The Marriage Contest

Chapter 11: When a family meets

Song for the chapter: "Why don't you love me," by Hot Chelle Rae ft. Demi Lovato.

A/N: I just want to say with complete sincerity that I am so grateful and touched by all your comments in the previous chapter. It means a lot to me that there were some of you who weren't ashamed to express your relationship fears. I don't know about you but reading the comments made me realise I'm not alone in what I fear. We all have something we're afraid of and it doesn't make us weird if we have them. So thank you for sharing.

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The sky was the same musky blue with the sporadic fluffy white spots she'd known since young. The air smelled the same; thick and filled with hints of exhaust fumes and the alluring combination of scents from the overpopulation of food trucks. The noise was the same, busy chatter overpowered by the honking and revving of daily traffic. Everything was exactly how she had left it before she got married except, Vanessa felt different.

It could have been that she was now legally a Peterson and not a Brady but, Vanessa was sure it was more than just semantics that had her feeling like a stranger in her home city.

"Are you alright?" Jonah asked from beside her. They sat in his SUV, driving towards her apartment where Nick waited for her with AJ. After landing, Vanessa and Jonah had taken a cab to his apartment where they'd collected his car and all his belongings, those that he found valuable and that could fit in the trunk.

He was moving in. Things were going to be different from then on.

Vanessa moved her head away from the window where she'd been watching her beloved New York City pass by her. She looked at Jonah whose face was pointed ahead of him and his attention focused on the traffic. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans with a black polo shirt and, with the streetlights hitting in through the windows, he appeared tranquil. He was relaxed and once again, everything Vanessa wasn't.

"I'm just thinking," she eventually answered Jonah.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

She sighed before resting her head on the headrest behind her. "I was just thinking how nothing here has changed. We were gone for a week and it's as though we weren't even missed, life went on."

Jonah hummed before quickly indicating that he was turning left. "That's how life works. Only those who you know miss you, the rest of the world carries on."

Vanessa snorted, "It's kind of a depressing thought isn't it."

"I suppose so," he paused. "What got you thinking about this anyway?"

Vanessa shrugged, "Everything is the same but I don't feel the same."

"In a good way or a bad way?" He asked hesitantly.

Vanessa thought about it for a moment. In truth she wasn't sure in what way she felt different, she just did. "I'm not sure. I wouldn't say it's a bad way. I just feel like everything is changing now and it's kind of a scary thought."

Jonah turned his head away from the road and looked towards Vanessa with a smile. He took his hand off the gearshift and reached across the seat to grab hold of her hand. He gave her hand a quick squeeze before saying, "I know that it's scary that things are changing but thank you for trusting me enough to let this happen. I won't make you regret giving me a chance."

Vanessa said nothing but smiled and squeezed his hand back.

She really hoped he was right.

#

It was past ten at night when Jonah finally pulled up to the apartment building Vanessa lived in. He observed the tall, concrete standing building and noticed how decent looking it was. In fact, the whole area was decent looking. He should have known Vanessa would live in a good neighbourhood considering who her parents were.