Fallen

Chapter Thirty-Four (Part One)

The wedding ended minutes ago and I was still in shock. When Ben said to get close, he didn't mean that close. I could see his face now; his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth in a grimace. The words "what the hell were you thinking" echoed through my mind.

Colt dragged me down the street to his house. The house he had built years ago and since then slowly waited until the right girl came along to marry.

He yanked me onto the porch and pulled me close to him. "Will you calm down, you've been trying to pull your hand out of mine this entire walk," he said. I glanced down at our hands. The golden ring band on my hand enraged me so much that I wanted to yank it off and fling it at his eye. Maybe, I could blind him.

"Well, this wasn't really what I had in mind. Why are you rushing me home anyway? I don't even know you that well."

If he was expecting us to get close. Real close. He could think again. It was not happening. Not. At. All. 

"Dear god Mel, get your head out of the gutter. There's a reason why I did all this and I won't apologize for inconveniencing you."

"What are you talking about?" I snapped. Colt looked around us. For the marriage service, we had to wait until the priest had finished dinner in the Hall and to gather his things. During that wait, I was in a quiet panic of what the hell was going on and thought of how difficult my life became.

"Before you explode," Colt said through gritted, white teeth, "let me explain inside. You have some visitors that may help me explain all this."

He opened the door behind him and waved a hand for me to go in first. Stepping inside, the house was the same as if stepping into April's family house. The hall extended down to the end of the house with bedrooms to the left and a staircase at the end. The living room was to my right. Soft voices to my right almost knocked me over.

I sprung into the room. Alec and Ben. They stood at the fireplace, the flames playing across their features.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to get into trouble?" Ben asked. A half smile tugged on his lips when I entered the room.

Across between a cry and laugh, I darted to him. His arms wrapped me into a tight hug.

"Sorry for the mess," I said.

"You are getting really good at making them. Soon I will need to start writing you up."

His hug, the smell of mint and coffee on him, brought me a sense of comfort. The last time I gave him a hug or a kiss was a day after we arrived. Since then we talked only a handful of times.

Remembering Alec and Colt was still in the room, I pulled back. "Okay, what the hell is going on." Why were Colt, Ben, and Alec in cahoots?

I turned to face Colt, he stood against the doorframe, a small smile showed he wasn't upset. Actually, he looked happy at Ben's and my reunion.

"I first want to say," Colt said, walking into the room with his hands raised, "the marriage was Ben's idea."

"What?" I asked, shooting a dagger look at Ben. "Wait, I'm confused. Why get married in the first place. Why are you three together? What the hell is going on?"

"I told you," Alec said, "We should have given her some warning."

He walked to the wooden bench against the wall, a thick blanket laid over it to give it some cushion. Around the room there were all sorts of chairs or long benches with blankets and pillows. Hanging from the windows were thick curtains.

"And lose the element of surprise? There wasn't enough time to tell her anyway," Colt said. "I must apologize Melissa. For dragging you to the church and then dragging you here without telling you the plan. Let's begin with what do you know about me?"