Page 63 of Commit
“Of course, sir,” he says as I climb out, grab my bag from the trunk, and move around to open the door for Starling. I offer her my hand, and she takes it, climbing out and waiting while I close the door.
She freezes when she gets her first real look at where we are.
“What’s happening?”
I look at the little white chapel and smile. “We’re going to a wedding.”
“Who’s getting married?”
“We are.”
Chapter Twenty
Starling
Istare at him with my mouth open in shock. He’s joking, right? This has to be a joke.
“You said you’d do anything, that you’d give me everything. Or was that another lie? We can head back. I’m sure Abbot’s exactly where we left him.”
How I stop myself from throwing up all over him, I’ll never know. “You don’t want to marry me, Hudson. Are you crazy? I’m eighteen.”
He doesn’t say anything, just keeps staring at me in that unnerving way that reminds me of a cobra getting ready to strike.
“You don’t want to marry me. I’m cursed. I ruin everything I touch.”
Still, he doesn’t say anything. I want to scream at him, shake some fucking sense into him because he’s acting even more crazy than usual, and that’s saying something.
“Please listen.” I step toward him and press my hand against his chest. “There are a million reasons you shouldn’t marry me?—”
“I only need one to marry you, and I already have it. I’m marrying you because I fucking want to,” he sneers before he covers my mouth with his.
I swallow his anger and my tears as teeth clash, lips split, and the taste of blood seals our fate.
I give up. I can’t save him from me. Hell, I can’t even save myself. He has no idea what he’s signing himself up for. Everyone who gets pulled into my orbit eventually crashes and burns.
He pulls back. “Are we doing this, or are we going back to Abbot?”
I nod, not able to speak.
“Good. Let’s go. I have somewhere I need to be after this.”
I wrap my arms around myself and shut out everything else. If I let myself feel now, I’ll fall apart.
Once upon a time, I dreamed about growing up and finding love. I pictured getting married to a man who truly valued me, not just settling for whatever was left. That vision fell apart a little bit more every time life took a machete to my hopes and dreams. But like a dandelion seed floating through the air, I held on to that tiny glimmer of hope.
Hope that Hudson just blew up because he can.
A white dress, no panties, and bruises from two different men were not what I thought I would wear on my wedding day. At least the bruises count as something blue, right?
I walk toward the chapel entrance like an inmate on death row heading toward the chair. At least their nightmare would be over soon. But for me, it’s like I’m trapped in some fucked up game. I’ve somehow made it to the end of level one now I just have to survive a scary, bad guy.
The second I walk through the doors of the chapel; everything becomes a blur. I vaguely remember answering questions with Hudson beside me as I silently prayed to God, Zeus, even that cat I had when I was five, hoping for some kind of divine intervention.
When we make it to Elvis without the chapel burning to the ground around us, I know I’m on my own. Like always. Numbness seeps into my bones as the bars of my gilded cage snap into place around me.
“Do you, Hudson Peters, take Starling Amos to be your lawfully wedded wife?”
He frowns at me, and for a fleeting second, I think he’s finally seen the light.