Bombshells ~ Complete

Chapter Twenty: Kas's Memories and Confessions

One day till the wedding. I had one day to tell Lila that the man she was in love with was a complete and total monster, someone devoid of human emotions. A psychopath, an evil of the world. 

Yeah, I didn't think she would take hearing that right before her wedding well. 

All the boys were rushing around, trying to make everything perfect for their mom. They didn't like my father, but they wanted to make Lila happy and smile on her wedding day. Lila was a frantic mess. She had said several times over that she was more nervous during this wedding than she had been during her last one. Father was just as nervous as Lila. So nervous that he hadn't had the chance to beat me. 

Me? Well, I was the only seemingly calm one in the house. But I guess that was because I was the only one who hoped the wedding didn't go through. Jaydon didn't either, but that didn't mean that he could stop working and do nothing. He was forced to work on making things perfect. 

That night, Jaydon and I had a conversation. We talked about why he got so mad, why I was so upset, and how we could fix the damage between us. It was a deep and dark conversation. 

"Ariel! Wake up, it's almost time to start!" Kas screamed, rushing into my room. She pounced on the bed, hitting the bed with enough force to knock down an elephant. I sat up laughing. 

Yep, Kas was helping me get ready. I had no idea how to do any makeup other than basic chapstick. I didn't know how to do any hair other than a basic, and still very badly done, ponytail. 

That's where Kas came into play. The girl was a freaking genius when it came to that stuff. 

"I'm up, I'm up. What are we doing first?" I grumbled, my laughter dying down. I was not excited about the day, but I was nervous. Some random guy I'd never met before would be walking me down an long isle with a bunch of people staring straight at me. There were two slight problems. 

Problem One) I had never worn heels before and Kas was shoving me into some six inch monsters.

Problem Two) I was extremely shy and hated people staring at me. 

Do you see my issue?

"Breakfast, and then brushing of the teeth. Then shower, shave, dry off, you'll slip into your dress, I'll do your makeup and your hair, and then wedding time! Come on, come on. Our agenda is packed and you slept in." Kas clapped her hands for emphasis. I looked over at the clock and groaned. The wedding started at noon. 

It was seven o'clock in the morning. 

I smashed a pillow onto my face and let out a loud groan. She laughed and pulled the pillow away from me. I dove back under the covers. She pulled the covers back. 

"What's for breakfast?" I asked tiredly. Kas tapped her chin for a split second, before wincing. I groaned and flopped back onto my bed. 

"I don't think anyone's up yet so we'll have to make due." She said with an apologetic smile. I rolled my eyes but pushed myself up from the bed. I ran a hand through my messy hair and let out another, quieter, groan. 

Of all the days to have a bad-hair day.

"If the bride isn't even up yet, we have issues. I'm not trying to impress anyone here. If they don't like me, they don't like me. I just don't want to screw up. Since we're up this early and already getting started, what if Lila thinks I'm trying to outshine her? She would hate me." I thought out loud. Kas took me by the shoulders shook me. 

"That's your dad getting into your head. Just like he always does. Don't think about him right now." Kas said sternly. Then, she went right back to a face-breaking smile. I walked down the stairs, whispering the major points of Jaydon and I's conversation to Kas. She had some input, but basically told me to trust him. 

He was my brother, after all.

"Mornin'." Kade said, nursing a cup of coffee. Zander, Ethan, Jaydon, Nathaniel, Gabriel, Lucas, and Xavier were all behind him, waiting to get to the coffee machine. 

"What was that about no one being up?" I asked softly. Kas let out an anxious chuckle. She had told me numerous times that she was terrified of my brothers. I had been over to her house twice, and with seeing her 6'4" dad, I understood. 

"Hey, Kas. Did you just get here or did you spend the night again?" Ethan asked, looking Kas up and down. I would have to put him off the idea of crushing on Kas. She wouldn't deal with learning one of the people she was scared of had a crush on her. 

Kas shook her head, and looked at me to translate her looks. 

"She stayed the night last night. She just got up super early this morning." I explained, skipping the line. The boys groaned about how I was using my cuteness to get to the coffee, and even tried to push me away a couple times, but I used my infamous puppy dog eyes on Kade and he let me in. 

I smirked at the rest of the boys over the rim of the coffee cup. 

"Lost your voice or something?" Xavier asked with a small smile. I knew he was just being friendly, Kas did too. But those words must have set something off in her brain. Those words triggered a memory, which caused her eyes to widen, for her face to lose all color, for her hands to shake. 

Xavier looked at me, asking what he did wrong with his eyes. I shook my head. 

"Kas, why don't we go get started on getting me all prettied up?" I asked softly, leading her back to my room. It was when my door was shut that she broke down on my bed. I stood back and let her hyperventilate for a minute, before stepping in. 

When I calmed her enough into simple sobs, she leaned on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her. 

"I... I don't know what happened. It was... It was like when he said that... Said those words... I forgot I was safe. I thought, for a split second, my father was asking me where my voice was... When I was too terrified to answer him... Because he had just punched me in the gut and sent me sprawling. I thought that... That I was going to get another beating for being a stupid brat who couldn't answer." Kas sobbed, parroting what her father had told her on many occasions. 

I winced at the self-loathing in her voice. 

Was that what I sounded like?

"I know, sweetie. But, think about what you told me when I got up. Don't think about that right now. You have all day and night today, and then all day tomorrow to be away from all the pain." I told her softly. 

She looked me directly in the eyes and nodded, smiling as she wiped her nose on her sleeve. I heard the floor creak, and then the door burst open. 

There stood Xavier. 

And he had heard everything.