It was their last day in Vegas and Monet was feeling extra nervous the entire time she was packing. She was still trying to decide on how to tell her parents about the fact that she had gotten drunk and eloped with a stranger. She was so very nervous to the point of where she threw up twice and had at least one panic attack. Monet was a literal nervous wreck and there was nobody who could calm her down. Not even Jade could calm her down.
"Mo, Yvette's here to pick us up," Jade informed her. Since yesterday was their last day in Vegas, the two women decided to take the rental car back and ask Yvette, who was more than happy, to drive them to the airport.
"O-Okay," Monet responded in a shaky voice. The number of times she had thrown up increased to at least three times. She didn't want to make it fourth time either. Not only was she nervous, she was scared too. She was scared of the outcomes of her telling her parents, especially her dad. Her father was the type to get irrationally angry and start to hurt people, especially his own children.
One fact that Monet left out about the situation involving her sister when she told Jade was that their father had beat her. He had beat her so bad that it was hard for her to even stand up or fight him off. The man was so angry that he even tried hitting Tyra's stomach, which she had luckily shielded with all her might. Their father tried with all his might to try and kill the baby in her stomach, but he couldn't win against Tyra's will to keep the child alive. It took every bit of strength within their brother to get the man off of her before he not only killed the baby, but her as well.
After that entire incident, Monet was traumatized and fearful of ever doing anything to upset her father. She didn't want what happened with Tyra to happen to her either. Monet feared her father so bad that she felt like she was always walking on eggshells around them. Before she even left for the trip to Vegas and was discussing it with her parents, she almost thought that her father would hurt her for even going. It was so bad that she flinched each time he yelled at her and told her how disappointed he was in her for doing this when the wedding was only a few days away.
After making sure that she looked decent and taking in a couple of deep breaths, she exited the bathroom.
"You okay? You were in there for quite a while," Jade said.
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine," Monet mumbled.
"Okay. Well Yvette and Josie are here to help us take our stuff out to the car," She informed her.
"Alright," Monet nodded. Jade could tell that her best friend was extremely nervous at that the fact that they were going today. She knew that her best friend had been in there throwing due to nervousness and fear of her parents, especially her father. Jade, even though Monet never told her, knew that her best friend had to handle the one person she feared the most when she went home. Her father. There had always been something about Monet's father that always seemed off to Jade. She always sensed that he was the type to be a little off hinged. It was just something about the man that made Jade very wary of him.
Hopefully, when they told her parents the news, that same man won't do anything too drastic like hurt Monet. Jade would bust a cap in his ass if he tried to lay one finger on her best friend. Father or not. Nobody hurts Monet and gets away it. You can ask a couple of Monet's ex-boyfriends about what happens when you hurt her.
"Let's go," Jade said. The two women grabbed their things and placed them on the little cart. They both wheeled their stuff out of the room together and headed towards the elevator. They both made sure that their room was very presentable and didn't look like a pig sty at all so that the hotel maid didn't have a lot of work to do.
When they reached the lobby, Jade walked over to the desk to check them out. Yvette and Josie walked over to Monet after spotting them. They wheeled the cart outside to the car that was parked outside.
"Hey, Mo. How you feeling?" Yvette asked.
"Not too good," She answered truthfully.
"Oh. I'm sorry," Yvette frowned.
"It's...it's fine," Monet said softly. Yvette could tell that Monet was dreading going back home, especially since she had to tell them the news about how she had eloped in Vegas. Yvette was very worried about Monet's state of mind because she was a nervous wreck.
"Don't worry, Mo. We've got your back no matter what," Josie assured her.
"She's right. If shit hits the fan, then we'll hop on a plane in a heartbeat and come to your side," Yvette added. Monet gave them a weak smile.
"Thanks," She said.
"You're welcome. Plus I'm sure Jade has got it covered anyway," Yvette remarked.
"How so?" Monet asked.
"She's not afraid to bust a cap in somebody's ass if they try to hurt you," Yvette answered. That made Monet giggle along with Josie. It's true that Jade was not afraid to shoot if somebody tried to hurt Monet. Jade was just hard like that.
"Not to mention that if you do get kicked out, you always have a place to stay with either Yvette or Jade," Josie said.
"Thanks, you two," Monet smiled softly, "You guys are the greatest friends a girl can ask for."
"You're welcome," Yvette smiled.
"If you every need anything, don't be afraid to call me," Josie added.
"I will, Josie," Monet nodded.
"Wow. This is the sappiest goodbye I've seen in my life," They heard behind them. The three women turned to find Adrián right behind them.
"Come to say goodbye to your wife?" Yvette asked smirking.
Adrián laughed sarcastically, "You're so funny."
"Thanks, kid. I've got jokes for days," Yvette replied.
"Yvette, let's go their things into the car," Josie said.
"Alright," Yvette nodded, "Take your time kissing each other goodbye."
Adrián gave Yvette the finger and she laughed as she wheeled the luggage cart away.
"So you came to say goodbye?" Monet asked.
"That and I wanted to tell you that if you need any help telling your parents about the entire thing, then I'll come with you," He answered.
"What? Really?" She questioned in surprise. Now that was surprising. She couldn't believe that this guy she just met was actually volunteering to help her tell her parents about the entire thing. After talking with him the other day, he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Right now, he was a great guy in Monet's eyes.
"Yeah. I kind of got the gist yesterday that it would be hard for you to do it anyway because your parents do seem like the difficult type," He explained.
"You have no idea," Monet thought to herself.
"And since I'll be in town tomorrow, we can do it together," He said.
"You're willing to go that far for me, a complete and total stranger?" She asked.
"Yeah. We're in the same predicament right now and we both kind of have to tell our families anyway," He answered.
"As much as I appreciate the thought, I can handle it. Thank you for offering to come with me, but I'll be alright," Monet assured him.
"You sure? I'll make the trip to wherever you are," He said.
"I'm sure. Thank you for the offer," Monet smiled.
"You're welcome and good luck," He said.
"You too," She nodded. Monet kissed his cheek softly and walked off towards her friends. As she walked away, Adrián sighed to himself. He had only known her for at least twenty-four hours and he was amazed by her already.
"Hey, short stack," Someone said. He turned to find Monet's friend walking towards him.
"You and your cousin are really irritating," He told her.
"Yeah, Yeah. Tell it to somebody who cares," Jade waved him off.
"What do you want?" Adrián asked.
"I saw and heard the exchange between you two and I have to say that I'm impressed. You were ready to step up and help my best friend," Jade answered.
"I'm just doing what any other decent person would. Besides we're married to each other aren't we?" He said.
"Yes you are, but most guys would want nothing to do with some girl they accidentally married," She responded.
"Well after getting to know her a little bit, I kind of wanted to help her in some way," He told her.
"That's very sweet of you and I'm a little sad you two didn't meet under more ideal circumstances," Jade smiled.
"Me too, but that's just how life is," He shrugged.
"Well it doesn't have to be," Jade remarked.
"What do you mean by that?" He questioned. He was a little confused by what she meant in that moment and he was already itching to find out.
"What I mean is that you can help my best friend," Jade answered.
"How? She said no," He cocked an eyebrow.
"Here. Take my number and hers as well," Jade handed him a slip of paper. He opened it to find her number and Monet's written inside.
"Why did you give me this?" He asked.
"Because you seem like a nice guy and you took her mind off the entire impending situation back home," She replied
"So you want me to help her?" He inquired.
"Among other things, but we can discuss this later on. I have a flight to catch," She responded.
"Okay. See you," He said.
"Mhm. You too," Jade smiled. As Monet's friend walked away, Adrián began to contemplate if it was normal that he was helping Monet in the first place. They were complete strangers and they could have just ceased all contact with each other and lived their lives as normally as possible while the marriage certificate expired. However, for some reason Adrián felt inclined to help her because there was something about her that made him want to rush to her aid. Who wouldn't want to rush to Monet's side? She was a sweet, beautiful, and smart woman that seemed to have a big heart.
"What took you so long, Jade?" Yvette asked.
"Just saying my goodbyes to Mo's husband," Jade answered.
"Please stop," Monet rolled her eyes. Her friends laughed at her expense. They really were enjoying her marriage to Adrián a little too much for her liking. If this is how they were going to be when she finds the one, then she doesn't want it.
The ride to the airport was a rowdy and entertaining one for the four friends, which wasn't bad at all. The ride at least took her mind off of things temporarily. When they arrived, Yvette and Josie helped Monet and Jade with their things. Once they were all set, they said some tearful goodbyes and gave each other hugs before parting ways. Monet and Jade promised to text their friends when they landed back home.
"I'm going to miss those bitches," Jade sighed.
"Me too," Monet agreed.
"But they can always hop on a plane and come visit us," Jade said.
"When they do visit us, then we can all go out and have some fun," Monet smiled.
When they arrived back in New York, the two women deplaned together and went to get their things. The talkative and outgoing Monet was preached by the fearful and nervous version. All thoughts about what she would do about telling her parents weighed heavily on her mind. She was dreading going home and she wanted nothing more than to go back to Vegas and stay there for a while. However, she needed to face the music and tell them no matter what.
"Hey. You alright?" Jade inquired.
"Jade, I don't think I can do this," Monet mumbled nervously.
"Are you nervous about going home?" Jade looked at her worriedly. Silently, Monet nodded in response. Jade had figured that her best friend would get like this. She had a feeling that she would be too anxious and fearful of going home to her parents. She could not blame Monet at all because with parents like that life seemed like you were constantly walking on eggshells and fearful of what would happen when you made a mistake.
"How about you hang out with me for the duration of the day? We can go to your rehearsal dinner together and I can make sure that you have little to no interaction with your parents," Jade suggested.
"My mom might reject the idea," Monet mumbled.
"She might, but you're also an adult, Mo," Jade said.
"You're right," Monet nodded, "I'm an adult."
"That's right," Jade agreed. Monet took in a couple of deep breaths as they went down the escalator with their bags. When they got halfway down, Monet saw her parents, her brother, Trevor, Trevor's sister, and their parents standing there with smiles. Jade's family, on the other hand, stood off to the side with a big and beautiful sign with her name on it. Monet squeezes Jade's arm lightly to signal that things had just gotten complicated.
"Oh no," Jade muttered. The two women were stuck on what to do now since this new development had just popped up. They both knew that now it was practically impossible for Monet to try and avoid her family for quite some time now.
The two women got of the escalator and walked a little ways away from it. Jade pulled Monet into a tight and warm hug.
"Okay, Mo. I know you're nervous and all, but just remember to take in some deep breaths and calm down. I'll be there at the rehearsal dinner," Jade informed her.
"Okay, Jade. I'll see you then," Monet replied. They pulled away and said their goodbyes. Monet walked towards her family with a smile on her face.
"How was your flight, sweetie?" Trevor asked placing an arm around her. Monet felt her skin crawl from having his touching her.
"It was great. I'm a little tired from the flight," She smiled.
"Well you'll have to wait until after the rehearsal dinner to rest. For now, we have to go finish up some last minute preparations," Monet's mother said.
"Okay. I can't wait," Monet smiled. Trevor and her brother picked up her bags then began to walk out with the family. Trevor laced their fingers together as they walked side by side, which she hated. As they walked, Monet looked over her shoulder with furrowed brows at Jade's family. They gave her assuring looks as she continued on her way.
Sometimes she wished she had been born into Jade's family and not her own.