Monthly Bonus #2 - Adam's Valentine's Scenario Special

The hall was already buzzing with chatter, everyone excited for the ceremony, especially with the hall looking spectacular dressed in an explosion of flowers and ribbons. But when five minutes passed after the ceremony was supposed to begin, the excited wave of chatter began turning into a confused wash of mutterings.

It’s now been fifteen minutes, and a full-blown panic is about to ensue.

My mind has been entirely distracted by how well Adam fills out his grey, tailored suit—still in disbelief that he actually agreed to be my plus one—that I barely notice anything is amiss until Tina jabs me with her elbow.

“Ouch.” I force my eyes away from Adam and shift my focus to her. “What?”

“Do you want to go check on Mila?” she whispers, leaning in towards me while keeping a faux-calm smile fixed in place.

I frown. “Why?”

Tina huffs. “Because she’s not here getting married like she’s supposed to be.”

I blink and snap my gaze about the hall, finally taking in the tense ambience and confused groom fidgeting at the end of the hall.

“You believe something untoward has happened to her?” Adam asks, his chair creaking as he angles in towards our hushed conversation. He leans slightly in front of me, and my attention is once again distracted by how good he smells.

Like the gentle morning waves of the sea and the kiss of its chill but refreshing breeze.

My eyes fall closed as I get lost in him.

“[Name]. Focus,” Tina murmurs.

I clear my throat. “Right. Sorry.”

I ignore the small, pleased smile that seeps across Adam’s lips before I get distracted again.

“Considering the amount of times something…unusual follows you two, I wouldn’t be surprised if something untoward has happened, yeah,” Tina replies to his original query.

I glance at Adam. My stomach sinks, thinking the couple’s big day might be ruined by some supernatural trying to get to me once again.

“We’ll go check,” I mutter, trying to keep my voice lowered beneath the anxious mutterings of the rest of the crowd.

Adam and I stand and shuffle out of the row of chairs before heading from the hall at the back.

There are only a few rooms off the main area, usually used for storage or offices, but today have been converted into makeshift dressing rooms for the couple.

Adam eyes me warily, and I pat at my clothing where I have a Volt gun concealed beneath to let him know I’m prepared. Silently, we move down the corridor, finding nothing but discarded confetti and garlands of bunting.

That is until the sobbing starts.

It echoes down the hall like the muffled cries of a banshee, and we draw to a stop outside of the bride’s room.

Adam grabs the handle, and I grab his wrist to stop him.

Shaking my head, he withdraws, and I knock on the door instead.

“Mila?” I call. “Is, uh, everything alright?”

The door snaps open.

We both flinch back at the unexpected motion, as well as the teary-eyed bride on the other side, blowing her nose into a piece of ragged tissue.

“Come in. Quick,” she hisses.

We do so.

She slams the door behind us and immediately begins pacing the room—which I assume she’s doing for a while considering there’s a definite path walked through the heaps of clothing and bags.

I look at Adam.

Adam looks at me.

I shrug at him, and we both wait for her to speak.

“I’m not sure I can do this,” she eventually mutters.

I tense. Oh no. I really, really don’t want to be the one dealing with this.

I eye the door and the exit it offers from what’s going to be a life-altering conversation I seriously don’t want to be part of.

“It’s marriage, you know?” she continues, sniffling around the words, glancing at us as she throws her hands up. “It’s forever!”

I open my mouth to utter some kind of reply when Adam gets there first.

“Some people would give anything to spend forever with the person they love,” he says.

The statement halts both Mila and me in our tracks.

“What?” she asks with a frown.

“We have a vehicle parked outside. Come with us, and we will take you away from this. If it’s truly what you want.” He offers a hand out towards the bride. “No wedding. No marriage. No…”

“Jake,” I whisper to him when he fumbles for the groom’s name.

“No Jake,” Adam finishes.

Mila’s breath catches. “No Jake?”

“No forever.” Adam reaches closer to her. “Is that not what you want?”

A hushed, tense quiet falls over the room. My gaze flits between Adam and Mila, Mila and Adam, waiting for someone to break the stalemate.

Finally, Mila’s teary eyes glimmer as she smiles at Adam. “Thank you.”

He nods at her, letting his hand fall back to his side.

“We’ll wait for you in the hall,” I say with a tight smile.

She fluffs out the skirt of her wedding gown, the beads sparkling in the sun filtering through the square windows. “I’ll be right there.”

Out in the hallway, after closing the door, I release my tension through a chuckled breath.

“Who knew you’d be the perfect person for this kind of thing?” I comment.

“She is in love. It was not difficult to remind her of the fact,” he states.

“How did you know?”

“I could see in her eyes what she feels for him.” He looks at me, holding my gaze. “And I know how it feels to think you’ll be taken from someone you love so deeply forever.”

He continues down the hall, and I watch him go, stunned in place as I process his words.

Sometimes, I think I know Adam so well, and yet…he can still leave me speechless.

…Something I hope he’ll be doing for the rest of our lives.