I scream.
My chest heaves and I stare straight up at the ceiling, returning to reality more and more. Suddenly, thunder booms and I scream again.
Wimpyness level: 100
"Belle," Alec says from the other side of the bed. He sits up and scoots closer to me. "What is it?"
I cover my face in embarrassment. I nearly forgot I was sleeping next to him. We fell asleep on opposite sides of the bed, not touching because he wanted to give me space. I was okay with it at first, but as I tried to go to sleep, I realized I longed for him to be closer. I don't know why, either.
"I'm sorry," I say through my hands, causing a muffled sound. "I had a bad dream, and then the thunder spooked me."
My eyes start to well up as I remember the nightmare. I sniffle but quickly regret it because now he'll know something is definitely wrong. I turn my face away and rub my eyes.
"Hey," he says quietly. Crap, he knows... "Come here."
Wimpiness level: 1,000
He pulls me up into his arms. He hugs me tightly, running his fingers through my tangled hair. I start to cry lightly into his chest when I wrap my arms around his waist. "I'm so sorry...," I say over and over again. "I'm so sorry..."
"Don't be," he says. "This stuff happens. Do you want to talk about it?"
I shrug. "I don't know. I... I guess. All that I remember happening was someone broke into our house and—" I didn't want to continue. The gory details of the dream were too horrifying.
"What is it?" he prompts gently.
I sigh, giving in. "He killed you and then attacked me. Next thing I know, I'm trapped in this guy's house. I don't remember much else, but—I know, it's silly. I just really, really don't want to lose you."
"Because you'd end up in the Lower District then?" he asks somberly.
I shake my head vigorously. "No, no! Because I lo—because you mean a lot to me," I say, stumbling over my words. "We just got married, and I don't want our marriage to be cut short by something so devastating. And besides, you're my best friend, and I would hate for something to happen to you."
"I thought Riah was your best friend," he says, pressing his cheek to the top of my head.
"You're my husband, Alec. As soon as you claimed me, our friendship skyrocketed," I laugh. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
He gives me a tight squeeze. "Me neither."
Thunder cracks and literally shakes the whole room. I let out a tiny squeal and hide my face into Alec's chest. He doesn't let go at all. "I normally don't freak out over storms," I admit, "but that was out of nowhere."
Yeah, wimpiness level: 100,000,000,000,000.
My stomach flutters when he kisses me on the forehead. "Maybe try going back to sleep then. It's about two in the morning, and I'm sure you're extremely tired from yesterday."
"Okay," I say with barely a voice at all.
We lie down together. I'm surprised when he hugs me close to him again. He touches his forehead to mine and smiles at me. "I'll be right here."
I return his smile and close my eyes.
I never thought I would be this close to someone so quickly. Maybe it's because I've loved Alec all along. But when would be a good time to tell him that? I nearly let the words slip out earlier. What if Alec doesn't truly love me, but simply likes me.
Ugh, middle school all over again. I pray that this becomes easier.
***
When I wake, Alec isn't there. I change into my regular Facility uniform of a blue dress which I hate. But I don't have anything else besides my Claiming dress which hangs up in the bathroom by a lone hanger we found in the closet. A weird feeling clots up in the pit of my stomach as I stand in front of the full-length mirror by the dresser in our bedroom. The knee-length dress gives me no figure, nothing. It looks like something you'd give a ten-year-old to wear to church in the 90's. (That's something I heard Ms. Cadence say one time. She did a lot of historical studies when she was younger.)
Uncomfortably, I step out of the bedroom into the hallway. In my socks, I drag my feet quietly down the hallway. When I reach the kitchen, I see Alec sitting at the table going through envelope after envelope, some opened, some still to be opened. On the kitchen counter are about ten bags of groceries lined up near the fridge.
"Alec..?" I say tiredly.
He looks up with a blank expression at first, but when he sees me, he smiles warmly. "Hey, did you sleep well?"
"I guess," I shrug. "Did I wake up halfway through the night?"
He chuckles. "You did. But don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help you go back to sleep."
My memory starts to recover. He held me tight until I fell asleep, and I loved it. I can't keep myself from beaming as I pass through the doorway and over to the window in front of the kitchen table. It looks out into the backyard, which is pathetically small, but at least there's some grass. I'd say it's the size of our bedroom.
I sit down in the chair next to him and put my head down on the table. "I'm still not awake," I moan.
I feel his hand on my back, and he starts to move it in circles around my shoulders. "Well, I was thinking we could go to the Central District and find some new clothes for you. That is, if you want some..."
"Yes!" I exclaim, sitting up straight. "Yes, please!"
He starts to laugh again. "Then we will go! I just have to go through this mail and put the groceries away that my parents brought over. They went shopping for us earlier this morning and brought it by while you were still asleep."
"That's so sweet of them," I say, pushing myself up from the seat. I start to go through the groceries and put them away myself in the empty fridge and cabinets. "What kind of mail is all that? Why is there so much when we just moved here?"
"It's a bunch of stuff that new families have to fill out and send back to the Plaza or the Royal District. Things like identifying ourselves, health forms, family history forms—stuff like that. There's also a form for work information, but that form isn't due for a while. The Royal District is inviting new families to attend a career screening tomorrow to find out where we fit in the best."
I nod slowly. "Is that a requirement?"
He sighs. "Unfortunately, yes. That's where we technically get our jobs."
I sigh. "All right then. I don't think I'm very good at anything, though..."
"Sure you are!" Alec says.
"Oh, yeah? Like what?" I challenge.
He stares at me, unable to answer. "Uh..."
I giggle. "See? Absolutely nothing."
"Well, maybe there's a hidden talent in you just waiting to come out! That's what the screening is for."
"We can only hope," I say.
***
Alec and I drive into town with the windows rolled down. I love the smell of autumn rushing in and out of the car.
"You think it's going to be really cold this winter?" I ask, glancing at him. He drives with a half-smile on his face.
"Maybe. If it is, then we'll definitely need to figure out that fireplace in our house."
"We have a fireplace?"
He laughs heartily. "Yeah! Behind all the boxes of my stuff! I'm going to go through all that stuff later tonight, don't worry."
"I'll help you!"
"You don't have to, Belle. There's too much stuff!"
"I want to find all your deepest, darkest secrets in those boxes," I say with a straight face.
He looks at me with one eyebrow raised. "Who did I just marry?"
I stick my tongue out at him, then turn my gaze back out the window to watch the rows of houses fly by. It's nice to have those moments with Alec again where we can just joke around like the friends we are, but I also love the sweet moments—like him holding me in the middle of the night. This marriage is starting to grow on me.
Our neighborhood consists of other ugly houses like ours. I see some of the newly wed couples outside of them, bringing in groceries, walking pets, or jogging. I still don't know where Riah and Chance live. Riah and I don't have cell phones like Chance and Alec do. Downside of being a Facility kid, I guess.
Alec drives out onto Rucker Street, one of the main roads which has branches into different neighborhoods of the Family District. Rucker Street leads onto Main Street, which leads right into the Heart of Bayfell—the Central District.
We park in the grocery store parking lot, and then walk together across the median separating the store lot from the main square. Together we make our way down the sloping hill and onto the cobblestone pavement.
"It's busy today," Alec remarks, glancing around at all the people pushing past one another to get to a different store.
"Yeah," I say with a weak smile.
I've never been one for crowds.
Alec suddenly takes me around the waist with one arm and pulls me to his side. "You okay?" he asks.
I nod, my stomach flooding with butterflies at his touch. "I will be. It's just a lot of people."
"Come on—I know of a great clothing store for both of us," he says with a smile. He pushes me along through the crowds, protecting me as we go. The further we walk into the square the more I feel eyes on my Facility uniform. Of course I look stupid. Here I am with my husband in an orphan dress.
Alec and I eventually arrive in front of a store called Tags. I don't understand why it's called that, but the words sit boldly above the front entrance.
Tags.
I think it's stupid.
But their clothes aren't.
Alec helps me find a ton of new clothes to wear, even some for just lounging around the house. I didn't know those existed. The more I'm out here in the real world, the more I hate what the Facility was. No one should have to go through that.
Once Alec and I buy what we picked out, he takes me out to lunch at a nearby café.
"You're spoiling me," I say, nudging him in the side as we walk inside the cute little restaurant.
He puts in arm over my shoulders. "You deserve all of this, you know. You've been locked up for far too long."
The café is filled with new couples, and it's overwhelming. I'm still in my Facility clothes, so I stand out. I see Penelope Snider—or now Willis—sitting at a table with her new husband and another couple. A girl named Veronica Stillwater sits somberly in a corner booth with her new husband as he texts away without giving her a single glance. He chose her, didn't he? Why would he be so rude to her when she unwillingly had to marry him?
I clutch Alec's hand hard as I feel my heart stabbed with a new kind of pain. It's almost as if someone is squeezing it, choking it. I never thought I'd be this overwhelmed by the Claiming, by all that it has caused. Sure, I know I'll happy, but what about everyone else? All the girls who are stuck with men who don't truly care about them?
"Belle?" Alec stops me and turns me to face him. "What is it?"
I shake my head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
But shouldn't he?
Alec knows something's up, but he doesn't press. We are seated at a small table next to the window so we can see out into the square. I try to avoid the various scenes before us in the café. But I can't help it.
I glance back at Veronica sitting in utter despair. Her life is basically over.
The waiter approaches us—a young man in hismid-twenties. "What can I get for you today?"