[1]
It was a morning that had a its-to-perfect-something's-going-to-happen feel to it. I laughed at myself for the stupid thought. Nothing could go wrong today, it was the first day of summer! No school for weeks, long lays, sunbathing, relaxing. It all seemed a dream as i pulled open my curtains to find rain streaming down the window. Ok, so maybe it wasn't a perfect day. I made my bed and shuffled out my now-bright room and down to the dark kitchen. I rubbed my eyes, attempting to regain focus. Dam! I should eat more carrots! I grabbed the counter top and opened all the cupboards, attempting to find my lovely cheerio's. But they were gone! OMG Somebody's kidnapped my cereal. I fumbled along the wall looking for a light switch. "Emilyyy Looking for this?" i heard the cereal kidnappers voice, i turned around to face him as the lights turned on. There stood my 4 year old brother, James, covered head to toe with cheerio's. Ha! "snot funny! I was looking for the prize inside..." He trailed on about a spaceship that was inside the box and that he needed to find it.
I passed breakfast and ran up to my room. Moving around i found clothes and put them on. I wouldn't call myself messy but last week my brother trashed my room playing space wars and I really couldn't be bothered cleaning up the mess. He always messes up my stuff!! My little rant was interrupted by my step-mother floating into the room. The truth was, i loved my step-mother more than anybody. She was more of a mum to me than my real mother. You see, in most cases you get an evil step-mother that will do anything to kill you or to simply get rid of you. But in my case it's the other way around. My father is pure evil, if Satan was alive/real, My dad would have outdone him by far in the evil-ness scale. On the other hand you have my step-mother who has put up with his shit so that me and my brother could have a good life. Elizabeth (step-mother) sat down on my bed. She looked ill, her eyes had bags under them and her face was pale white. I knew this day was to good to be true!
"Liz, what's wrong?" I sat next to her as she turned to me with tears in her eyes.
"Emily, something's happened. He's made the deal. The other family tried to kept him secret but your father found out and now your 17... He's done it Emi." I suddenly froze. We had been talking about this only last night. When my father was 17 my grandfather told him that he would get an arranged marriage. If my father did this and kept the deal going through out the generations then we would become wealthy. Two other family's (the best friends of my grandfather) have already done this. But some have looped the deal and arranged marriages with there sons. But in my case, When a daughter (me) turns 17 then she must get married. And if My father had made a deal...that only meant one thing... my father had found a family...that family had had a son...and i was to marry him.
Shit.
Elizabeth burst into tears. I cradled her in my arms. What was I going to do! I was only 17 for god sake. Im suppose to be learning to drive not getting married. Millions of thoughts ran through my brain as Elizabeth tried to explain the situation.
"t...they didn't want your father to find out the had a son. H...he's there eldest. It's going to be ok Emily. It's going to be ok..." We both looked at each other as the sound of a motorbike echoed through my open window. James ran into my room holding his teddy bear holding a scared expression. "Come on James, lets go get you cleaned up. Then we'll go for ice-cream." My little brothers face suddenly lit up as the word ice-cream was mentioned. The front door opened then slammed shut. I quickly closed my door and locked it shut. "don't come up the stairs, don't come up the stairs" I chanted slowly to myself. My fathers footsteps dragged along the carpet downstairs. The sound of his feet disappeared. I sighed. He was working today. That meant no worrying until dinnertime.
It felt horrible to live like this. Constantly worrying about myself and my family. (Minus my dad) but still having all the pressure of school and work as well, sometimes you just wanted to let go. I grabbed my jacket and slipped out my window onto the small balcony. I left the house by window more often these days, as my dad had become more aggressive. Sneaking out wasn't sneaking out anymore though, since my step-mother let me do it. She encouraged it more than discouraged it. I slid down the side of the house, grabbing at the vines growing wildly up the side of my window. I avoided the study window and dropped to the ground. "shit" I muttered as I caught my finger of a thorn. The blood dripped down my finger onto my palm. I quickly wiped it off as I ran through the garden and down the street into town.
The Town was full of busy pedestrians making the most of the summer deals. It was a Saturday which made everything seem much madder than it actually was. Shop windows were filled with tank tops and short shorts. Followed by over priced sun glasses and fake Gucci bags preparing people for the hot sun overseas. That was one place I would never go this year, or even ever. I had always wanted to go somewhere nice and sunny but these days that was hard to get. When my dad dropped the bombshell on me that I had to get another job or skidaddle, it also meant no family holidays. These days all my father was interested in was getting filthy rich then dying wealthy and leaving nothing to his family. That was my dad alright. Cared for nobody.
I walked through the town. Browsing through the large clothing stores then heading to the smaller ones. The time simply drifted away as I got lost in the summer rush. I looked at my watch. 4.45pm. crap. Dinner was at 5.00. and I was going to be late. I crossed over and headed in the direction of the house. There was no point in getting a bus, the roads were blocked with holiday makers and taxis. I sighed as I got closer to home, or in other words closer to hell. I slid through the window in the nick of time as Elizabeth's voice rang up the stairs, calling me for dinner. I dreaded dinner. It was the one time of day that I was made to spend with my father.
The business channel was on as I walked into the kitchen. James smiled a happy smile at me as I walked into the room. Elizabeth on the other hand looked worried. Her eyes keep flicking between her husband and me. I had the feeling she knew something I didn't. this panicked me. I sat down at the long, square table. The TV suddenly turned off and my father turned to me. His eyes were filled with evil mischief.
"Well isn't this nice. Family time. Wonderful. I have news for you Emily-Lee. Hopefully you will take this terribly. Our Family has made a deal with the Blades that if they had a son you will marry. And guess what. Your they lucky one. They had a child in 1991. the deal states you must be 17 but the blades tried to hide their sons existence so he's 18 but a deals a deal and you will be marrying him. Do I make myself clear?" I nodded as my fathers eyes darkened. I hated it when he called me by my full name. The bad thing was he knew this. I didn't want to fight tonight. I knew that it would end up like every other night. We fight, I get hurt, my brother gets hurt, then Elizabeth gets hurt trying to protect us then my father wins as always. My fathers eyes looked hesitant as though he was waiting for some type of statement from me that would help start a fight. But I kept quite. "ohh and I forgot to mention. You will be leaving tomorrow. So I would pack tonight. Anything you forgot will be burned." I finished my dinner then got up and headed up stairs without a fight.
Asshole.
