Dear Mr. Pessimist,

I can't believe it's already the end of summer. I saw you smiling after me in the rear view of my car yesterday, care to explain? I guess I'll be seeing you almost everyday, so this is probably one of the last notes.

Love,

Syd

p.s don't forget to smile, it makes your whole face light up

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"I don't like it. Mom, I look like a doll."

I tugged at the bottom of my bridesmaid dress, glaring at my reflection in the mirror.

My mom had gone a little overboard with my makeup and hair, making me look as if I was a doll that a little girl had gotten a hold of and given a makeover too.

"You look beautiful, sweetie. I just want the wedding to be perfect, with my baby girl and Mike's kids." I smiled at her response, running a hand through my hair.

"Did you invite Jess?" I questioned, not sure what I wanted the answer to be.

I had been texting her, sure. I had even listened to her cry over everything a few times, but I hadn't really seen her since the day we found out. Bennett thought it was because she was ashamed of herself, but that could have been because Tristan was acting that way and that's all Bennett had to go from.

"Yes, of course. She's one of my bridesmaids, Syd. Is something going on with you girls?" She looked concerned, her lips parting. I shook my head, knowing better then to tell my mom that my best friend was pregnant.

"No, Mom. Everything's fine. Now stop worrying about me and get ready!"

*

It had been two weeks since Bennett had brought me to his soon-to-be bakery. Since then, he had gotten a few people to work for him, doing as much restoration they could before the end of the summer. When I had asked him how much he was paying them, he'd just said that it didn't matter.

Now, as I walked into the church, nearly tripping over the carpet, I could see him sitting in the second pew on the right beside Jessica. She had her eyes set on something that no one else could see, and I could see her hand shaking from where she was trying to keep a forced smile on her face.

"Be careful." Bennett said when he saw me almost trip, "You don't want to trip over air." I slapped his arm playfully when I had reached him, resting one hand on his shoulder and leaning down to fix my heel.

"You smell like roses." He whispered in my ear, pushing a lock of my curled hair behind my ear, "And I sound like I'm incredibly whipped." He added with a laugh.

"I'd say so." Tristan piped up, throwing himself into the pew behind Bennett. I saw both Jess and Bennett himself tense, their eyes slowly drifting toward Tristan.

"You invited him?" Bennett asked before Jess could.

"What happened between them doesn't have anything to do with me." I replied, "Sure I won't trust either of them with a whole lot, not until they're able to earn it back, but I'm not going to just throw them out of my life because of a mistake they made." Bennett shook his head, rubbing his temple as if he was starting to get a headache.

"You're way too good of a person, Syd." He muttered. I stared at him, then at my best friend and Tristan.

"That's because I've been hurt too many times and I'm not going to let people feel as crappy as I did."

*

Once the ceremony had ended, I was left lingering in front of the punch bowl at the wedding reception. My eyes would scan the crowd for Bennett, or Jess and Tristan, but all three of them had seem to disappear. My mom didn't want anyone using their phone unless it was an emergency, so she had made sure I turned it off. Not to mention that I had left it in the car anyway.

"Sydney Hale, correct?" I frowned at the phrasing of the sentence, realizing just how bored I was to pay attention to it. When I looked up, I found a young cop standing a few feet in front of me.

"Yeah. . ." I trailed off. He looked down at the notepad in his hand.

"I was told to contact you as quickly as possible. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I wasn't aware that you weren't directly related to our suspect." I felt my hand twitch at my side, not even having to question the officer to know who he was talking about.

Zey.

"What did he do?" I breathed out, my voice barely above a whisper.

"He was involved in a hit and run. The child's parents were able to get his plates and-" Everything else that the officer said floating in the air around me, but I couldn't hear it. My mind had already started wrapping itself around what he was saying.

Zey had gotten out of going to jail when he hit Bennett last year, but now. . .now he'd crossed a whole other line. He hadn't only hit someone, but he had hit a child, an innocent baby, and drove off.

"How old-"

"Eight." The cop dropped his head, "He was rushed to the hospital, but they weren't able to save him." I stepped back, my hand wrapping around my stomach as it started to churn.

"In what way are you related to the suspect?" He asked, his eyes searching mine. I couldn't speak, my eyes had already started to sting with tears.

"I. . . I'm not." I croaked, "He was my ex boyfriend, but I. . . I-" I brought my hand over my mouth and shook my head. I felt the cop's hand on my shoulder, his eyes cold.

"Are you aware of any relatives?" I shook my head.

"His parents died in a plane crash when he was a kid and his other family. . . they don't know about him. I. . . can I please leave?" The officer stepped back, shoving the pad back into his pocket.

"Of course, Miss Hale. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." He turned around and walked out of the building. I grabbed on to the side of the table behind me and started to fall to the ground, burying my face in my hands as I heard my mother's voice calling me.

I ended up at Bennett's house by the end of the night, meeting him on the porch.

He had sent me a text after my talk with the cop, saying he had to go pick up Erin and watch her for the next two days while her grandparents went to another state. He immediately set Erin down on the ground in front of him, his eyes narrowed.

"Syd? Are you okay? What's wrong?" I walked up the driveway a little to meet him on the porch, wiping at my cheeks.

"Nothing. I. . . why'd you want me to come over?" I asked. He held both of Erin's small hands in his own and stared blankly at me.

"I just wanted you to come over and hang out with us. Sydney, why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" I pushed my hair out of my eyes, knowing very well that my mascara was probably smeared all over my cheeks.

"Zey." I whimpered.

"What? What did he do?" Bennett scooped Erin up into his arms and touched my shoulder, his eyes so dark that they didn't even look blue.

"He killed a child, Bennett. He hit a child and left him to die." I cried, grabbing on to his shirt. He shifted Erin on to his hip and pulled me into a hug, his arm tight around my waist.

"Hey, it's okay. Syd, it's not your fault or-"

"He killed him. I. . . Bennett I was with him, he could of hurt me, he-"

"But he didn't, Sydney. And he's going to be thrown in prison for life now." I felt one of Erin's hands on my shoulder after a second of silence, the sound of her whimpering despite the pacifier in her mouth echoing through the quiet night.

"Let's get inside, it's getting cold out here." He moved Erin again, giving me a gentle shove toward the open front door. I waited until I was iniside, in Bennett's room after he'd put Erin down in the playpen, to finally completely lose it. I buried myself against his chest and cried, cried for the poor boy and his family. Cried for Bennett and Hannah and their unborn child. I cried for everyone that Zey had hurt.

I cried for myself.

***AN***

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~ChasingMadness24