Redolent

Chapter 4 (Part 1): The Escape

There was silence on the other line for a few seconds before he started to chuckle.

"I thought you might say that."

~ ~ ~

"Mother. Father," I peered around the doorframe into their room. My father took off the glasses balanced on his nose as he looked up from his paperwork, my mother entered the room from the bathroom connecting it.

"What is it, Aris?"

"I'm going to go out for a few minutes, just to catch some fresh air." I laughed airily to soften the tense atmosphere.

"Sure, sure," my father waved his hands noncommittally, before returning to his paperwork and scrawling his name upon the dotted line, "Just be sure to be back by curfew."

I nodded before withdrawing my head. As I turned to head back to my bedroom to grab my bag, my mother called me back. She caressed my face with her hands before making me stare directly into her face.

My heart started to pound, did she know?

"Aris. I'm so proud of you."

What?

"I mean," she continued, "I know it's hard. Believe me, having to marry your father… It was… It was a hard decision to accept. But look!" She spread her arms, "it get's better. It really does. Trey looks like a wonderful young man. You might even learn to love him, one day. You never know."

"I—Thank you." I muttered, at a loss.

"Aris. Keep strong. It'll get better." And with one last look, she went back to the bedroom.

It'll get better.

Her voice rang in my head.

Will it? What if I cancel on Trey? Will I live my life out with him? Or his replacement?

Will I regret not leaving? 

 

I wiped the tears I hadn't noticed being collected with the back of my hand.

I'm sorry, Mother.

 

~ ~ ~

I climbed out of my Lite and stood on the doorstep of the Entron household. Clapping my hands together, I pulled my coat closer around my body as a fierce wind swirled around me. A few seconds later, Trey stepped out of the doorway, a bag slung around his shoulders. He glanced quickly in my direction and a beaming smile flooded his handsome face.

"Aris! What a surprise!"

He pulled me into a tight embrace with I spluttered in anger, "What do you think you're--!"

"Play along," he muttered in an undertone, before the smile came back again.

"I suppose you want to see you're future house!" he exclaimed to no one in particular, taking me by the hand and taking all the necessary precautions.

He took me around the back of the house, talking avidly all the way. Leading me to what looked like a greenhouse, he babbled, "It's a secure greenhouse. We grow all our own food here, g.m.o's of course. We even have a security code to keep people from getting in," he winked, taking me to a number pad near the wall.

"How exciting!" I agreed in a falsetto.

"There are four tomatoes, eight lettuces, five carrots, nine pea plants, and three bean plants. Marvelous, isn't it? And of course, we're working on altering them from diseases and such." He seemed to stumble on the floor, but as I bent down to help him up, he shot back up quickly, giving me a shifty grin.