Don't Let Me Go <A Paranormal love story>(Wattpad Only)

{Nineteen} Layla

Somewhere in late November 2020

My parents stayed silent for a couple of days. They didn't say much about the break-up except that I deserved better. As for Daniel, I ignored him pretty much. He didn't try to talk to me either. Although seeing him did hurt a lot. I had Sarah and Michael constantly checking on me.

I was in the hospital checking on the coma patient when I got a notification. I looked around, making sure I was alone and then checked my phone. There were two notifications: You got 50 matches on Tinder. Sam wants to message you. I frowned in pure confusion because I couldn't remember setting up an account. The first person my brain accused was Sarah. So I questioned her during my lunch hour. She said she thought that app was full of shit. So I called Michael. He said he'd rather set me up with his friends. So there were only two other people left.

"Amma! Appa!" I walked into my house looking around for my parents. They were sitting on the couch, heads buried in my dad's laptop. A photo of a man I don't know flashes on the screen. My mother looked at me. "Ah, Lalama come here. You are right on time. Sit. Sit." She patted the couch.

"What is going on?" I crossed my arms still standing.

"Look at this boy how charming he is. He is only 26, and he is already the chief doctor. He lives in Perth. Loves dogs just like you. He even has two dogs! How nice is this Lalama," she cheered.

"So the Tinder was all you guys?"

"C'mon now, sit. We found a few matches and we think you would make a great match with them," she continued.

"Amma I already told you I don't want another boyfriend-"

"Boyfriend? No betta we are seeing boy for you. You are 22. You can date the boy for a few months and then marry him. It will be correct," my mum replied.

"22 is not an age to marry, Mum!" I yelled in disbelief. My own parents couldn't see what I was going through. "You only want me to get married because you can show off to your siblings that I married somewhere big."

"Layla listen to your mother," my dad said sternly.

"No, you listen to me. I just had a heart break and I am still not over Daniel. So I absolutely cannot date another man right now and I don't want to get married at least until I'm 26!"

"Layla watch your tone," he warned again.

"Layla, your father and I want to see you live happily before we die. All we want is for you to live happily and for us to see that. That Daniel boy was a fool. You can't stay sad because some boy left. You got to move on and show him that you are better off," my mum said.

I rolled my eyes. "You say that like it's just that easy. I'm not a slut to just change men within a month." At the mention of the word slut my mother's expression changed.

"LAYLA MARIA JOSEPH THAT IS ENOUGH," My mum said in full volume. "You are getting married by next year and that's about it. Now go to your room."

I huffed and stormed off to my room. I carefully shut the door even though I really wanted to slam it. Cause No way I'm triggering them even more. I sat on my bed as tears started to roll down my cheeks. I felt so angry: Angry at Daniel for hurting me; Angry at my parents for not understanding; and Angry at myself for loving Daniel. I wanted to scream. I fisted the bed causing something to fall. I looked at my phone on the floor. I took my phone and dialled Michael's number without second thoughts.

"Lays chips!" he cheered, which made me smile a bit.

"Hey..." I trailed off.

"You okay Lay Lay?"

"No," I choked as I looked at my nails. I took deep breaths trying not to cry.

"What happened?"

"My parents want to get me married," I tried to sound as casual as possible. I fell back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling as fresh tears rolled down my cheek.

"What!? For real? But you are only 22!?"

A sob escaped my lips. "I don't know why they are like this. They won't even listen to what I say. I must listen to them. I'm 22 and I can't even choose what to do."

"I feel you on that."

"The-they signed me on Tinder and want me to marry some rich boy Michael. I know they only doing this so they don't have to take the shame that their daughter got dumped by a boy-"

"Hey, you dumped his sorry ass!" He corrected.

"You know what I mean. All my mother's siblings and their kids got arranged marriages. No one had boyfriends and all. Or if they did, they married that man. That is how it is. So my mother is keen that I do the same. If I don't, her siblings will get all gossipy and talk shit."

"Ah, fucking Indian aunties man. Can't mind their own business," he cursed, and I rolled my eyes.

"My parents used the family card-" I said, and he chimed in, "Oh, I wanna see you do this (I said "get married") before I die."

"The classic, or they'll say I brought you up; you can't talk to me like that."

"Yeah the guilt trip," I sighed. "I don't wanna get married until the next four years and I don't want to marry a stranger."

"I don't want you to. Neither do I want to. Hey, I'll come over and talk to them. Or I'll get my mother to do so. She likes you, so you might support you."

"You think?" I asked, a little sceptical because, c'mon, these Indian women tend to be like-minded on sentiments like this.

"I hope. I'll be there soon. Go do something and stop thinking about it."

After an hour, I heard a familiar voice outside. I opened the door and found Michael and Aunty Maria in my living room. Michael walked towards me, and I let him into my room. "Dress up, we are going for a drive," he said.

"Michael it is 8 pm."

"I know but we should leave," he said and mouthed, "Mum is gonna talk." I nodded.

I got clapped on a big coat over my PJs since I didn't feel like dressing. Luckily, Michael wasn't overdressed either. He just had on a pair of cargos and a white T-shirt. Michael made a joke about my coat falling and people thinking I was going to put on a show because my PJs read I'm a party animal. We both laughed as we walked out. My parents looked at us and then exchanged looks. I told them I was going out and waved goodbye. My parents told Michael to take care of me, making me roll my eyes. Stupid Indian belief that every woman needs a man to protect her. Yes, I'm rolling my eyes right now as I think of it.

"So you think your mum will convince them?" I asked lacking confidence. Luckily, our family was close, so I knew Maria could do it, although I couldn't help but doubt the chances because my parents are headstrong people.

"Have you ever met that lady?" Michael asked, and I nodded, laughing. He was right. Maria was headstrong too. But little did we know that leaving our parents together that night was a big mistake...

For unknown reasons that I now know off, my Tinder account got deactivated that night and my parents forgot all about my marriage after that ...or so I thought.