The Wedding Contract

Chapter 31





I shower and dress, packing up the things that I brought into the trunk of my huge car. The sun has set and the reception is in full swing. My dad is still wearing his suit. It’s a little too snug and pinches under his neck and arms. But he looks nice all dressed up. “Skylar, are you leaving so soon?” His face is pinched. He knows I wasn’t at the wedding, but he doesn’t ask why or what’s wrong. There’s this thing he does, it’s like he can tell when I need him and he just quietly shows up. He usually knows what to say without adding to my anguish, so I don’t hurry away from him.

“Yeah, Dad, I have to,” I say, not making eye contact with him as I speak. “A pipe broke at the store and it’s a huge mess. Amy said she needs help and she never asks for help. I need to go back.”

He tucks his hands under his armpits and stands in that dad pose he sports when I’m ready to burst into tears. “My tool kit is in my trunk. Let me go get it for you. Maybe there’ll be something you can use.”


I don’t have the heart to tell him no, so I nod and say, “That’d be great.”

Daddy walks off while I dart inside and up the staircase to grab the last of my things. I’m so afraid I’ll see Nick, and I can’t deal with him now. I need to go. Stay focused. Stay calm. Cry later. I chant my mantra over and over again, planning on singing angry 90’s music all the way home. The people on the ferry will totally ignore me. It’ll be awesome. The Jagged Little Pill album is already queued to play on my phone.

When I get to my car, I dump the rest of my stuff in the trunk and slam it. That’s when I see dad toting a red toolbox toward me. When he’s by the car, he says, “Sometimes things don’t work out and the reason has nothing to do with you, or how good you are.”

Damn it. My eyes sting, but I blink back the tears. “Thanks, Dad.” I take the toolbox and kiss him on the cheek.

“Sure. I’ll come by the shop when I get home. We’ll fix it, Sky.” I nod and smile at him. There’s no point in telling him right now. Besides, I have a feeling he knows I’ve fallen on my face and lost everything.

Now the only decision left is whether or not to retrieve my crappy camera with Sophie’s boudoir pictures. It’s sitting in the chapel and I don’t want to risk seeing Nick. I can’t just leave it there, so I decide to sneak around in the dark by staying off the main path. I move through the parking lot like a crook, and around to the side of the hotel. Keeping off the path, I take the long way to the chapel, ensuring I won’t see anyone.

Staring at the ground, I kick a rock and wonder how things could have gotten so messed up. My heart is gone and my chest feels empty. My anger has melted away and I don’t know where it went. It’ll probably spring up at an inappropriate moment and make me look even crazier than I already do.

There are massive boulders on both sides of me, and I know I shouldn’t walk this path after sunset, but I really don’t want to talk to anyone else before I leave. I weave my way in and out of trees and boulders, following close to the shore, while making sure I’m still hidden in the shadows. For a moment, I think someone is behind me, but when I look back, nobody is there.

I continue on to the chapel and just before the turn I should take to come up behind it, I hear a twig crack. I whirl around, heart racing, and expect to see an ax murderer, rusty blade in hand, but instead it’s just Deegan. “Hey, Sky. I thought you were never going to show up.”

Confused, I stare at him and then finally remember his text message. “Oh, yeah. Listen, today didn’t go as planned.”

“Tell me about it.” He falls into step beside me and slips his hands into his pockets. “But that’s no reason to waste a perfectly good night, right?”

Sex with Deegan? Now? Can he not read me at all? My shoulders are slumped forward and my eyes are all puffy. Any idiot could tell that I’d cried long and hard. “Not tonight, but thanks.”

“Hey,” he grabs my arm and pulls me with him toward a rock. A tree grows right along side of it, so you can’t see anything else. “Oh shit, don’t tell me that a*shole nailed you instead of me. Is that where you’ve been all day? I thought the cheating thing would have sealed the deal. Guess you take whatever you can get.” Deegan waggles his eyebrows at me.

“What are you talking about?” My brain still feels foggy, like I’m missing something.

“I put that coin in your room when housekeeping was there. I said I forgot something in your bathroom and I left the coin on the sink for you to find. I thought you were the innocent type, and was sure a cheater would turn you off. Guess not.” He tries to kiss me, but I won’t let him. Pushing my hands against his chest, I try to shove him away.

“Deegan, cut it out.” My stomach sinks. This feels wrong, even though I know him. He wouldn’t hurt me. He’s just messing around. I push him again, but he doesn’t back off.

“Don’t be like that, Sky. Let me help you forget whatever’s bothering you.” In that second he changes. Deegan doesn’t listen to me, pressing harder against me as he gropes and grabs my ass. At the same time, his lips come down on my neck. It’s what we did last night, but it feels different now—it’s unwanted.

“You’re bothering me,” I try to shove him away, but he doesn’t move. “Deegan, stop! It’s not funny anymore!” My voice is a little louder this time, but it’s nowhere near a scream. I shift to knee him in the groin, but the guy pins me against the rock and clasps his hand over my mouth.

“Come on, Sky. If you were going to give it away the other night, why is this night any different? Relax, okay?” He’s watching me, trying to see if he can move his hand.

Every hair on the back of my neck is prickled. Deegan’s other hand is lingering by the hem of my skirt, lifting it higher and higher. I nod, and his hand slips away. “Let me do this my way and I’ll make sure you like it. If you don’t, you won’t like it at all. Understand?”

He’s too close. I try to act like I’m going to answer him, but the air that fills my lungs for the scream inflates my chest. He feels it and I barely shriek before he’s crushed me back against the rock again. All the air rushes from my lungs and I can’t yell. The little yelp is swallowed up by the dark night, and my heart races harder. Sweat drips down my neck and I feel paralyzed.

“Fine, if that’s how you like it.” Deegan turns me around, but manages to keep my mouth covered. He’s right up against me, lifting my skirt and pushing my face into the stone. I try to yell, but I can’t move, and he has me pinned so tightly that I can’t breathe. When I hear the zipper, I snap. Without thinking, I bite into his hand and don’t stop until I taste blood.

He screams, “You bitch!” before he lets go. My skirt falls and I try to run, but he catches my wrist. “You f*cking little whore!”

“Let me go!” Now that he’s finally uncovered my mouth, I have no breath. I can’t belt out a death scream, I can barely talk because his grip on my throat is so tight. I kick at him and drop to the ground. That’s what they said to do if someone’s trying to take you, right?

Deegan drags me for a second and stops. “Fine, you want it this way. I’ll give it to you, Sky.” I try to crab crawl away from him on my hands and feet, scurrying backward. I’m incoherently crying, saying things that don’t register in my mind. He lunges at me and gets hold of my ankle and drags me back toward him. When he straddles my hips and pulls up my skirt, I start bellowing so loudly that he slaps me across the face. Blood spatters from my wound and I’m temporarily silenced. He grins, right before he positions himself to push in. “You know what they say, right? It’s usually someone you know.”

I can’t move. I close my eyes and expect him to rape me and take what he wants, but there’s a rush of air, a strangled sound, and then nothing. When I open my eyes, he’s gone. I sit up and frantically look around. Deegan is rolling with someone, another guy. Deegan throws a punch, but the other man is beating the crap out of him. I stand shaking, unable to move or speak. Punch after punch is thrown until Deegan stops fighting back.

“Stay down, you mother f*cking son of a bitch!” Nick’s voice rings out. I try to see his face, but it’s obscured by a red ball cap. He looks up at me and I just stand there shaking. A second later I start to cry. Nick doesn’t come to me. He doesn’t comfort me or hold me. Instead, he keeps his foot on Deegan’s chest and calls the cops.