The Boy Next Door

9.

I peep into the hole attached to the door. Amelia's parents are standing on the other hand, her father is staring at the door while her mother is conversing with someone on the phone.

"She isn't even lifting her phone. I've called her several times." Her mother says.

"I hope the neighbor knows something or perhaps, Amelia doesn't have the audacity or courage to keep some friendship with her neighbors."

Before both of her parents could continue arguing, I ran back into the kitchen. "Amy! You're parents are here." She released a silent gasp. "Hide in my bedroom. I doubt they'll come to check but just for safety purposes." She rushes to my room and shuts the door behind her. Meanwhile, I quickly style my hair in the mirror and pull down my t-shirt.

The moment I opened the door, the argument between them is silenced and they look at me smiling. "Hey, Julian. We are Amelia's parents. Do you have any idea if she has gone somewhere? We've tried to be in touch with her but it seems that she's not responding to her calls."

My mind had told me to say no but I had other thoughts in mind.

"She's actually off to work today. I met her while leaving. Her boss is been loading her with lots of work that she has been called on Sundays too."

"Do you have any idea when she'll return?" asked her concerned mother. I replied her with a no so that it doesn't complicate things further. I've never seen her parents this concerned about her.

The moment the door of my house closes, the click of my wardrobe opens. Amelia steps out and wipes the beads of sweat on her forehead. "So what did they say?"

"What did they say you ask? Amelia you're parents are seriously concerned for you and you don't lift their phones what if they thought you're dead? Are you crazy? What's wrong with not picking their calls" It was too late to realize whom I bombarding these questions to. The realization shut my mouth and when I looked at her, all I wanted to do was apologize.

"You have no idea how my life works Julian, being a woman is just not easy as being a man. My parents are not searching me because they are concerned, instead they want me to get married so that my dad can hand over his estate to his 'son-in-law'. Not only that he is expecting me to get married so that even I have a life of my own with a husband.

My parents never understood the pain I went through growing up and how I kept dancing around their fingers. All my life, I've been doing everything they've been telling me. I am a human, Julian and not a fucking puppet that is tied around the fingers and let the fingers control them. I am not afraid of them, I am afraid of getting married, that even to a person I don't know, have never met or have any history with them. It's dangerous and you will never get the idea of how difficult arrange marriages can be. What if he abuses me, rapes me, eventually kills me or cheats or anything that can be possibly imaginable."

Amelia pants, sitting down at the dining table like she's given me a part of her history.

"I understand that you have no agenda of marrying to a stranger but would it not be easier talking to your parents about your wishes. They are your parents after all." I didn't have an idea why did I say that. It sounded so dumb of me.

"You think I haven't told them before? I am done standing up for myself, Julian. My parents still belong to the beliefs of the old generations, 'Every woman must marry a husband and provide help in bringing up his children and maintaining his households.' And since our deal is going on about me being your fake girlfriend."

I can see this going as a deal upon a deal.

"Would you like to be my fake boyfriend, in front of my parents?"

There came the consequences of my actions and without thinking of what came further for us like a tick for a tack I accepted her hand.