Page 45 of Camera Stays On

Something about the way his eyes were looking wasn’t… right. My stomach twisted as I tried to play the part of concerned brother.

“What are you gonna do, Sawyer?” I asked.

He opened his mouth, and before he could answer, the florist found us and let us know everything he’d been tasked to deliver was inside. I thanked him, and after he left, Sawyer announced he was leaving.

“Where are you going? Are we having the wedding then?” I asked, praying the hope in my chest wasn’t obvious in my tone. He laughed dryly.

“Like I’d let that bitch off that easy. We’re still having a fucking wedding, Ash. Go shave, I’ll be back in a few hours. Send that video to me.”

“Saw—okay.” The quieter he grew, the more anxious I became. I paused, trying quickly to figure out what his plan was, but knowing that he noticed every second of my hesitation. I pulled out my phone.

Sawyer left me to direct everyone to the basement, where Sunday dinners were held. The space had been cleared so the groomsmen could get ready together. People began pouring in, and Gavin and the other groomsmen went down as well as our parents, to get ready. They were all asking where Sawyer was, and I couldn’t answer them. Sensing my anxiety over not having answers, Ma took charge and called him. She got off the phone, smiled, and laughed.

“He has a last-minute gift for Purdy he had to get. He’ll be here.”

Everyone relaxed, but a sense of dread flooded me.

Since when did Sawyer give anyone gifts?

Finally, dressed in his tux and his hair brushed, he showed up fifteen minutes before the ceremony.

“You good?” I asked. He was beaming ear to ear, as if this morning hadn’t happened. But it had, and he and I both knew it.

“Of course. This is the best day of my life.” His smile didn’t match his chilling eyes.

“So…you’re going to do this then?”

“Do what?”

“Marry her,” I hissed. He rebuttoned his tux and smoothed it in front of a tall mirror.

“Dear brother, soon, I am going to go up those stairs and stand at the altar. And you’re gonna be right there next to me while we wait for the girl I said would be my bride when I was twelve years old to come down the aisle.”

I gulped. “And then what?”

He narrowed his gaze and stared at me through the mirror. “Don’t worry about it.”

I wanted to pull him away privately, but there was no time. Ma came for me, and I went upstairs and out the door, where Purdy was waiting.

She’d asked me to walk her down the aisle.

This was literally my nightmare.

“You’re beautiful,” I told her. She was stunning—truly. The dress framed her curves, the color contrasting with her skin tone, all of it so breathtaking, so Purdy. She looked up from her bouquet of blue and white flowers.

“You’re just saying that. You’re about to be my brother—you have to be nice to me,” she teased. I scrunched my nose up at the thought of her being my sister-in-law.

“Right. Are you sure about this?” I asked, silently pleading she’d say no and we’d run off together. Fuck my brother, my parents, the entire fucking church full of townspeople.

“I am a little nervous,” she admitted. “Sawyer called me this morning. He said he had a surprise for me. You know Sawyer. That’s not always a good thing.” She laughed nervously.

I did, and she was right.

Finally, the clock struck twelve, and Ma came back for us. Purdy flipped her veil over her face, and we looped arms.

“Good luck, Purdy.”

Pair by pair, the groomsmen and bridesmaids went down before us. Purdy didn’t have any friends, so all of her bridesmaids were our cousins and the girlfriends of Sawyer’s friends. With each one that disappeared, my heart pounded harder. Something wasn’t right. Sawyer was too happy.