Until Death Do Us Part

Fifteen

~Rest In Peace~
Dorothy

"You can't hang your chains on me."

I stared at my parents, my arms crossed and still slightly slick with sweat from training. Tom and I had come back to the house right after my shooting practice because I heard my parents had finally made an appearance.

My parents were as casually poised as ever, leaning back in their chairs with a tilting glass in their hands even though it was barely three o'clock. Tom had asked if I wanted him to stay or not, but I suggested that he left. I knew this conversation was going to get heated, and I knew they wouldn't be completely honest if he was there. They would say what they wanted to be relayed back to his parents. It would've been a game. But now that I was waiting for their excuses, I wished he was at my side. I kept replaying our last conversation.

"You know we can't see each other tomorrow," he had said.

"Oh yes, the whole 'not seeing the bride before the wedding' thing. But we don't have to be that traditional," I had responded, my nose nestling in next to his, my lips ready to meet his.

"But I am that traditional. Our marriage is unconventional as it is. We should at least have that," he had answered with a smile, his lips lightly brushing against mine. I had sighed and pulled away, looking into his eyes with disappointment, but I couldn't help smiling.

"Fine," I had said, leading him towards the door. We lingered there for a second, his hand on the knob.

Suddenly, he had lit up with an overjoyed smile. Tom radiated with happiness. Then, he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine with eagerness. The last words he had said before he disappeared behind my front door were, "I'll see you at the altar, then."

I was back where I least wanted to be. "So we're keeping secrets from each other now?" I asked, still fuming.

"Dear, it's been taken care of and you were none the wiser," my father said, shaking his head in his usual way to make things seem less important.

"But making Tom stay away from me? A week before our wedding? What if I had gone out and been attacked because I had no idea I was being hunted? Admit it. You didn't think it through!" I was pacing now, eyes distant.

"Honey," my mother began.

"Don't," I cut her off, raising a hand. Using names to make me sound like a child was not going to make me any calmer.

"Y/n, keeping distance was Tom's idea. He wanted the Greeks to follow him around, hoping they'd assume you would be with him at all times. And you never left the house without someone who knew the risk."

I stopped in my tracks, locking eyes with my mother. It was Tom's idea? I had to admit that I saw the theory behind his decision to keep distant, but I couldn't see the reason to keep me out of the loop.

"I'm still confused as to why I had no idea my own life was being threatened," I answered with exasperation.

"We didn't want to make you paranoid so close to your wedding day," my father spoke up, taking a swig from his iced glass.

"That's not an excuse. This is no ordinary wedding where the bride is excited and has been dreaming of marrying her fiancé for a year, maybe two. This was forced on Tom and I, so don't you dare make it an excuse." I stared them down, feeling my anger heat my neck up to my forehead, spreading to my ears.