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About an hour later,Jessa and I are hanging out at the two-story house in the westside’s suburbs. It took us about ten minutes to walk here, and Jessa was a nervous wreck the entire time. The moment we stepped inside the house, though, she immediately relaxed. Me? I feel more anxious now than I did back when I was arguing with that pervy old dude.
Jessa and I are way overdressed, standing out like a disco ball in a goth club. That’s not what I wanted for tonight. I try not to think about that and instead look around the living room that’s crammed with people to find a cute guy I can approach.
The room is about the size of my closet, but I like the place. I’ve always dreamed of living in a Victorian-style home in the middle of an average plot of land. The place would be filled with antique furniture, surrounded by horses, goats, and dogs. I love animals. They’re so much better than people.
A couple of months ago, I was planning on attending college to become a veterinarian. Then my parents informed me that they would no longer pay for my tuition because I was going to become a wife, but not a real one. I’ll just be playing the part and basically being the guys’ whore.
But like I said, I’m going to escape one day. And when I do, I’ll go to college.
Part of me is worried my dreams will never happen, but I refuse to give up. I’ve overcome way too much shit to give up now.
“This isn’t too bad, right?” Jessa shouts over the music blaring from the stereo.
“Yeah, it’s pretty chill. I like it. The house is really cute, too.” I lift the red plastic cup I’m drinking out of. “I never thought I’d be drinking out of one of these.”
“Me neither. We’re so living in the real world right now.” Grinning, she taps her cup against mine, and then we both down the rest of our drinks.
I gag on the taste of it. “This stuff is so goddamn potent.”
“It’s called cheap vodka, princess,” Jay, Jessa’s boyfriend, appears from the crowd and joins us in the corner of the room we’ve been hanging out in since we got here. He drapes his arm around Jessa’s shoulder and kisses her cheek.
“Dude, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me princess?” I smirk at Jay. “If you’re going to call me anything, it should be queen or boss bitch. Either works. You can also curtsey to me. You know, so that I can live up to the name.”
He rubs his scruffy jawline. “I’m not a huge fan of either of those names. How about madame?”
I consider his request. “That works as long as you curtsey to me. And kiss my feet while you’re at it.”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re so weird, Al.”
And there you go. Weird. Not that it bothers me. I could be called way, way worse.
“Hey, do not insult my friend,” Jessa chimes in on my behalf and playfully swats Jay’s arm.
“I didn’t mean it badly,” he quickly says. “I just meant weird, like quirky.”
Story of my damn life.
“Al’s cool with it. Right, Al?” He looks at me with hope in his eyes.
He started calling me Al when Jessa first told him my name, and he said he wouldn’t be able to remember it. Jay’s a nice, cute guy with blond hair and pretty green eyes, but he’s not the brightest. It’s better than Jessa dating some douchebag mafia king.
Or getting sealed to three of them.
My chest starts to constrict. It happens whenever I allow my guard down and think about what’s about to happen to me. I blame it on the drinks I’ve consumed. And Jessa, being the good friend that she is, notices my panic.
“Take a deep breath, babe,” she tells me. “Calm down and focus on something else.”
I try to do what she says, but too many thoughts have rushed into my mind.
Sealed fate.
My demise.
Maybe I’ll just end myself now.
I breathe sharply, veering toward a panic attack. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one, not since …
Don’t think about that. You’re only going to make it worse.
