Left at the Alter

He was standing closer to P2 than P1, but it was apparent he was waiting for someone. Already out in the open, he was unavoidable. My heart broke when I thought of how much it would hurt him to know the details surrounding my actions for the day. 

“I was just…” I pointed at the door behind me and then to the one behind him. I didn’t know what to say. He bit his top lip and nodded before looking away from me and walking toward the elevator. I took off behind him but still didn’t have any words. 

“I was on my way to the penthouse… I… I changed first.”

He didn’t say anything. When the elevator doors opened Jeremy was walking past. He must have just gotten off of the elevator next to ours. Right after watching him walk by Eli shot me a glare. I felt his pain and anger in all my limbs. He clenched his teeth and backed back into the elevator like something had knocked the wind out of him. The doors closed with us still inside and when I went to grab his arm, he punched a wall. It caught me so off guard that I jumped and let out a scream like a mouse had just run past me, but I was the rat. The elevator started to go back up and I was a little afraid. He punched the wall again and again each time causing it to shake like thunder. The doors opened on the fifth level and three teenage girls jumped on laughing and having a good time until our vibe brought them down some. He rode with his back to the rest of us until we reached the first floor. While the doors opened, he turned to look at me and I braced myself for his words. 

“I forgive you.” He walked towards me and I backed up, instincts. He placed one hand on each of my arms and kissed my forehead, his tear streaked my face and it was all I could do to not cry. 

 We had to hit the button to open the doors again. He first hurried out of the elevator and then he slowed so that we could walk together. I lowered my gaze to the ground as I realized Jeremy hadn’t gotten too far ahead of us. He must have lingered or got caught up talking to someone.  I watched him walk into the room, throw his hand up at someone and pause at his table. He must have decided he didn’t want to sit there because he walked over to the three rows of stairs that lead to the altar and took a seat, engaging in conversation with Stanley, Eli’s cousin and our hired security for the night. Within moments Anna walked over to him noticeably tipsy and I watched as they flirted back and forth. I couldn’t hear the two of them, but it didn’t seem like Jeremy was putting much effort into it. He was still on the steps and Anna was standing in front of him. When I tore my eyes away from them, I found Eli had been staring at me. 

“Baby, can we go somewhere and talk?” I knew this was going to be a problem for the rest of the night. 

 “You good?”

 “Baby?”

 “I asked you was you good. I asked multiple times. You had multiple chances to tell me…”

 “There was nothing to tell. Can we please go somewhere and talk?”

 He didn’t budge. Just closed his eyes and stood in one place.

“Baby, I love…” my brain was on damage control. I couldn’t lose my husband over something so little. 

“Did you sleep with Jeremy?”

My eyes got big as I looked around to see who could hear us. There were just a couple of people by us, but I could tell that at least one of those people was hearing the uncomfortable dialogue taking place behind them. 

“Please let’s go…”

He shook his head slowly, like he was exhausted. 

“Cass…” he placed his hands on my shoulders as his voice broke. 

I dropped my head for what seemed to be the thousandth time this evening alone. 

“I’m so, so sorry Eli.”

He closed his eyes and I could see rapid breathing. I didn’t know what to expect. After what seemed like an eternity, he grabbed my hand softly and kissed the back. He nodded and he walked to the dance floor. 

Stanley, who had looked as if he had been drinking, took a seat next to Jeremy as they continued to talk back and forth. Before long, a few others had made their way over to the guys and they were all engrossed in conversation. Anna came over to me and through her arm over my shoulder. 

“Isn’t this just the best damn wedding you have ever been too?” She laughed. I tried to act like I was ok. Like I hadn’t sampled her man less than an hour ago. I nodded.

“Are you guys ok?” She followed my gaze towards Eli and we both noticed Jeremy’s eyes on me. When she looked at him, he barely tried to cover it up choosing to instead take another sip of his drink. 

“You and Jeremy get into it? Girl you know he be just playing right?” 

I turned to look at her as I thought of all the things that had taken place today. At this point it was more of a shit show than a wedding. I figured it was time to come clean. I would want to know.