"I'm supposed to be on my honeymoon right now." Freddie said as she stood in the doorway to Mollie's house. Both Knox and Mollie turned around to look at her, but Freddie couldn't look at either of them. The reception had been fun (more fun than it had any right to be, really), but now everything was over and she was left alone with just herself. Just herself when the day was supposed to be a celebration of her and Thom's love for each other. But that didn't happen. Because Thom cheated on her. He cheated on her on their wedding day. And now it was just her.
She felt her throat get tight, felt her eyes stinging, and she was vaguely aware that this was going to be bad. A sob fell from her lips and she brought a hand up to her mouth to cover it, but it didn't work as well as she wanted it to. She squatted in the doorway, her legs seemingly done holding her up. She felt arms wrap around her and she knew they were Mollie's, could hear her saying words of encouragement, felt her help her into a standing position and away from the door, hearing the click. All of this was going on in the background of the sobs that were wracking her body. She was sobbing so hard she was practically screaming, her body shaking with the force of it. She was crying like someone had ripped her heart out. And yeah. Wasn't that what had happened? How could she go on without her heart? More importantly, why did Thom take it when he clearly didn't want or need it?"
"Fred.... Freds.... Freddie. You gotta calm down, sweetheart. I know it hurts, I know. But I need you to calm down and breathe, okay?" Mollie said, rubbing her back. She said something else to Knox, but Freddie didn't care to hear it.
The next thing she knew (and it truly could've been seconds or minutes after Mollie told her she needed to calm down. She didn't know), she was sitting on the couch with tea in front of her that was supposed to be calming. She appreciated what her brother and sister were trying to do, but she was clocked out. Still, she took a drink of the tea.
Suddenly, she was in the bath tub. She had no idea how she'd gotten there, except the possibility that maybe Mollie had guided her and helped her get undressed. The water was hot against her skin, nearly scalding. Just the way she liked it. She couldn't get the image of Thom fucking that woman out of her head. Her eyes stung again and she let out a sob. She heard the door open and saw Mollie come in.
Flash. She was out of the shower and in her favorite pajamas (something she thought Mollie did again). Her makeup had carefully been taken off, her hair washed and brushed. She could taste the minty flavor of toothpaste, but she didn't remember brushing her teeth. Everything was coming to her in snapshots. She was in Mollie's room, on Mollie's bed, squished between Knox and Mollie. She felt so.... young. She hated it. She turned her face into the pillow, her tears starting up again. A hand rubbed her back while another stroked her hair. She wasn't sure who was who. They said their words of encouragement, but she didn't really hear them. She just cried. Knox and Mollie let her, comforting her and not rushing her to feel better. The only time they said anything was when it got intense, like that first time.
Eventually, everything went quiet as pure, sheer exhaustion overtook her. It was the most peace she'd gotten in a long time.
