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ASPEN
“You look beautiful,” my mom says as she steps into my bedroom, Harlow smiling as she waits for her compliment, “and Harlow,” my mom’s eyes sweep over her light blue princess style ball gown, “our very own Lovelock Bay Cinderella.” She kisses Harlow on the cheek before embracing me whole.
“Sweetheart,” she beams, tears glistening in her pretty blue eyes, “you truly are breath-taking. Riggs is a lucky man to have you on his arm.”
My cheeks pinch with heat.
I’m wearing a silver, strapless fitted gown that hugs my hips and thighs. My hair is in a low bun, tidy and neat. I look down at my right wrist and my heart flutters in my chest at the thought of having a corsage on there soon.
“Come on, girls, the guys are waiting,” my mom ushers us out of the room and I feel my heart somersaulting, excitement coursing through me.
Walking down the stairs, I see Austin standing there in a black and white tux, a box in his hands with pretty white and blue flowers arranged beautifully. I slice my eyes across to see an empty spot next to Austin and I begin to panic when I see Pacey step from the kitchen dressed in a black and white tuxedo looking every bit handsome.
“Pacey,” I press my hand to my heavy rising chest, an unbearable ache coursing through me.
“I’ll be taking you this evening now, I hope you don’t mind?”
Truth was, I felt devastated.
“Of course not,” I smile, but my eyes are brimming with tears. I shrug them off as happy ones and not ones of complete disappointment and heartache.
His fingers tap on the plastic of the corsage box, a trio of stunning white flowers arranged and sitting on silk.
I step off the bottom step and close the gap between me and Pacey. Pacey has pretty, huge brown eyes, dirty blonde hair similar to mine and not like his brothers Riggs and Tripp. His skin has a glow to it and he has a picture perfect smile. Pacey is my age, older by a few months. He has never had a girlfriend, which is crazy because he is a catch. Hard working, loyal, caring and trusting. But I crushed on the moody brother. The grumpy one who seemed to walk around with a permanent thunder cloud over his head.
“You look stunning Pen,” his long fingers curl around my wrist, pulling me closer to him as he places a kiss on my cheek.
“Let’s get some photos!” My mom chokes, calling my dad in to stand and watch. I can see the unamused look on his face but his lips do twitch with a smile when he sees me and Harlow.
“Well girls, you look beautiful. Perfection,” he claps his hands together as my mom begins snapping away, then ushers the boys to join us. Pacey’s arm snakes around my waist and I lean into him, a warmness fizzling deep down inside of me, but it’s not the fire that burns through to my soul like it does when I am with Riggs.
Stupid Riggs.
“Perfect. You ready to go? Your dad fixed one of the trucks up, put some pretty twinkle fairy lights on it too.”
There was that prominent ache in my chest again and I swear my heart was ripping into two. It definitely was not my dad. The fairy lights were a perfect match to the ones that Riggs wrapped around the attic all those weeks ago.
“He will drive you and pick you all up at eleven,” my mom beams.
“You do realize I can drive?” Austin snipes in.
“Fully aware darling,” she strolls towards him and gives him a little, playful slap on his cheek.
I snigger a little laugh, softly shaking my head as Pacey leads me outside, his hand resting on the small of my back and I wish it was Riggs’ hand there and not his brother’s.
We step into the warm spring air, the soft breeze dusting over my skin and causing it to pebble. There’s a sweet smell in the air from the meadow flowers that are dancing in the beautiful dusk evening whirl around us, the trees swaying and singing as the wind rustles through them, causing them to shiver against a rhythm only they can hear.
Austin opens the truck door for Harlow, she climbs in and Austin gives my mom a kiss goodbye.
“After you Pen,” Pacey whispers, pulling me out of my moment with nature and ushers me towards the truck. Just before I step in, I feel his gaze locked on me. Placing one of my sandaled feet onto the step bar of the truck, I turn to look towards the paddocks and see Riggs standing in the shadows. He looks sad and disheveled. Broken even.
Why is he looking so upset when he is the one that stood me up? Perhaps I should feel angry, but all I really feel is hurt and confused. Somehow all I want is to go to him, to make sure he is okay but I don’t. I climb into the truck, ignoring my heart as it whimpers away into the depths and crevices of my chest. Wistfulness smothers me when I think of him standing in the dark.
Pacey slides in beside me, giving me a look as if to ask ‘are you okay?’, and I give him a shallow nod before the car pulls away.
I can’t stop myself from looking out the back to see Riggs walking into the dullness of the red dust that is whipping up from the tires, his eyes pinned to the back of the car and I have to look away. I pretend I have a lash or something in my eye as a tear escapes and I swipe it away quickly before I draw attention to myself.
“Prom night!” Harlow calls out, excitement lacing her voice.
