Soulmate

Chapter 50: Play It Safe

Grace

    "It's fine, don't worry about it. I understand," I interrupted as I placed my fork on my plate. What else was I supposed to do? "Anyways, I think it's time for me to leave. It's obvious you have some things to discuss, and besides, I'm sure my parents want me home soon." Then, I stood up, and forced a smile on my face. "Thank you for dinner. It was nice meeting all of you." No, it wasn't. Quickly, I stood up and headed for the door.

    Alexander was saying something, but I ignored his awestruck family as I walked towards my truck. Why was I acting like such a brat you dare ask? Well, I was terrified. I met my soulmate, and he was so happy, but what did I feel? Emptiness, maybe not emptiness, more like I was full of fear, but I couldn't admit it to myself. This man, my soulmate, he was the person I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Just him, no one else, and that thought terrified me. The thing I wanted most out of my life was my biggest fear. Commitment? Love? What torture!

    So I ran away, as I always did. I couldn't stay in a home where they interrogated me, and told me I wasn't good enough; I had my own parents for that. When I started my truck, I saw Alexander walk out the front door, but I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted to drive off, but after seeing his wide, hurt blue eyes, I couldn't just drive away. I waited until he approached my truck, and he climbed into the passenger seat.

    "Drive."

    "What?" I asked, staring wide eyed at him. He can't just get into my truck, and tell me what to do. Who does he think he is?

    "I said drive!" he harshly exclaimed, and my heart squeezed in my chest at the sound of his voice. He was beyond serious, and a small part of me found this side of him attractive, even though I was still scared. Finally, he wasn't being awkward. Assertiveness looked good on him.

    I put my truck in reverse, and quickly pulled away from their house. My truck was completely silent, the radio was even off, and I didn't have the courage to turn it on. "I was really planning on going home, and I don't really want to introduce you to my parents tonight. I'm not in the mood," I explained, listening to the dryness of my voice. Why couldn't I be nice to him? For some reason, I wanted to push him away because his dad was right, he deserved better. Could I play the system and let him meet his backup soulmate?

    "Good. I don't want to meet your parents anyways," he spat out and I noticed his hands were shaking.

    Did something happen within the two minutes that I left? His dad was freaking mean and crazy, and his mom didn't eat anything. I snorted at his comment. "This day was too dramatic. Like seriously, what is your dad's problem?" I asked, feeling guilt pang in my chest. I knew it was my fault everything was going so horribly with us.

    He finally turned to me. "Are you serious? You keep pushing me away, what's your problem?" he shot back, throwing a dagger in my heart. I knew I had hurt him, and my emotions were running wild at the thought of being trapped for life.

     Maybe I needed to stop looking at him as the man who was stealing my freedom, who was going to tie me down, and maybe I needed to start looking at him as my perfect future. I need to stop doubting, and start trusting the way the rest of society does. I didn't answer him, instead the silence enveloped us as I drove until we left the town. Then, I continued driving until we were on a secluded road, all by ourselves with the darkening sky, and then I parked the car.
"Get out," I demanded, turning towards him.

    His eyes widened, and finally he wasn't looking at me like I was the love of his life; he was looking at me like I was a psycho. That's better. I didn't like that he was looking at a stranger as if she was already his wife. "What? You can't leave me here! I know tonight turned out horribly, but you can't leave me in the middle of nowhere!" he exclaimed, pleading me with his eyes.