SEVENTY-ONE

The Heart of Gold

Tessa studied the rings in front of her, smiling widely. It was nice of Jarrod to ask her to pick the rings, to put them in her care. She thought he would surely pick Lolita; especially since he’s been acting so weirdly for the past three days, but he proved that he still cared for her.

She had a little dance in her head. Lolita thought she was smart, pulling a stunt like that. She thought she would win his heart by choosing him over and over again, but it didn’t work. He wanted her; he wanted only her. Oh, what a comforting thought that was.

Poor Samantha. Tessa would have been pleased to have her as a bridesmaid, but she won’t even be alive till then. With the way she was bled dry every day, it was only a matter of when she would eventually stop fighting death.

Tessa exhaled sharply at that thought. Even though they had fought and weren’t exactly on good terms at the moment, Sammy was still her very good friend. Samantha had picked her up in a time of her life wher