, hits me like a tidal wave. I could survive losing my fiancé and best friend—it would take years, but eventually, I would be able to breathe again.
But this… losing my mom’s locket? I don’t know if I can live through this. It held the only picture of my Mom and Dad I had left—and in my haste to get away from Nathan and Kim, I lost it.
Careless. Unforgivable.
Panic thrums through my veins as I begin racing back the way I came, searching the ground frantically for any sign of the necklace. I don’t care if anyone from the wedding party finds me now—I don’t even care about the necklace. I just want the picture of my parents back.
And then it happens.
My feet leave the ground as I’m blown backward by a powerful, invisible force, my body turning over itself mid-air before smacking hard against a tree trunk.