HE IS HELL

Chapter twenty-six

Chapter twenty six

"What about it? Let's get married, Kat."

Let's get married, Kat. Get married. Married, married, married. The words echoed in my mind as I choked slightly, holding my mobile tightly to my ear. "What?" I asked back. Matthew had been on the phone for the past hour, it being eleven-twenty three pm my time while his was just after midnight. He was drunk after a night out with his friends Amy and Andrew, he told me how he had met another couple, Sara and Nathan.

"Yeah, why not? I miss you. You miss me. Let's just get married already." Matthew laughed, making me smile in return.

"Are you sure?"

It was June 3rd for me and June 4th for him.

"Of course I'm sure you dope!"

We're getting married!

That was how I ended up in mid-June, planning a wedding. We had both agreed for it to be a small, quick marriage – anything to get me up there quicker. While Matthew worked, I planned every step. The phone calls were made and appointments were set. We had to first undergo a test by officials to make sure this marriage wasn't for the wrong reasons. Matthew was, thankfully, given time off to travel down for the week as we went to every appointment – both of us revising one another's favorite color and most played song with hope that we could get married.

We arrived at the courtroom, sitting in a red carpeted hallway as we waited anxiously. Matthew was called in first, the clock on the wall seemingly slowing down. Twenty minutes passed as he came out, a bead of sweat etched on his forehead, I gulped.

"Katherine? Come on in." The elderly woman called, dressed in an all black tailored suit with a pencil skirt. I followed the woman, giving Matthew a reassuring smile as the door closed behind me. The room felt stifled as I sat on the brown chair, in front was the woman – Joseline Barnes, oak desk.

"Right Katherine, my name is Joseline and I'll be asking you some questions. Are you ready?" I nodded, determined to pass this test.

"Why do you want to marry Matthew?" She tutted, pen tapping against the sheet of paper.

"Simply, because I love him. I love the way he carries himself, the way his hazel eyes lighten a shade at the most innocent of things, to the way his obsession with Lego is somewhat remarkable and holds such a child-like innocence." I spoke truthfully, smiling at myself with the memory of Matthew opening his Christmas present. "There's many reasons, but I wouldn't want to bore you with them."

"That's fine, it's clear you love Matthew. This is just protocol. Next question.."

By the time I had finished, Joseline had called Matthew inside. He sat beside me, my hand gripping on to his as we waited. My heart raced as I watched the woman in front of us look through her paperwork, ticking could be heard by the clock on her beige coated wall.

"All done. You can both marry one another." Joselines' sweet voice pleasantly swam through my ears as Matthew and I both smiled at one another, thanking the woman in front of us. Matthews' grip on my hand didn't loosen as we left, the fresh summer air crawled inside my lungs, welcoming a new hopeful feeling inside me.

The days were going by quickly as our next appointment arrived. I had booked a country club for our after party and we needed to decide on food, interior and guest list. We quickly arrived, it being a forty-five minute drive away as Matthew groaned from the drive, stretching as soon as we stepped outside.

"I'll be so glad when I'm back. I'm dreading the 12 hour drive."

A woman with a blonde pixie cut waved from across the road. "Kat and Matthew, right? I'm Millie, we spoke on the phone." her pink dress hugged her curvy figure perfectly. I wish I looked like her.

"Hi! It's good to meet you, finally." I spoke as we followed Millie to the country club. "It's quite hidden, but we're just behind this building." Matthew took his mobile out, excusing himself as Millie and I walked inside. The hall was quite bland, red carpet with a small wooden floor area for a disco with white walls and a small bar area to the left. It looked better in the pictures.

"Well, this is it. Have you both got a date for the wedding?"

"Ah, yes! Sorry, I had to wait for the registry office to reply. Tuesday, September 19th, is that OK?" I asked, watching as Millie opened her diary. "That's fine. Evening, right?" Nodding again, Millie pencilled the date in her diary. "Great, that's all booked. Tuesday 19th September 2017, three pm till six pm. The rental fee will be £204, can be paid either all today or half today and rest on the day."

Ah, where's Matthew? I think I only have enough to pay for the venue. "I'll double check, but I think I can pay all of it today. Food wise, do we have a plan?"

"Yes! So you said you wanted more of a buffet style as there will be children and the cake you wanted it to be suitable for lactose intolerant?" Millie asked, noting everything down. "Yes, please. Matthew and his mum are lactose intolerant so it's quite important."

"Sorry about that, what did I miss?" Finally! Matthew entered the room, looking around with disappointment. "Is this it?" I nodded. "We were just talking about food."

"Good, we want a buffet kind – lots of meat though, the more the better." Matthew said, looking at Millie. "That's fine, what's your spending limit?"

"How much do you reckon it will be, plus some money behind the bar for the first round – we should have around thirty guests." I watched as Matthew spoke business with Millie, exchanging numbers as I left it to them to discuss prices, knowing Matthew was covering the food. I've paid for the rest so it's only fair. I hated asking him to pay for it though.

"Kat, we're done. Pay for the venue and I'll transfer the money for food."

"Right, altogether that will be.. £684. £204 for the venue and £480 for the food and cake." Gulping at the expense, I transferred the money over to Millie. Ignoring my internal crying at the amount. "Perfect, that's all done. I'll email you a receipt. Feel free to look around and I'll be in touch with you soon."

We both left soon after, Matthew more focused on the bar than the rest of the room. "You need to decorate the room, how will you get here?"

"I'll ask my uncle, he should be OK to drive me. I'll do it the night before." He nodded as we walked back to the car, both tired from the past few days. "What else do we need to do this week?"

I thought for a moment before replying. "Nothing, that's all the appointments that you need to be here for. I need to order the decorations, buy a dress, make payment for the registry office and some other small bits."

"You haven't paid for the registry office yet? Are you autistic, you need to pay for that!" Matthew shouted, opening the car door as I fell silent, the heat rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. "They only emailed me this morning with the date, I emailed back to confirm. I'm waiting for them to email me with the details to make payment."

"I swear you're retarded."

The drive back was silent as I switched my data on, refreshing my emails every few minutes until finally, after what felt like forever, they emailed me back. I quickly wrote down the details, opening my banking app and sending over the payment. I emailed them back, booking the date.

"They emailed me, I've paid them so it's all booked. nineteenth September at two-thirty pm at Willow House." Matthew nodded, blowing out smoke from his vape. "Good. Send out invites soon, we'll just do it over messenger. Free that way, I don't want to pay for anything else. I'm skint."

"Me too. I'll do that when we get home." I replied, looking out the car window.

"I love you, Kat. Even if you are a bit stupid at times."

Yeah, I know.

"Sorry."