The Beginning

by Teigen Harper

  Zoe comes over, she pushes me aside and throws her arms around him. “It is so nice to finally meet you,” she says as she pulls away. “Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t. I felt terrible that I wasn’t there when Patrick was dying, but you, my friend, you help put my mind at ease.”

  He tightens his arm around my waist, but I jump in before he can respond. “I don’t want to hear any sappy talk. It’s hard enough keeping the tears away as it is. I don’t need the pair of you and your sweet talk, making me a hormonal mess,” I warn, and the bitch laughs at me.

  I turn when I hear the back door open, hoping it’s Carol. However, it isn’t Carol that walks in the door, it’s Hamish.

  My eyes begin to sting and a lump forms in my throat. “I thought we weren’t allowed to be sloppy and shit? But the second you see that asshole, all the rules are thrown out the window?” Zoe teases as I let go of Tristan and head over toward Haim.

  “Shut up, Zoe. I can’t help the fact that I’m amazing.” Hamish takes me in his arms with a smug look on his face. “Are you trying not to cry again, but failing miserably at it?” he asks, sarcastically.

  I nod into his chest. “I missed you,” I whisper.

  “I missed you, too.” He squeezes me. “How about you introduce me to your soon-to-be husband?” I pull back and swipe at my eyes, clearing the tears.

  “Shit, sorry. How fucking rude of me.” I take his hand in mine and lead him over to where Zoe and Tristan stand. “Hamish, this is Tristan. Tristan this is my other best friend, Hamish. We grew up together, before you, this man here, was my voice of reason.”

  Tristan holds his hand out, and Hamish shakes it. “It’s good to finally meet you.” Haim lets go of his hand and noogies my head the way he has done since we were kids.

  “I swear to god, Haim! If you don’t stop doing that shit, I will knee you in the nut sack.” I reach up and try to pull his hand away, but compared to Hamish’s upper strength, I have none.

  “Fine.” He stops. “I want my boys to stay right where they are, and to stay the same color.” He looks over at Tristan. “She did get me once. My balls were blue and purple for a fucking week.” I don’t know if he realizes he's covered up his junk with his hands, but the others are laughing at him.

  “Okay, I don’t want to be rude, but will all of you be okay here while I try to find my aunt? I haven’t seen her, and she flew all the way from Ireland to be here. I don’t want her thinking I’m a rude cow.” I look at them, and they nod in unison.

  “I think tonight calls for some drinks and a chance for us to get to know Tristan.” Haim pats him on the back.

  I make eye contact with Tristan, and he seems to be okay with the idea. My friends are amazing, but it can be daunting to be thrown into a mix of people that love your fiancé, yet know nothing about you. Fortunately, Tristan is different, and he can get along with pretty much anyone.

  Tristan hadn’t wanted to invite his friends from home to the wedding, and when I asked why, all he said to me was that they’d grown apart. The next video call I had with his mother, I asked her the real reason behind Tristan’s decision, and she answered truthfully. She told me that before I'd come along, all he did was get wasted and fuck any girl that would be in a ten-mile radius and tape a cab fair to their forehead in the morning.

  It took me a little while to wrap my head around the fact that the man I have fallen head over heels for, the man that loves me unconditionally, could have been so different just a few months ago. But he’s mine and mine alone, and I’m so lucky to have him in my life.

  “We’ll be fine, baby girl. Go and find Carol. I’m sure she is anxious to see you.” I kiss Tristan and point my finger between Zoe and Hamish. “You two, behave. Got it?”

  Zoe holds her hand up. “I promise I won't tell any embarrassing stories. But-” she warns, “I can’t speak for this one.” She then points in Hamish’s direction.

  My gaze moves to meet his, my eyebrows bunch in warning while he raises both of his hands in mock defense. “I promise I won’t tell him about the time your mother was throwing a party and you wanted to go to sleep, so when you went out to ask her to calm things down, she told you to get over it and continued to party, so you called the cops saying you were the neighbor and you wanted the music turned down because your children were trying to sleep.” His smile is devious and yes, I did that.

  My eyes go wide, but before I can say a word, Tristan cuts me off. “You did what?” he laughs.

  I give Haim a stern look. “I also won’t tell him about the time you hadn’t studied for your English final, and you had that druggy idiot from your work call in a bomb threat to the school.” Again, Hamish laughs.

  My face is now in my hands, embarrassed, and all I can hear is Tristan yell, “You called in a bomb threat?!”

  I’m mortified. I don’t want to face him, but when I hear him laugh, I figure that maybe, just maybe, it's safe to lift my head. When I do, Tristan’s walking over to me while still chuckling to himself. “I swear to all that is holy, every single day, I find out new thing’s about you that makes me love you more and more.” He leans in and kisses me. “Go and find Carol. I promise that nothing they tell me will make me love you any less.” He shakes his head with a grin still splashed across his face.

  I laugh when I hear gagging sounds coming from Haim’s direction. “Okay, I’m going.” I give him one last peck and leave the house through the back door.

  I searched the property for a good twenty minutes before finally finding Carol in one of the tour buses. “Cassie, my love. I swear I was looking for you.” She comes towards the front of the bus to where I stand and wraps her arms around me.

  “Don’t sweat it. I’ve been looking for you too, to no avail. I guess I underestimated how big this property is.” I laugh.

  She takes my hand and leads me over to the sofa where we take a seat. “So, how are you? How are the plans for tomorrow coming?”

  I keep her hand in mine. I’ve missed Carol so much. I’ve missed being around her, and her light-hearted attitude towards life. “Everything seems to be going according to plan,” I tell her.

  “That’s very good, my love. Is there anything you need me to do, to help with?” Her grip on my hand tightens.

  “You’re worried about me, aren’t you?” I ask.

  Tears form in the corners of her eyes. “I just wish your father was here. I know how proud he would be seeing the beautiful, caring, woman you have grown to be. Taking on Courtney full-time is a task in itself, but you didn’t think twice about it. You just did it.” She begins to cry, and all I want to do is assure her that everything will be okay.

  My gut begins to twist, I know Carol believes in the afterlife, she's told me a few times that she's felt my father’s presence and I know that to be true. Dad pops in and checks on Carol and George, at least, once a day. Right now, all I want to do is put her mind at ease, and I know she will feel a lot better knowing he's still lurking in the shadows.

  With my hand still in hers, I gaze up and my eyes meet hers. It’s now or never. “I’ve been carrying around a secret for some time now, a secret that only Courtney knows. Tristan has no clue what I'm about to tell you. But, please don’t laugh, I don’t think I could handle it if you did.” Honestly, Carol is probably the only person that wouldn’t consider me a total whack job for seeing my dead father.

  She wipes away her tears with her free hand. “I would never laugh at you, sweetheart. What is it?”

  I suck in a breath and begin. “Okay, so, I know you’re worried about Courtney and me, but I want you to stop worrying because-” I pause for a moment and my stomach begins to churn.

  Carol squeezes my hand in a show of support. “Whatever it is, I will believe and support you.” Her smile gives me the confidence I need to go on.

  I nod and continue. “Dad comes and visits me on a regular basis. It’s the very reason I’ve been able to keep my shit together since he passed away.” I lock my eyes w
ith her tear-filled ones, and I see that she’s smiling. “He normally comes to me at night when the others are sleeping. I try to keep his visits to myself because Courtney’s a little jealous of them. Unfortunately, even though she’s tried countless times to let go of the stress and worry she carries, she still can’t see him.” I shrug.

  “What does he say to you?” She's all ears now.

  I laugh before I continue. “The normal dad things.” I shrug again. “The day of the funeral when he first showed up, I begged him to go away.” Carol’s mouth is now hanging open. I know what she’s thinking, she’s thinking, ‘Why the hell would she ask him to go away,’ so I go on to explain. “I begged him to leave because I knew that if he stayed for the funeral, the asshole would have tried to make me laugh in the middle of the eulogy, making me look like a crazed fool.”

  She gets it now because she looks as if she's going to laugh at my words. “Yes, that is something he would do.” She chuckles.

  “Exactly.” I nod. “Then there was the time he popped in on our first night here.” I shake my head and laugh. “He made me take out a notepad and pen so I could jot down a few things I needed to know about the house. Like how to turn the stove on safely without blowing us up. And how I have to have the septic tanks emptied every few months, and the list went on and on.”

  “That sounds like Patrick, alright. How’s Courtney coping, in all seriousness? I know she’d be upset she can’t see him.”

  I close my eyes for a moment, and my heart aches for her. She’s been through so much. I just wish I could give her this one thing. “Oh, Carol. She’s so angry at herself, and she thinks she’s being punished because she wasn’t there for him when he was sick. I’ve tried on countless occasions to make her believe that isn’t the truth, but I know she still blames herself, regardless. Dad thinks that she has been under so much stress over the last few months, she can't relax enough to be able to see him. I mean, she’s only fifteen, and she’s had to watch her father die, go through a custody hearing, move to another state, and to top it all off, she’s going to have to start at a new school and be the new girl in class. She may need to see a counselor. Someone she doesn’t know so she can spill all her worries and insecurities too. I know she doesn’t tell me everything because she knows I’ll worry about her. But I’ll be here waiting when she's ready to come to me.”

  Carol’s shoulders tense. “She’s such a trooper that girl. I know that no matter what stands in her way, she will go on to do great things.” Carol leans in and kisses my cheek. “You’re doing an amazing job, and we will always be there to lend support if you feel you need it.” Carol then takes a breath and straightens. “Now, I’m going to have to get started on dinner. Would you like to join us?”

  I shake my head, I hate saying no to Carol, but I have to check in and see if Zoe’s okay like she claims to be. “I wish I could join you, but Zoe just arrived before I came out to find you. There’s a lot more going on with Jimmy than she’s letting on. I know she feels her problems are insignificant in comparison to what I've been through over the last few months, but to me, her problems are just as important, if not more so. I know something's going on behind the façade. She has to talk to someone, or she'll have a nervous breakdown. If I have to fill her with booze just so she will open up, then so be it.”

  I stand, and Carol does the same. “You see, right there, is the reason your father can come to you. You care for others. You put them first even on the eve of your wedding day.” She pulls me in for a hug. “Now, go and care for your friend. If there’s anything you need, anything at all, you know where to find me?” It was a question, not a statement.

  “Yes, I do. Thank you, Carol. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning?” I know tomorrow’s going to be amazing, however, I find myself wishing my mother wasn’t such a bitch. It would have been nice to have a mother that would pass on some wisdom to me on the day of my wedding, but I know that Carol and Karan will step up and fill that void.

  Carol’s face fills with pride. She knew exactly what I was asking, without having to say the words. “I will be there to help you first thing. I’m so proud of you, my love.”

  I hated the fact I couldn’t spend the night with Tristan. But with all the shit luck I’d been dealt over the last twelve months, we figured that sticking to tradition would be best.

  I was standing in the kitchen chatting with Haim and Zoe when I see him emerge from our bedroom, carrying his overnight bag.

  After he drops the bag on the table, he walks over to where I stand and wraps his arms around me, and I rest my forehead against his. “I’m going to miss you so much tonight,” I tell him.

  He kisses my lips. “Me too.” He gently squeezes me. “But Ican’t wait for you to be my wife.”

  My eyes close when I hear him say those words, I can’t get enough of him. If Zoe and Haim weren’t in the room, I'd already have his pants down around his ankles with my ass resting on the bench. “I can’t wait to call you my husband,” I whisper as I reach up and press my lips to his.

  “Oh my god, will the pair of you get a room,” Hamish calls out, I laugh against Tristan’s lips.

  He pulls back just enough so he can look into my eyes. “I love you, and I’ll see you in the morning?” he asks, his eyes have darkened, he is burning with need, and I wish I could give him what he wants because I want it too, but we have a houseful of guests we have to consider. “I will see you in the morning.”

  Tristan says Goodnight to the others, and I walk out and through to the backyard with him. When he stops in his tracks and turns to face me, I throw my arms around his neck, and I climb up him until my legs are wrapped around his waist, his hands on my ass holding me in place. I don’t want to let him go for anything, but I also know I don’t need any bad luck, so I have to suffer one night without him, and it’s killing me inside. “I love you.” I kiss him again as he moves us backward until the backs of his knees hit the outside sofa, and he lowers us down so I’m now straddling him.

  Tristan begins to chuckle while he looks up at me. “Are we pathetic? I’m only going over there.” He points to the bus.

  “Maybe we are, but who gives a shit? All the assholes of the world could say we’re pathetic, and I still wouldn’t care.” I shrug.

  His smile grows even wider, and before I know it, his lips are on mine, and the passion behind the kiss is sending my hormones into a tailspin.

  Why would he kiss me like this and then leave me wet and horny? This asshole doesn’t play fair. However, he does manage to pull away, eventually. “I know we have to be separated for the night, but fuck I wish it was over already. I want to have your sexy naked body on top of mine.” He leans back in and brushes his lips against my neck. My heart begins to race, and I know that my face is flush.

  “You’d better go because I don’t want to be distracted for the rest of the night because I’m horny as hell. And I sure as hell would prefer you finish the job, instead of me having to do it myself.” And with those words, Tristan’s head snaps backward, his eyes wide and a smile on his lips.

  “Fuck, Cassie. You can’t say shit like that, well, you can, but not before I have to leave you for the night. Shit,” I see his body tense as he takes a deep breath.

  “What’s that matter?” I know exactly what his problem is, but I play coy.

  “I can’t get the image of you fingering yourself out of my head.” His eyes darken with desire. “Fuck,” he shakes his head. “Nope, there isn’t a distraction big enough to make me forget it. Come on.” He stands and lowers me until my feet are on the ground. He then takes my hand and leads me at a very fast pace over to the bus.

  “Where are we going?” I ask as I try to keep up with him. He's walking as if he's on a mission.

  When we reach the bus he and his parents will be staying in tonight, he opens the door, calls out to see if anyone's inside and when no one responds, he closes and locks the door behind us.

  When we'd finished devour
ing each other and had redressed, Tristan folded me up on his lap and kissed my forehead. "So, are you going to miss me tonight?” I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “I miss you already. I fucking hate these stupid traditions.” He pulls me closer to him.

  “So do I, but other than having you come into my life, the last year has been shitful. I don’t want a repeat, and I don’t care if it’s just an old wives’ tale, I am not going to tempt fate.” I lean in and plant a kiss on his cheek. He drops his head and lets out a sigh. ‘Fuck, he’s so cute,’ I think.

  “I know you’ll only be thirty feet away, but to me, it’s worse than being on the other side of the world.” He looks up at me. “I know I can walk for just a minute, have you in my arms, and kiss you.” He now plants a kiss on my cheek. “I can smell you and feel you.” He kisses my chin before moving to my lips. Fucking hell, will I ever be able to just sit with him without getting wet? Now that I think about it, I hope that never changes.

  His hand moves from my leg and up until it’s resting on my hip. When he tries to pull away, I cup his face in my hands and hold his gaze. “Don’t stop,” I beg.

  When we're re-dressed, again, he pulls me back into his lap. While my head is in the nook of his neck, I know I have to go and see the others because I'm being a horrible host.

  “I’d better get back to the house. I know Haim and Zoe won’t think I’m being a rude cow, but I know I am. They’ve come a long way to be here, and I should let them know how much I appreciate them for showing up.” I pull back to look at him.

  Oh, my God, he’s pouting. “I know, I don’t want to go either, but I should go and see if our relatives need anything,” he says as I climb out of his lap.

  “This is it. I’m not going to see you until I watch you walk down the aisle looking sexy as hell in a few hours.” My breath hitches with his words, and I rest my head against his chest.

  “I can’t wait.”

  I stay in his arms for a good five minutes, but my guilt continues to bubble to the surface, and I know I have to leave and go to my friends. Tristan walks me to the door of the bus and kisses me one last time. “I love you.” He reaches down, takes hold of my thighs, and lifts me. I wrap them around his waist and hold on for dear life. I don’t want to let him go.