An Arranged Marriage to a Jerk

Chapter 24

Chapter 24: One Week to Go

So, Sam was suspended. Apparently this is the third fight she's gotten in this month.

"At least she's out of our hair," Connor says. we're walking out the front doors and into the freshly falling snow to Connor's car. 

"Finally," I manage out. The temperature is dropping quickly. I'm shivering so Connor wraps his coat around me and puts an arm around my shoulders. I smile but don't say anything.

After a minute of silence we reach his car and he opens the door for me. I slide into the cold seat and gently pull the seatbelt over me. He runs to the driver side and slams the door. He starts the car and pulls out into the busy parking lot. We got out early today because of the quickly falling snow. This weekend we got nearly two feet and now we're getting more.

"Maybe we'll get so much snow that we have to cancel the Christmas Eve party," I joke. 

Connor doesn't smile. "You want it to be cancelled?"

I glace over at him. Something is wrong. "Yeah! Haven't you ever been to one of them?" He shakes his head and keeps his eyes on the road. "Well, my mom goes completely ballistic and has way too much wine, then wakes up the next day, cleans up the mess from the party and then crashes for the next two days. I really, really want to avoid that."

"It has nothing to do with the fact that we have to announce our engagement then?"

I hold my breath. He's mad, and I'm not really sure why. But have I ever been sure why he's angry? "You okay?"

He's quiet for a moment. He follows the slow traffic onto the highway to start the half hour drive home. "I'm just confused."

Now I'm confused. "About... what?"

He closes his eyes for a few seconds then opens them, remembering he's driving. "About you!" he practically shouts. I flinch. "You act like everything is fine and dandy and we're the happiest couple in the world-"

"Dandy?"

"-but you'll do anything to avoid admitting that we really are going to get engaged. I'm okay with it and you are upset about it. Why?"

I shut my eyes tightly. "Because I'm selling my life away! I'm getting married at eighteen! Right after graduation! Imagine what people will say! They'll think I'm pregnant, which quite frankly is better than being forced to get married by my parents instead of becoming a lawyer. This is not my life and it's not my choice!"

Connor slams his hands against the steering wheel. "Yes it is! It's a sucky choice, yeah, but it's still a choice. You can choose a career or you can marry me, the guy you're happy with."

"How do you know I'm happy?"

Connor laughs darkly. "Because I've known you for a very long time. Because I can tell when you're unhappy, when you're angry, when you're trying to be strong, and when you're happy. Not once since our relationship started have you been unhappy. This is our first fight and we're fighting about our happiness! We are probably the best-working couple in the school. Can't you just admit that?"

I sigh. "You're right." My voice is quiet. "I was afraid to admit it to myself. I didn't want to be happy."

"Because?" Connor won't take his eyes off the road.

"Because I was angry that my parents planned a life for me, a life that i might actually like. I was afraid to end up like them, robots that could care less about their child and whose lives revolve around their careers."

"What makes you think we'll end up like them?"

"I'm their daughter, and their screwed-up emotions have to be genetic."

Connor rolls his eyes. "Oh, please! I'm good for you, I make you happy. Why should you question it?"

I don't answer because I know he's right. "When did life get so complicated?" I ask at lsat.

"Life's always been complicated. But you just started to notice because you wanted an excuse to get out of the engagement."

I swallow. "Yeah," I say. "And I couldn't find one."

The car is barely crawling on the road now, because of the salt truck ahead of us and the ice on the road. Connor is able to reach into the backseat and pull something into the front. The car stops at a red light and he hands a bouquet of roses.

"It's a present." 

I pull my eyebrows together in confusion. "For... what exactly?"

He smiles and pulls me to him for a kiss. "For Christmas."

"But it's not Christmas?"

"Oh." The car begins rolling again. "Well then it's just something that I did."

I smile and hug the flowers to my chest. "They're beautiful."

"Just like you."

I laugh. "Let's not get carried away, smooth talker. But thank you, I really don't deserve these."

"Yes, you do."

I smile to myself as the traffic begins to move faster. I really, really don't deserve these. And I don't deserve him. Too late, I think. I'm getting engaged in a week. Can't back out now. Actually, I can. Too bad I don't want to...