follows him to the dance floor. Like two perfect souls, they sway their bodies to the soft sound as the band sings ‘Unchained Melody.’
It’s their song, and in their perfect moment, I watch in awe as these two people have finally become one, and I was there from the beginning. Memories of them meeting for the first time at our local football game, the way Adriana would talk endlessly about him, and the way he looked at her, not like your normal high school boy. It truly was love at first sight. It’s like a happy ending to a movie you spent a lifetime watching, and so I sit back and watch, willingly holding back more tears wanting to escape.
As the song almost reaches the end, the inevitable is near, and that feeling which buries itself in the pit of my stomach has tangled itself into a large knot riddled with nerves.
The MC finally announces the wedding party is to join the bride and groom as Bryan Adam’s ‘Everything I Do, I Do It For You’ begins to play.
I can do this.
I have to do this.
Lex is by my side almost immediately. Placing my hand into his, it shoots through me again, that wild jolt of electricity which reminds me why it has always been him. But this time I don’t flinch, my body craves it so very much.
I follow him to the dance floor as he stops in the middle beside the other couples. Placing his arms around my waist, he brings me close to him as my hands wrap around his neck just like I did at prom.
Our eyes meet, gazes locked like nothing around us exists, just him and me in this moment. His emerald eyes are sparkling as I study his face, every single angle, focusing on his beautiful lips which I desperately want to kiss.
Unsure if I should speak first, my nerves are overshadowed my ability to string together a coherent sentence. What do I say? That I want him more than life itself. Should I start by saying that? His words linger in my head, and so I dance and place my trust in him.
“Lex,” I murmur, his name rolling off my tongue so effortlessly.
“Charlotte, please, let me say what I need to say first.”
I stare into his eyes, my movement stilling, so he has my full attention.
“For the past month, I have been aimlessly walking around wondering why I was being punished. Wondering exactly what I did wrong to be dealt so much pain. I thought I had reached low points in my life before, but they were nothing in comparison to what I’ve been feeling…
“A few nights ago, I sat alone in a dangerous part of Brazil. I was drunk, and the local folk were ready to rob me. I didn’t care that I was close to being beaten up. They watched me, tequila in hand like a time bomb waiting to go off. It hurt so much what you had said to me, and I replayed the words over and over again in my head. Those words constantly echoed through my mind, and I question what exactly made me hurt the most… the fact that it was his or the fact that I wouldn’t be in your life? I wanted to hurt him, Charlotte, more than you can ever imagine. I had things planned that I’m ashamed to admit. I was there ready to make that happen, but then I looked up, and I saw it, the light that shines so bright on the statue of Jesus Christ.”
He chokes on his words, bowing his head in shame as I wait in anticipation.
“Just when I thought I’d lost hope, there was this little girl a few feet away from me, her angelic voice carried in the bustle surrounding us. She spoke in her native tongue, but I understood, she asked her dad why the Christ the Redeemer was shining so bright it was hurting her eyes. I rushed to her side and asked her if she could see it, too. She nodded, and I knew it wasn’t just me. Her name was Carla. It was a sign, a big fucking sign. It was at that moment I knew I missed you, that my life is nothing without you. I was no longer angry at him, but angry with myself for hurting you. You’re the one having to deal with this alone, and I hated myself for making you think you had no