I knocked, and knocked, and knocked.
I stood there for ten minutes, hoping I could wait her out. I couldn’t stand there forever, though. I set the flowers on her porch with the small note I’d written to her, then I headed back to my car.
My phone ringing out from my pocket got my attention, and I had high hopes that it might’ve been Sam.
But instead, it was Lauren.
“Hey, Sis.”
“What did you guys do?”
I furrowed my brow as I slid behind the wheel of my car.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“What did you guys do to Sam?”
“Uh, you're going to have to be more specific,” I said.
“So you guys did do something. Tell me now. What the fuck did you do to my best friend?”
“Calm down and tell me what’s going on.”
“Calm down?” she asked. “I get a phone call from Sam crying on the other end of the line and talking about wanting to back out of my wedding, and the only thing that comes to mind is Vegas. What the hell did you and the rest of the brood do to my fucking maid-of-honor?”
“Wait a second. Back up. Sam’s backed out of the wedding?” I asked.
“Yes. The entire thing. She wants out. She’s gone to be with her fucking parents, Luke. Her parents! She hates her parents. Can’t stand her parents. Left for college and never fucking saw those assholes again. And she’s gone to see them.”
“Shit,” was all I could think to say.
“Shit is right, Luke. I’m going to ask you again. What the fuck happened in Vegas? I’m supposed to get married in three weeks, and my best friend doesn’t even want to attend!”
This was bad. Incredibly bad.
“Lauren, listen to me. I’ll figure out what’s wrong, okay?” I said.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Something happened in Vegas. She didn’t leave because of work, did she?”
I couldn’t tell Lauren what happened. This was her best friend, and it wasn’t my place. Besides, if I did tell Lauren what happened, she would kill me on the spot.
“Do you trust me?” I asked.
“Not right now, I don’t.”
“I’ll get this sorted out, okay? Sam will be there at your wedding.”
I could hear Lauren at the beginning stages of crying, and it broke my heart.
“She’ll be there,” I said again. “But I have to go. You have my word, though, Lauren. Sam will be at the wedding. She’ll be your maid-of-honor, just like I know the both of you want.”
“Okay,” she said with a sniffle. “Fix it.”
“I will,” I said.
I hung up the phone and blasted a text to the guys. They needed to meet me at the main office immediately. I sped across town, weaving in and out of traffic and rushing through yellow lights. This was serious, and the more time Sam spent with her parents, the worse things would get for her.
She was desperate. And when Sam was desperate, she made terrible decisions.