Chapter 3

APRIL

"Give me another one." I lost count of how many shots I have had, but I don't care, anything to forget this awful day. The humiliation I feel surpasses any level I have ever known. This has been absolutely horrible!

"Are you sure, honey? It might not seem like it, but if you keep going like this, you are going to get sick." I looked at the man, who watched me with sympathy.

"I couldn't feel any worse. Plus, they are coming for me, so it is not a problem." That was a complete lie. No one was coming for me, for the simple reason that they had no freaking idea where to find me. He hands me my drink and I down it in one gulp. It burns like hell, but it helps me feel something other than the pain in my chest.

It was time to process the events of the day.

The man who was going to be my husband wasn't who he had made himself out to be, nor was he my best friend, like I had naively thought.

I wasn't going to get married anymore, or start the family I imagined. The wedding I had dreamed of for years? It was completely eclipsed by lies and deceit.

In the middle of my thoughts, I feel someone approach me and I turned around to tell him to get lost, but his face looks familiar. I don't know where I have seen him, but he is incredibly attractive. Maybe I can have some fun today and stop feeling sorry for myself for once; after all, it is my wedding night.

"Hi," I say, giving him what I attempt to be a provocative look.

"Hi. Are you feeling better?" His question throws me off. How does he know I am not okay?

"No, but I could be. Do you want to get me out of here?" I am usually shy, but not today. Today, I am going to have fun.

"Sure, bunny." I watch him put several bills on the bar before helping me up. "Careful with the dress. Without shoes, you might step on it and fall."

"I won't step on it, although I might burn it. This," I say, grabbing the layers of the dress, "is going to hell, where I won't have to see it anymore."

"Alright, but no playing with fire just yet. You are a bit drunk right now and you might burn yourself." That makes me laugh.

"Then the firefighters will have to show up," I say, laughing like a maniac. I didn't even have a stripper at my bachelorette party; they could give me a striptease.

"It is a good thing I am a firefighter, bunny. I won't let anything happen to you." Still smiling, I turned to look at him, and he is completely serious, totally oblivious to my thoughts. But I have already pictured him in his uniform, and without it.

"Are you really a firefighter?"

"Yes, I am." It seems he is not a man of many words, unlike me, who, possessed by alcohol, has no filter.

"That is good, then you can help me put out the flames. Today I need a strong, capable man. And you look perfect," I murmured, leaning against him.

He looks capable, not like David. Damn David.

Once we get in his car is when I remember where I know him from. He is the idiot who almost ran me over.

"You almost killed me today," I point at him, annoyed.

"Bunny, you threw yourself at the car. I barely had time to brake." He starts driving calmly, as if this happens to him every night.

"I was running away," I say, as if that were enough of an explanation.

"From your wedding?"

"From the guy who was supposed to be my husband. I loved him, you know? He was my best friend since we were kids. I respected his decisions, no matter how idiotic they were. For God's sake, I never had sex because he believed in saving himself for marriage." He slams on the brakes, turning to look at me.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. He asked me to wait until we were married. And he was doing it, I saw him today."

"He cheated on you at your wedding?"

"From what I saw, he has been cheating on me all along." I feel a tear roll down my cheek at the memory.

"What do you mean?" He probably thinks I am crazy.

"I was finishing getting ready and I heard him. I walked closer and there were moans. I opened the door and I saw him. He was having sex... with the best man." Now his eyes are wide. "Do you understand why I feel so awful? I was his best friend, I would have supported him. But he led me on, we were going to get married. Good lord, he never would have been able to touch me. He was going to condemn us both to a life of deceit. He just saw me as a cover for his masculinity."

"That really is a heavy thing to see on your wedding day." I know he was trying to sound sympathetic, but his voice came out nervous.

"It is bullshit. I am an idiot, you know? How did I not see it? I thought he cared about me, that he loved me, but I was just useful to him." My self-esteem right now is ready to be buried.

"Relax, bunny. Tomorrow you will see things differently." I didn't believe him.

"Why do you keep calling me bunny? My name is April." Then I remember I don't know him. "And yours?"

"Ryan." His hand is firm over mine. "And I call you bunny because I saw you all white, fluffy, soft, innocent, and you are someone I feel like I am going to have to hunt."

"Well, you caught me today. Are we almost there?"

"Almost. Rest, bunny, I will wake you when we get there." I obey because I am tired and my head hurts.

I just hoped that when I woke up, everything would have been a nightmare.