Bride To Be

~Enjoy!~

               

 Stephanie looked through the storefront window at the countless racks of wedding dresses. Her stomach was turning and her forehead moist with a cold sweat. Never in her life had she imagined that she’d be in this position, about to commit a horrible act.

                “Stephanie, be a dear and hold the door for me,” her mother asked, as she strutted across the small avenue completely covered from head to toe with designer clothing. The many store bags hanging off of her arms bumped and bounced against the door as her mother entered the bridal store. Stephanie followed, filled with dread.

                A petite, young woman from behind a counter smiled. “Welcome to D’Neirs Bridal, how may I help you?”

                Immediately, her mother went into full wedding planner mode, giving Stephanie the chance to slip away. She walked to the back of the store, pretended to check the price on a lovely Vera Wang and silently entered the back room, completely ignoring the ‘Employees Only’ sign. A fluorescent light flickered, giving the room an ominous feel, despite the breathtaking gowns in production scattered around. Stephanie quickly made her way to the fuse box and turned all the switches, except the backroom, off. She heard a few shrieks coming from the store section as she locked the door connecting the rooms and installed a safety bolt. Stephanie was now ready to do what she came to do.

                While trying to ignore the commotion on the other side of the door, the soon-to-be bride looked through the racks for the dress she’d been told to look out for, a short, modern dress with pockets on either hip. Just as she found the dress, someone pounded on the door.

                “Open the door, L.A.P.D has arrived,” a masculine voice firmly ordered.

                Stephanie didn’t answer and quickly reached into the pockets of the dress, pulling out a folded paper. Rushing, she unfolded it and laid it on the table.

                The officer was now trying to open the door by force. Stephanie quickly made sense of the paper, which turned out to be a map of the venting system of the building. Looking around the room, she searched for the vent that was marked with an “x” on the blueprint. Moving a couple of racks out of the way, Stephanie found the vent low on the wall and quickly opened it. She grabbed her purse and threw herself into the vent. Just as she was pulling her legs in, the door gave way. After securing the vent cover back in place, Stephanie crawled as fast and far as she could, tears streaming down her face.