"You've been through hell, but you're still my angel."
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•Kyle•
"Shhhhh," Rae whispers furiously, warning Jess and Trevor with her eyes while they keep bickering.
"For fucks sake, Trevor!" Jess yells at him, and the guests sitting infront of us whip their heads around to glare at them. "You don't have to tell me that. I know I'm not supposed to drink while I'm pregnant!"
"I'm just reminding you," Trevor mumbles before throwing an apologetic glance to the furious guests.
"I can control myself! I won't do anything to hurt our baby." She huffs and crosses her arms.
"It won't be easy for you to stay away from alcohol, Jessica. I'm just trying to make sure--"
"I'm not stupid. I won't--"
"Remember where you are," I cut her off, leaning towards them. "You'll continue this later."
Trevor nods in agreement, and Jess rolls her eyes.
The music suddenly stops, and all heads turn to face the far end of the walk. As the opening to the bridal chorus start to play, Shelley starts walking down the aisle with an old man who seems to be her dad. She really is a beautiful bride. Her appearance has changed so much that I almost can't recognize her. Her blond hair is dyed brown now, and it's also shorter and curlier. She's wearing a strapless wedding dress and holding a rose bouquet in her hands.
She glances at us as she passes by, and gives us a huge smile. Rae smiles back and waves, while I give a short nod.
Shelley's father lets her go as they reach the bottom step, where her husband-to-be is waiting with a smile. The music fades, and the preacher steps up to the microphone, Bible in hand.
"Cherished family members and honored guests, I would like to thank each of you for coming out this morning," he says with a smile, and his voice is carried to either side of the podium through the small speakers. "Let us begin by offering thanks to the Lord on this wonderful day."
After we all bow our heads and the prayer is over, he leads them through their vows. When it's time for the ring exchange, a little boy dressed in a blue tuxedo walks up and hands the groom a ring. And after he slips it on Shelley's finger, she also does the same by taking a ring from a little girl dressed in pink.
After the preacher pronounces them husband and wife, they share a kiss and he holds up his hands, making us stand up.
As Shelley and her new husband leave the gazebo, arms linked and an identical smile on their faces, the best man, maid of honour, the groomsmen and bridesmaids follow behind them. They all stop near the end of the walk, and family and guests file down, pausing for hugs and kisses to congratulate the newly weds.
Shelley waves at us, and Rae holds my hand as she starts walking towards them. I glance back to see Jess and Trevor following us.
"Rae!" Shelly smiles, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so happy to see you."
They pull apart and Shelley gives me a hug as well. "How are you guys?"
"We're great. This is Jess, Kyle's sister, and her fiancé Trevor." Rae gestures to them.
Shelley shakes their hands with a smile and turns to her husband, who's been thanking some guests as they congratulate him. "Dave, meet Rae and Kyle."
He turns to us and smiles. "Hi, nice to meet you."
"Nice to finally meet you too," Rae says as we take turns to shake his hand.
"Star, May!" Shelley exclaims, and we glance back to see them both rushing towards us.
After they hug Shelley and shake her husband's hand, they turn to us for a quick a hug. We introduce them to Jess and Trevor and they start asking questions about our lives and what we've been up to.
"Well, we're living together now," Rae says linking her arm through mine.
"Shut up!" Star exclaims with a huge smile. "That's awesome. May here is also living with her fiancé."
"Really? Congratulations." Rae smiles at May.
"Thanks, we just got engaged." May smiles shyly. "He couldn't be here today because of his job."
"We just got engaged too," Jess buts in, grinning. Trevor shakes his head and chuckles.
"Aw, man, am I the only single one here?" Star pouts, and May starts laughing.
"Oh, honey, that won't last long." Shelley grins at her, staring at Star's light blue dress in admiration. "Look at you, you're stunning. I have some good looking cousins who're still single somehow. Want me to introduce you to some of them?" She raises her brows playfully. We've never seen this side of Shelley.
Star laughs but before she can reply, her gaze rests on something behind us. "Look who's here."
We turn around to see Oliver and Megan walking towards us, him in a dark blue suit while she's wearing a short black dress.
"Can we join the party?" Oliver raises his brow as his eyes scan us. "I see everyone has already reunited."
"Olli, Megan." Shelley steps forward to give them a quick hug.
"Sorry we're late. Meg took forever to get ready," Oliver tells us in a stage whisper, making Megan glare at him.
"So I see you guys are... together?" Star asks them.
"What can I do, this girl just can't survive without me." Oliver smirks.
Megan rolls her eyes. "Yeah right, I'm the one who--"
"Wait," he cuts her off, staring at Jess and Trevor. "Where are Lilly and Flint? Or did they change so much that I can't recognize them?" he jokes.
"Nope, we're definitely not... the people you just mentioned." Jess raises a brow at him in amusement.
"Yeah, this is my sister Jess and her fiancé Trevor," I add.
"Nice, so you guys are also...?" he trails off, staring at our linked arms.
"We're living together." Rae grins. "What about you two?"
Oliver and Megan glance at each other. "Not yet," she mumbles. "He doesn't even have a proper job yet."
"I do have a proper job," he tells us, grinning. "She's just jealous I'm fulfilling my dream while she's back in school to become a... what was it called again?"
"Radiologist," she mumbles.
"Right. Well she's just in it for the money. While I on the other hand--"
"Are fulfilling your dream!" she finishes for him with an eye roll before turning to us. "He's a mechanic."
"He's right... where are Lilly and Flint?" Star asks suddenly.
"Don't worry, they're fine." Shelley gives her a smile. "I've spoken with Lilly last month, and she told me she wouldn't be able to make it to the wedding. And Flint... well, I was able to talk to him once a few months ago. I think he's doing great. I sent him an email inviting him to the wedding but I guess he couldn't make it either."
So they don't wanna be here. I'm not surprised.
"So... are they, you know... they were pretty close back then..." Star trails off.
"I don't know." Shelley shakes her head, understanding what Star meant. "You know how they are, I couldn't ask them any personal questions."
"I'm sure they're together now," Oliver says. "Those two were obviously in love with each other. Don't you remember how they used to be all friendly with each other, shutting the rest of the world out?"
"Well, shit happens, maybe they broke up. Or they never met again after they got released." Megan shrugs.
Shelley and her husband shifts their attention to some people who came over to congratulate them. The rest of us spend the rest of the wedding together, Oliver doing most of the talking and Star being the one asking tons of questions.
I'm happy to see Rae laughing and having a good time, excitedly listening to their conversations and momentarily talking about us.
If there's one thing attending this wedding made me realize, it's that I want to marry her. When I was watching Shelley and Dave saying their vows, I've been imagining the two of us in their place.
Rae is the most beautiful thing in my life, and I love her so much that I can barely wrap my mind around it. She's the center of my universe, something my whole world revolves around. I can't survive without her. I can say without any hesitation that she's the only one for me. I've known that for a while now.
My life just wouldn't make sense without her. Nothing would.
It's clear to me that we're gonna be together until the end, and I've never been more sure about anything in my entire life.
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A/N Okay this is it, guys! Beautiful Mess is finally over. And don't kill me for making Lilly and Flint's situation unknown. Sorry but I'll leave that to your imagination. xD Anyway I'll update the epilogue sometime this week.
And did anyone notice that the quote I used at the start of this chapter is the one on the covers of both book 1 & 2? I love that quote and I think it describes Rae and Kyle's relationship perfectly.