Tying The Knot ❤️ (Layne Staley / Demri Parrott)

Tying The Knot ❤️

She was nervous.

Heck, more than nervous.

She was terrified.

The young woman has been through so much.  She beat death.  Quite literally.  Heroin addiction was on a whole other level of hell.  It was like being caught in this sick limbo of heaven and hell.  That always landed her and her lover chained down and locked up.  Never to be seen, never to be heard.  Never to be themselves ever again.

And, yet, despite it all, they pulled through.  They survived the cruel clutches of chemical dependency and moved on with their lives.  Of course the fear of relapse was still looming in the depths of their darkest nightmares.  That fear will, realistically, always be there.

But they had each other.

A shaky sigh rattled from her chest as her mother placed her veil over her head.  Staring at the reflection in the mirror before her, finally, a tiny smile cracked her gentle features.

"You're so beautiful, Demri," Kathleen whispered.  She rubbed her daughter's shoulders, tears of pride in her eyes as she looked in the mirror with her.

Kathleen was so unbelievably proud of her daughter.  Watching her progress and succeed was more than just admirable—it was inspiring.  Seeing her now, in a gorgeous white flowing gown, ready to walk down the aisle...it made her want to burst into tears of relief for Demri.  But she kept it inside, and instead let out a rattled breath of gratitude.

"I think I'm ready," Demri said as she turned away from her reflection.  She shared a look of excitement with Kathleen, her huge doe eyes only magnifying the feeling.  Before she could speak another word, her father slid through the door.

Dennis had a huge grin spread on his face when he took in his daughter in her wedding dress.  "Are you ready?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Demri nodded her head, her smile now growing to match her step father's cheeky grin.  "Yeah...yes, most definitely."

He took her hand in his, leading her down the halls of the cathedral.  And once the music commenced, Demri swore her heart was about to burst from her, it was pounding so hard.  She watched as her best friends, her bridesmaids, Rosheen and Mara started to walk down the aisle.  Then watched her mother walk down...

Demri was now shaking, knowing her and her father were about to enter the room.  And as they took each other's hands, they glided down with ease.  For some reason, she let out a small quiet laugh when she finally saw Layne.  It was weird seeing him in a suit unironically.  He looked so awkward standing there, and seeing Mike Starr, Jerry, and Sean standing near only made her giggle even more.  They were so quiet, but she could tell they were trying like hell to behave.

Her eyes slid over to see Rosheen and Mara in their beautiful light blue dresses, flowers in their hands.  Rosheen couldn't stop herself from giving her a thumbs up with a goofy grin, turning to see Mara was doing the same.  Demri laughed a little harder, though still quietly, her fear completely replaced with elation as she took everything in.

Dennis caught on to his daughter's amusement, gently squeezing her hand and laughing with her as they continued to walk down the aisle.  When they finally parted ways, he couldn't stop himself from crying as he watched his daughter step up to face Layne.

Layne wiggled his thick eyebrows at her goofily as he took her hands.  His eyes were far too animated, manic with excitement that they were doing this.  They were going through with it and they were healthy and happy.

Layne laughed a little when Demri wiggled her eyebrows back at him.  His face flushed pink, his ears ringing once the music stopped.

"Welcome everyone," the notary said with a smile.  "Demri and Layne have chosen you, those special and important to them, to witness and celebrate the beginning of their life together. Today, as we create this marriage, we also create a new bond and new sense of family—one that will undoubtedly include all who are present here today."