Out of the Shadows // Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Eighty-Two

"Anne!" I cried. "It's not staying! I can't get this.... it's not working." I was on the verge of tears.

"Hey, I'm here, relax. I have pins." She put the pins into her mouth and stood behind me, pulling my hair up on top of my head and pinning it in place.

I could feel sweat pooling in strange places all over my body. "Merlin. I'm so nervous." My knee was bouncing. "I... I... don't know if I can do this."

"Rachel. Don't you DARE stand my brother up at the altar. Now, you need to take some breaths and remember how much you two love each other." She said through the pins in her mouth. She looked me in the eyes in the mirror. Her firm brown eyes, so much like Seb's, were slightly comforting.

"Do you hear me?" She asked. "Breathe. Relax. Think of Sebastian. And let me work my hair magic here." She smiled softly and pointed my head down so she could curl the ends that were hanging and pin the rest to the top of my head.

I breathed in and out slowly. Trying to remain calm. Trying to remember, he loved me. I loved him. This is what people did that loved each other. They got married. They had babies. And we were more than halfway with at least one of those. I chuckled softly, looking down at my bump. The "Nudgers" as Sebastian called them fondly, were moving like crazy today. I wonder if they could feel how nervous I was.

I ran my hands gently over my large stomach. "Calm. Calm, babies. We just need to breathe." I huffed out air slowly and closed my eyes, letting the gentleness of Anne's hands soothe all three of us. I could hear her laugh at my words and I smiled.

"Ok. You can look up now."

I gently pulled my head up to see myself in the mirror. Her intricate design in my hair was stunning. The pins she had laced through my curls had little shiny jewels on the end making it look like I had a halo of shining silver throughout my hair.

"Wow. Anne. It's beautiful!" I put my hand tentatively to my head.

"NO!" She slapped my hand away playfully, like a mother scolding her child. "Don't touch it. Let Sebastian mess it up later but I want you perfect." She sighed, looking pleased with her handiwork. "Are you ready for your dress? Your mum just dropped it off this morning."

"She's here? Where is she? Can you bring her up here, Anne, please? Sebastian said I'm not allowed to leave the room until it's time. That's why he left all this food here this morning!" I pointed to the tray of goodies he had left and told me I needed to eat. I hardly touched anything being so nervous. But I tried to pick at it.

"Sure. I'll bring her. But we need to get dressed soon. It's almost time. Why don't you eat something while I go track her down, yes?" She patted my shoulder gently and exited through the bedroom door.

I stared at the platter and finally tossed a piece of fruit in my mouth, chewing slowly, trying to calm my nerves.

I closed my eyes, breathed deeply and thought of Seb and everything he meant to me. Everything we'd done for each other. All we'd been through.... and yet, here we were. On our wedding day...

I smiled broadly, feeling incredibly happy.

My tummy clenched a little. Uncomfortably. Ouch. That kind of hurt. I needed to calm down. My nervousness must have been affecting them too.

"It's ok, Nudgers." I whispered. "We can do this." I sighed and tried to drink some tea to calm myself.

--

Sebastian's Perspective

I huffed out frustrated air. I loosened the bow tie that was stubbornly not tying right. "I can't get this... this thing is... broken or something. Shotty craftsmanship. I don't know... it's just not working!" I said angrily.