CHAPTER TWO

Linda's POV

The first thing I noticed was the dampness on my forehead and the sound of my mum's voice.

“She's waking up,” I heard Laura say.

I opened my eyes and saw my mum, Aunt Lisa and Laura hovering over me.

Their faces were etched with a mix of concern and sadness.

“Linda honey, are you okay?” my mum asked, brushing my hair behind my ears.

I sat up slowly, my body feeling heavy. “Where is Trey?” I asked, looking around.

“I…i need him to call Scott. Maybe…maybe he'll pick up if Trey calls.”

The three of them exchanged worried glances but I didn't care, I wanted to believe that there was a reasonable explanation for what he did.

“Linda….” Laura started, her voice cracking.

“Please!” I snapped, “I just want to know why he left.”

Tears spilt from my eyes as the reality of what had happened dawned on me, he left me. After so many years together.

The wedding dress suddenly felt suffocating and I clawed at the bodice, trying to rip it away.

“I can't..” I said between sobs, my nails tearing the lace. “I can't wear this, I can't..”

My mum grabbed my hand, “Linda stop,” she said, her voice breaking. “You're going to hurt yourself.”

But I did not care, the dress felt like a prison, like a reminder of everything that just happened.

Laura knelt beside me and held my shoulders. “Linda please,” she whispered, tears falling down her own cheeks.

“We'll get through this,” my mum said, rubbing her hand on my back.

Why would he do that? I wondered, we didn't have any fight. Everything was fine, if he didn't want to marry me he could have said so before the wedding day, not disappear on D-Day.

“I don't understand!” I said, my voice rising with frustration. “We’ve been together since high school, he had all the time he needed to break up with me, why didn't he….why is it today…”

Laura wrapped her arms around me, “Linda please, calm down. We'll figure it out together.”

I crumbled in her arms, my sobs the only sound in the room as my mum and aunt hovered around me.

They tried to comfort me but nothing could soothe the pain in my chest. I just wanted answers.

After some time, I stood up from the floor, my legs trembling under me.

The weight of the wedding dress was suffocating and I couldn't wait to get out of it, it was a constant reminder of the humiliation and heartbreak I was facing.

I couldn't stay there any longer. “I want to go home,” I whispered, my voice cracking as I looked at my mother.

My mum, aunt and Laura exchanged worried looks but then my mum spoke. “Okay honey, let's get you out of the dress first.”

Laura rushed to where my bags were kept, searching them for something for me to wear.

She brought out the jeans I had worn to the venue and a black top.

“Here,” she said gently, helping me remove the wedding dress as if I was a child who couldn't do it myself.

I raised my hands up as she pulled the dress over my head and then I picked up the black shirt and jeans and wore them.

When I finished dressing, I walked to Laura who was carrying my bags. I put my hand in the side of one of the bags and took out a face cap.

I wore the cap on my head, pulling the front down to cover my face. My aunt handed me a face mask, “Here, we'll go out through the back.”

I nodded, the thought of facing everyone, our friends, relatives, and schoolmates–was unbearable.

Laura led the way and we moved quietly, my mum and aunt flanked me like shields, protecting me from the world.

As we stepped outside, I could hear the sound of distant voices and laughter. People were leaving the hall already.

“Wait,” I said, stepping back.

I peeped around the corner and saw the familiar faces of some of the guests moving about, some of them with worried expressions as they spoke hurriedly to each other.

Some didn't really care, they were walking to their cars, chatting and laughing like my life had not just crumbled before their eyes.

“They’re people there,” I murmured. My heart pounding against my chest.

“We'll be fast,” Laura said reassuringly. “Just put your head down.”

I pulled my face mask up higher and my face cap down.

Laura moved first, holding my bags tightly and I followed her as we slipped past the back door.

We walked past the crowd outside, I heard snippets of conversation.”

“Oh my….isn't that Linda?” One said.

“I can't believe Scott left her like that.” Another voice said.

“I know, It must be devastating.”

I blocked my ears with my hands, not wanting to hear anymore. I hated being a pity case.

My eyes stung as I tried to hold back the tears and I bent my head lower, hiding my face as much as I could.

It didn't matter, they knew it was me. But I couldn't bear them seeing my face, seeing my tear-stained face.

We finally made it to the car and I let out a sigh of relief and climbed into the back seat, closing the door behind me.

Laura threw the bags in the back seat with me and climbed into the driver's seat while my mum entered the passenger seat.

My aunt went to her own car, following right behind us as we started moving.

The ride home was silent, with my mum turning back every now and then to check on me and Laura watching me through the rearview mirror.

I paid them no mind as I looked outside the window, watching the buildings and people blur as we passed by.

The moment we reached the front of our house, I bolted inside as fast as I could, ignoring my mum’s voice calling my name.

I needed to be alone.

I entered my room, slamming the door shut. I locked it and sat on my bed, my chest heaving as I tried to steady my breathing.

I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind racing with questions.

What happened? Why would he do this? I wondered.

I took my phone out of my pocket and dialled his number, my hands trembling.

Scott please pick up, I thought biting my lips.

But the call went straight to voicemail.

I tried again and again but still, there was no response.

“Why?” I whispered to myself, staring at his name on my phone screen.“Why would you do this to me?”

A soft knock on the door startled me.

“Linda,” my mum's voice said from behind the door. “I've arranged something for you to eat.”

I didn't answer.

After a moment, I heard her sigh. “I’ve left the tray by the door. We'll be here if you want to talk.”

I heard her footsteps walk away, leaving me alone. I didn't move.

I looked at my left hand, the engagement ring was still wrapped around my finger, a mocking reminder of promises that were not kept.

I pulled it off my finger, turning it over in my hands as tears blurred my vision.

The memory of the night Scott proposed played vividly in my mind.

We had gone to a rooftop restaurant downtown for our six-year anniversary.

We had been together since the tenth grade of high school and we had been friends before that. He said he wanted something different from the usual movie night for our anniversary.

The place was beautiful, and the dinner was perfect.

We talked and laughed throughout, with our hands together the entire time. It was that kind of moment that made me feel like we were invincible.

When our dessert arrived, he stood up.

“What are you doing,” I asked, confused.

He didn't answer, instead, he walked around the table and came to kneel on one knee in front of me.

I covered my mouth with my hands, as everyone around us turned to watch.

“Linda,” he began, his voice trembling as he pulled a black box from his pocket. “I love you, I have loved you since ninth grade, since the first time I saw you in algebra class arguing with the teacher about the equation being wrong.”

I laughed softly at that, my cheeks heating up.

“You were fearless back then, smart, stubborn and absolutely unforgettable.”

“And over the years, that hasn't changed. You became my best friend, my partner and the love of my life.”

“I can't imagine a future without you in it.”

And then he opened the box, inside it was a simple but elegant ring that sparkled under the light.

“Linda Howard, will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes I will,” I replied, stretching out my hand.

He took my hand and slipped the ring on my finger then pulled me in for a kiss.

Now staring at the same ring, the memory felt like a joke.

“What changed?” I whispered to myself, my voice cracking.

I lay down on my bed for God knows how long, my body shaking with sobs until exhaustion finally pulled me to sleep.

The days after that were a blur. I barely left my room, I barely ate, sometimes I would eat the food my mum left outside my door and most times I wouldn't.

Sometimes my mum would sit outside my door, saying things in a bid to comfort me but they didn't work.

Laura called me several times a day, her name lighting up my phone screen. Each time I just stared at it until it stopped ringing.

I did not want to talk to anyone, the person whose call I had been expecting, who I needed to talk to, didn't call me.

Nights were worse. I would lay on my bed looking at the ceiling. Memories of Scott and I flooding my mind as I turned the engagement ring in my hand.

Then one night, there was a loud bang on my door, disrupting my thoughts.

“Linda!” Laura's voice shouted through the door.

I buried my head in a pillow, waiting for her to stop. But she continued, the banging getting louder and louder.

“Linda! Open the door. If you don't, I'll have to break it down.” She said.

“Break it down then,” I murmured dragging myself out of bed. I unlocked the door and opened it to see Laura standing there with her arms crossed and her expression filled with determination.

She looked me up and down, taking in my tangled hair and rumpled pyjamas.

“You look like a ghost,” she said, her voice sharp as she walked into my room.

“Get dressed,” she said, sitting on my bed. “We're going out.”