AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry.” Bridget shakes her head. “I got caught up in the moment. It didn’t mean anything.”
“It’s not that I don’t—” I start to say but stop myself again.
Losing her once nearly killed me. Even though I had no claim on her, that didn’t mean my heart hadn’t resigned itself to only beating for her. It’s not that I haven’t tried to forget my feelings. Hell, I moved across the country to try and get over her, but it's not in my DNA to not love her. She is the only one for me, and I’m not going to be the rebound guy for her. I can’t be that guy.
“We should probably head over to the wedding chapel and see if we can find any clues there.”
Bridget's shoulders slump, and she looks away from me. The desert sunlight can hide the wetness in her eyes. It kills me to know that I’ve caused her an ounce of pain.
“Yeah,” she finally says. “That’s a good idea. I’m ready for this hunt for answers to be over.”
Neither of us says anything on the cab ride down the Strip to the Ye Olde Wedding Chapel.
"Well, that looks romantic," Bridget says when the cab pulls to a stop.
I pay the driver, and we get out. It looks like a poorly constructed castle nestled between a liquor store and what looks like a strip club. A woman wearing a dress that looks like she just came from a local renaissance faire is leaning against a wall smoking a cigarette. She doesn’t say anything to us as we approach, but I don’t miss the way her eyes narrow when she looks at Bridget.
“Back for more,” she mumbles under her breath.
I check to see if Bridget heard her, but she doesn’t appear to have noticed her as she opens the looking drawbridge doors that lead inside.
Almost as soon as we walk in, someone starts yelling.
“No. No. No!” A round man dressed like Friar Tuck holds up his hands to stop us from coming in any further. “You are not allowed back here. I was assured that you wouldn’t come back.”
Bridget and I look at one another.
"Do you mean him or me?" she asks, pointing between the two of us.
Friar Tuck’s eyes narrow on her. “I’m talking about you, you crazy girl.”
“Don’t say a damn word.” Bridget holds up a hand towards me, all the while not looking away from the man in the old robe.
“Why am I not allowed in here?” she asks.
He shakes his head at her like he can’t understand why she’s asking such a stupid question.
“You came in here last night, three sheets to the wind and yelling about how love was a lie and how you were going to die alone.” He points to the chapel doors. “Then you decided to go on a rampage, destroying everything that wasn’t nailed down. We only just finished cleaning up your mess.”
Bridget looks like she’s at a loss for words.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” I jump in. “If you let me know what amount would cover the damage, I will certainly cover it and the trouble for cleanup.” I step closer and lower my voice. "Last night, she found out that her fiancé was cheating on her, and she was obviously distraught over the news."
The anger in Friar Tuck’s expression softens, turning his attention from me to Bridget.
“I’m sorry, my dear.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a diamond ring, and holds it out to her. "You said that you didn't need this anymore, but it still belongs to you."
Bridget is reluctant to take it, but she does. I can’t stop myself from studying her expression as she turns it over in her hand like it’s a foreign object to her.
What I wouldn’t give to be inside her head at this moment to hear what she’s thinking.
BRIDGET
What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing now?
I felt a weird sense of relief when the ring was gone. A bit of a twisted way to punish Michael for breaking us up. But even though he was only thinking with his dick, his actions were the best thing that could have happened to us. We were just going through the motions of a couple in love, but we weren’t. If we were, he wouldn’t have cheated, and I would be feeling something more than the echoes of loss and the cleansing sensations of relief.
Jordan talks with the odd man in a robe and donut-style haircut to cover the costs of my destruction.
