Twilight: But it's a Thriller and I Never Read Twilight

Chapter 38: Flightless Bird

On the morning of my wedding, Edward and I weren't allowed to see each other. It was just another old tradition I didn't care about, but the entire Cullen family helped to keep me away from Edward all morning. Alice and Rosalie entered my room the moment I woke up to help me with my hair, makeup, and dress before the limo arrived to take us to the church. My husband-to-be and I would be separated the whole time until I walked through those doors to meet him at the end of the aisle. The idea of walking past so many people all staring at me turned my stomach, but I had something that made it all survivable. Charlie would be walking down the aisle with me.

By the time they let me out of my bedroom, I was dolled up in a complex hairstyle that Alice had done and what felt to me like an entirely new face that Rosalie had painted on. The makeup, no matter how pretty and expertly placed was not me and I almost wanted to rub it off as I looked at myself in the mirror. The version of me I knew was gone and before we had even stepped out, I was a Cullen.

I told myself it was all superficial, that when this was all over, I'd wash off the face and let my hair fall over my shoulder. I'd be me again, but all the events of the day were churning my stomach with such intensity that I was sure I would throw up before I got to the church. All the while, Alice held my hand as we walked. She wore the same peach dress as Rosalie did, each of them flanking me like pretty pink protection as we made our way out to the limo in front of the house. Edward and the boys had already left, leaving me with my bride's maids to escort me.

Inside the car with Alice and Rosalie on either side of me, I held onto my seatbelt the entire ride to the church to stop myself from shaking the closer we got. I knew with every minute that this was what I wanted, a marriage with the man I loved and a life for forever with him. But my body still went hot and sweaty with all the preparation. I had never imagined my wedding, and here it was, planned and put together by my new sister-in-law, a gift for me. It still felt like a day of torture.

The church did not have a dark shade over it when we arrived. It did not have splatters of blood across the pavement. It wasn't the nightmare I'd have about this day. Instead, there were flower arrangements at the edge of the steps, flanking the entrance. There was a large display with a picture of Edward and me, his arms wrapped tightly around me. There were cars in the parking lot, some I recognized and some that were unfamiliar. And in the back, there was a police cruiser hiding in plain sight. I knew who was waiting for me inside.

The three of us stepped out of the limo, Alice taking my hand once again as we made our way up. In the daylight, I could just barely see the veins on her hands as we walked, but she held herself tall as if no one would be able to see any of it. When we stepped into the church, her veins disappeared with the closing of the door behind her. We were the last ones here and very soon, the wedding music would begin to play.

Before us, a holy water font stood open and still. The water was clear and as I looked down into it, I found my reflection again. I was beautiful, like a nymph or a goddess, like Alice and Rosalie who stood next to me. We waited together, just outside the chapel where the rest of my new family was currently waiting.

Before I could even try to calm my nerves, a side door opened and Charlie stepped through, wearing a pressed black tux. His facial hair was shaved back to his usual mustache, and he looked once again like my Dad, like no time had passed at all. Before I had time to think, I was stepping past my bride's maids and over to where my Dad waited with a hug.

"You look beautiful," was the only thing he could say before my arms were around his shoulders, pulling him down into me.

"I'm so glad you're here," I told him in a low voice as I pressed my chin into his shoulder. I couldn't risk ruining the makeup Rosalie had painstakingly done by burying my face into his shoulder.