As the sun peeks through the sliver of the curtains of the hotel room, I feel as warm and brilliant as the dawn breaking. Her gentle caress on my arm gives me chills. She strokes my arm wrapped around her small frame. I kiss her cheek lovingly, admiring my bride, heart pounding perpetually since yesterday. The fear of what will come in the next few days has not come up between either of us. All I can think about is the night we spent at last. Sure, we've only known each other for a few weeks, but neither of us can deny the feeling we have when we look at one another. The proceeds of the wedding replay in my memory as Natalie falls back to sleep.
I was stunned to see her at the end of the aisle. Her pale blue dress from the photo shoot, wax flowers in her hand and to my surprise, her bangs pulled up with her hair tightly pinned back. She looked so much more like a grown woman instead of the childlike appearance her mother forces upon her. Even more so, she looked happy. I promised her a real wedding when things settle down. She doesn't seem too bothered, however. As I put the ring on her finger, she smiled joyfully, eyes gleaming. She began to cry so I panicked and knocked over the vase next to me. Natalie then began to laugh as the minister gave us a dirty look, thinking we were probably drunk even though we weren't. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and drank until midnight. As we returned to the hotel, Natalie seemed very nervous and afraid. So, I turned to her and asked what was wrong after opening the door.
"I'm-" Natalie began stammering, which is so unlike her, "I-I'm not s-sure, h-how to do this a-anymore, I-I'm probably not-"
"Hey," I softly interrupted, "It's okay, Natalie, we don't have to do anything, I understand and don't expect anything."
"B-but I-I..." Natalie mutters something under her breath and walks inside with her head down. She sat on the bed with her head down, eyes wide in fear. I began to worry and sat next to her holding her softly to me. She began crying into my chest. I really didn't know what to do or say, I simply stroked her head softly.
"I don't deserve you..." Natalie suddenly said. I looked down at her and got a little angry.
"Natalie, you need to stop this, "I said forcefully, "You can't let what your mother did to you completely dominate who you are, you're a terrific, talented and beautiful woman, and-" I smiled, "-And as your husband I won't allow you to think that anymore, you are worthy." Natalie muffles a small laugh and I kiss her softly.
"I want to give myself to you completely, but I'm not pure," Natalie said as she pulled back a little from me.
"Did you give your heart and soul to anyone?" I asked mockingly.
"Well, no but-"
"No buts," I cut off, "You are not obligated to do anything, we can just relax and enjoy each other's company." Natalie stayed silent for a while then happily nodded.
"Let's play a game," Natalie offered as she fell onto the bed. I nodded in agreement as I stroked her legs. "We don't really know that much about each other, so we'll ask a question, each one taking turns, and every question has to go from easiest to hardest."
"I'm not sure I follow," I said very puzzled.
"Okay, so," Natalie sat up on the bed, "I'll ask a simple question like: What's your favorite color? And then you can either ask me the same question or ask a question that's a little more personal, it can even be a hypothetical question."
"Okay, you start," I teased, making her eyes narrowly glare at me.
"So, what's your favorite color?" she asked a little seductively and made me blush.
"Hmm, there's too many to list," I said sarcastically with a wild smirk. Natalie gave me a tired look and sighed.
"If that's a hard question for you, maybe I-"
"Blue," I said mockingly, which made her sigh and roll her eyes. "Okay, I get it, I won't ruin your game, this is good, we can do this." Natalie smiled and reached over her legs and took off her shoes. I looked at her with a raised brow.
"Also, after each answer, you need to take something off," Natalie said, and to my surprise, nonetheless. After she witnessed my shocked expression, she lowered her gaze towards the floor. "It's the only way I'll feel comfortable." I reached out my hand out toward her and lightly stroked her face.
"Alright," I said and knocked off one of my shoes which made her giggle.
Natalie Holstein is 5′6", weighing approximately 116 lbs. Her favorite color is brown, because her eyes and hair are brown. She loves rocky road ice cream when she can get her hands on it, she doesn't like public transportation, and hates being the center of attention. When she has free time, she loves to fly kites and run on the beach. Despite her feelings towards the way her mother used her, she still loves her.
As we lay there on the bed, arms wrapped around each other, kissing passionately, she felt less stressed than when she first entered the room.
She was timid and dubious in the beginning, so I insisted we wait a bit longer. But she didn't want to wait. I was as gentle and considerate as a man can be, only allowing her to enjoy everything she missed out on during her unfortunate experiences with the other men her mother sent her to. As we made love, I felt my heart rapidly pounding against my chest, as if I had never made love before. Almost as if this was the first time. I'd been with many women before, but never felt an affinity with them as I do with my baby doll bride.
I check my watch in the dimly lit room and rub my eyes as I cannot see the time; the room is too dark thanks to the heavy curtains the hotel uses. Careful not to wake her, I gently but slowly move my arm up from under her head and raise myself up from the bed. I grab my phone off the end table and see that it is almost eleven, no wait, that's eleven missed calls. Damn, how much did I drink last night? I unlock my phone only to see ten new voicemails, eleven missed calls, and about twenty new emails. Kate called me, wonder what the hell she wants? Alice called me, my mother, this made me shake my head, and about seven missed calls from a private number. I get up and put my robe on, quietly walk outside and check my messages. The first one is Kate asking me to introduce her to the new model that has everyone talking. Yeah right, like hell that'll ever happen. The next one was Alice asking me when I'll be back and that the photos were successful. The third was my mother, which I hurriedly deleted as soon as I heard the passive tone I am accustomed to hearing when she is only checking in. The next message was Elizabeth Blanche, calm at first then frantic until the very last message.
"Mr. Ramos, I was curious to know if you've seen or heard from my Natalie?"
Delete.
"Mr. Ramos, she said she would be home by eight thirty, it's nine now, please call me back if you hear anything."
Delete.
"I'm really worried, she doesn't have a cell phone, please call me back."
Delete.
"Mr. Ramos, I-."
Delete.
"I'm calling the police, please get back to me as soon as po-." Delete.
What an unbearable woman.
"Maybe if you hadn't trapped her the way you did, she'd be happier," I mutter to myself as I continue deleting the rest of her messages.
"Is everything alright?" a tired Natalie peeks out of the door. I smile at her, kiss her forehead and end the call. I make my way back inside, gently pulling her into my arms and kissing her softly, making her giggle. "S-stop it! That really tickles!" I sigh deeply after leaning my forehead against hers. She looks at me now, worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Your mother's called the police, she's worried something has happened to you," as the words leave my lips, her eyes go wide with fear, as they did last night when we first entered this room. "Would you like to go home?"
"No!" Natalie practically shouts, "I want to stay here with you." She holds me tightly and buries her face into my chest. I take a deep breath and stroke her back gently.
"I can't imagine what you must be feeling, but we can't stay here forever, we need to face this, " I lift her face up towards mine and gulp down hard, for I don't want to make her fight, "Together, we can win."
"You don't understand, my mother, she's not what she seems, she'll try to get rid of you," Natalie says it like it isn't the first time, and I start to worry, "I don't want to lose you so let's run away somewhere, anywhere!"
"Natalie," I press as she turns around and starts to pack everything, "You know you can't do that; we have to expose her for what she did to you. We can't run away."
"No, I can't, let's just go," Natalie is frantic, the fear not leaving her eyes, "I have a bunch of money, we can live in Europe or Mexico, but let's go now before she finds us."
"Natalie," I grab a hold of her to make her stop, "You need to face this, you sound like a child, this needs to stop." After I say this, I hear the most blood curdling scream that ever touched these ears and Natalie is now sprawled out on the floor. Her eyes roll back and she begins to move about the floor. I am shaking in fear, and don't know what to do. I try to hold her down, but she won't stop, and I begin to cry as I coddle her in my arms. She slowly stops, her nose is bleeding, and I immediately call an ambulance.
On the ride to the hospital, I held her hand tightly, never taking my eyes off her. She looks peaceful in her sleep, like a princess in a fairy tale. The EMT beside me was admiring how well I was taking in the situation.
"Not a lot of guys handle seizures as well as you," the EMT comments, making me look at her dumbfounded, "Did you not know this girl has seizures?" I shake my head lightly and look back at Natalie.
"She hides a lot of things from me."