7 Black Roses

It is safe to say that Sarah was in a horrible mood, she had been ever since she saw that note. Are relationships this hard for everyone? Should she not be ecstatic about getting the space she asked for? Is she going crazy? These were some of the questions circulating in Sarah’s head since Thursday night. With it now being Saturday, she had managed to make her way through some of them, to some extent at least. Yes, she was upset about the note initially but that was because she had just spent most of Thursday mulling over her thoughts and finally settling into the decision of giving this relationship a shot. It seemed that with time it only got harder for Sarah to make up her mind, to settle on a ‘plan’, well at least when it came to this whole relationship dilemma. She couldn’t stop thinking about the whole situation, even as she drove to the venue for Everly’s engagement that Saturday evening. She wondered when all of this became so complicated. Was it this confusing to begin with or did she make it so? What was she supposed to do now? Busy in her spiral of thoughts and questions, she got the venue for the engagement party. They had booked out the rooftop of this upscale boutique hotel for the event, throughout the process Everly was insistent that the event be held outdoors. She felt that no matter how big the room, events held indoors are stuffy and boring, so they took the gamble. Sarah called it a gamble since the forecast stated there was a 70% possibility of a storm. Everyone had tried to convince Everly against it or to change the date, but much like her brother, the woman was determined. The only difference was that, unlike her brother, Sarah found Everly’s strong-headedness to be her best suit. She had been at the venue all afternoon to ensure that there were no issues with the prep and had only left once all the deliveries had been made by the vendors. She rushed straight home to get ready for the engagement herself. The entire time she was putting on her ‘goth’ all-black outfit, she was gazing at her pastel-blue dress with longing. She had specially bought it for the event before Mr. Wilkins decided to ruin everything. It was safe to say that Sarah did not like to wear black. She felt like it made her seem too pale, the dress she was forced to wear wasn’t even hers, she had borrowed it from Hannah for the day. It was gorgeous, but at the end of the day, it was still black. As she gazed into the mirror, in her opinion, she looked like Edward Cullen. She realized that perhaps that made her even more on the theme for the day (that fact made her hate Zane Wilkins a little more), especially when she finally stepped onto the rooftop that evening. She hadn't had the pleasure to meet the asshole himself but she couldn't count her blessings for much longer. I am bound to encounter him tonight. She thought, making a face. They had decided to put up a black marquee over the majority of the rooftop in case it rained. It was decorated with black, dark purple, and dull cream silks draped to give off a regal and moody feel. There was a large crescent-shaped table to one side intended for the family and close friends of the couple, while there were smaller round tables dotted around the remaining space for other guests. The tables were covered in the same dull cream silk with the requested dark purple napkins and gold cutlery. They had replaced the champagne flutes with chalices and they had changed the choice of flowers for the arrangements to consist of deep red and purple roses for the most part. Sarah knew that the change of flowers wasn't asked for by Mr. Zane Wilkins……but a girl has got to commit. If he wants gothic then he is going to get gothic. With the setup complete, and her checklist triple-checked, she was standing alone in the corner and in that moment she couldn’t help but miss Eric, she couldn’t deny the dull ache deep in her heart in that moment as she let her thoughts wander. For a minute, she contemplated, What if? What if he was here? In her head, if he were here, he would tell her how amazing it all seemed and tell her how proud he was, but then also join her as she poked fun at the concept of a goth-themed engagement party. He would tell her how gorgeous she looked, chide her for her self-depreciation, but then also tease her with Twilight references. He would- Before she could further lose herself in that never-ending spiral, a shriek pulled her out of her thoughts. “Oh Emmm Geeeeee! This looks gorgeous, does it not look amazing Henry?” That would be Everly, clad in a black figure-hugging dress, she looked ethereal. “Yes my love, it does.” Henry (Everly’s fiance-to-be) replied as he looked down at Everly with a fond smile. “Hello, guys! Both of you look amazing. Congratulations!” Sarah said as she walked towards them. “ Sarah! Oh God, this is stunning, like I have no words, you outdid yourself, woman.” Everly gushed, pulling Sarah in for a hug. “I am glad you like it, I added a few things besides what your brother requested to round things up, I hope you don’t mind, I couldn’t check with you since we were short on time,” Sarah replied, she couldn’t help but throw in the smallest jab about the last-minute changes. “Oh no! Thank you so much for agreeing to the changes in the first place, I am sure whatever you added is going to make it even better than what we were thinking of. Thank you so much!” Everly replied, squeezing Sarah’s arm. Sarah was about to reply when a voice went off on her walkie-talkie calling her name. “Hello Sarah? Sarah?” She quickly excused herself from the couple and stepped aside to answer “Yeah Becca? Have guests started arriving?” she questioned, gathering her things. “Yeah, the first one just pulled up.” came the reply. “Okay, send them up after checking them off the list, I will be there in a second.” She quickly sent the couple down to their room so they could come later to make their entry and made her way to the lobby to welcome all the guests. Soon the lobby was filled to the brim with guests and they were slowly descending into a bit of chaos. Sarah’s eyes were trained on the guest list so she could check everyone off and ensure there were no crashers sneaking past. As the next guest stepped ahead she rattled off the same rehearsed line. “Welcome, can I please get your name?” “I am wounded darling, you forgot me so soon?” he replied and she instantly knew who it was. Her head snapped up, to simply stare at him, she had forgotten about him but as she stared she realized that meeting him wasn't going to have the same effect as she had thought. He was beautiful. Dark hair touching his neck and dark eyes, piercing and alive with a fire. The lines of his face were hard but when he smiled two dimples emerged out of nowhere, softening his face and giving him a sweet and naughty look. He was devilishly good-looking and she felt the attraction all the way to her stomach. “ You look quite exquisite my love, I must be the luckiest guy in the room to have your attention.” He said, taking her hand to kiss the top with a charming smile. Deep down in that moment, she knew she was in trouble.