Page 76 of Going Home

"I feel so bad for her."

"Lane or Lex?"

Chuckling, Summer shakes her head. "Take your pick, I guess. I saw Zane earlier, and he looks the opposite of a happy groom."

As angry as Felicity is with Lex, she knows the blonde will take the abuse from her brother whether it's warranted or not. She always has. He's the one person besides Colt who can bring her to the brink of devastation before she pushes back, and this shitty situation sounds like it's made their relationship—or lack thereof—even worse. She almost feels bad for Lex. Almost.

"He was never really the marrying type. I'd like to say it was because of what he watched his father go through, but I don't think that's quite it."

"Lex is going through it. She's even thinner than she was when things with Colt happened. She's drowning, and it shocked every one of us when she admitted she needs help in front of all three charters. She hit her breaking point, and you could tell she hated admitting it."

Head snapping to face Summer, Felicity gapes. "No, she didn't."

"She did. Compared admitting it to swallowing battery acid. Brock told me that she broke down after a particularly terrible verbal beating from Zane the night before. She went to Jennings's house because he and VP were the only ones who knew what was going on, and she lost it when he wasn't home. The way she broke down scared Tess."

"She broke down?"

The two may not be friends any longer, but she knows how much it takes for Lex to break down. It takes even more for her to admit defeat and say she can't handle something on her own.

"Tess called Colt because it was so bad. She told them she couldn't do it anymore, and she told both of them what's been going on. I still can't figure out why Lane would ask Lex to keep it from Colt, though. That just sounds cruel. She made her do this completely on her own."

Her heart beats so fast it feels more like a vibration in her chest rather than thumping. "It has to be really bad," Felicity says, her voice barely above a whisper. "Lex can handle anything."

"Lane really screwed her over. There's no doubt that Zane's going to hate his sister forever now. Not that it wasn't already his plan. Someone overheard him screaming that she was playing God. No one really understood what that meant until Lex said it's her job to let Lane die the way she wants to. Lane made it so Zane will always see his sister as the person who killed his wife."

Sitting back, she lets the information wash over her. Ky told her that Lex was having a difficult time with things, and he may have mentioned something about her breaking, but he never said she admitted she needs help. That she'd actually said those words. Regardless of where they are in their friendship, Felicity knows how bad the situation has to be for this to happen. Lex would normally rather die than admit it if she had a choice.

She scans the room and sees Gavin sitting with Ky and Hailey. Another teenage boy she doesn't recognize sits with them beside Noah. Calla sits on Hailey's lap, and Colt sits two rows in front of them. Ky and Colt's families appear to be combining rather well, and here Felicity sits without her plus one because Gracie woke up not feeling well.

Two seats sit empty between Colt and Emma, and she knows one is for VP. But where's Lex? If she's part of the wedding party, she wouldn't have a seat, so where is she? Helping Lane get ready?

Jennings sits right behind them with his arm around Tess, and TK sits beside him with his arm around Karmen. Klaire snuggles up with a teenage boy Felicity has never seen before, and it hits her that Klaire brought a date. It shouldn't seem strange that an almost eighteen-year-old would bring a date to a wedding, especially with her own sixteen-year-old at home pregnant, but it does. The kids of the club shouldn't be old enough for this yet.

The rest of the chairs fill up quickly, and the late-comers have to stand as they wait for the wedding to start. Seeing how many people have shown up, it dashes all hope Felicity had that Lane's condition isn't as dire as it sounds. This type of attendance isn't required for anything outside of club business.

Two professional photographers move around the crowd to take pictures, and this is definitely not the typical biker wedding. Most couples are lucky to have a few candid shots outside of the obligatory staged ones taken by someone's mother like it's prom. Except for Summer's wedding. Her wedding was small but professional with all the bells and whistles.

The music starts, and Margaret walks down the aisle wearing a cute pink dress that flairs out at the hips and stops at her knees. It's short-sleeved, and she looks adorable with her dark hair in ringlet curls. She smiles at Zane, who Felicity hadn't noticed standing at the altar, and his scowl momentarily changes to a smile for his daughter. The smile disappears the moment he spots Lex walking out after Margaret.

Lex wears a pink satin strapless dress, and Felicity blinks. Lex has never worn pink. Ever. She hates it. Not even Calla wears pink unless someone else buys it for her.

"This is serious," Felicity whispers to Summer.

Brock leans over Summer, and Felicity wonders how she missed him taking his seat. "Lex would kill to get out of wearing anything pink. She destroyed all childhood pictures of her in pink shit when she was around twelve," he says.

The hatred in Zane's eyes makes Felicity pity Lex. She can't help it. No amount of anger makes this acceptable. When Lex sits down next to Colt rather than stand at the altar with Margaret, Felicity looks at Brock.

"Zane said she could wear the dress because Lane wanted her to, but she can't stand up with them," he whispers. "It’s the one thing Lane couldn't get him to budge on."

"Poor, Lex," Summer says. "God, she's so thin. I can see her collarbone. If the dress were tighter, I bet we would see her rib bones, too."

The wedding march starts, and everyone stands and turns. VP walks Lane down the aisle, and Felicity can't stop herself from grabbing Summer's arm as they see Lane for the first time. She looks so frail, it wouldn't surprise her if Lane fell right over in the lightest of breezes. Her hair is still long and beautiful, but it's thinner and shorter than she normally wears it, cut just above her shoulder blades rather than her waist.

"She went through a few treatments, but I don't know what they were," Summer whispers to answer the unasked question.

The lace dress hugs her beautifully, but she looks like death walking. Every bone sticks out from her shoulders to her knuckles. She always had a lean figure, but Felicity wouldn't be surprised if double zero size jeans hung loosely on her hips.

VP pauses halfway down the aisle, and it's hard not to burst into tears as she realizes it's because Lane's grown tired. The walk to the altar is nearly triple the length it usually is because of all the extra chairs, but she smiles and nods as they continue down to Zane. Lex moves to fix her train, earning her a glare from Zane, before she sits down again next to Colt.

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