He was also wearing a black tux that Sienna had gotten tailored just for him. He looked like someone out of a James Bond movie.
"Yeah, sure, of course." I wanted to slap myself for stuttering as I kicked my own heels off and walked across the room to fix the loose tie around his neck.
"You look great." He whispered, so quiet that I was sure Tessie couldn't hear from where she sat on the bed, kicking her feet back and forth.
"Thanks." I smiled, "You do too." I bowed my head once I had finished helping him, backing away slowly.
I hated the dress I was wearing, it made me feel way to confined. I felt trapped inside of it, and it wasn't just because it was way too tight.
"Mommy, I want to eat." Tessie said, watching as I handed her one shoe, then slid the other on and strapped it so she knew how it worked. I waited until she had done it to pick her up and carry her toward the doorway.
"I'm warning you now," I said to Ty as we walked down the hall and toward the stairs, "My parents aren't exactly. . . accepting of a lot, so be careful what you say."
*
There was a bigger turn out at my parents dinner then I expected, people I hadn't seen in years showed up at the front door, all with gifts. Ty ended up standing by the door, taking them and greeting everyone with a smile.
"Alyssa, sweetheart. Aren't you going to introduce everyone to your friend." My mom said it with a sarcastic tone in her voice as Ty shut the front door.
"I. . . I. . ." Tessie slapped her hands on the table, waving at my Mom.
"I'm Tessie. That's my Daddy." If I had been anywhere else, I would have laughed at her cute response, but the way both of my parents looked over at me made me want to fall into a black hole and disappear.
"I'm Tyler Wells." Ty appeared beside me, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both." I glanced sideways at him, trying to hide my shock as my flustered mom cleared her throat and shook Ty's outstretched hand.
"Oh, hello. Alyssa didn't mention anything about you." I laid my head against Ty's shoulder, my face buried against the black fabric of his tux as my cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"We didn't think it was an appropriate time, Ma'am. After the loss of your late daughter, I would have thought any news, especially of this sort, would be wrong to say." I wrapped my hands around Ty's bicep, my eyebrows raised in confusion at his words.
Who knew he was such a good liar.
"Well, that makes sense. Please find a seat, and Alyssa, please remove the child from the room." My head snapped up, my lips pulling into a thin line.
"No. You used to let Steph sit here, so why not Tessie?" My mom gestured toward some woman in a cocktail dress hovering over Tessie's seat.
"There isn't enough seats." Mom said, a warning tone in her voice.
"If you want me to stay, you're going to let her stay too." I saw a few of my mom's friends gasp at my answer, which only added to my mom's anger.
"Then set her on your lap. But you will clean up any messes she makes, you will take her out of the room if she starts crying. Are we clear?" I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from saying what I really wanted to say to her.
"Yes." I whirled around, tugging Ty behind me. I picked Tessie up once I reached my seat, setting her on my lap once I had sat down.
"How did you two meet?" One of my mom's friends asked, sparking the curiosity in the rest of the group. I guess that's what I get for all these women and men knowing me since I was Tessie's age. They would want to know about my life, right? To see if it was as perfect as the one they believed my parents had created.
"Through Stephanie, actually. She would see me on the streets every now and then, she always had Sienna tell me things. She was a sweet little girl." My mom's eyes widened a fraction, "She loved my daughter, she thought she was the sweetest thing ever." I looked over at Ty, wanting to see if he was lying or not.
"One day she asked me how old I was and if I had a girlfriend or wife. Of course I was shocked, considering this letter that had been sent was from a ten year old. I said no, and the next day she sent me a picture of Alyssa, asking if I thought she was beautiful. I never answered it, because I honestly didn't even know how to. I didn't understand why a ten year old was asking me this." A few people at the table nodded.
"But one day we ran into each other at a Starbucks and I recognized her from the picture Steph had sent. We talked for a while and that was that." I smiled at the lie, at the simplicity of it.
It wasn't even close to being the truth, but I liked that it was close enough.
"That's so cute." One of the woman said with a grin, "How long have you been together since then?" She questioned.
"Almost a year." Ty said, glancing over at me with a smile that didn't even come close to reaching his eyes.
"Any engagement or wedding details planned yet?" Another woman asked. I saw my dad nearly choke on his wine, shaking his head.
"Oh, no. This is only temporary, Keri. She'll be getting engaged to Micah soon enough, you know, to merge the two companies." My head snapped up at my dad's answer, my eyes wide.
"What? Dad, you can't just force me to-"
"I'm not forcing you, sweetheart. I'm just helping you make the right choice. The Matheson family is one of the richest in the country, under us, of course. Imagine the money we'd make, how famous you'd be, sweetie." I grimaced, dropping my fork back on to my plate as Tessie turned to look at me.
"I'm not doing it, Dad. I don't like him, he's a controlling idiot." I made sure to keep my language appropriate since Tessie was on my lap, "You can't force me to do anything, not anymore. I'm almost twenty one and this isn't the middle ages." His cheeks reddened, as if I had just embarrassed him.
"You don't have to yet, it'll be in a few months, I-"
"I'm not marrying him or anyone that you choose for me. I'm a grown woman and I-"
"Your brother married the woman I chose for him." My mom snapped, clearly irritated, "Why can't you be more like him?" I could feel everyone's eyes burning into me, could feel my mind racing with millions of thoughts as my face grew warmer and warmer.
"I can't marry him because. . . because I'm pregnant." I blurted, regretting it the second Ty's head whipped in my direction, his eyes wide. It was when I turned to see the excited and beyond shocked faces sitting around the table that I felt my stomach start churning at my lie.
What the hell had I just done?
***AN**
Hope you guys enjoyed!
Let me know what you thought about the cliffhanger. Did she do the right thing or will it only make things worse?
~ChasingMadness24
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The Wish List
Teen Fiction"Her dying wish was for me to complete her list, and I wasn't going to stop until it was completed." When Alyssa Morrison loses her little sister to cancer, the last think she wants to think about is completing the ridiculous list she left beh...
