The Callahan Dynasty

Rise and Shine

Jason

"Father. How are you this morning?" I spoke into my phone.

"Cut the crap, Jason." I heard him speak. "It's all over the news. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"According to mum, I have IED." I told him dryly.

"Jason." He spoke in a stern tone. "I will not have anyone associated with me - much less one of my sons - embarassing me in any way. What in the world brought this on?"

I looked on to the front seat and was suddenly grateful that I had asked Joey to drive me instead of Greg. Joey had been with my family longer and actually knew my history.

"Answer me, boy." He ordered.

"Bella." I spoke gruffly. "It's Bella. She broke things off... officially."

I could practically feel him rolling his eyes over the phone. "Well what the hell did you expect with the way you were acting while she was gone. You didn't even bother looking for her. You just sat around on your butt feeling sorry for yourself while entertaining a bunch of random girls. And when she did come back, you spent all your time entertaining that nobody girl to make her jealous. You must be stupid if you're surprised that she didn't want you back."

I gritted my teeth, fighting the urge to snap back. Instead I responded the customary way. The way he had trained us.

"Yes sir." I let out.

"Oh for goodness sake, be a man and tell me something other than that pathetic response."

I clenched the fist that wasn't holding the phone. The one that was still bandaged.

"I have nothing to say, sir." I spoke again. Just like I was trained. Like a little brainwashed soldier.

"I really don't know when you'll learn to stop royally messing up. Isabella is the best thing that happened to you and you managed to screw that up too. Even if your Uncle Ben is practically like a brother to me, it took a lot to get him to agree to that engagement. You're just lucky it's already set in stone."

"What?" I asked.

"Isabella has no choice. She already made a commitment to you and our family. Eventually, she will have to go through with it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Are you telling me that you're going to make her marry me?"

"You know that arranged marriages in our family are not something we take lightly. Isabella was promised to you when she was twelve, since then we've incorporated her into our family and trained her to be a Callahan wife. She doesn't have to marry you now but she will have to eventually. We'll give her whatever time she needs to get over this little tantrum then we can proceed."

"But she doesn't want to." I told him.

"Son, arranged marriages don't usually concern the intended. That's the point."

"But she won't agree to this. You can't make her." Of course I still loved Isabella and it has been my dream to marry her since we were told about the engagement. But I didn't want to force her into something she wouldn't be happy with.

"I can't make her but her father can. What's wrong with you? Are you forgetting what you've been taught your whole life? Marriages are about partnerships and creating stronger ties."

I fought the urge to roll my eyes as I remembered Kate's words on what love is supposed to be. Her voice in my head was the last thing I needed especially when I was talking to my father.

"And what ties are we making stronger, father?" I knew I shouldn't have been speaking out of line like this but it needed to be said. "After what I did to their family, maybe it's not such  bad thing that we break up this whole damned thing."