Done Being Friends (34 page)

Faith smiled. “He’s right. It’s not your fault. Zac was just being Zac. Forgive him.”

“You mean he was being the knight-in-shiny-armor him?” Jessica teased, and everyone laughed.
 

As Zac neared Adeline, she nervously voiced. “I thought I should personally say goodbye. Are you and Miss Preston all right? If you need anything...”

“Thanks Adeline, we’re fine. I’m sorry it was a wasted trip.” Zac stretched out his hand, giving both Adeline and Josh a handshake.
 

Adeline eyed Nicole suspiciously. Despite being in the police car, Adeline could see that she was still crazed.
 
“Are you sure you don’t need any help? I promise nothing of this will go into the article.”

“Yes, we’ll be fine. Thanks again. Perhaps, if you would like, you can join us at the wedding. Hopefully, no one will be there to wreck it.”

Josh laughed, but Adeline glared at him, shutting him up instantly. “Really? I would love to be there. Thank you.”

Zac smiled politely. “Faith is more comfortable around people whom she already knows.”
 

The laughter from Faith drew his attention, and he turned; ready to go back to Faith.

“I’ll be sure to thank her properly, another day. We should be on our way now, and let all of you get some rest.”

The next day, Nicole’s father came by to speak to both Zac and Faith, pleading for them to drop the charges. He told them that Nicole was sick, she had been seeing a therapist, but no one had realized that she had stopped taking her medications.

Taking out a thick photo album, he flipped through the pages and showed them pictures of another man. All the photos appeared to have been taken from afar. “The same thing happened slightly over a year ago. Nicole met him at a concert and somehow convinced herself and even us that they were in love and getting married. I’d never met the guy before, but she always looked so happy that I went along with it blindly.”

“How could you not know? Didn’t you at least expect her to bring him home?” Zac asked, his tone angry, and laced with accusations.

Mr. Smith nodded solemnly and continued flipping through the album, “My wife and I tried for ten years before we got Nicole. We gave her everything she wanted and did everything her way. So initially, when she insisted that he was busy, we didn’t pressure her otherwise. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I went to find him on my own, and that was when he told me that he didn’t even know who Nicole was.”
 

Closing the album, he closed his eyes as he continued the story. “When I showed him Nicole’s photo and bellowed at him that she was already planning their wedding, he suddenly went through the roof and barked at me about Nicole stalking him.” The elderly man took in a deep breath and look at Faith.

“I’m sorry about everything. The therapist said she was better, and we didn’t think to check her pills.” He choked on his last few words and Faith could see the tears in his eyes.
 

“What happened with the man in the end?”

“After verifying his story, my wife and I decided to institutionalize Nicole. She stayed there for over half a year, and when the therapist said she was getting better, we were keen to have her home. That night, when you had dinner with her, that was her first week home with us.”

Taking Faith’s hand, Mr. Smith begged for Faith’s forgiveness and for them to consider dropping their suit.

Zac pried Mr. Smith’s hand from Faith and held her hand in his. “Save your tears. My only concern is Faith’s safety. If we drop this, how can I be sure that she won’t come back for Faith? I don’t want Faith to have to live her life looking over her shoulders.”

Faith bit her lips and gently squeezed his arm.

“We’ll move and send her back to therapy. I can assure you that she won’t bother either of you anymore.”

Zac rolled his eyes. “But we’re not. We’ll be here. How do I know that two years later, she won’t come back for Faith? Or six months down the road when you think she’s better and receive her back at home?”

Mr. Smith shook his head as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “We’re having her confined. We’re not going to let history repeat itself again. It’s for her own good.”

Zac sent Mr. Smith out stating that he would think about it even though he didn’t have any intention of dropping the case. A few days after that, Faith kept trying to convince him that Mr. Smith would stay true to his word and that they shouldn’t destroy someone’s life just because she was sick.

Eventually, Zac gave in and dropped the case. As promised, the Smiths moved away, and Zac received all the documentation of Nicole’s confinement within a few days after Nicole was released. With that, Zac considered that chaotic chapter closed and prepared for his new life with Faith.

Epilogue

As Faith sat in her chair, waiting for the ceremony to start, her palms started perspiring, and her heart pounded hard in her chest. She had no idea why she was so nervous, she rubbed her hands down her gown and took in a deep breath.
 

“You look nervous,” Jessica commented as she handed her a glass of water

“I am.”

“Why? You look gorgeous, and you’re marrying a great guy.”

“I’m not getting cold feet Jess, I just am nervous.” She sighed and bit her lips.

Jessica smiled and gave her a tight hug. “I have something to take your mind off things.”

Faith smiled as curiosity took over the reins of her fluttering heart, easing it down a notch. “What is it?”

“Actually, it’s from Zac.” She reached into a bag and took out a brown parcel, slightly larger than an A4 size paper.
 

Jessica sat beside her as Faith unwrapped the parcel, eager to see what it was. When Faith tore off the brown wrapping paper, she gasped. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the framed portrait in her hands.

It was a sketch of her, reading on the swing her father had built. On the bottom corner of the portrait, it was signed with Zac’s signature and dated. She brushed her thumb across the date, he had drawn it when they were still in high school.

Faith remembered Zac used to have a sketchpad which he would draw on every now and then as a hobby. He treated it like a journal, refusing to let anyone but himself see the contents of the book, so she never knew that such a portrait of her existed.

Right on top of the portrait was Zac’s handwriting.
It has always been you.

Faith took in a deep breath and tilted her chin up in desperate aim of stopping the tears from streaming down her face.

“Aww, the green eyed monster is back,” Jessica whined, bringing a fit of laughter from Faith. Reaching over to the dressing table, Jessica pulled out a piece of tissue and carefully dabbed at the beads of tears hanging at the corners of her eyes.

As Faith walked down the aisle on her father’s arm, she didn’t hear the music and neither did she notice all eyes that were on her. All she saw was Zac, standing in a well-cut black suit, glowing with a happiness that matched her own. The only pair of eyes that mattered was his.
 

She wanted to run into his arms and tell him that she loved the sketch, that it was a better present than the biggest diamond in the world. But if she had done that, she knew that her grandmother and mother might just kill her before she could even get near Zac.

Silently, she thanked her grandmother for making her go through the rehearsal so many times. She simply couldn’t take her eyes of Zac, and it was difficult to pay attention to anything else except for the fact that she wanted to be in his arms. Fortunately, the rehearsals had drilled the rhythm into her legs, and they moved according to the beat without her having to pay attention.

When Faith’s father handed her over to Zac, Faith beamed at Zac. Zac pulled her to his side, and they took their place in front of the altar. Faith turned to look at Zac to find him looking right back at her.
 

“I love the sketch. It was beautiful. It is the sweetest present anyone could ever give me,” Faith whispered softly, but her joy was evident.
 

Zac smiled back in return.

When they finished their vows and exchanged their rings, Zac leaned in, but held her face in place as he whispered, “It had always been you, Faith, right from the start.” Then, he kissed her.

Tears streamed down her face, and she thought she might just explode from the joy within her. Zac wiped the tears away from her face. “You look so amazing today, wife.”

“You look extremely good in your suit too, husband.”

About Author

Trishia Grace graduated from Bradford University with a Accounting and Finance degree. She has always been an avid reader and had a passion for writing. After being a tutor for over six years, she finally sat down and penned her own novels.

More Books From Author

Look for these titles by Trishia Grace

Now available:

Done Being Friends

Ghost of the Past Book 1 - Moving On

Coming Soon:

Ghost of the Past Book 2 - Closing Books

Ghost of the Past Book 3 - Growing Up

Moving On

© 2011 Trishia Grace

For twenty years, Tyler Hayes had been ripped from his childhood home. After the horrific accident that took away his parents’ life, Tyler’s grandfather removed him from the mansion and sent him away.
 

Now, after twenty years, his grandfather had passed away and he could finally go home. However, even in his death, Tyler’s grandfather had betrayed him once again, leaving the mansion to a woman he had never met.
 

Even though Kate Mitchell had never met Tyler, she knew all about the accident that changed the Hayes’s family. Unbeknownst to her, was how she was going to end up being caught in the middle of a long estranged relationship between two different generations.
 

Two complete different personalities would have to learn to get along and play nice in order to survive a will that would change their lives.

Enjoy the following excerpt from the Ghost of the Past Series - Moving On.

With one less team to work with, the projects that the original team was supposed to deal with ended up on Kate’s table. She had been so busy over the past month she promised that once the team’s probation was over, she was going to treat Evelyn and herself to a holiday.
 

However, no matter how busy she was at work, she always made it back home for dinner and would spend an hour or two on the piano with Tyler. Otherwise, they would drink their coffee and talk about their work, or Kate would find another photo album and make Tyler tell her about the various holidays he had.
 

Each time he spoke of the various places, he would tell her all the things they could do if they ever went there. That was the only downside of the conversations they had.
 

When they made plans for the cabin, Kate was excited and really looking forward to the trip. However, when they started talking about all the other places, it made her heart ache at all the things that she would not be able to do with Tyler.

Tyler noticed how quiet Kate would get whenever he started making plans for them, and he thought that he had once again crossed the line, and that she didn’t appreciate him making decisions for her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be saying it like you have to go, I’m just saying, if you want to go.”

“And I want to; I just don’t think we can find the time.” Again, Kate found the inadequateness in the length of days they had left together in the mansion.

“I know you have been busy, but you said you’ll be freer once the team’s probation is over. If you want, we can make the trip to the cabin then. Just tell me when you’re free, I’ll arrange everything.”

Kate was suddenly tempted to persuade Evelyn to reduce the length of probation. “I would love that.”

Tyler grinned widely, “Great. Oh, and are you free this Friday night? It’s the company’s annual dinner and I’m afraid that it may drag beyond midnight.” He felt awful lying to her. Tyler never stayed more than an hour at such a dinner. He would turn up, as duty required of him, but would disappear at the first moment he could.
 

Spending a night out with her was, however, appealing enough for him to try it.

“Yea, I can go with you. Is it formal?”

“Yes, is that all right?”

Kate asked with a teasing grin, “Are you going to change the dress code for me if I said no?”

“I can, if you want.” Tyler knew she would never ask him to do that, she wouldn’t want to trouble him, though he was completely truthful.
 

Kate chuckled softly, “It’s fine. Evelyn has been pestering me to go shopping with her. So I can get a dress then.”

Evelyn was thrilled when she heard about Kate having to buy a dress for dinner. She had been bugging Kate to go shopping with her for weeks, but she was always saying that she was too tired or that she had to go back to the mansion for dinner. She couldn’t complain though, Kate always asked her along, and she must admit that Marianne’s cooking was definitely worth missing the shopping trips.

They went from shop to shop, but not a single dress caught Kate’s eyes. The ones that Evelyn chose was too revealing for her, and she just couldn’t find one that would make her look presentable enough for the dinner. “Kate, you look great in the dresses. I’m not saying it cos’ I’m getting tired. You know how I always say things as they are. If they suck on you, I will say it. You look great, so why do you seem so nervous about the dinner? It’s just a company dinner.”

Kate brushed down the midnight blue dress and tilted at an angle to see how she looked. “I’m not nervous. It’s a company dinner and I just want to be presentable.”