Page 4 of XOXO

“She’s right. If I have any chance of stopping this marriage, I have to leave,” I said, getting nervous we were even talking about this. “If I attempt to break it, I’m going to be coerced into the marriage, whether I like it or not.”

Could I really leave?

“Fuck, are we really entertaining the idea of being a runaway bride?” Mario looked between us.

“If you leave, I'd ask you to do it tomorrow after someone sees you,” Maya said. “I’ll help you leave and get on a plane, but I know your parents are going to blame Mario and we know how that’s going to go.”

“I don’t want you to pay for my mistakes,” I shook my head. “If I leave it will be tomorrow.”

“Good, I think⁠—”

“Whoa…Whoa, I think we should sleep on this,” Mario said with a little bit of shock.

“You saw how he handled her. It’s a matter of time before he gets worse or even hits her.” Maya stared at Mario in disbelief.

“Maybe we can do it after they⁠—”

“No, I can’t marry him. It’s better if I leave before we get married,” I said, grabbing his hand. “I have to do it now or else I’ll never leave.”

Mario looked at his wife and then me. “Ok, but we need a solid plan.”

I jumped forward and hugged my brother. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he mumbled. “We have to be smart about this.”

We spent the rest of the night planning how I would leave. It was hard to relax after that. The plan kept going through my head over and over with what I needed to do before I got to my mother’s house.

Just one more night and I would be a free woman.

1. Violeta

It’s just a rendezvous

2 months later

The gloomy London sky had not changed in four days. It was depressing, matching my mood, so I tried to do touristy things to get me out of this funk. I grabbed a bacon butty for breakfast —I might be a little obsessed with these sandwiches—before heading to Gloucester Road Station. Today, I was heading to Cotswold and Oxford with some tours I had found online.

The reviews were good, but heading to them alone worried me. Doing everything alone nowadays worried me. I was in a new place, alone and a piece of me doubted if what I had done was the right thing. Another part of me thought I had been rash and foolish for running away. Every day I fought with myself. It was one of the reasons I decided to come to Europe. Maybe a change of scenery would get my mind off things.

Except, it hadn’t.

The loud thoughts were even worse out here. If I was going to survive, I needed to stop worrying and live for myself. During the six months before the wedding, all I had done were things my parents wanted. My small acts of rebellion, like living alone, were barely tolerated. They saw me as something they owned and could use for their gain. The two months before I came to Europe were the hardest to overcome. No one tells you that when you finally break free from your narcissistic parents, you have to unlearn years of conditioning they have imbued into you. I thought I was independent, but it was a rude awakening to find out I really wasn’t. It didn’t help that Lorenzo was just as controlling and manipulative as they were. I was just trading one master for another.

I arrived at Gloucester Road Station just in time, as the last few people were getting on the bus. The tour guide took my ticket, ushering me onto the bus. It was fairly empty and I took a seat towards the back.

“Good morning!” The tour guide announced.

The small crowd replied just as two girls pounded on the bus’s doors. They opened the door for them as the girls with heavy accents apologized for being late through heavy breaths like they had run here.

“I’m sorree,” one of them apologized again.

“Oh, it’s ok,” our tour guide said. “Take a seat anywhere.”

They made their way down the aisle, waving at me before sitting right in front of me. I waved back wishing I had someone to explore Europe with.

The tour guide gave us the rundown as we took off, exiting London and driving through the countryside. It was still dreary, but it didn’t make the countryside any less charming. Since we were driving to Burford, the furthest town, our tour guide supplied us with endless facts and information about Cotswold.

I tried to listen to the tour guide, but the drive made me sleepy. The hostel I was staying at made me nervous, so sleep was hard to come by. I almost got a hotel last night, but if I wanted to make this trip last then the hostel would be my new home for the time being.