Page 106 of Rise & Fall

What the hell is wrong with me?

I remove myself from the scenic view, taking a deep breath and slapping the tears off my face.

I walk over to the garment bag, unzipping it and drag my eyes over the dress.

The dress I picked out is a really pretty, jade green silk gown. It came down between my breasts in a dip and with a classic slit up my leg. The thin spaghetti straps of the dress give it a delicate look and the sheer shawl that matches it helps elevate the dress with just a hint of a layer.

I really did feel beautiful trying the dress on and maybe that’s why I’m emotional…who knows.

And seeing Sterling try on dresses was a dream. I’m so happy for her. She truly does deserve the fairytale wedding that Callan is giving her, and I’m so grateful she’s in great hands.

I unwind, getting undressed and swapping my leggings and t-shirt for a pair of shorts and one of Nolan’s shirts that I pried from him before we left his house that morning.

I get cozy in the bed and flip on the TV to whatever news is playing, trying to relax.

I grab my phone and think to dial Nolan. But before I get the chance to scroll for his name, my eyes are rolling back, and I fall into a much needed deep sleep.

thirty-four

Dakota

Myeyesshootopento the sounds of tumultuous banging. It’s not till I roll over and sit up that I recognize where it’s coming from.

I roll out of bed, still blurry-eyed, and wander over to the door. I look through the little peephole to see that it’s Sterling.

“Dakota? I’m calling the police if you don’t answer. Are you in there?” She brings her fist to pound on the door again but the thought of it sends my head into a furry of aches and pains, causing me to try and get the door open as quickly as possible.

“Stop, I’m here. Hang on!” I shout sleepily, unlocking the door and frantically opening it up.

Sterling is fully dressed in a yellow sundress and white canvas shoes. Her blonde curls are thrown up into a cute topknot and her black eyelashes nearly fan up to her brows.

“You look like a mess,” she states, pushing past me to enter my room.

“It’s calledI was asleep,” I respond back.

I take a step back and think about the dream I’d just had about Nolan.

We were at the park, the girls too, and Nolan and I were just pushing them on the swings. It was a regular spring day, the clouds were out, the birds were chirping. But then, thunder started to crack through the sky which resulted from the dark clouds that had suddenly rolled in, and everything got gray and somber fast.

The girls started to cry and Nolan—who is normally really calm—started to panic, all while I couldn’t even move from where I was standing. Almost as if I were in a state of paralysis. And even when Nolan gathered the girls to head for the car, I was inert.

I felt useless and almost as if I were a liability. Like I was holding them back, but I don’t know how that could have been or why I felt that way. And before I knew it, the truck was driving off and I was stuck in the storm.

“Earth to Dakota.” Sterling waves her hand in my face, trying to break me out of my zone-out.

“Sorry, just revisiting the dream I had,” I admit, feeling a tad disoriented having rolled out of bed just barely opening my eyes first.

“It’s almost ten.” She shoots me a disapproving glare and I immediately go into panic mode.

“It is? Jesus, dude. I’m sorry.” I run into the bathroom to attempt to fix my wild hair as much as possible, having to settle for a quick brush-out and throwing it into a low messy bun.

“Chill, Dakota.” Sterling opens up my suitcase carefully before slowly going through it for my outfit.

I spit out my toothpaste. “No, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make us late.”

“I’m just glad you weren’t kidnapped. I was knocking for a good fifteen minutes. Besides, it’s notmybirthday breakfast we’re going to miss.” She shrugs her shoulders as she lays out my boyfriend jeans andNirvanaband tee.

Suddenly my stomach sours.