Page 32 of Monster
ANGELA
“So what kindof dress do you want?”
Darcie’s question took me by surprise. We spent the majority of the car ride in silence, with Gypsy and a woman who was introduced to me as Sylvia riding quietly in the back. The only person who was missing was the blonde who belonged to Cyber. Iris. And I had been told that she would meet us later. She had some prenatal check-ups before that she couldn't miss.
“I don't know,” I admitted, not taking my eyes from the window where I was sightlessly looking. That wasn't exactly the truth. I had always had an idea of the kind of dress I would be willing to get married in. But I had never really hoped I would get the chance. My father’s ideas were conservative at best. The total opposite to my own. I had always known he would be bankrolling my wedding and he would have made a lot of decisions for me - including the dress.
But he wouldn't get a chance to dictate what I was going to wear on my big day now, though I doubted very much that I would find my dream dress in a backwater little nothing of a town. Hell, I didn't even know if they had a wedding dress shop.
“Doesn't really matter, I guess,” I added with a shrug.
“Of course it matters,” Gypsy spoke up from behind me, her hands on the back of my seat. “It’s your wedding day. You should have a dress that makes you feel beautiful.”
I sighed. They were treating me as a friend, or at the very least trying really hard to. And I felt bad for not telling them the truth. Everyone was going to so much trouble for me, and for what? My wedding to Monster wasn't going to be more than a marriage on paper. We weren't going to live happily ever after and grow old together. He had promised me a year. That was it. And when that year was done, we would divorce and go our separate ways, each of us richer for our troubles.
“No it doesn’t. It's not like…” I shook myself. “Just trust me when I say it doesn't matter.”
The atmosphere in the car became thick. Darcie pulled over to the curb and shut off the engine before she turned to me. “Because of the deal you have with him?”
I blinked at her in shock. “What do you know about that?”
“Oh Angela, one thing you should know about the Savage sons is that the guys like to gossip. They pretend they don't but nothing stays secret for long. Almost everyone knows why you two are in such a hurry to get hitched. And why Gio is so invested in it. But let me tell you something else…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I don't know Monster as well as Iris does, but I think I know him pretty well. He's not marrying you for money.”
Behind me, Gypsy nodded.
“Monster doesn't need money, he has his own. And even if he didn't he wouldn't marry you just for the cash. He has his own moral code than one and most of the time it's shady at best but he wouldn't marry you for money. He likes you, Angela. I think that scares the holy hell out of him but it doesn't make it any less true. He sees something in you that he’s been missing all these years.” She took a deep breath. “Now I don't know what your feelings are for him, but you need to know his. And he sure as hell won't tell you. So I'll ask again, what kind of dress do you want?”
I stammered. “Well...I guess...I always thought...I have a picture.” It was going to be easier to show them rather than try and explain. I held my breath as they huddled around to see the picture.
“Damn that's beautiful.” Gypsy plucked the phone out of my hand to get a better look. “But I doubt we are going to find anything like that around here.”
* * *
Gypsy had been right.There was nothing even remotely similar to my dream dress in the gown shop one town away. The nearest one. I hadn't really held out much hope that they would be. But I couldn't help but feel deflated by it all.
“That one is nice,” Sylvia said around a mouthful of wine that the shop owner had produced on our arrival. It was cheap stuff. A cheap shop giving out free even cheaper wine to its customers in a vain attempt to seem upmarket.
“You look beautiful, Angela,” Iris added, catching my look. Her hands were smoothing over her protruding stomach. She had been brimming with excitement when she had rushed in half an hour earlier but hadn't said a word about how her check-ups had gone.
This was my day to enjoy and it was clear that she didn't want to take over. I appreciated that.
“She looks good in everything so far.” Darcie laughed. On any other woman I would have taken her tone to be envious. Our body shapes were so different. But Darcie didn't have a jealous bone in her body, she was sweet and secure, and had a man who adored her. If anyone was jealous, it was me.
I wanted what they had. What they all had. Darcie’s words echoed in my head. Could Monster more than like me? Or was that just wishful thinking on my part?
“This one.” I stared blankly at myself in the floor to ceiling mirror. Testing my body to get a view from every angle. It was a nice dress. Not my dream dress but a nice one. “This one will do.”
“It's a shame we don't have time to go into the city and find your dream dress, Angela. But Gio wants you two hitched before…” Sylvia trailed off as Gypsy hissed in her direction
“Before what?” My hands on my hips, I turned to face the four women who had come with me. The four people closest to friends I had in this town. “Will one of you tell me what the hell is going on? Why the sudden rush? Gypsy?” I speared her with my eyes. I knew my face was furious by the way their eyes widened.
“Fine, but don't freak out ok? It’s your dad. He’s trying to pin Bear’s murder...” she lowered her voice to a whisper, her eyes darting around the shop to make sure no one was listening, “on Monster.”
“That's ridiculous,” Monster didn't murder anyone, he’s been with me or in jail. If Bear ended up dead it wasn't….” Realisation hit me. “My dad doesn’t care does he? He’s going to make the charges stick even if Monster is innocent.” Bile rose up in my throat and I clamped my hand over my mouth. “We have to do something. Surely Gio or Fang can do something or I can…”
“Angela, he's already agreed to take the fall for it.”
I blinked at her in shock. “Why would he do that?”
