Chapter 6
12 Years Ago
Sophia MacKinnon stood in front of the mirrors as her mother primped and adjusted her dress and veil. It had taken 6 months of choking down celery and brown rice and putting herself through boot camp 3 days a week, but it all paid off as she zipped into that goddamn funnel of a wedding dress -- the unforgiving material cinched around her lean waist, pinching against her ribs, and pushing up her curvy bosom.
"Oh my God, Sophia," her mother cooed as she looked over her shoulder into the mirror, "You're positively gorgeous."
Sophia tilted her head slightly upward, looking over the tip of her sharp nose. Her skin was porcelain, her lips red and glossy like a ripe cherry, and her hair was fine strands of gold flowing around her like a radiant waterfall.
"Turner Locke is a very lucky man," her mother whispered, her toothy smile far too wide on her face.
"And I'm sure you feel like a very luck mother-in-law to be,"
Sophia thought to herself, sneering inwardly. She knew her mother had long been hoping someone would just take the volatile Sophia off her hands already. That Sophia was going to marry the man most likely to own the biggest house in the region was a bonus that made her crassly giddy with delight.
The most beautiful woman in town could only marry the richest man, of course. Or it was more like the richest man had earned the privilege to marry the most beautiful woman. Sophia had no problem with being a "trophy wife". She didn't want to work and this way she could live comfortably. And Turner was too proud to have her by his side to care much about her notoriously icy nature. More importantly, he never questioned her actions nor was he curious about delving into her past. She looked hot and he got to screw her as often as he liked. That's all he cared about.
Sophia continued to stare into the mirrors, unmoving. Her mother sprayed her perfume on her, the scent of juniper and violet falling along her neck and chest. She blinked, brought out of her trance as the smell reached her nose. With a sigh, she walked away from the mirrors and looked out the window of the dressing room. As she gazed into the parking lot of the chapel, her eyes widened.
"I want a few minutes by myself," she said dismissively as she continued to look out the window.
Her mother left the room without another word, closing the door behind her.
Sophia turned and faced the door. For the first time that day, including during all the preparations for the wedding, she actually felt anxious. After a couple of minutes, the door opened. A slim, handsome man stepped into the room, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, definitely not wedding attire. He was young, college age at most, but his demeanour and expression showed the weight of a man twice his age. That's what Sophia always found so appealing about him: a calculating maturity in such a fresh face. And those cool, unfazed blue eyes always sent a thrilling chill through her body.
"I'm glad you could come, Alan," Sophia said with a sharply angled smile. That was another thing: he always came no matter how often she called him. She called him a lot.
The young man said nothing, closing the door behind him and locking it.
"Hope you didn't have any trouble getting away from...what's your little girlfriend's name again?" Sophia said mockingly. She never bothered to remember her name because she could tell Alan really didn't care much for his silly plaything, either. "But I'm very happy you could be here to give me your best wishes on my wedding day."
Still silent, Alan reached into his pocket and pulled out a condom.
Sophia arched her brow and grinned as she hiked up the hem of her white dress, kicked off her shoes and wriggled her hips to shimmy her panties down her long legs. She only thought momentarily about not messing up her make-up before she leaned back against the window sill, drawing the blinds as Alan approached her.
The organ in the chapel began to play as guests took their seats. They would have to wait a little longer for the bride.
*********
It was almost noon when Alan left Sophia's bedroom.
"You know, I'm really embarrassed to say that you've got me wrapped around your little finger," Sophia said as she followed him down the staircase of her home.
He finished buttoning his shirt as he reached the bottom. Sophia was tying up her robe.
"I think even more so than your sweet teacher friend," she added, "I seriously doubt Ms.Yao could do any of things I've done for you --the things you've
made
me do for you-- and I'm not just referring to the bedroom upstairs."
She snickered to herself. Alan pulled on his jacket and made his way to the door.
Sophia grabbed him by the arm and said, "Alan, you're done with her, right? You've taken what you wanted from her. There's nothing else that she can do for you. She's just a hollow shell, a stand-in. You needed to play out that peculiar little fantasy in your head and you've done so. You couldn't care less about her. You're done with her."
The man turned around and looked at her. The usual veneer on her cool, calculating face was showing signs of strain, her sharp features softening with concern. Alan smiled, leaned towards her, and kissed her. Then he left the house.
Sophia stood by the door watching him walk away. She didn't feel reassured at all.
**********
Teri stirred in her bed, an empty rumble from her stomach finally waking her from a deep slumber. She had slept right through the morning and into the better part of the afternoon. The sun was already slipping below the horizon when she sat up in bed. The days were getting shorter.
She wondered if she should call Alan. She was curious to know if he had done the same thing as she did, slept through the day, allowing his body to recover.
She gently rubbed the side of her neck as he stared out through the bedroom window, a hazy yellow glow filtering back into the room. Her body still ached a little but that wasn't nagging her as much as the thoughts running through her head.
Every moment up until now played out slowly in reverse in her mind . She tried to figure out when Alan had started planning to get her into that shack. When they swam at the pond and she had asked to see it, he was reluctant to show her.
She fell back onto her pillow and rolled to her side. She reached out to her nightstand and picked up the pendant-locket he had given her. It shined from the ebbing sunlight as it dangled from her hand.
"He fixed up that shack," she said softly to herself.
He had guided her, manoeuvred her, there. He never intended to just show her the "Hobo Hut" that the kids were talking about and then leave. His full intentions were realized from the moment of their first kiss to the last moment when he filled her completely, deeply, with his flowing, fluid warmth.
Her body was aquiver at the thought.
Yet, she didn't feel wary of his manipulations. At some point, she had wanted it as well. She may not have been as clearly conscious of her actions in the past --at the school, in her home, at the pond-- but she had been undeniably drawn to him and at some point, wanted him to be with her. She hated the idea of him being with Sophia. So when their passion flared in that little shack, she knew she had played her part in making that moment happen.
Her stomach rumbled again. Though she didn't want to, she finally dragged her body out of the bed and went to the kitchen. She picked out a cup of yogurt from the fridge and sat down at the table as she spooned the creamy sweetness into her dry mouth. Her cell phone beeped softly. A text message come through.
Picking it up from the table, she viewed the short message: "I won't bother you again. Sorry. Greg."
Her mouth froze as she read the message before she slowly swallowed. She had forgotten about Greg...completely.
It took her forever to finish the small cup of yogurt as she tried to recover her drifting thoughts and feelings. Finally done, she stood up and walked slowly back to her bedroom and slipped under the sheets of her bed again.
*********
It was dark by the time Teri woke up again. This time her body was really paying for her lazy day. She felt restless and her joints and muscles were begging for a good stretch.
She got up, dressed up in her jogging gear and went outside. Her body shivered as the cool night air hit her. She zipped up her track jacket. The late warm spell had lulled her into forgetting that colder weather was just around the corner.
As she listened to her MP3 player, she performed a few warm up stretches at the end of her driveway. She squinted as a set of headlights from the street slowly approached her.
A large SUV pulled up close to her driveway as the driver's window slid down. Sophia leaned over the door smiling broadly at her.
