Chapter 2. Shattered Vows

Linda Wells

This is not happening, someone please tell me that this isn’t happening! I had so many outcomes in my mind of how today could have gone, but not like this.

“Oh, crap,” Mitch says when he sees the tears falling freely from my eyes.

“Look, baby, let me explain,” he forces a laugh as he tries to touch me, but I step backward.

My brother, Ben, looks incredibly embarrassed, and that’s funny because I am one who has hundreds of guests out there waiting for a wedding to go on.

“I-I don’t understand,” I say truthfully, and my chest rises and falls faster than normal. Too many thoughts are going through my mind, and my heart feels like a knife has been stabbed deeply into it.

“This was nothing, we were just playing around. Right, Ben?” He looks to my brother, waiting for him to be backed up. Ben finally lifts his head up and looks at Mitch with annoyance.

“No, Mitch, we were fucking,” he replies to him, and I inhale sharply.

“Oh, now you want to be honest, huh? You’re a freaking hypocrite,” Mitch says to Ben.

I watch the two of them, trying to wrap my head around what is even happening. I am so confused, how could I have missed this? How could I have missed the fact that my brother and boyfriend were screwing?

I feel so stupid!

“Look, babe, let’s forget this and just go out there and pretend that this didn’t happen. We can discuss this after the wedding,” he tries to convince me as he takes a step closer to me.

He then holds my shoulder as he looks into my eyes, I can see fear and shame in them. A sudden wave of anger rises in me, and I raise my hand and slap him hard across the face, causing him to cuss as he takes a few steps away from me.

“Linda,” Ben says as I turn around to walk away.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, and I turn back to him as I shake my head in disappointment.

“I hate you,” I say to him, and then I look at Mitch. His lip is split due to how hard I slapped him.

“I hate both of you!” I yell at the top of my lungs, and then I head out of the bathroom.

“Wait, wait,” Mitch follows me as I walk through the hallway and into the lobby.

“Can you just wait for one minute?” He begs me, but I just keep on walking, increasing my pace gradually.

I am trying so hard to be strong and not to cry, but my stupid eyes keep betraying me by producing more tears.

When I reach the glass door, Mitch rushes in front of me and blocks me from going out. I fold my arms on my chest, and I smile sadly. I can’t believe that I was in love with this man, I was with him for six damn years, and this is how it ends.

“You step out there, and everything is ruined, no more wedding,” he tries to convince me to stay, but I just laugh without humor.

“Are you even hearing yourself?” I ask him, and a tear escapes his eye. Why is he crying? He did this, he is the one that messed up, not me.

“You ruined it all the moment you inserted your penis into my brother!” I yell, and everyone in the lobby gasps.

“Now get the hell out of my way,” I push him aggressively, and I open the glass door. I then step out and begin to run.

I don’t know where I am going, but all I know is that I don’t want to have to explain to all my guests, my family, and my best friend that I can’t get married anymore.

“Linda, where are you going?” I hear Sammy ask, but I continue running. The heels make it even harder to run so once I reach across the street, I stop so I can get them off my feet. When I look back, I see Mitch, my half-dressed brother, and Sammy running toward me.

“Stay away from me!” I yell in their direction, and then I hold my heels in my hands as I begin to run again. Everyone is staring at me, it looks and feels like a scene from a movie, but this is sadly my life.

The tears keep flowing from my eyes, and now I am full-on sobbing as I run. I have no sense of direction right now, but I just want to run. Running away feels good, it feels like a much better option than having to look at Mitch’s face one more time.

I swear the next time I see him, I would kill him with my bare hands. Whatever explanation he has, I don’t want to hear it. Not now, not ever!

My feet are the ones leading the way now. I believe that I am as far away from the church and all of it as I could get, but I just cannot stop running.

“Hey, watch out!” I hear someone yell, but before I can comprehend what is happening, I step onto the road, and a car speeds toward me. The driver tries to brake, but it is too late. The car sweeps me off my feet, and I fall onto it as it drags me for a couple of painful seconds.

Once the car comes to a stop, all I can hear are people screaming. My eyelids feel heavy, and my entire body is in pain as I lay on the hard ground.

My cheeks are very close to the ground, and although I am trying to speak, my mouth makes no attempt to move.

“I think she’s dead,” I hear someone say as I continue to get sleepy.

“Oh my gosh,” I hear another voice, not one that I know, but it belongs to a man.

I try to open my eyes so I can see him, but I fail miserably. This time, I fall unconscious.