??Unexpected ?
? Love ??
By: Worthy liBr@ry
Genre:R0m-nce
Tags: arrange marriage, betrayal, love, hate and revenge.
Chapter 23
?Can You Say Desperate??
Naturally, after I hear what my parents said about Connor I feel awful. And thick. And a little flattered. But most of all I feel guilty.
So the next day at school I apologize. Of course it was going to be a lot more than that. But that’s before this happens:
I come to school early and head upstairs to the senior lockers. His locker is closer to the other stairway but I choose to take the long way to plan what I have to say.
Not so surprisingly, I can’t come up with anything so I just plan to wing it. As I turn the corner, I expect to see Connor standing at his locker, p-ulling out a few books and laughing with some friends.
Instead, I see Samantha O’Nelly. Good name, right? She’s a senior and she’s also the school slut. And she’s talking to Connor.
They’re laughing. Can you believe it? Connor is talking, laughing, and touching Samantha the Slut’s arm! I take a de-ep breath, promising myself I wouldn’t freak out. Smiling, I walked up and put my arms around Connor’s ne-ck. “Hey, handsome.”
He turns around and smiles. “What are you doing here this early?”
“Oh, I just thought I’d say hi.” I turn to Samantha. “Hey, you’re Sam, right?”
She gives me a cold smile. “And you’re Allison.”
“I heard about that little accident with Stephen last Sunday? Did you get it taken care of?”
Her smile fades. “False alarm.” She turns back to Connor. “Excuse us, we were just in the middle of a conversation.”
“We were?” Connor asks.
“Yes. Remember, about going to the movie this weekend?”3
“Oh, tough luck, Connor and I were just going to my friend’s party. Sorry!” I input.1
Connor glances back and forth, clearly sensing the tension. “Um, maybe we can squee-zein both? You guys know each other, it could be fun.”
“Hmm, I guess so. What do you think, Sammy?”
Don’t call me that,” she says throu-ghgritted teeth. “Come on Connor, we’d better get to fourth period.” She grabs the sleeve of his coat and pulls him along the hallway.
Connor tries to turn around but she puts her arm around his ne-ck. I watch as Sam whispers into his ear and kizzes him on the cheek. My mouth hangs open like a fish until I finally can’t take it anymore.
“Stop right there, who-re!”
The hallway goes silent. Sam slowly turns around and stares me down with a smile on her face. “What’s the matter, afraid your man isn’t as faithful as you think he is?”
I return the cold stare. “No, I’m just trying to save a slut like you from getting her heart broken.”
“Who you calling a s**lt, bit**c!”
Connor tries to shut her up but it’s too late. I have officially lost control. I lose the smile. I take a de-ep breath and run down the hall to Sam. Once she’s within range, I slap her across the face.
Sam lets out a loud shriek and tackles me to the ground. There we are, rolling around on the floor while the crowd that has formed around us is yelling the ever-cl@$$ic “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
All I can remember is hair p-ulling and screaming and kicking. Connor finally pulls me off her and Kim, Sarah, and Nikki hold her down. Mark stands off to the side shaking his head.
I struggle against Connor’s grip. “Keep it down and you won’t get in trouble,” he whispers.
“Yeah, well, she deserved it. She had her hands all over you!” I hiss back. He rolls his eyes and loosens his grip. I calm down.
“What is going on here?” Mr. Rogers, our principal, walks down the hall. And yes, his name really is Mr. Rogers. He’s really, really calm and he has this thing were he talks to inanimate objects. It’s kinda creepy, but great for a principal.
The hall goes silent. Mr. Rogers turns to the locker. “Did you see what happened?”
A few giggle but most people remain silent and stone-faced. “Samantha O’Nelly! Fancy seeing you here. But Miss Allison? I only see you for awards, not trouble! What did Samantha do today?”
I smile. “Well, sir, we got into a fight.”
Mr. Rogers looks surprised. “A fight? You? Over what? Did she steal your pencils?” He’s serious.
“No, sir. She tried to steal my boyfriend. Connor.”
“Oh, yes! Connor Danielson! Your mother called about him.” I smile.
Maybe I’m off the hook? “How about you, Sam, and myself head to my office, hmm?” He turns and walks down the hall without waiting for an answer.
I glare at Sam and pull Conner along with me. We enter his office and take the seats closest to the desk.
Sam comes in a few minutes later and slouches in the remaining chair, behind Connor. Mr. Rogers closes the door and sits at his desk, mumbling at his chair.
“So,” he begins softly. “Why did you try to steal Connor, Samantha?”
“He deserves better,” she answers plainly.
“You are not better than me, you-” Connor puts his hand over my mouth and I tense un-der his strong grip.
“Sir? If I may?”
Mr. Rogers smiles. “Of course, Connor.”
Connor sighs. “Sam did try to… well, she should have respected Allie’s boundaries. And it was wrong of Allie to start the fight, but I think you should let her go. She’s never done anything before. And besides, what good would it do? With the wedding coming up?”
Mr. Rogers nods. “You know, Mr. Pen, I do believe he’s right. All right, you may go, Alison. Good luck with the wedding plans and don’t forget to send me an invitation!”
“Okay, Mr. Rogers.”
We walk out of the room and I shoot Sam a smug look. I close the door and throw my arms around Connor’s ne-ck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
He smiles and runs his hands throu-ghmy hair. “Yeah, well, I’m just that good.”
I laugh. “Oh, right! I wanted to tell you something…” I clear my throat.
“I overheard my parents talking yesterday and they said something about you agreeing to get married because you really liked me?
That you had liked me for some time?” His face drops and he looks away.
“And I just wanted to say… thank you. It was really, really sweet and I’m sorry for doubting you.”
He smiles. “I love you.”
??Unexpected ?
? Love ??
By: Worthy liBr@ry
Genre:R0m-nce
Tags: arrange marriage, betrayal, love, hate and revenge.
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 ti-ghtly. “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 for-ced 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 su-cky 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?”1
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 ba-rely 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 kizz. “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 hu-g the flowers to my che-st. “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 fas-ter. 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…
TBC
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