My pen glided across the page with such grace. The ink staining the paper a blood red satisfied me. I smiled. I grabbed my envelope that I had hand made three hours prior. It was a perfect square that had hearts in each corner, the same inky red as the writing on the paper. The point of the hearts were connected by small swirls and in the middle, in bold letters was the name "Chase Sanders." I folded the paper so that it was exactly even on both sides and popped in into the envelope. I had measured each piece of paper so that it fit perfectly, with no extra space. Every small detail counted. I sealed it, and stared at the front for so long that I could've burt a hole through it. No, it must be perfect. I stood up, pushing my hands down on the desk to help elevate my body weight. I inhale deeply and slide my hand gently over the paper sitting in the corner of the table. I'm almost afraid to touch it. My thumb slides underneath and I pull it back toward me and dropped it to my side. I broadened my shoulders and walked back out into the hallway, trying to show no signs of nervousness.
My eyes darted across the lockers, clinging to the walls, trying to search for him. There. My eyes had found their prey and was ready for the attack. Nothing could stop me now. Then someone yelled my name.
"Maddy! Madison!" My sister, Matilda Myers, ran at me, arms open. I hid the letter behind my back so that she didnt ruin the hard effort. She reached me, slamming her hands down on my shoulders, hard. I flinched under the impact.
"Guess what just happened to me?" She asked in a playful tone. I tilted to the left, trying to see if I could catch Chase's gorgeous green eyes behind her and ask for some help. He had his back to us, talking to his friends. He laughed, echoing the rich sound off the walls. It was like music. My heart was beating so fast, if my sister hadn't shaken me, I think it may have burst through my chest.
"GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHHAAAATTT!" She shook my so hard that I could feel my brain rattling. If I didn't answer soon, I'd have no more brain cells to answer her.
"You passed your physics exam?" I asked, hopefully. She was absolutely hopeless at physics. I've had to help her with homework 3 times just today.
"Nah, thats impossible." She snickers to herself. "No, Chase Sanders asked me out!" Her voice changed about three octaves and went so high and squeaky, anyone would think she inhailed helium.
My right foot slid backward, a little behind my left one. My hands became numb and sweaty. My throat closed up, I postponed breathing and tears threatened to spill. I couldn't, I wouldn't. He was staring right at us, his friends whispering in his ear.
"Thats great sis!" I said, hoping that she didnt hear the dissapointment in my voice. Using my back foot as a pivot, I turned away from her. I kept my head down and walked away, not letting her say anything. I heard laughter, but it wasn't Chase's rich, fulfilling laughter. It was his friends laughter, filled with coldness, evil and betrayal. I couldn't fight back, didn't want to. I allowed the tears to flow from my eyes, down my cheeks and create tiny puddles on the floor. I ran and didn't look back until I reached the front of the school building. I slowed down to a walking pace and plonked myself down on the concrete stairs, with my legs pulled up to my chest and my arms holding them together. I opened my clenched fist to find a ball of paper. The sweat from my palms had mixed with the red ink and it had soaked my hands bloody.
"Well you're fucking useless." I whispered, and threw the ball as far as I could into the bushes with a grunt. Nobody will find it. Nobody will find out how much of a fool I am.
5 years later
I opened the car door to an offering gloved hand. I took it, as per my sisters expected etiquette, and hauled myself out the car. My dark thick hair was in a French braid down my back, also per my sisters request. The butler, whose the hand belonged to whispered in my ear,
"Do not forget to smile mademoiselle," before straightening up and placing his hands together behind his back. I gave him a forced smile that looked more like a grimace and glanced at the red carpet to the unnecessarily large door. Why did my sister always have to be so extra?
Two more butlers opened the doors for me and I walked inside. The red carpet continued inwards and came to a circle at the bottom of the small steps. In front of me was a large hall with lots of people. Almost like a teenage party you would go to when you were 16. They were all talking in large groups of about 6 or 7 with martini glasses in their hands. I moved through the crowd, trying not to bump into anyone's arms. My social anxiety was through the roof without having to make conversation with anyone.
"Would you like a drink mademoiselle?" Asked a butler, coming past with trays of glasses. I held up my hand, a no thank you, and he walked off. Thankful that I didn't need to talk, I avoided eye contact by glancing around and noticed several chandeliers hanging from the roof. There were people up on elevated platforms throughout the hall and looked down on us. I was just about to turn around and leave when I spotted Matilda through the crowd. Or, she spotted me.
"Oh my goodness Maddison!" She squeaked, holding out her hands and pulling me into a hug. I forced another smile, eyes now pointed in our direction. The hands came back to my shoulder. "So glad you could make it. You remember Chase right? From high school?" Of course I remember him. His dad was a multi-millionaire, he was the football captain, my sisters boyfriend and.. oh yeah, the guy I've had a crush on for the past 6 years. I gave an awkward wave and he gave one back. My sister wrapped her arms around both our necks and pulled us down to her height, which, considering that she was 5'6 and we were around 5'8, made us bend down quite a bit.
"You guys gotta stop being so awkward!" She laughed, her blonde hair swishing. She sounded so posh and formal. Where had my sister gone?
"Tilly.." I groaned.
"Especially since you guys are gonna be-" She stopped halfway through her sentence as Chase pulled her arm off himself and warned,
"Careful babe, spill anymore and you'll give away the secret." He winked at me, sending my heart sprawled out over the floor.
"Secret?" I breathed, dreamily. "What secret?"
But no sooner than I did, someone stood up on the stage in which the band were playing. She tapped a silver spoon against her crystal grass, both shining from the chandelier light. It was Sheryl. She was Matilda's and I's friend all through high school, even though she was a year above us, then decided to go off and be popular with Tilly and Chase. The chatter died instantly and a pin drop could be heard from a mile away. Sheryl breathed in and started to make a speech. From out the corner of my eye I saw Tilly pull her hair round her shoulder so it ran down her front and Chase straighten his tie on his suit.
"As I'm sure you all know, we are gathered here on appoint of Mrs Myers and Mr Sanders." Everyone turned around and the two bowed next to me. Peoples attention turned back to the stage. "And I'm sure that nobody knows why." Just get on with it woman. "And that's because they have an announcement to make." The sleeves on my rose red dress where falling, so I pulled them up. The butler came round again offering another round of drinks. This time I took one, just to lighten the mood. I took a sip. She really is taking her sweet old time. She lifts her glass. Finally.
"A toast, to soon to be Mr and Mrs Sanders."
I nearly dropped my drink. What.
Days later
It's Sunday the 12th of December 2017. Today, right now, is my sisters wedding. My TWIN sisters wedding. She is marrying Chase Sanders. The person who I have had a crush on since I was 15. The guy who chose the "prettier twin." I try to wrap my head around it as I stand there, holding a white rose bouquet wrapped in a pink ribbon. Symbolising pure love. Ick. I sigh to myself. If I were her, I'd kill off the husband, inherit his fortune and go live in another country. Maybe France. Then I'd get to eat crossounts and macaroons all day. But then again, the husband in question was Chase. And he's too perfect to loose. I imagined her. The white dress our mother picked drapping over her, the satin gloves resting gently on her hands, petals covering the rocky path like snow. She looked so angelic. It would be the best day of her life. Well, it would be. If she wasn't sitting in a ditch in the forest directly behind the very wedding she was supposed to be at.
