The Roots That Tied to My Feet

“Oh my God!” Charlie squealed loudly, “Melanie you look breathtaking!”

Melanie looked into the mirror in front of her seeing her bridal party behind her all with grins on their lips. The bridal consultant that stood next to her grinned, “Is this the one? Or would you like to keep looking?”

She looked at herself in the mirror, smiling at what she saw. The pure white Pnina Tornai dress hugged her upper half tightly all the way to her hips. From her hips down the dress bellowed out, falling in puffing layers with random cloth roses lying aimlessly among them. It was a floor length dress and under the layers there was simple cloth of lace.

Melanie placed her hair into a bun on the top of her head as the bridal consultant put Elaine Hendricks’s veil over her. She turned to face the girls with her.

Her mother gasped and walked to her daughter, “Melanie, you look…so grown up,” she said between gasps, trying to hold back her tears.

Melanie looked back into her reflection in front of her feeling a wave of butterflies fill her stomach. She hated being cliché, but this was the dress. “This is it,” Melanie said honestly to her bridal consultant Brenda.

Brenda grinned and pulled a pencil out from behind her ear, “I will go get some papers for you to sign right now, Ms. Hendricks.”

Melanie giggled as she looked back to her small group of friends and family receiving compliments of her beauty. Haley came up next to her and grabbed her hand with a small smile on her lips. “I’ll help you change, Mel.”

The two sisters walked back into the dressing room of the bridal shop as Haley carefully untied the back of Melanie’s dress, cautiously making sure no part of the dress got ruined. It was over five thousand dollars.

“You looked so pretty, sis,” Haley said sweetly, trying to cover the tears that were in her voice.

Melanie turned and looked at the small brunette in front of her, trying not to cry as well. She wrapped her arms around Haley tightly. “Thank you for being here, Haley.”

“I wouldn’t have missed this!”

Melanie looked at her sister, “Hales, can I ask you something?”

Haley looked at her worriedly as she put her dress back in its bag. “Yeah, is everything okay?”

Melanie grinned, “Will you be my maid of honor?”

Her sister grinned before jumping, “Yes! Oh my gosh!”

Melanie smiled at the girl before pulling her jeans and sweater back over her body. She slipped on her silver peep toe heels before the two walked out of the dressing room and back to where her mother, June, Chelsea, and Charlie were waiting.

Melanie went with Brenda to sign her papers on dates she would be doing her next fitting and finally picking up the dress on February 7; two days before her wedding.

_____

“You guys sure you’re fine here alone?” Elaine Hendricks questioned, fixing the white hoop earrings hanging from her ear lobes.

Melanie looked at her mom’s beautiful floor length dress. She realized that one day in New York when Ben was a doctor she too would be dressing up to go to galas and weekend vacations. “Yes Mom. And you look beautiful.”

Her mother smiled and gave her a kiss on her cheeks, “Love you. Haley is leaving here soon to head to Cassie’s so, hold down the fort for the night.”

Her dad walked down the stairs in a black tux, “Go, go, go, Elaine! We’re going to be late! Love you kids!” Jim Hendricks yelled as he literally pushed his wife out the door, causing a laugh from Melanie and Ben.

Ben looked at her and smiled, “When is Haley leaving?”

“Probably soon,” she replied in response, a sly smile on her lips.

Ben leaned down and gave her a small kiss on her neck, “Really soon?”

Melanie giggled, “Let’s go make dinner, yeah?”

Ben grunted playfully before following her into the kitchen of the house. Melanie began stirring noodles that she had already started cooking before heating some Ragu spaghetti sauce in a bowl. Dinner was ready in a matter of minutes and Melanie grinned as she realized that Ben had already set the table. She called Haley downstairs and as she walked down she realized that her sister wasn’t alone.

“Garrett? When did you get here?” Melanie questioned surprised.

Garrett exchanged a silent look with Ben, both the guys laughing. “Uh- I stayed over here last night, Mel.”

“You what?!” She exclaimed, causing Haley to roll her eyes.

“Ben snuck him in!” Haley laughed.

“Benjamin! Are you trying to make them have a little Nickelsen? Because I guarantee Haley ends up living with us when my parents disown her,” Melanie scolded.

Garrett laughed. “Melanie, she’s eighteen and I’m a month older than you. Stop acting like our mother.”

“Stop acting like a creeper!”

Ben laughed and grabbed the bowl of sauce she was holding her hands and set it on the table. “Nothing happened; their room is right next to yours.”

“Better not,” she mumbled. “I’ll cut off your balls Garret.”

She watched as Garrett dropped something back into the sauce bowl, “Well, no meat balls for me tonight, ew.”

The couples ate their dinner before Garrett and Haley headed out for the night.

“You better be staying at Cassie’s tonight,” Melanie instructed as the couple walked hand in hand out of the house.

Haley rolled her eyes once more before looking at her sister, “Yeah Mel, because you never slept at a boy’s house while in high school.”

Melanie ignored her sister’s comment before walking back into the house where Ben had cleaned up all the dishes. He was now lying on the couch watching the movie Fight Club. Melanie crashed onto the couch and allowed Ben to pull her into his arms. It was only a matter of moments before she drifted off to sleep—not waking until nearly two in the morning.

She looked up into Ben’s blue eyes and he smiled at her softly. “Who’s the boy whose house you were always sleeping at in high school, hmm?” He teased softly.

Melanie looked away from his eyes, hoping her eyes wouldn’t give away the past she had with the boy. “John,” she chuckled nervously.

He nodded his head, “How is John?”

Melanie shrugged, “I think he may be a little better. I haven’t really talked to him since the other night.”

Ben looked at her curiously, “He doesn’t like me very much does he?”

She bit her lip in uncertainty of what to say, “I don’t think he likes me very much either.”

“Rough goodbye?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Melanie said quietly before nuzzling her head into his neck. “Oh, did I tell you? I officially got my dress—all the papers went through.”

Ben grinned and kissed the top of her head, “We’re finally getting married.”

“It’s about time,” Melanie giggled.

“You shush,” he laughed. “I just wanted to pay off your ring first.”

Melanie looked down at the beautiful engagement band that adorned her ring finger. She turned her blue orbs to his as she pressed her lips against his own.

She felt him sigh into her as he pressed back eagerly. “We have the house to ourselves for the first time in two weeks,” he said against her and she could feel his smile against her own.

“What ever shall we do?” Melanie giggled as she ran her hands down his toned arms.

He laughed, “I have an idea.”

Ben lifted Melanie off the couch, gathering her in his arms. She giggled as he carried her up the stairs of her house and into her dark bedroom. A small amount of light could be seen through her balcony door from the moonlight outside.

He laid her body down on her mattress softly as he pushed his body against hers tightly. He bit her bottom lip softly and tried to suppress a moan.

Melanie loved kissing Ben. Just because they didn’t have sex didn’t mean they weren’t in love or that they didn’t lust after each other—they simply did everything but, and at this point in her life she felt mature enough for that.

She smiled as she pulled Ben’s shirt over his shoulders exposing his toned chest. He began kissing her neck and collarbone as his hands slipped under the hem of her shirt leaving her in a gold satin bra. Ben chuckled as he looked down at her undergarment before unclipping the back of it.

“What?” Melanie giggled, catching her breath as she pulled her lips from his neck where a red mark was beginning to form.

“If anyone ever saw your lingerie they would never think you were a virgin,” he laughed, before dipping his head and kissing her chest.

She saw him smile as he realized that he was making her feel good and she pulled his lips back to hers, giving him a rough kiss on his lips. She rolled to where her body was on top of his and their chests were pressed together with his arm wrapped around her back tightly keeping her close.

Melanie let her hand slip to the top of his jeans before unbuttoning them carefully. Ben smiled against her lips.

Melanie pulled her hand and lips away from him as she heard a loud vibrating from next to her bed on the wooden night stand. She looked at her lighted up phone and Ben sighed, trying to recover from his frustration.

“Are you joking?” He laughed quietly, calming his breathing.

Melanie looked at the caller I.D from the phone call she had just missed: John O’Callaghan. She laid the phone back down on the counter top before pressing her lips back to Ben’s. “I’ll call them back later,” she mumbled, placing her hand back on Ben’s abs.

It only took a minutes longer for her phone to start ringing again, ruining the moment another time. She sighed as she grabbed her phone and pressed the green talk button.

“Hey, is everything okay?” Melanie mumbled irritably into the phone.

“Melanie, I need your help,” was all she heard before she was putting on one of Ben’s sweatshirts and shoes, grabbing her keys quickly with Ben following behind her confused.

“Mel, what’s wrong?” Ben asked worriedly, slipping his shirt on over his head as he followed her out of the house doors.

“John is in trouble,” she said softly as she started the car and began driving towards the directions John had given her quickly.

They rode in silence as Ben picked up on her worried tone and they drove ten miles before they were sitting the parking lot of The Half Shell Pub.

Melanie got out of her car quickly as she looked at John. He sat on the asphalt with three tall men behind him. He had a big black bruise around his eye and a cut on his lip. The guys behind him looked at her small frame and smiled, making quiet cat calls.

She pulled five twenties out of her back pocket. “I have the money, give me the boy.”

The tallest of them all looked at her maliciously, “Can we just have her?”

Just as he said this Melanie heard the car door behind her open as Ben stepped out of the car defensively. He grabbed the money from her hand before approaching the guys. She watched as he threw the money on the ground in front of them and grabbed John’s shoulder, lifting him from the ground.

John stumbled towards the car and Melanie could tell that he had definitely been drinking. Ben told her to get back in the car and her and John did as he said before he started the car and sped away from the bar.