Selected

Eighteenth

The next day, I tried my best to cheer Hal up by letting her plan more of the wedding. I let her have her way on majority of the decisions, even if I hated the flowers she picked. She needed something to distract herself and I was willing to sacrifice some things to make her a little happier.

The day however did not fly by like Vox had told me it would. It dragged on and on for what seemed like forever. There had been still a million things to in the days approaching. The stress was starting to pile up. I was panicking about the impending date coming up so soon as well as trying to get all of this stuff done. The whole debacle with Koontz only added to my stress levels.

I worried about where he was, what he was doing, how they were treating him, if his case was moving along. Most of all I worried about if he was still alive. I hadn't heard any news about him all day. I didn't know if his trial was going to be publicized, or if he would even get a trial. He could already be dead.

Whenever these thoughts crept up, I tried to stamp them out with whatever wedding assignment I had in front of me . But most of the time it didn't work. I had a feeling it wasn't working for Hal either. She went through the motions, not really there. She wasn't as enthused as she normally was. She would zone out until I prompted her a question about her opinion.

After dinner I made an excuse to hide in my room for the rest of the night. Hal seemed like she wanted to be alone as well. I decided to read the book I had gotten from the library. Dr. Jekyll has just shut himself away without an explanation. I delved into the story and my surroundings and thoughts faded away.

I only emerged from my book when someone took it from my hands. "Hey!"

Vox gave me a kiss. "Hi."

"I was reading that." Another kiss.

"And now you're not." Another kiss.

"But, I wanted to keep reading." I reached behind him to grab my books still in his hand. Sadly, he closed the book and tossed it so it landed on my desk. "Be careful, that's the library's."

"Its fine." He gave me another kiss, this one long and deep.

I broke away from him, "Can I keep reading?"

Vox sighed, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "Nothing, I just got to a good part."

He frowned, "It's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There are no good parts."

"Well, I like it."

Vox got up from the bed, "I'm going to take a shower, do you want to join?"

I shook my head, "No thanks. I just want to read."

He threw his hands up, "What's your problem?"

I stood up, "My problem?"

"Yeah, you're problem. I just want to spend time with you, but all you want to do is read."

"Yeah, I like to read. It helps me get away."

He rolled his eyes, "Get away from what? It's not like you're living in that rat hole of a sector anymore."

Now I was pissed. "Are you kidding me? " I grabbed the closest object and threw it at him. He dodged the clock easily. Aim is not my forte. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong."

"Yeah it did." I crossed my arms.

He took a step closer, "I just meant to say, what do you have to be upset about? I've given you everything you could need. If you want something just tell me."