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I’m just about to protest again when my mom steps in.
“Don’t fight about money because it’s going to be a thing of the past. Your fiancé isn’t so bad. He’s a nice guy, and he has plenty of money.”
“Oh really,” I say in a sarcastic tone. “He’s such a great catch that he’d marry a loser like me.”
“Don’t be so negative,” Amity scolds. “Sure, he happens to be in rehab right now, but just give it a little while. Once he’s out, he’ll be as good as new. Really, Amy, you’re lucky to marry him.”
That does it. My parents are insane. They’ve accused me of being ugly, unwanted, unemployed, and basically every terrible thing that they can think of. To add insult to injury, now they want to foist me off on some drug addict who’s still in treatment! I don’t think so.
“I don’t need any part of this,” I say in a cold tone while standing up. “I’m not getting married to some random dude. This isn’t India. Nor is it the Middle Ages. I’m out of here.”
“Oh really? Where will you go?” my mom asks as I stalk out of the kitchen.
“Don’t worry,” my dad soothes her. “Amy has no place to go. She’ll be married and out of our hair soon enough, Amity.”
“What a blessed relief,” my mom murmurs.
I ignore them as I march up the stairs, my back straight. But tears smart my eyes, and as soon as I close the door to my room, I collapse into sobs because unfortunately, Andrew’s right. The truth is that I have nowhere to go. I have no money, no connections, and no real skills either. I could work in fast food again, but where would that get me? And at the moment, Chloe can’t afford to pay me for my labor. So what options do I have? What should I do? I take a deep breath and swallow hard around the lump clogging my throat. The future isn’t looking good … but I sure as well am NOT going to be married off to some horrible dude whom I’ve never met in my life.
2
Amy
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Chloe murmurs into my phone screen. Her big brown eyes blink as they fill with tears. “I still can’t believe it! Your parents want to marry you off to a dude who’s in rehab at the moment? I mean, why not just foist you off on an ex-con while they’re at it?”
“I know, right?” I murmur, suddenly feeling very tired. “I mean, they should just set me up with the Unabomber. That’s how little Amity and Andrew think of me.”
“The Unabomber just passed away, actually,” Chloe says, stroking her belly thoughtfully. “So that’s out of the question.”
I snort. “I didn’t mean the Unabomberliterally, Chloe. I’m just saying that my parents would foist me off on anyone if they could. But we’re getting off course because the long and the short of it is that I have no place to go.”
“Maybe you could move into a women’s shelter,” Chloe says thoughtfully. “You know, just to escape for a bit.”
“I might have to,” I say in a glum tone. “I mean, where else would I go?”
My friend gets a guilty look on her pretty features.
“I feel terrible,” she whispers. “I feel like this is my fault because you work for me, and we both know A Woman’s Secret sells sexy items. That’s what got you in trouble.”
“But sexy items aren’t criminal,” I console her. “It’s not your fault, Chloe.”
But still, my friend feels awful.
“Yes, but I can’t offer you a place to stay either. You know that Carl and I live in a trailer, and we don’t have much space.”
“Don’t even worry about it, girlfriend,” I say, holding one hand up. “Your boyfriend is virile and you haven’t been dating that long. I don’t want to hear you guys going at it morning, noon, and night from the couch in your double wide.”
“Oh my god, you’re so bad!” Chloe squeals with a smile. But then her eyes go dreamy. “Yeah, Carlisreally well-endowed,” she says while her cheeks color a bit. “More than you can imagine.”
“Well, I can imagine a lot,” I say in a dry tone. “I watch porn remember? I’ve seen those huge size videos.”
But Chloe merely bites her lip while casting her eyes downward.
“No, it’s more than that,” she murmurs. “Carl’sspecial.”
I squint a bit into the screen.
“Special, how?”
