“No, I can handle it.” Quipping up fast, I shook my hands in denial as my sister frowned at me. Guilt clawed at the back of my throat, but I gulped it down hastily. “I’m not trying to make drama on your day, Jackie. I already made it very clear to Tom not to do anything stupid and reminded him that he’s five hundred miles away from home, and I’m the one that drove us here. It’ll be fine. I hope.”
“I’m gonna go threaten him, too.” Opening my mouth, I barely got out a sound before Jackie stood up and stormed off. Sinking deep into my chair, I covered my flaming face with clammy palms. “Hey, Tom!”
Oh, God, I could’ve died. I wanted to shrivel up and get ground into dust. Why did I tell Jackie? She was always so straightforward and abrasive. Blood drummed in my ears, drowning out Jackie’s shouting across the event hall. Tears of horror prickled my eyes, and I stiffened as shivers threatened to tear my spine apart, vertebra by vertebra.
“I can’t believe this was happening.” I couldn’t hear myself talk over the embarrassment blaring in my skull, and I peeked out between my fingers. Jackie had always been really good at strongarming people, but my sister somehow managed not to be mean about it. She spoke very forcefully at Tom, but I couldn’t hear what she said. Waggling her finger in his face, she forced him to step back a few times, her four-inch heels serving her well.
Tom held up his hands, but his expression was the same as before. He smirked, not taking the situation seriously. He thought it was funny that everyone was so worked up over him. It was something about him I didn’t like, and I didn’t see it until after I’d invited him to the wedding. Maybe, inviting him as my plus one was somehow confirming our relationship?
Ugh. I propped my forearms on the table to hide my face as my mistake emblazoned on the backs of my eyelids. That’s where I messed up.
When I peeked over my arm, my sister was strutting back toward me, looking feisty and outrageous in her long, red cocktail dress. She was bold in everything she did, and if I only had just one ounce of Jackie’s courage. Hiding my frown in the crook of my elbow, I tore my eyes off her as she sat next to me again, and Jackie leaned to rub my back soothingly. My chest ached almost painfully, the tension gripping my heart, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, Nicole. If he does anything, Ron and Sam are gonna haul his ass out into the snow. I know you probably didn’t wanna start shit, and you were just gonna grin and bear it, but seriously. I mean this with love, Nicole, you need to stand up for yourself sometimes and say ‘no.’ You can’t please everyone. If Tom makes you unhappy, kick his ass to the curb.” Jackie’s attempt to ease my anxiety only made it flare up and clog my throat, and I covered my head with my hands. “You know, I think in your case, it may be that he doesn’t make you happy more than making you unhappy. Being explicitly unhappy isn’t worse than not being happy.”
“I was gonna break up with him after the wedding, but then I found the stupid ring box in his car center console, and—” Jackie held my bicep to stop my miserable ramble, and I held my breath as apprehension crowded my lungs. “I’m sorry. I think, when I invited him, Tom took it as me wanting to get serious, which I do not wanna do, especially not now. God, I know this sounds horrible, but I just wanted to date him until after this wedding so that I wouldn’t be the sad, pathetic single sister there. I just don’t understand why he thinks this is a good idea.”
“Because it’s his idea, and you don’t matter to him, so your protests don’t matter to him, Nicole. You’re too nice, I swear. Just because someone’s not explicitly making you miserable doesn’t mean you have to put up with their shit.” She reached to nudge my cheek with her knuckles, and I smiled small as my stomach stopped churning so violently. Jackie had such a polar opposite way of thinking of things compared to me; I’d never considered Tom to not care about me, but that was the way it was, wasn’t it?
“Yeah, okay. At the gas station on the way up the mountain, I got so mad about it I told him to go to the car.” Surprise rose Jackie’s slender brows, and I blushed at how something so seemingly inconsequential had such an impact on me. Pride bubbled in my veins, and she squeezed my arm as her smile brightened. “It didn’t last long. I mean, when Tom walked off, I sorta snapped at this guy that’d been watching us. I felt bad.”
“No, no, fuck that guy, too. Don’t feel bad! He’s necessary collateral!” She threw back her head and laughed, smacking my arm lightly, and a weak giggle escaped me. “Okay, all you gotta do is get through tomorrow. Wedding’s at one, reception at four, and we’re gonna be here all weekend before Sam and I go on our honeymoon. It’ll be fine. Just have fun! You’re gonna be with me tonight, anyway, so you won’t even see him, and hopefully, that’ll give him some time to rethink his position. It’s nearly impossible to get an Uber or something out here.”
“I don’t think I could just leave him here, though . . .” My sister shook her head, a
