Day 19: Heels | 1,186/151 (opps!) | G | mild angst, mild hurt/comfort, happy ending | @kingdonmacrofic
Her heels were already making her feet hurt and she had only had them on for ten minutes. How was she going to make it through the rest of the day—her wedding day—when her feet were stuffed into torture devices.
Today Mel was marrying Dr. John Shen, her very nice senior attending in the ED. She was happy, she thought, but she also had a pit in her stomach, gnawing through her insides.
“It’s time.” Becca announced, popping her head into Mel’s dressing room.
Becca was her maid of honor and her only bridesmaid. Mel didn’t mind that her sister was the only friend she had, she was the only one she needed, except for Frank of course.
She inhaled a sharp breath, closing her eyes before replying, “Where’s Frank?”
Frank was fulfilling the duty of walking her down the aisle. She had made peace with the fact that her dad wouldn’t be there to do it a long time ago, so when Frank had offered, she was glad to take him up on it. He was, after all, the closest thing she had to a friend. Although Frank had transcended the title friend long ago. He was more than that, he was her steady among a storm.
“He’s right here. I didn’t know if you were ready for him to see you yet.”
“He’s not the groom Becca, of course I’m ready.” There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice, it wasn’t directed toward Becca, but that is how it sounded when she heard the words leave her lips. She was annoyed because part of her knew she wished Frank was the man she was walking down the aisle to, not with.
“Ok, I’ll tell him to come in. I think you need a hug.”
“Don’t tell him that, Becca!” Mel yelled, but her sister had already closed the door.
It was only a minute later that Frank came into the room, his gray linen suit iron pressed and well fitted. His hair in its usual floppy mound atop his head.
“You look—gorgeous.” He said, his mouth hanging open, his eyes scanning over Mel’s body.
“Thanks.” She replied, brushing the fluffy skirt of her ballroom gown down, her cheeks burning red.
“Becca says you need a hug.”
She picked at the edges of her fingers, her hands in front of her.
“I told her not to tell you that.” She huffed.
“Come here.” Frank motioned for her to come into his open arms.
She practically ran to him, her arms stretched out towards him. They fell into a soft embrace, Mel’s face pressed against his chest, breathing the scent of him in.
They stood like that for a while, bodies intertwined, before she spoke, “This material is scratchy,” her voice cracking as the words left her mouth.
Frank pulled her face from his chest, holding onto her by the cheeks. Her eyes began to well with tears.
“Mel, don’t cry. You know I can’t see you cry or I’ll start crying.”
He wiped away the tears that fell from under her eyes with his thumb.
“Don’t be sorry. It’s an emotional day.”
Becca popped her head back into the room to tell her she had three minutes before she needed to be walking down the aisle.
“Ok it’s time. Now let’s get you married.” Frank said, before placing a kiss to her forehead.
Now, they stand at the wooden double doors that lead to the sanctuary of the church her and John are getting married in. Her right hand is wrapped firmly around Frank’s bicep, and his hand rests on top of hers. In her left hand she carries her wedding bouquet, purple cala lilies. The organ begins to play the wedding march, a loud tune that shakes the floor beneath them. She wants to cover her ears, but she knows she is just going to have to make peace with her uncomfortableness.
“Frank, what if I don’t want to do this?”
Just as she speaks the words, the doors open and she is met with the stares of seemingly every person she has ever known in her life, her worst nightmare.
Frank glances at her quickly, his mouth agape. They take the first step, their feet moving in tandem.
The organ grows louder as they walk further into the church, but all Frank can hear is the beating of his heart. He doesn’t want to walk her down the aisle, to her soon to be husband, he wants her to be the one walking to him.
Mel’s eyes lock on Shen’s, his lips parted in the widest smile, his hands crossed in front of him. While he is handsome and very kind, and could make the perfect partner, he isn’t who she wants. She wants Frank, she had always wanted Frank.
Their feet finally reach the end of the aisle. Mel looks to her left and sees Becca in her green satin gown, a frown on her face. She wonders why she is upset, she hopes it isn’t because of how she spoke to her earlier.
A million thoughts race through her mind. Should she make a run for it, get out and never look back? She couldn’t do that to John. Or could she?
He’s supposed to be giving her away, but he doesn’t want to, he wants to keep her forever. He doesn’t want another man having her for the rest of her life; if he doesn’t do something now, he’ll regret it for the rest of his.
“You don’t have to do this.” Frank’s voice echoes in Mel’s right ear.
“What?” She says, shocked by the statement.
“You could run away with me; we could run away together.”
Was he really asking her to run away with him? She wanted nothing more than to do that very thing, but how could she do that to John?
She looks up, her eyes connecting with Franks, she stares at him intently trying to read his mind. If she doesn’t run now, she knows she’ll regret it as long as she lives. She takes one last look at her sister, and unlike with Frank she can read Becca’s mind, and her eyes tell her to run. She is sure now, more than ever, that this is the right move. Mel reaches down, removing her heels from her feet and handing them to Frank.
“Run!” She tells him, her grasp tightens around his arm.
They both take off in a dead sprint. Behind her she can hear Becca clapping, and chanting go, Mel, run, she knows she’s made the right choice. When they make it outside of the church, Frank stops. He grabs Mel by the waist, spinning her around to face him before planting a deep kiss on her lips.
I love you too, she whispers back.
They run off into the sunset together, Mel’s dress blowing in the wind, her god-awful heels left on the steps of the chapel, in the past, as her and Frank run towards their future.
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