Chapter Twenty-Seven

Dylan

"Are you awake?" Vada asks as she pokes my shoulder for the third time.

Brad left at the butt crack of dawn to go get ready at Arden's while the girls took over our house. Vada stayed in the spare room last night. She's the one who created the schedule and kicked up a fuss about Brad and me spending the night before the wedding together.

So we compromised, and now I regret my choices.

"I am now," I groan as I roll over and throw an arm over my eyes. It's too bright and too early.

"Wakey, wakey. I've got coffee!" Winnie announces as she enters the room.

I cringe again, but at least she brought caffeine.

"Why are you all so bloody perky this morning?" I mumble as I sit up and try to straighten my tank top.

"Because it's your big day, and you need to be up and showered. The hair and makeup ladies will be here soon," Vada says as she shuffles back to give me some space.

Winnie passes me my coffee and gives Vada a hot chocolate before sitting down at the end of the bed. "I hung your dresses up in the lounge room and Jarred dropped off a special batch of brownies just in case you need them. He is still pissed he didn't get an invite to the wedding," she says with a chuckle.

"I'm not inviting your dealer to my wedding, Winnie. That's just weird. And I doubt Brad or Minnie would be happy if we turned up stoned to the ceremony." I get out of bed and make my way to the closet. I have a present for Vada and Winnie.

When we were planning the bridal party, I originally said no to bridesmaids, but Brad really wanted to be able to include Chad and Ralph in the day, so after a little bit of time, I asked Vada and Winnie if they would stand with me.

It's an odd combo, but without these two women, I wouldn't be where I am now. They saved me when I couldn't save myself.

Part of the compromise was that there would be no kids at the wedding. Given it's at a bar, we wanted the adults to be able to have a good time. Megan and Taylah were upset at first, but they are okay now that they know they get to join us on our honeymoon.

So, instead of flower girls, we are having shot girls. Winnie and Vada will be passing out shots to our guests.

I also knew that finding a dress for Vada would be hard, so Winnie made her a dress she could wear comfortably. It sits just below the knee, so I had to find the perfect pair of shoes to go with the pale-blue dress.

I grab the two boxes from the cupboard and hand them off.

"What is this?" Vada asks suspiciously.

"I organised some shoes to go with your dress."

Vada visibly pales. She has issues with things like footwear, but she should know me better than that. I wouldn't do anything to make her uncomfortable.

"Trust me," I say and nod to the box in her hand.

Winnie waits for Vada to open her box first, and the soft gasp that escapes Vada has me chuckling.

"They are beautiful," she says as she pulls out the brand-new pair of purple glitter Doc Martens.

"They match your headphones," I say as I drop a new pair of bedazzled noise-cancelling headphones into her lap. "Megan and Taylah helped Roman decorate the headphones so they'd match your shoes," I explain as Vada looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

She quickly pushes everything aside and stands to give me a very rare hug. "Thank you," she whispers in my ear.

I pull back and look at her. "Thank you for being a part of this day. I know this isn't easy for you, and we completely understand if things get too much, and you need to leave for a while. I just appreciate you being here with me." A tear rolls down my cheek and I quickly swipe it away. All my emotions are running haywire today.

"I love you, Dylan," Vada says in response, and that just opens the floodgates.

In a matter of seconds, I become a blubbering mess.

"What's the matter?" Winnie asks, concern lacing her voice. She pats me on the back and pulls me into a hug when she realises the tears aren't stopping.

"I thought I'd be okay today. I had a plan. I was going to walk myself down the aisle." I sob into her chest.

"I know, it's okay. You can do this. You are one of the strongest women I know," Winnie says.

"I don't think I can do it. I can't walk down the aisle on my own. I made a mistake." I sob harder. I wanted to walk myself because my dad isn't here to do it. I miss him more now that I know what it's like to have a real family.

I feel Winnie nod her head, and the next thing I know, I'm being lifted from her arms. I don't need to open my eyes to know who has me now. The familiar scent of Minnie invades my space and I start to calm down.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" I sob into his shirt as he rubs my back, providing the comfort only a brother can.

"I'm here to walk you down the aisle," he replies in a soft tone.

"B-but I said I was okay on my own."

"Yeah, you did. But I know you, Dylan, and I had a feeling you'd need me today. So, we all made the decision for you. If you made it to the bar and didn't need me, I'd just go find Isabelle and watch my little sister get married. But if you did need me, I was going to be here." He hugs me tighter as my tears start to subside. I love that these people know me better than myself most of the time.

"Thank you, Minnie," I whisper into his chest.

"You're welcome, Dylan. Now, judging by the worried look on Vada's face, you are already running behind schedule. Go get in the shower so you can go and marry your man," he says with a chuckle as he pats my back.

I step out of his embrace and look up at his face. "Are you sure you're okay with this? I know you thought there was no way we'd actually go through with it, but now here we are." I honestly wasn't sure we'd even get here, but Brad and I love each other, and we need to trust that love is all we need.

"You are better with Brad in your life. I won't ever come between you and your happiness," Minnie says, and just like that, the last of the wall I'd built around my heart comes crumbling down.

I pull myself together in the shower and then let the hair and makeup girls do their thing. Vada even lets them do her hair and makeup.

I'm so proud of her.

Once we are all done up, Vada and Winnie help me into my dress and shoes. I have a pair of black glitter Doc Martens under my dress. I wanted to be comfortable and match the girls. Winnie also has a pair of rainbow glitter ones. When I saw them, I knew they were the ones for her, even if they don't match anything else at the wedding.

"You look amazing," Vada says while looking over my shoulder at my reflection in the mirror.

"Thank you. I feel amazing. Let's hope Brad loves the dress," I say with a little hesitation.

"He wanted to marry you when you were wearing that hideous thing from the op shop, so he is going to absolutely love this one on you. At least it fits properly," Vada responds as she starts picking up our flowers.

"The dress wasn't that bad," I argue with a laugh.

"It was. Now are you ready to get married?" Vada asks, ticking off the last few things on the to-do list.

"Yes, let's do this," I say, more excited now than I was when I woke up this morning.

I'm itching with excitement to say "I do" and start my new life with Brad.