FicWad

“You and Laura are getting married tomorrow?” Donna said looking completely shocked.
“Yeah Ma, tomorrow.” Gerard answered. I noticed the look he sent Mikey.
Donna turned to me, “Do you have family coming?”
I felt a sudden pain of realization, “I don’t have any family. Both my parents are gone and I’m an only child.”
“Oh” Donna said softly, “I’m sorry honey.”
“I’ve been on my own for years.” I told her trying to sound okay about a situation that still hurt like hell.
Gerard laid his hand over mine, which was resting on the table. He gave it a light squeeze.
Mikey had interpreted Gerard’s earlier look. “Yeah, Alicia and I are excited about Vegas. We are standing up with them.”
Alicia was staring at me. I smiled at her. “Alicia always promised she’d be my Maid of Honor.”
“That I did.” She said with a nod. She too understood her role in the deception.
“So is your Dad invited?” Donna asked. I could see the confusion still lingering on her face.
Gerard lit a cigarette before answering, “Laura and I are gonna talk to him today.”
“You might want to give him a call.” Donna said, “Make sure he’ll be around when you go to see him.”
Gerard considered her words, “Yeah, I’ll give him a call now.” He stood up and walked into the living room.
As soon as he was out of ear shot Donna turned to me, “Are you sure you and Gerard aren’t rushing into this?”
There was an awkward silence at the table. Well shit, I wished Gerard was here to help me out. It was Mikey who came to the rescue.
“Ma, they are made for each other, trust me.” He smiled at his wife, “Just like Alicia and I.”
“But they haven’t known each other for very long.” She smiled at me, “Are you sure about this?”
“We can’t live without each other.” I answered honestly.
Donna sighed, “Well if that’s how you both feel.”
Looking down at my plate I realized that the words I’d spoken were from my heart. I didn’t want to live without Gerard. Sad to say I didn’t really know what if anything was in his heart,

After breakfast we took off to visit relatives. Mikey had promised to take care of all the travel plans for us. Once on the road Gerard turned to be “We’ve been making wedding plans.” He mocked using a high-pitched voice.
“Well excuse me I was trying to help you out by changing the subject. And just who the hell is Helen?”
“Old friend of the family.” He answered while pulling into traffic. “And you are right I don’t want to talk to Helen.”
“Why?” I waited for his answer.
He sighed, “What part of I don’t want to talk to or about Helen did you miss?”
“Shit, you’re as prickly as a pear.” I told him with a frown.
Gerard rolled his eyes, “Prickly Pear?”
“You know damn good and well what I mean.” I told him angrily, “And by the way I just said we were making wedding plans. You totally came up with the whole Vegas thing.”
His voice was so small I had to strain to hear what he was saying, “Laura are you sure about this?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
He just wouldn’t let it go. “You want to marry me tomorrow.”
“Is that a proposal?” I teased.
He surprised me by pulling off the highway and onto a small outer road. Switching off the engine he turned to me. “Yeah this is a fucking proposal. But it ain’t a joke. This is your last chance to get away from me. Think about it. Do you really want to marry such a fucked up excuse of a man? You know I can’t love you. You know how twisted I am. But if you choose to say yes I’ll promise to be faithful. I’ll do my best to take care of you.”
I looked into his eyes. The sorrow I saw there broke my heart. “Yes. I’ll marry you tomorrow.”

We spent the day visiting friends and family. Hell, I could really get used to this acting like a normal couple in love. Gerard held my hand and acted loving to me in front of people the whole day. I especially liked meeting his three best friends. They were great guys who I felt really comfortable with. I loved his Dad, Handsome Don. He treated me like someone he had known for years. Shit, he even told me I could call him Dad. Gerard’s grandpa was great too. I loved him. He reminded me so much of my grandfather who I had lost when I was in high school. I felt like I had suddenly inherited a family.
The only downside to the day was I could feel Gerard withdrawing slowly the whole day. Yeah, to everyone else he seemed like he was having a great time. He laughed and smiled but I had been around him long enough to see what was happening. Evidently seeing all his old friends, seeing all the old places that were familiar was getting to him.
On the way back to the motel we hit a fast food drive-thru. Neither of us was very hungry. His relatives had been feeding us all day. We ordered and were eating in our car parked towards the end of the lot. I understood that he didn’t want to see anyone else who knew him. As I finished my hamburger I made the mistake of saying how nice the day had been.
“Yeah, it was fucking wonderful.” He sneered.
I sighed, “It’s hard for you to be back home.” I was trying to make him see that I understood his feelings.
Instead his anger flared, “How ever did you know?” he mocked me. “Well little Laura is a fucking psychic.”
I held my tempter. “Gerard lets just get back to the motel.”
“Tired of being with me?” he taunted.
“No actually I want to have hot, kinky sex. You know, one final night of unmarried sex.”
He looked surprised for just a brief moment then the mask was back in place. He started the car and we headed back to the Bates Motel.