Forgotten Awakenings (Awakenings #2) (13 page)

“You can be her now,” Elle murmured, reaching over and placing her hand on top of Helina’s. “I’ve missed you, Mom.”

“You have?” she cried.

Elle nodded. “I don’t know how many times I picked up the phone to call you, to beg you to come to me.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I was afraid that you’d push me away again,” she admitted. “I . . . I thought maybe you’d think I deserved what happened to me because I was a sinner.”

Helina and Ivy gasped, their hands reaching for Elle, who was quick to grab her cane and move before they could touch her.

“I felt so guilty for pushing you way when you came for Christmas,” Elle murmured, struggling to keep from sobbing. “I wanted to beg you to love me, beg you to call me your daughter again, but I was so hurt that I let my anger control me. And then Trixie came after me, and I became even more angry and scared. Even a little ashamed.”

“Why were you ashamed?” Ivy asked. “You did nothing wrong, Elle. That bitch is bat-shit crazy.”

“No, I know,” Elle said, putting her hand up in front of her. “But first Leo, and then Trixie — it was just too much.”

“What did Leo do to you?” Helina asked. “You said he hurt you, but you never told me what he did exactly.”

“He . . .” Elle paused. “He tried to change me into the woman he thought I should be, instead of loving me for who I was.”

“He hit you?” she asked, quietly.

“Not until the end,” Elle murmured. “It was little things at first. He wouldn’t like a shirt I wore, so he’d ask me to change. Then it was telling me to change. Or, he liked my hair worn up, he never let me pick where we had dinner, what movie we watched. He hated that I painted, said I was messy, like a child. He hated Sadie, said she was using me. And then one night, he accused me of cheating on him, said I was a whore and the only reason I did so well in school was because I slept with my professors.”

Elle shifted her attention to Helina. “Which was a lie.”

“I know,” she said, smiling. “You’re brilliant, Elle. You always have been.”

“Yeah, well, Leo didn’t think so. I think he was jealous of my success, and he lashed out. He hit me, and I told him to fuck off because no man hits me and gets to stay in my life.”

“That’s my girl!” Helina cheered.

“But he wasn’t done with me,” Elle said, causing her mother to sober up. “A few weeks later, I was interviewing for a job and when I walking back to my car, I saw him. There was a look on his face, one that scared me. I tried to run, but I was in heels. He, um, he threw me on the ground and started hitting me. He said he’d treat me like the whore I was, and . . . Well, you can guess what he intended to do.”

“Intended?” Helina whispered. “So he didn’t . . .”

“No,” Elle was quick to insist. “No. I was lucky, because someone heard me screaming for help and rushed to my aide. His name is Aaron and it turns out that he’s friends with Nick.”

“Wow, really?” Helina asked, her face scrunching up. “What are the odds?” Helina sighed and looked at Elle. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would have said I’d deserved it,” Elle said. “I was a whore in your eyes. All the men I’ve slept with, all the sins I’d committed. And you loved Leo.”

“But I love you more.” Helina stood up and walked over to Elle, placing her hands on either side of her face. “And no matter how many sexual partners you’ve had, or do have, I will never stop loving you, Elle.”

“Promise?” she whispered.

“I promise.” Helina smiled. “Now, it’s time to put your dress on. Don’t want to keep your fiancés waiting, do you?”

“No,” she breathed, softly.

Helina followed Elle into the bathroom and unzipped the white dress bag, revealing a beautiful, A-line, strapless gown that had a delicate lace overlay. It was simple and perfect.

“You’re not like Ivy,” Helina said, pulling her attention away from the dress. “I knew you wouldn’t want a huge, fancy dress. When I saw this one, I knew it was meant for you.”

“It’s beautiful,” Elle whispered, letting her fingers graze the fragile lace. “Will you help me put it on?”

“Of course.”

Helina carefully slipped the dress out of the bag and off the hanger. Elle could feel her fingers trembling as she untied her robe, letting it slide down her arms and fall to the floor. Helina’s eyes traveled to the scar in the middle of her left thigh, her lips curving downward.

“I hate it,” Elle whispered. “It’s like a constant reminder of how close I came to losing everyone I love.”

“Or how strong you were to fight for them,” Helina argued.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Elle braced herself on the vanity as she carefully stepped into the dress, holding the front up while her mother managed the buttons. The dress fit perfectly and as she stood, staring at her mother’s reflection in the mirror, she knew without a doubt that her mother truly loved her.

“I love you, Mom,” Elle said, causing Helina to look up at her.

Helina smiled. “I love you, too.”

A knock on the bathroom door pulled both of their attention away from the mirror. A moment late, Ivy pushed the door open and smiled.

“It’s time,” she said. “Are you ready?”

Elle nodded. “More than ever.”

James was waiting for them outside of a small ballroom off the left of the lobby. He tilted his head back and smiled as she walked to him. It was the first her father had looked at her and she hadn’t seen disappointment.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” he said, quietly taking her hand. He held out a small, black velvet box. “This is for you.”

“What is it?” she asked.

He laughed. “Open it.”

Elle pried the box open, gasping as she looked down at the small diamond pendant inside. “Oh, Dad.”

“I know it’s not much,” he said, taking the box back from her and slipping the necklace out. He tucked the box back into his pocket before he moved so that he was standing behind her. “I’ve been blessed with two beautiful and strong daughters.”

“Thank you, Dad.” Elle turned and faced him. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome.” He shifted his eyes behind her and smiled. “I believe she belongs to you.”

Elle turned and looked toward the staircase leading downstairs, feeling her heart begin to race as Bruce led Sadie downstairs in an empire waist bridal gown made up of dozens of layers of lace. Wrapped just under her breasts was a gold satin sash. Yet it was her smile that had Elle rushing across the room to embrace her.

Their lips met in a fiery explosion, the need to reconfirm their love for one another was overwhelming. Sadie had been hers in every way since they were sixteen, and today, they’d make their love official.

“You’re gonna make me cry,” Sadie giggled, bringing her hands up to Elle’s face. “Looking all sexy and ready for me to eat.”

Elle’s cheeks warmed. “You look stunning.”

“I feel pretty,” Sadie murmured. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Girls,” Bruce called. “It’s time.”

Entangling their fingers together, Elle and Sadie turned and walked to their fathers, each sliding their free hands around the top of their fathers’ arms. The soft, delicate sound of a guitar playing trickled out from inside the ballroom as the doors opened, and Elle once again had to stifle her gasp.

Thousands of candles lit up the room and dozens of yellow and blue roses lined the aisle. On either side their friends were gathered, along with people they worked with. Leigh, Thomas, and Tyson, Lucia and Aaron, Jonas and Abe, who had been seeing each other for almost two years. Elle was surprised to learn the men were gay, yet the more time she spent with them, the clearer it became that they were very much in love.

Nick’s mother Regina stood with Greta and Gabriel Alvarez, who smiled as he looked from the girls to the front of the room.

Samuel and Carlos stood behind their sons, prideful smiles on their faces. Lydia and Felicia stood next to one another on the left side of the aisle, tears already filling their eyes. On the other side, stood Helina and Claudia, who were beaming with a happiness Elle never expected to see on their faces. Ivy stood ready to be their matron of honor, a decision that Elle knew Sadie would agree with. Ivy had always been their biggest supporter. Nick was perched up behind her, a guitar across his lap, his fingers gliding along the strings.

However, it was the two men standing at the other end of the aisle that drew their attention. Derek and Callum were side-by-side in matching black tuxedos, smiles the size of Texas on their faces. Like Sadie and Elle’s were, they were holding hands, just one more way they were lovers, too.

“I wasn’t sure I could do this,” James whispered just loud enough for Elle and Sadie to hear. “Give my girls away, but I know they’ll never stop loving you.”

“They won’t,” Sadie said.

“And we won’t stop loving them,” Elle added. She looked up at her father. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t your girls anymore.”

“I know.” James smiled and covered her hand. “And that’s why I know I can give you to those men, because no matter what, I will always be your father.”

Tears flooded her eyes as they slowly walked down the aisle. Soft murmurs of how beautiful they looked, how happy people were for them, followed every step they took.

As they approached the end of the aisle, Derek and Callum stretched their hands out to them, yearning for them to hurry. Sadie took Derek’s hand while Elle took Callum’s, both laughing when their lovers pulled them into their arms, placing kisses on their lips.

“Uh, fellas, we’re not at that part yet.”

“Sorry,” Callum and Derek murmured as the four of them turned and faced the man who’d be marrying them.

The young pastor, who was wearing a dark suit, laughed as he opened his bible and placed one hand on top. “Are we ready to begin?”

The four of them nodded, causing his smile to grow.

“It’s not every day that I find myself asked to perform wedding ceremony such as this,” he started. “When Samuel and Lydia reached out to me, explained the unique and precious love the four of you share, I’ll admit to being leery, but as I listened to them describe you, telling me stories that had them laughing and crying, sometimes both, I knew I needed to be a part of such a special occasion. I’m blessed to stand before you as you commit your lives to one another.”

The young pastor cleared his throat. “We’re gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Elle, Sadie, Callum, and Derek in matrimony. If there are any present here today that object to the union of these four, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

Elle held her breath, waiting for someone to scream that they objected, but nobody did. Releasing her breath, she smiled. Maybe they were finally free to just love each other.

“Sadie, do you take Elle, Derek, and Callum, to be your lawfully wedded wife and husbands, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, until the end of your days?”

Sadie’s lips trembled as she said, “I do.”

The pastor smiled and looked at Elle. “Elle, do you take Sadie, Derek, and Callum to be your lawfully wedded wife and husbands, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, until the end of your days?”

“Yes,” she cried. “I do.”

The pastor’s smile grew as he turned to Callum.

“I’ll save you the trouble, sir, of having to ask. Elle, Sadie, and Derek are my everything, my reason to live and breathe. I will take them as my lawfully wedded husband and wives and I will love them for all of eternity,” Callum declared.

“Smooth, young man, very smooth,” the pastor laughed before turning to Derek. “And you?”

“Well, I’m not as smooth as Callum, but I second everything he just said. I take Elle, Sadie, and Callum to be mine, to protect and love. I will never stop loving them, never stop needing them. They are my wives, my husband, and they always will be.” Derek looked at each of them. “Forever.”

The sheer intensity in the simple word had Elle shivering.

“Do we have rings?”

“Yes,” Lydia chirped, pushing over and placing the four simple white-gold wedding bands on top of the pastor’s bible. She smiled at the four of them as she took her place next to Felicia, sliding her hand around the other woman’s.

“These rings, much like your love and devotion to one another, are never ending and unbinding.” The pastor paused. “By placing these rings on each other’s fingers, you’re making a commitment, not to just yourselves, but to your spouses.”

The pastor turned to Derek and picked up one of the smallest of the four rings. “Take this ring and place it on Sadie’s finger as a sign of your love and commitment to her, Elle, and Callum.”

Derek took the ring from him, smiling as he faced Sadie. A tear tickled down his face as he placed the ring at the tip of her finger and slowly slid it to the base of her left ring finger.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“As I love you,” Sadie replied, before turning and looking at the pastor. “My turn?”

The pastor, and all their friends and family, laughed as he nodded and held the biggest of the remaining rings to her. Elle could almost feel Sadie trembling as she placed the ring on Derek’s finger.