Her first date with Hosea lasted for about three hours. She got to know him, and he opened up about his ex. Kyra knew he was still in love with his ex, and she knew that he was doing this only because of his family. From their first interaction during the family dinner, she knew he held family on a very high accord. There was no doubt he would do anything for his family, even if it meant marrying someone he would never love.
Hosea made it clear that he would never love anyone else, she didn't blame him. His ex was hit by a truck, and he witnessed the entire ordeal. That incident would scar anyone for life.
Although she was dreading the impending arrangement, it saddened her that she would never be loved. She convinced herself that she was always meant to be lonely. Growing up, in a marriage where love would never exist. It saddened her more than she would admit.
Returning to Phoenix, Kyra was getting more anxious just as the minutes passed. Her mother asked her about her date during their car ride back whilst her father looked at her apologetically. She told them it went fine, not wanting to explain more. She plugged in her headphones the whole way back, not wanting to engage in conversation.
Her mind constantly wandered to Isaiah, her heart hurt that she would not see him again. She promised herself to work on her arranged marriage, and to do so she needed to leave the one person her heart longed for in the past.
At night, once she was back in the comfort of her own bed; she couldn't sleep. The more she allowed her mind to drift, the angrier she got.
She was angry at the situation she was placed in.
She was angry that she never got to experience love.
She was angry she never got the chance to be normal.
She was angry she didn't have friends.
She was angry with Isaiah.
She was angry that he didn't reciprocate her feelings.
She was angry that she spent so much time loving someone who wouldn't love her back.
She was angry at herself, for not giving the guys that chased her throughout the years a fair chance.
Most importantly, she was angry at herself for loving her family so much that she would do anything to save her father's dignity.
Next Day - Phoenix |
Kyra barely slept the entire night, with her all-consuming thoughts. At 4 am, she changed into her workout gear and she went for a run to clear her head. With the cool breeze against her skin, she ran past Isaiah's house and plenty of houses after that. She ran until she was exhausted, before making her way back home. Looking around at the houses in her neighborhood, she recognized that everyone in the area had money.
There were modern houses, and there were houses that were built in the '90s but all huge and well kept, with their bountiful cars in their driveway. It wasn't necessarily a gated community, rather some houses including hers had fences and a gate. Her parents bought two plots of land next to each other at the end of the road and built their house, their total land was about 2 acres.
Living in Arizona, it gave them the heat. The dry heat that she hated. On really hot days, her hair would turn frizzy. Even though she hated the heat, it was one of the only places whereby they were almost living in the desert. With gravel to be found everywhere, the trees that grow weren't the usual trees, rather the ones that were made for the weather and she would often find tumbleweeds on a hot and windy day. Kyra never realized how much she would miss her home.
Once she was done with her run, she got home and jumped directly into the pool. Allowing the coolness from the water to jolt her senses. She waddled and floated around in the pool absentmindedly. The sun came up, she watched as the skies changed in color. From dark to orange, to almost blue. It was one of the things she loved about life, the beauty of the surroundings, the nature of it all.
Getting out of the pool, she reached over to get the towels in the basket, not wanting to get her home in her puddle of water. She dried herself up.
The kitchen light switched on, signaling someone was awake. She peeped to see who it was, instantly she spotted her mother in her robe. Kyra slowly crept through the front door, not wanting to face her mother so early in the morning. Removing her shoes, she ran to her room.
Shutting her door, she quickly got into the shower. She allowed the water to hit her muscles, Kyra allowed herself to be in the moment. She cried. Sadness overtook her, she knew she was doing the right thing but it was difficult. Lathering herself up in soap, she prayed to God. She sought his help. She needed more.
Silence.
She sighed, knowing God doesn't work that way. Rinsing herself one last time, she turned off the running water. Wrapping herself in her towel, she exited her bathroom.
Buzz buzz- her phone vibrated on her nightstand. Picking it up she gave a sad smile
From : Isaiah Montgomery
To : Kyra
Hey, I was thinking I would pick you up around 10. Let me know.
She smiled, she knew she was going to spend the entire day with him. Her last day of normalcy. She promised herself to enjoy what she could.
From : Kyra
To : Isaiah Montgomery
Sure, I'll see you soon.
She quickly replied before getting dressed. She looked at herself in the mirror, she looked slightly pale. It was probably from not sleeping. Kyra wore her hair down, letting her curls dry. She wore a yellow sleeveless dress paired with her air force 1. Looking into her closet, she needed to pack. Sighing, she grabbed her luggage bag. Packing whatever she usually wore, and her necessities into two huge luggage bags. She knew that it was impossible for her to pack everything in a day, so she made a mental note to arrange for her items to be shipped.
Packing up her laptop and her jewelry, she glanced over at her watch. It was already 945am. She had been packing for almost two hours, zipping up her carry on she made her way down. In a few minutes, Isaiah would be arriving, she reminded herself.
"¿Adónde vas? (Where are you going?)" her mother asked, eyeing her as she hopped down the stairs.
"Buenos días mamá (good morning. I'm going out with Isaiah, I'll be out the whole day so don't wait up for me" she informed, walking to her dad giving him a kiss on the cheek. Kamilla's face scrunched up in confusion, she replied "you are getting married tomorrow Kyra. Why are you going out with another boy?" she questioned
"Déjala en paz, Kamilla. Déjala disfrutar de su vida, la hemos hecho pasar lo suficiente. (Leave her alone Kamilla. Let her enjoy her life, we have put her through enough.)" her father defended.
"Thank you papa" Kyra's mother glared at the two before sighing
"Enjoy your time mi amor"
"She hasn't chosen her wedding dress, there is a lot to do. Of course, I want our daughter to have the life she wants and to be happy, but we are in this situation, and Marina and I are the only ones doing all the work for the wedding" Kamilla argued in frustration
"Mama" Kyra pleaded. Her mother sighed, shaking her head, shoulders slumped over giving in to her daughter's wishes. "What about your dress? Una chica no puede casarse sin su vestido de novia (A girl can't get married without her wedding dress)"
"He doesn't love me, nor do I have any feelings for him. It doesn't matter if I wear a burlap sack. There won't be pictures, there won't be anything, it's just us three and his family. Si te hace feliz, puedes elegir mi vestido. (If it makes you happy, you can pick out my dress.)" she answered
"Ayy si. Sometimes I feel I have a son instead of a daughter" her mother commented. Kyra quickly said her goodbyes as she heard a car pull up in her driveway. It could only be him.
Excitedly she walked out her front door, to see Isaiah getting down from his car to greet her. Her smile spread wide as she ran to give him a big hug. She didn't realize how much she missed him until she saw him. Isaiah hugged her back tightly, she could feel he missed her too. It was obvious.
"What are we doing today?" she asked as she got into his car. She could smell the all too familiar cologne he usually wore. She realized in that moment that in 24 hours, her life was about to change dramatically and there was nothing she could do about it.
"I was thinking we could grab lunch first, then we go back to my place and chill? My parents are home, but they're fine with you coming over" he suggested.
He drove her to his favorite spot just 15 minutes away, they grabbed a quick bite. Joking with each other, just being in the moment and catching each other up on what happened in the week. Kyra didn't open up about her situation, she didn't want to ruin the moment and she was afraid that he would judge her. She thinks highly of him and she didn't want his perception of her to change.
Once they were back in his house, she was greeted by Isaiah's mother. She met Mrs. Montgomery once in the past, and now she was spending some time with her. Mrs. Montgomery was welcoming and warm and reminded her of her own mother. Isaiah's little sister was only 8, so she stayed in the living room watching TV for most of the day.
Isaiah brought her up to his room, it was the first time she was in his room. It was as big as hers, he had a tv in his and a desktop on his desk. Everything else was pretty standard. They sat on the bed, backs against the headrest as Isaiah played whatever that was on Netflix. Kyra barely paid attention, constantly checking her phone to see that if anything had changed. She wished and prayed that her father would call her to tell her it was all a prank or she didn't have to marry the next day.
To her dismay, it was night time and they basically just hung out with each other the whole day. There weren't any calls or texts from her parents, and she was starting to get more anxious. Dinner with the Montgomery's was interesting, his parents questioned her about everything they did in college. Mostly worried that Isaiah would be into drugs or hanging out with the wrong crowd, but she assured them that he was safe and he didn't do anything he wasn't supposed to.
Kyra sat on the bed as Isaiah talked away about some conspiracy theory he read online, she couldn't focus on what he was saying so she stared at him. She watched as he got passionate about whatever it was he was saying, she knew she was going to miss him.
Maybe I should be selfish and runaway? Her mind wandered
"You've been really quiet today" Isaiah commented, he touched her knee trying to gain her attention. She smiled sadly as she stared at his beautiful face. Tears started to stream down her face involuntarily, instantly she brought her hand up to wipe it away
"What's going on?" he asked, scooting himself nearer to engulf her in a hug. He tucked her in his strong arms, she felt safe and it made her sadder.
Kyra no longer could hold her emotions in, she wept in his shirt.
"Kyra, tell me what's wrong, please?" he asked again, she shook her head
Isaiah gently grabbed her chin tilting her head up to face him, he wiped her tears away with his thumb. He smiled at her, his eyes were dark, she melted within him. She brought herself nearer to him. He hugged her tighter as his finger still on her chin.
He shut his eyes and kissed her eyelids slowly, and kissed her forehead. "Everything will be okay", he whispered. She shook her head disagreeing with him.
"Tell me, baby"
"I can't" she whispered
He pulled away from her, adjusting himself on his bed rest. He motioned for her to sit on him so that they were facing each other and it was a much more comfortable position for them. She was hesitant at first but ultimately climbed on him and sat on his lap. He hugged her waist.
She could feel herself getting warm, she could feel the heat travel throughout her body. She blushed. He pulled her closer to his chest, insisting they still stare at each other.
"You can trust me" he whispered. Her head was slightly taller than his now, she looked down slightly to stare at him and his lips. She knew that she would just lean it a bit more and they would kiss, but she didn't want to do that. She didn't know how he truly felt, and she didn't want him to use her so she showed restraint.
"I trust you" she whispered, staring intently into his eyes. It was as if their souls were communicating with each other.
He tilted his head slightly, kissing her cheeks softly. Letting his lips linger on her cheek just a little bit longer.
"Isaiah" she whimpered
"Kyra," he said, before gently placing his lips on hers.