The Runaway

9

Roseanne sat in front of a mirror, all dolled-up in a pristinely white wedding dress, her hair in a classy updo sprinkled with flowers. The gown was tight, even at the knees, as if this were yet another attempt to entrap her in the glamorous cage of the five-star hotel. She didn't even have the will to fight anymore. She was a rose with her thorns cut off and locked under a bullet-proof glass dome, and the bright sunlight coming in through the window couldn't change that. She knew that this time nobody would take chances with her. To an outsider, her wedding venue, the expensive food and garlands of fresh flowers would seem like the height of luxury, but to her they were all only attempts to obscure the invisible chains at her ankles and wrists.

She'd lost the will to argue about her future when her own family had chosen to sell her off as if she were an award-winning cow. Roseanne had no more tears left to shed, but maybe this was a good thing. She was now broken-in enough to accept the arrangement with a man fifteen years her senior, who would show her what he thought of her grand escape, once they'd tied the knot. She'd humiliated him in a very public manner, and she had no doubt someone had already paid a price for her actions.

Father hadn't spared her a lecture, but he was too happy about her return to exert any real punishment. Other than forcing her right back to where this had started. Perks of being Daddy's princess. If Jay had done anything resembling her transgression, there would have been hell to pay.

"We all have our duties," Jay said, with his hands on Roseanne's shoulders.

"And I hope your duties hurt even more than mine."

Maybe one day, she and Jay would be back on good terms, but that day wasn't anywhere close. If she had her wish come true today, her whole family would burn in hell, fucked up the ass by demons.

"No need to be rude. You have no idea what trouble you've already caused." Jay took his hands off her but still hovered behind her back like a rattlesnake waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"I'd like to see what trouble you'd be causing if you had to be the one to bend over for a guy you don't even know. Have you seen him? He's twice my size."

Jay slapped the back of her arm. "Stop this. You ran away and what? Did you actually think you'd spend your life with a gang of dirty bikers?"

"Your hands aren't any cleaner than theirs."

Jay shook his head. "Grow up, Roseanne. Life's no fairytale." He must have wanted to have the last word on this, because he turned on his heel and walked out of the room as soon as he was done speaking.

Jay echoed what Roseanne's sister, Ashley, had said in a much more compassionate way. There was no way out, so one might as well make the best of it. "Maybe you'll grow to love him", Ashley had said as if that was something to look forward to, and only later followed up with a more uplifting, "he will be away a lot".

None of it mattered anyway, because Roseanne would never fall in love again.

Roseanne was drowning, and there was no one to grasp after Lisa had thrown her overboard. Ashley was sympathetic to her plight, Roseanne was sure of it, but they both knew the call was likely bugged, so their conversation was devoid of many details, out of necessity. No matter how much Roseanne wanted to, she couldn't have told her sister about the wild adventures she'd had while being on the run, about her newfound love or the broken heart. Besides of the high probability of someone listening in, what was the point in rubbing salt into fresh wounds?

Roseanne was convinced she'd at least get to wallow in her misery until Jay came back to take her to the wedding, but the insistent knock on the door extinguished even that hope.