Libby's arranged marriage

Chapter 4

     Libby stayed in the bathroom crying and didn't even care how long she had been in the bathroom for. She's scared to come out after the terrible incident she had with Micah and her mom. Libby wished she was back home with her turtles and her books in her nice cozy room instead of this rich open space. Libby felt like her whole world and dreams were falling apart around her and her own mom was to blame for this.
    Suddenly Libby heard a knock on the bathroom door and then stopped crying, wiping away her tears. She looked in the mirror and she was a mess. Her face was red with hot sticky wet tears streaming down her face.
"Who is it?" Libby asked as her voice clearly sounded sad.
"Turtle Dove, it's your mom, please come out. The Apels are worried about you Libby dear. And they are now serving latkes, your favorite." Libby opens the door and sees her mom with a concerned look on her face as she notices Libby's tears. Maybe her mom will finally realize that this whole arranged marriage thing isn't what Libby wants at all. Maybe she will let Libby never see Micah again and she can finally go back to being a writer oh how Libby would love that.
"Mom please I can't do this any longer. I'm scared, I'm worried, I feel anxious, I wanna go back home." Libby explains pleading for her mom to take her home.
"Turtle Dove, you haven't even given Micah a chance yet. You haven't even gotten to know him well yet. Please come out. I promise that the visit will be over before you know it. Do this for me Libby please." Leah asks as she places her hand on Libby's cheek wiping away her tears. Libby's brown eyes look into her mom's and she takes a deep breath.
"Fine mom" Leah smiles and takes her daughter's hand as she regrets saying yes to this again. It's like Libby can't truly tell her mom how she feels. She starts to feel bad and has to agree on what her mom wants and Libby hates it.
  As they walk into the dining room Libby again is faced with the Apel family watching her as they all stare at her concerned. Except for Mr Daniel Apel who just continues to give her a cold look while scratching his beard. As she sits down she has her head down still emotionally exhausted.
"Libby, I'm sorry for the things I said to you. You were right Libby and I was wrong. Will you forgive me?" Micah apologizes from the table as he looks at Libby with a sad expression. Libby does see that he truly feels bad for making Libby feel upset so she just takes a deep breath and looks at him.
"I forgive you Micah." He smiles back at her forgiveness as the delicious latkes are brought to the table by Mrs Apel.
"Ooh latkes are my favorite." Squeals Naomi as she takes one from across the table. Libby will admit that she's rather hungry especially from all the crying. As she goes to take a latke her hand is met with Micah's and she is also met with his eyes as well. They both turn red as their hands are together and Libby realizes this and quickly pulls away while taking a latke. Micah is still red as he sweats nervously.
"Sorry Libby I didn't know you were eyeing the same lakte as me I guess." Libby rolls her eyes in her head as if he didn't plan to touch her hand with his.
"It's ok Micah." Libby just replies as she takes a bite out of her lakte tasting its sweet flavor which fills Libby's stomach with warmth. 
"My these are delicious Ruth. What is the recipe for these?" Leah asks Mrs Apel as she enjoys her lakte. As Mrs Apel and her mom chat and everyone else chats with each other Libby is left in silence as she just quietly eats.
"Micah my son, how about you take Miss Libby to the gardens? I'm sure she would love to see our garden and would love the fresh air as well." Mr Apel explains with a grin that Libby dislikes. "Oh great now I will have to be alone with Micah as if this day couldn't get any worse" Libby thinks to herself. Micah nods and smiles at his father as he gets up to pull Libby's seat so she can get up.
"Come on Libby you will love our garden I promise. We have so many beautiful flowers." Micah explains as Libby gets up and he smiles at her with that stupid sweat smile like always. Libby sees her mom giving a thumbs up as Micah takes her hand and leads her to the garden.
  As they head to the garden Libby wants to let go of his hand but if she does tension will rise up between them again so she would rather not take that risk. As Micah shows her the garden it is rather beautiful. Libby can't deny it. Then again they are rich so they are bound to have a beautiful garden.
  "And this Libby is where we grow our tomatoes and cucumbers. Oh! And over here is where we grow our rich juicy lettuce. And these pretty flowers over here are red roses." Micah explains as he picks one of the roses and touches its petals gently as he walks over to Libby. 
"This flower would look pretty in your long beautiful hair." He smiles a while blushing as he puts the rose in her hair gently. He then looks into Libby's eyes and turns even more red. As red as the tomatoes that he showed her.
"Libby Stein-Torres..." he says quietly as he takes Libby's hands. Libby feels anxious again as she almost trembles at Micah holding her hands and is trying to process what is happening right now.
"Will you do the honor of being my Jewish maiden, my wife?" Libby freezes up at his words and she couldn't believe what he just said to her. His wife? Marriage? This was happening all too soon for Libby yet alone she didn't like him or the idea of marrying him at all. But her mom would be so happy if she married Micah but would Libby be happy? She wouldn't at all. She never loved Micah so she would feel trapped in a cage like a bird who can't be free.
"Micah I...I just can't," Libby says as she starts to cry again. She stares at Micah shocked and then runs away from Micah as she lets go of his hands. The rose that Micah put in Libby's hair falls out onto the floor as she runs far away leaving Micah in the dust.