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I stared at myself in the mirror, my eyes wide and my face scrunched up in distaste. On the hanger it looked good, but on my body it did not. The top half of the dress was too tight, and the lower half of the dress was too puffy. I looked ridiculous.
"This one's no good." I stuck my head out of the dressing room, shielding my body with the door.
Rydel, Stormie, and Lauren frowned. The moment I met Lauren, Riker's girlfriend, I knew she was the one for him. They fit each other so perfectly, and he definitely needed her in his life. I liked her the moment I met her, and we had gotten close in the few months I had known her.
"Can we see it?" Rydel asked. "This is the fourth dress you've tried on and you haven't let us see any of them. Sky, it can't be that bad."
To prove her wrong, I stepped out of the small cubicle, revealing the hideous dress. The moment her eyes widened, I knew I succeeded.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." I shut the door and stripped off the dress, placing it back on the hanger. There was one more dress to try on, and I had fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. But there was a part of me that doubted it would look good.
Although Olivia was born almost nine months ago, I was still self-conscious of my body. It took me a while to get rid of the baby fat I had gained throughout my pregnancy, but I managed to do it.
Letting out the tiniest of sighs, I slowly slipped on the dress, already feeling a difference compared to the other dresses. With a tiny bit of struggle, I zipped up the back before looking at myself in the mirror. A gasp escaped my mouth and my eyes filled with tears.
The dress was strapless ruched satin bodice with ultra-feminine sweetheart neckline and dropped waist. I slowly dragged my hands down my sides, loving how the dress hugged my body in the right way.
"Sky? How does it look?"
Since I was pretty much speechless, I wordlessly walked out of the dressing room, my eyes still glistening with tears. Almost simultaneously, gasps were heard and they all covered their mouths with their hands.
"Honey, you look beautiful." Stormie murmured, flashing me a watery smile. All I could do was smile back.
"This is the dress, Sky." Rydel confessed.
Lauren nodded. "Definitely."
I stepped on a platform that had different angled mirrors right in front. Although I didn't have heels on, and my hair and makeup weren't done, I just knew that this was the dress. The feeling I got when wearing this dress was one I never got with the others.
This was the dress I would marry Ross in.
~*~
I waved goodbye as Rydel, Stormie, and Lauren drove away from my apartment complex. I caught a glimpse of my dress in the backseat before the car completely disappeared. Since I couldn't have the dress in the apartment, Rydel would be keeping it at her house. There was no way in hell Ross was going to see the dress before the wedding.
Entering the apartment, I quietly closed the door and tiptoed into bedroom. Ross had been sick with the flu that past few days, and he was most likely sleeping. And since he was sick, Olivia was spending the night at Stormie and Marks. We didn't want her getting sick, and I knew Ross' parents didn't mind looking after her. They completely loved and adored our daughter.
I frowned as I caught a glimpse of Ross, his sick form splayed across the bed. He was in nothing but boxers, and I could practically see the sweat coming off his body. He definitely had a fever.
"Babe," I murmured, crouching down beside the bed. I placed my hand on his forehead and nodded to myself. I was right about the fever.
Ross opened his eyes tiredly, making the bags under his eyes apparent. "Hey," His voice was raspy and his throat sounded dry. I quickly went to the kitchen and returned with a bottle of water. He sat up and leaned against the headboard, taking the bottle from me and chugging half of it.
"Someone's thirsty." I teased, earning a small chuckle from the blonde. "How're you feeling?" I climbed into bed, claiming the spot next to him.
He shrugged and gulped down more water. "I feel like crap. I haven't eaten all day 'cause I'm afraid of throwing it up. And I'm grumpy because I haven't seen Olivia in three days." He pouted childishly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, I saw her before I went dress shopping and she misses you, too." I placed my chin on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "And speaking of dresses, I found one."
He smiled, his face brightening. "You found a wedding dress?" I nodded. "That just makes me more eager to get married. I can't wait to see you in the dress. And more importantly," His voice lowered to a whisper. "I can't wait to rip it off."
My jaw dropped in shock, but a laugh mixed with a squeal escaped as he blew a raspberry on my neck. I shoved him off, still laughing, and jumped off the bed. "I'm gonna make you something to eat."
"I can't promise I'll keep it down, though." He warned.
I shrugged and walked out, getting straight to work on a light meal for my dorky fiancé. I decided on making him some toast with a small portion of scrambled eggs. And once he started digging in, it looked like he was going to keep it down.
Until...
"Crap," He muttered, racing into the bathroom. His moans and groans were heard as he emptied his stomach, and I was momentarily brought back to my pregnancy when I had morning sickness.
"Hey, you're not pregnant, are you?" I called.
"That's impossible, Sky!" He called back. "We've never had sex!"
I laughed, but abruptly stopped when he continued to puke.
Poor baby.
~*~
"I missed you so much, Gummy Bear." Ross cooed, throwing Olivia up in the air, causing her to shriek with laugher. He brought her back down and peppered her face with kisses before cradling her against his chest.
"I hope she wasn't too much trouble the past few days." I said, turning to look at Stormie and Mark as they smiled at Ross and Olivia.
"Not at all, Sky." Stormie waved me off. "She was a perfect little angel. She barely cried, and she slept through the night."
"Something the boys and Rydel could never do." Mark added, chuckling.
Ross shot him a playful glare. "Funny, dad."
"I thought so."
After a few more minutes of chatter, Ross and I left the house, thanking his parents one more time for looking after Olivia. It was nice not having to worry about babysitters when we had Ross' parents and siblings. Plus we didn't have to pay them, that was a plus.
"Only four more months until the wedding," Ross blurted, placing a hand on my thigh. "And I have yet to buy you a ring. That just makes me the worst fiancé ever, doesn't it?"
I immediately shook my head, my eyes focused on him as his were on the road. "Ross, I don't care about a ring. I could wear a candy bracelet instead of a ring and I wouldn't care."
"But I would." He argued. "Sky, I promised you a ring and I intend on keeping that promise."
The rest of the drive was filled with silence, besides the random giggles that Olivia produced. It was amusing and adorable at the same time.
"I can't wait to get inside and just..." My words died off as I stared out the window, my eyes catching a certain someone.
Ross killed the ignition and followed my gaze, his expression hardening almost instantly. Without another word, he stormed out of the car, making his way over to Ben. I watched as Ross began talking, or in this case yelling, by the way he was turning red. Ben exchanged some words next, but I had no clue what he was saying. But what happened next shocked me to the point I let out a gasp.
Ross punched Ben square in the jaw.
I covered my mouth with my hand, doing my best to prevent myself from screaming. Ben grasped his jaw briefly before reciprocating the punch and aiming right at Ross' eye.
I quickly glanced behind me and saw that Olivia was sleeping. I would never leave her in the car under any circumstance, but I needed to stop the fight. Now.
Rushing out of the car and towards the fighting boys, I stepped in between them, my eyes pleading with Ross to stop.
"Ross, stop." I begged. "Fighting him is useless. Just stop, okay?" Red surrounded his eye, but I knew there would be a large bruise forming soon.
Ross' nostrils flared, and his glare softened as he stared down at me. He nodded, but pushed me behind him as he glared once again at Ben, who was clutching his jaw in pain.
"Stay the fuck away from us." He growled, venom dripping with each word. "I swear I will call the damn cops on you and have you arrested for stalking."
Ben spit some blood out of his mouth. "All I want to do is see my daughter." He snapped.
"She was never your daughter!" I stepped forward, my anger flaring up. "Ross is her father, and you're a creature from hell. If you want to be a father so bad, then go fuck a slut and get her pregnant."
Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was being slammed against the brick wall of the apartment building, my head making immediate contact with the surface. My vision blurred and my head was throbbing in pain, but I managed to stop Ross from beating the crap out of Ben when I saw him raise his fist.
"I'm not giving up." Was all Ben said before walking away, muttering swears under his breath.
Ross rushed over to me, cupping my face in his hands. He slowly traced his fingers on the back of my head and I winced. He scowled, his eyes darkening.
"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." He swore.
I blinked back my tears. "Just go get Olivia. Please."
He nodded and gently kissed my forehead before hurrying over to the car, returning seconds later with a sleeping Olivia in his arms. I gently took my daughter and cradled her against my chest, ignoring the pain my head was producing.
Ice packs were the first thing Ross got when we walked inside. He placed an ice pack on the back of my head before placing one over his eye. Ross' face showed nothing but guilt, and it looked like he was close to tears.
"I'm so sorry, Sky." He whispered, his eyes fixated on Olivia. He grabbed her little hand, rubbing his thumb over it. "This is all my fault."
I shook my head, but immediately regretted it when the pain increased. "Do not blame yourself, Ross. You didn't tell Ben to do this."
"But if I hadn't of punched him, then none of this would have happened." He clenched his unoccupied hand momentarily before letting it relax. "It's my fault you got hurt."
"Enough," I hissed quietly. "Ben always had a temper, but he never went this far. Wanting to see Olivia and us not letting him just pushed him over the edge. None of this is your fault. Blaming yourself doesn't do you any good, and it doesn't reverse time."
"But-"
"Shut up." I placed Olivia in his arms, kissing her forehead softly before kissing Ross'. "It's not your fault. Can we just forget this ever happened? It'll both do us good."
He nodded reluctantly, but I knew he would never truly forgive himself. "But I don't think Ben is going to give up anytime soon."
I nodded, my heart falling into my stomach. "I know."
Who hates Ben even more now? I know I do!