Page 38 of Bound For You
Al grunts. “What do you mean?” he asks in complete confusion.
“I don’t know. Since the day Phoebe was taken to the hospital… I asked them to stay with Avery while I called Juan. She has avoided them like the plague, and they look at her with guilt. And instead of looking into it, like the fuckwit I am, I pushed her away instead.”
Al frowns. “When we saw her at the hospital six weeks ago, Dad apologized to her for how they reacted toward her, and she said something along the lines of, it doesn’t matter, you’re over, and dad basically got what he wanted.”
What the fuck?
Damian asks, “So, what the fuck did our parents do?”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my anger. It’s all I feel now, rage. She was my lifeline and I fucked that up. “Doesn’t matter, at least not today. Today you finally get to marry the love of your life. Tomorrow, we get answers before you go on your honeymoon.” They both nod, and we head to the backyard.
Al’s backyard is big and spacious. The pool is covered so we can walk on it, and there’s an arch covered with flowers at the end of the yard, with chairs on either side to make an aisle. White rose petals line the aisle. We stand under the arch; Damian is next to Al holding Maksim, and I’m next to Damian holding Rora, who’s fallen asleep. I make eye contact with Juan, and he holds it. We still haven’t had the meeting he’s requested,and I know I have to keep to my end of the deal. I give a small head nod and he smiles, and I look away. I don’t want anything to do with him but because his niece, my cousin is getting married today, I have to keep my word.
Etta James “At Last” starts to play, bringing my attention to the back doors. Sofia walks out holding Mila’s hand, who’s wearing a white fluffy dress, looking perfect. Instead of rose petals in her basket, she has Ares wearing a tux. I chuckle along with everyone else. Our little niece just grins while Sofia bites her lip to stop from laughing. She winks at Damian as she goes past, causing him to grin like a loon. Abby, Phoebe’s friend, is next, and then my girl follows. She’s looking absolutely beautiful in a flowy, lilac dress, with full sleeves hiding all her scars. It’s the same dress as the other two, but on her…. I shake my head; how did I fuck up so bad? She walks down the aisle and, just for a second, I imagine she’s walking to me instead, and it’sourwedding. I sigh when she doesn’t look in my direction, and Damian squeezes my shoulder. Then our Phoebe walks out, and I can’t stop the smile on my face. She looks beautiful. Her dress is white and suits her perfectly, her hair’s down, curled a little, and the pink that Avery touched up for her last week is showing in the curls. She has a flower crown on top of her head, with a veil hanging from it. Tears of happiness are shining in her eyes. My eyes start to burn with tears, then I smirk, trying not to laugh when Damian switches Maksim in his other arm, and places a firm hand on Al’s shoulder, holding him back. He grips him tight, and I shake my head as Phoebe starts to giggle. Today, she looks like a normal woman, yet tomorrow, she’ll most likely be back in her leathers, ready to hunt.
Alexandr finally breaks free from Damian’s grip and meets Phoebe and her dad halfway, taking her hand before leading her to the altar. I notice Phoebe look at her sister, Selene, and I snort. Al shakes his head with a smirk.
I nudge Damian and rub my thumb and finger together, telling him to get his wallet ready; I have $500 that Selene makes a scene. Ha! That rhymes. I chuckle at my thoughts and look toward Avery to see she’s already looking at me with furrowed brows. We make eye contact, and I tip my head to where Selene is sitting. She looks at me confused, then turns her head in the direction I indicated. When she sees what I meant, she covers her mouth, hiding her laughter. I smile, knowing I brought that smile to her face. She clears her throat and gets a serious look on her face, but her eyes show the amusement. Damian sighs and gets his wallet out while Al shakes his head, realizing we made a bet.
And when the minister asks, “Is there anyone who believes these two should not be bound in holy matrimony? Speak now, or forever be silent.” Phoebe silently counts down from three.
Suddenly, Selene opens her mouth. “Actually, I do” everyone starts laughing and I see Avery lose it as well making my heart ache, missing her laughter. Selene frowns, not receiving the reaction she thought she would while Basil’s face reddens with anger.
“Selene, sit downnow!”
Damian hangs his head on a sigh, and hands me the $500. I place it in my suit pocket, smiling.
Selene shakes her head. “I’m three months pregnant, and its Alex’s.”
My body starts to vibrate in anger making Rora stir, so I lightly pat her bottom. I can see Avery from the corner of my eye watching me, and I try not to smirk at the look of awe and adoration on her face. Good to know I still affect her, that’ll help with, hopefully, getting her back. Then Maria, my second mother who I love dearly, shocks the shit out of us when she laughs her ass off, stands, goes over to Selene, and grabs her hair, yanking it back. Dimitri tries to rearrange his pants subtly, but not subtlyenough because Damian pretends to gag, and I make a sour face like I just swallowed vomit. Phoebe chuckles, and we both glare at her.
Maria gets our attention again when she snarls, “Considering my son hasn’t left Phoebe’s side I don’t see how he could be a father to an invisible baby.”
Selene screams, looking at her father for help, but he just leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. I grin wide; it’s about time he acted like a father.
Phoebe smirks too, when Selene states, “Iampregnant, andhe isthe father.”
Phoebe laughs out loud and inquiries, “So you’re not on your period right now, or is the blood on your ass part of the dress?”
I look where Phoebe pointed, and I gag, and Damian does the same while Al bites his lip to stop from laughing.
“Can I shoot her now?” Phoebe asks Al, and he shakes his head, smirking.
He turns to the minister. “Please, continue.”
Selene screeches, and we look to see Victoria dragging her out while Maria brushes her hands together likes she’s dusting them off, and we all burst out in laughter.
Alexandr groans, rolling his eyes. “Can we get married now, Phoebe? I’ve waited long enough to make you my wife.”
The minister continues, and when he announces, ‘you are now husband and wife’, Alex yanks Phoebe to him and kisses her, even before the minister says, “You may now kiss the bride.” We all laugh and cheer as he picks her up and spins her around. He places her back on the ground before he picks her up bridle style, and walks toward the dance floor. We all follow. Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” starts to play, and they have their first dance. I look toward Avery again; she has tears in her eyes and a small smile on her lips. I take a deep breath and walk over to her, hoping she doesn’t run, but my hopes are dashed becauseas soon as she sees me walking toward her, she turns and walks away from me. I sigh and Dimitri squeezes my shoulder as he comes to stand beside me.
For the rest of the evening, I watch her. She interacts with only a few; Abby, Sofia and Phoebe, that’s it. She doesn’t go near anyone else, though she played with the kids for the first hour, before they went to bed. Then she stuck mainly to herself unless one of the three women went to talk to her. Now, I watch as she walks over to Phoebe. She gives her a hug and they chat for a few minutes before Al walks over to them. He says something to Avery, and she gives him a small smile, says something back, then hugs them both before she leaves. I watch her go, knowing she still isn’t ready for a confrontation with me. Phoebe gives me a small smile and I try to return it, but it probably comes out more like a grimace. Al says something to his bride, then the next thing we know, he’s throwing her over his shoulder. We all laugh and wolf whistle while as he shouts, “Night, fuckers!” and slaps her ass.
Once they leave, I look at Damian and lift my hand in goodnight. He tilts his head and nods, understanding I need to be alone. I head home, but I’ll be back first thing in the morning, before they wake, ready for our family breakfast. But I think a drive by my love’s apartment needs to happen first.
The next morning, after a shitty night’s sleep, missing my girl even more after seeing her yesterday, I’m standing in Al’s kitchen. I’m leaning against the counter as Maria cooks while I hold Maksim in my arms, his head leaning on my shoulder.
Maria won’t meet my eyes. Every time we make eye contact, she looks away. Damian and Sofia have also noticed. I tilt my head, then look at Damian, and he nods. We need to confront the parentals; something happened, and I need to know what, especially if it’s going to make it more difficult to win my girl back.