8. Selena

The incessant ringing of the phone wakes me from my drunken stupor. I barely remembered to call downstairs last night and schedule a wake-up call before I attacked the mini bar like a wino who hit the motherload. How dare that asshole message me and demand that I meet them in the lobby, and to top it off, call me a fucking slut. He doesn't know me, yet he has the nerve to call me such a derogatory name, so fuck him and the high horse he rode in on.

Picking up the phone, I tell them thank you, knowing it won't stop until I do. As much as I want to curl back up into the warm comfort of my blankets, I fling them off and sit up. Come on, Selena, you can do it. A ceremony lasts what, ten minutes max, show your face at the reception, make your toast, and then you can get the hell out of there.

I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower, brush my teeth, and throw on some clothes. Mom has a hair and make-up stylist coming to her room, so I don't have to worry about doing any of that. Per her words exactly, "She didn't want me looking whorish on her day and embarrass her." Is there some game where whoever calls me a slut the most wins some jackpot?

I don't need my purse today, but I pick up the room key card from the table, before grabbing the dress I draped over the chair when room service delivered it last night. Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepare myself for my mother and step out the door.

The hallway is quiet. The only other soul in sight is an older woman, probably about seventy, heading in the same direction as me toward the elevator. She ends up going down while I go up to the ninth floor.

It feels like my soul is being sucked from my body the longer the elevator ascends to the floor until finally it comes to a screeching halt and the doors slide open. Stepping off, I begin the walk of dread until I end in front of their room at precisely ten a.m. sharp. Lifting my hand, I knock on the door.

I could just walk in, but I don't. Who knows what kind of lecture could stem from that, and on the off chance my new stepdaddy is still in there, I don't want to walk in on my new stepfather's bare ass as he's railing my mom. Now I need to bleach my eyes because that's all I can see.

The door flies open, but it's not my mother. It's a brunette about my age, with a white blouse and black pencil skirt, standing in front of me. "You must be Selena. Your mother was beginning to worry we'd have to hunt you down since you were late." There's a sternness to her voice, but her eyes hold a whole different story; I see compassion. She must see the woman my mother truly is.

"Mom said ten, and it's ten. So I think I'm right on time and not late," I joke, as the woman steps to the side, allowing me space to enter the room.

"Selena, you know that is still late. You should have been here thirty minutes ago. And the way you're looking right now, it"s going to take a miracle to make you look presentable," she says with a sneer, as the woman standing in front of her doing her makeup gives me an awkward smile.

"Well, good morning to you, Mother, and what an honor it is to be a part of your special day, even with how horrendous I look." Looking over, I see a table already covered with breakfast foods, coffee, and orange juice, and I make a beeline right to it.

I make a cup of coffee first, needing it to deal with my mom, before picking up a croissant and covering it in a maple spread. Mom's nasally voice pipes up behind me. "Selena, don't you think you should eat something with fewer calories? The bread will make you bloat even more and we already had to let out the dress yesterday."

Groaning, I turn to her, before plastering an evil smile on my face and take a huge bite as I glare at her. "I think I'll be okay. Plus, no one will be looking at me with how gorgeous you're going to be." That puts an instant smile on her face because she loves to hear how great she looks.

"Yes darling, that"s true. How was your night with your new stepbrothers?"

"Don't know. I didn't go because I was having too much fun with Jose, Jim, Jack, and the Captain." The woman who answered the door, who my mother still hasn't taken the time to introduce, covers her mouth with her hand, as she attempts to stifle a laugh.

"Really, Selena? Here only one day and already fooling around with four men? You should be ashamed. God help me. If Abel finds out about it, I'm going to kill you. Do you make it your life's mission to embarrass me?"

"Calm down, Mom. It's alcohol. I was raiding the minibar and didn't want to go out." "Even worse, now he'll think my own flesh and blood is an alcoholic, which he'll attribute to one of the reasons you're so damn fat."

And that's when I feel my blood boil. It takes every ounce of my being not to storm out of the room and jump on the first flight back home. One would expect their mother to love them unconditionally. Guess she didn't get the memo. I make a vow to myself at that moment that if I ever get pregnant, and have a child, especially a girl, I"d never expose her to my mother's venom. I'd love her no matter what.

"Selena. Hi, I'm Cassandra. Why don't I go ahead and take care of your hair while Layla is finishing your mother's hair? Then once Mayrene is ready, she can go over how the wedding entrance and so forth will go. I know the guys all showed up early, and she was able to take care of their part pretty quickly." She comes over to me, gesturing toward a chair set up on the other side of the room away from my mother.

"That sounds great." Taking another huge bite of my croissant, I head over to it.

"If you could just change into this button-up shirt, that way your makeup and hair won't be messed up by pulling your shirt over your head when it's time to get dressed," she whispers but not low enough that Mother's eagle ears didn't hear.

"Why didn't you listen to me when I told you what to wear, Selena? Honestly, it's like everything I say goes in one ear and out the other," my mother gripes.

"You're right, Mother, I"m such an ungrateful child. It's a shame you got burdened with a daughter like me." Turning away from her, I pull off my shirt, put the other one on, and drop into the chair.

I sit in silence the rest of the time, not saying a word unless I have to while my mother bitches about me. Once Cassandra has my hair up in one of the most beautiful braids I've ever seen, she moves over to my mother, before giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and whispering in my ear, "Don't listen to her, you look beautiful."

Layla changes places, now done with my mother, and comes over to me, turning my face into a work of art that even has my jaw dropping when I look at myself in the mirror.

"Okay ladies, before we get dressed," Mayrene says loudly, "let"s go over the wedding march. Selena, obviously, you will go first down the aisle. You're going to stay behind the door until the music starts, then step out. Wait for a count of five and then begin your walk. Abel and his sons will be waiting at the altar with the pastor. Once you are in your spot, the wedding march will play and that's when Julia will step out. Everyone will take in her beauty before she makes her way down the aisle." She continues, and I listen, making sure I know what to do and when to do it. I'm just ready for this day to be over.

"Did you hear all that, Selena? You looked like you were falling asleep. Is being a part of my day too much for you?" my mother bickers.

"Yes, Mom, I heard it all." That"s all I have the effort to say because, honestly, I would rather have a root canal than be here right now.

"Okay, Cassandra, if you could help Selena into her dress, Layla and I will help Julia."

I pick up my dress and wave Cassandra toward the bathroom, not wanting to undress in front of my mother, and listen to the comments she would make once she saw my nearly naked body.

Once I'm in nothing but my thong, Cassandra holds open the dress for me to step into, then pulls it up the length of my body. The satin material feels wonderful and compliments my skin color. "You look stunning, and this dress fits you like a glove. I'd kill for your body," she says, as her eyes rake down my body, and I get a feeling she may just be into me.

"Don't let my mother hear you say that. She'll think you've gone mad."

"I'd be mad any day to have a woman looking like you on my arm." Yep, she's definitely interested. Too bad I'm into men and not women.

Stepping back out into the room, my mother turns to face me, dressed in a classic white mermaid dress, and she looks beautiful. Like an older version of the woman in her and Dad's wedding picture.

"You look beautiful, Mom. Abel's a lucky man," I tell her because I can't lie about that. To everyone but me, Mom is so sweet, caring, and loving. Hopefully, once they're married, he keeps her so busy that she has less time to see or call to harp on me.

"Okay ladies, time to head down. The men are already there and ready to be in place. No way of them accidentally seeing the bride before the big reveal," Mayrene announces as she moves over to my mother, placing the final touch on her look, her veil, the very one she wore in her wedding with Dad.

Picking up my room key, I slip it into the bodice of my dress for safekeeping. The clothes, well, they could stay here. I'd get them later or Mom could toss them for all I care.

We make our way down the hall to the elevator, stepping inside once the doors open. Mayrene pushes the button for the twentieth floor, which I learned this morning is where the ballroom is located. The ride is quiet except for the banter back and forth between Mayrene and Mom, who never once speaks directly to me. A blessing if you ask me. Once we reach the floor, the doors open and I quickly exit, with everyone else following suit.

"If you'll follow me, I'll get us to where we need to be without anyone seeing. All the guests should be in the hall waiting, as well as the groom." Once she"s done, she heads down a hallway tucked off to the side, Mom following behind her as I take up the rear.

Soft music flows out of the hall, filling the room where we're waiting. "Okay, Selena it's time," Mayrene announces.

Stepping up to my spot to head down the aisle, I wait for the music to kick on, making sure to paint a happy smile on my face. I'm going to get through this. Then Mom will be so occupied with her new husband that she can ignore me and I can enjoy the rest of the time I have here.

The music starts playing, which is my cue to turn the corner and head down the aisle. Stepping out from behind the door and looking up, I'm frozen in place. My eyes widen at the sight before me and my heart begins to race. Standing directly beside Abel are three faces, two are identical that I know very well. Three who have made my body feel so amazing and now I know who they are and they are off limits.

Shit!

I slept with my stepbrothers.

I don't have time to process that as I begin my march down the aisle toward three faces holding the same look of shock.

Fuck me!