Filed To Story: Pretty Poisoned Novel by Elle Mitchell
“I’m sorry, Teagan,” he says. He takes my hand in his and presses his lips to my forearmnot the one with the tulip tattoo but the one he’d written on in blood before. “I did miss you. I followed you down here to the beach earlier, and I watched you cut the bows off the chairs, and then I watched you eat alone in the corner of that cafe and cry. And I did hate it. I’ve never felt worse in my life.”
“It’s okay,” I tell him. “No one ever taught you any better, either.”
“You did.”
I sip the champagne and avert my eyes, looking somewhere over his shoulder instead.
“Do you want to dance?” he asks.
“What? You’ll dance with me?”
Sebastian shrugs. “Sure. If the next song is a slow one, I’ll dance with you.”
“Because I’m dying?”
“Yes.” He places a hand on the back of my neck and leans in, pressing his forehead to mine before kissing me. “And because I’m going to miss you forever, Teagan. To me, you’re everything. I lied when I told you that you’d forget what it’s like to feel and care about things. Maybe you can put it to sleep, but you don’t forget.”
“I love you,” I tell him. “Don’t be mad at me for saying itI’m going to miss you forever, too.”
The song playing from the speakers fades into the next one, and it is something slow. He holds out his hand to me, and I take it, letting him lead me onto the dance floor. His hands sit low on my waist, holding me tightly against him. I rest my head on his chest, inhaling deeply. This is nicetoo nice. For a moment, I close my eyes and allow my mind to wander. I imagine that we’re ordinarythat this is our wedding, and we’d go back to California and a small house filled with books and music. We’d dance like this in the living room, and he’d kiss me and hold me after we fuck. Once a month, we’d have dinner with my family like we did before, but I wouldn’t think about killing anyone. I’d smile and laugh like he did, and it would be realfor both of us.
But it is only for a moment, and then I let it go. I know who and what we are.
As the song ends, he pulls away.
“We need to go soon,” he says. “Do you want me to make a big scene? Make it look like we’re fighting to sell it?”
“No,” I tell him. “Just try and make it look like you can’t live without me instead.”
“That won’t be that hard,” he says.
He kisses me again, his lips pressing hard against mine. My hands move from his back to his neck and through his hair, pulling him closer, kissing him deeper. As his tongue explores my mouth, his hands move to the swell of my ass, gripping the cheeks hard through my dress.
“Time to go, Teagan,” Sebastian says. “Go say goodbye, but make sure you don’t say anything that will make them think you’re leaving on purpose. I’ll wait for you by the gazebo.”
I sigh. “Okay.”
I turn, take a deep breath to steady myself, and then scan the room for my mom and dad. They’re standing on the opposite side of the room talking to Austin’s parents. My heart pounds in my chest as I approach them.
“Hey.” It comes out weak; I choke on the word just a little before pulling myself together. “I think we’re going to go upstairs now. I’m getting tired.”
“Well, if you and Sebastian get up early enough, you two should join us on the catamaran,” my dad says. “The shuttle leaves at 8:30 AM.”
“Oh, Teagan gets so seasick on those,” my mom says. “Remember the trip to Maui? Watching her puke made four other tourists puke, too.”
“Yeah, catamarans aren’t really for me,” I say. I was seventeen, it was choppy as fuck, and I was drunk. I couldn’t really tell them that at the time.
Austin’s parents laugh a little, but his mother’s lip still turns up a little when she looks at mejust like it did all afternoon in the hotel suite.
“It was a whole thing,” my mom says. “The boat’s captain was furious. We’ll text you when we get back, okay?”
She waves me off, going back to her conversation.
“Good night, Mom,” I say, surprising her when I pull her into a hug. I don’t breathe; I don’t want to choke on the words again. “I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you, too,” she says, then adds much quieter, “You did good today.”
My dad doesn’t even know what to do when I hug him next; I don’t think he’s hugged me in over a decade. “Bye, Dad. I love you.”
He just kind of awkwardly pats me on the back before backing away. “Good night, Teagan.”
“Night.”
I look for Blakely next, but I don’t see her at first. My gaze lands on Sebastian instead, leaning against the railing of the gazebo. He points to his watch, and I shrug, mouthing the words I can’t find Blakely.
He points down toward the beach where she and Austin are lying in the sand, still fully clothed in their wedding attire, letting the surf wash over them. I head in their direction, stepping out of my heels once I get to the sand.
“You okay?” I ask once I’m standing over her.
They’re both soaked.
“Yeah,” she laughs. “We’re good. We’re just tired of it. This is the culmination of all of the fucking stress and anxiety I’ve had over this damn day for the past few months boiling over. I’m setting it free.”
“It was nice, though,” I tell her. “I’m glad you guys re-invited me. We’re going to head upstairs now; I’m tired.”
“Lie down with me first,” she says. “The water is warm.”
I shake my head. “I’ll ruin my dress.”
“So? You’re never going to wear that dress again. I won’t wear this one again, either.” Blakely screams a little as another wave comes up high enough to wash over them and my feet. It is warm, like she said. “Austinleg sweep her.”
“Okay.”
He pushes himself up and leans over her, reaching for me, and I jump back. “That’s unnecessary,” I tell him and lie in wet sand on the other side of Blakely. “Happy?”
“I am,” she says. “I’m really happy, Teagan.”
“Good. You deserve it.”
I hear another wave crash near my feet before the sea comes for useven higher this time, washing over our faces.
“Oh, shit,” Austin says. “All right, Blake. If you still want to do this, we need to move further back.”
“Nice, right?” Blakely asks just as the sky opens up and it starts to pour. “See?” she shouts above the sound of the heavy rain. “It doesn’t even matter now.”
“Yeah, I guess not,” I say as we both pull ourselves to our feet. “I heard rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck.”
“It is,” she says. “I told you, Austin.”
He shrugs. “We don’t need it.”
“I gotta go,” I say, pulling her into a tight hug. “I love you, Blakely. I’m really happy for you.”
“I love you, too, Teagan,” Blakely says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” I lie. “Congrats, guys. Bye, Austin.”
Instead of heading toward the same staircase I walk to, Austin and Blake run to the one on the other side of the building, likely trying to sneak back inside the hotel without any of their guests seeing them or demanding more of their attention.
Only about half of the people remain in the reception tent when I pass. With my shoes in my hand, I meet Sebastian by the gazebo, and we take the long way back toward the far building and the parking lotthe route where we’re least likely to run into anyone else.
“How was it?” he asks as we walk hand in hand through the rain.
“It was okay,” I tell him. “I feel good about it. I didn’t mess it up by saying something obvious or being an asshole. Are there cameras?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.