The Arrangement

6

Lili
Cami pulled me inside and closed the door behind Dakota. "What's wrong?" she asks as we sit on the couch. "I just had to get away from him." I say quietly. "Did he hurt you?" she asks, "do I need to kill him?" Kj came downstairs. "Hey Lili." he says, "what's wrong." "She hasn't told me yet, but it has something to do with Cole." Cami says. "What happened?" he asks, sitting next to me. Dakota nudges me, and I rest my hand on his head. "Marriage is marriage, right. Even if it's forced." I say. They look at me confused. "He's in bed with another girl. He had another one the night before on the couch." I say quietly. Cami hugs me tightly. "I'm so sorry Lili." Kj rubs my back. "I mean he did it while we were dating, so why not do it in our forced marriage." I mumble. "You don't deserve this. Did your mom know about this?" Kj says. "Yea. She doesn't care. All she cares about is this debt." I laugh a little. "How about I get you something to sleep in and you can't stay in your old room." Cami says. We go up to her room and she gives me some of her pajamas because we are the same size. I go to my old room and fall asleep.

I woke up gasping for air and Dakota trying to wake me. He gets in my lap and I hug him. "I'm ok." I whisper. Cami came into my room and hugged me. "It's ok Lili." she says. "I'm gonna get some coffee." I whisper. She nods and lets me go. I make myself a cup of coffee, and sit on the couch. I watch some movies with Dakota. I'm so glad I have him.

"Hey Lili." I hear. I turn to see Kj. "Hey." I sigh. "You ok?" he asks. "I don't understand why I'm so upset about it. I mean, we hate each other." I say. "Maybe you don't hate him as much as you thought you did." he suggests. "I don't know." I say. "I could go talk to him if you want." he says. "No. There's no point. He won't listen. I'm probably just gonna move all of my stuff into a different bedroom. I'm not sleeping in that bed, ever again." I say. "We could help you." Cami says, coming into the room. "You just gotta make sure he isn't there and my door has a lock." I say and they nod. "I'll call him and ask him what he's doing today." Kj says.

Kj came back a few minutes later. "He's busy all day." he replies. "Well, lets go." I say standing. We take separate cars to the house so they can get back to their house. I open the door and walk in with Dakota. We get all of my things moved to the farthest bedroom. By the time we were done, we watched movies and Cole came in. "Hey." he says slowly. "Cole." I reply, not taking my eyes from the tv. He goes to the kitchen, and Kj follows him. "I guess I'll see you later." Cami says. "Yea." I hug her tightly before going to my new room with Dakota. I lock the door and lay on the bed. I fall asleep.

Cole
"What are you doing Cole?" Kj asks, coming into the kitchen. "What do you mean?" I ask. "With Lili. You are still married you know." he says. "I know." I reply. "Quit playing with her." he snaps. "I'm not." I say. "You're playing with her feelings. Helping her through some stuff and then sleeping with other girls." he says, "she doesn't want to be anywhere around you." "Well, I didn't want to marry her in the first place!" I snap. "And you think she wanted to marry you. Out of all people." he retorts. I see Lili standing in the doorway. She walks to the fridge, grabs a water and turns to Kj. "I think Camila is in the car. I'll see you later I guess." she says and leaves the kitchen. "Do you have any idea what she has been through over these past few years?" he asks. "No." I reply. "She lost her father, she lost a few of her friends, and she has a lot of anxiety. She has nightmares from said anxiety. That dog is the only thing she has left is what she thinks. That dog is the only thing that can calm her down. Think about when she doesn't have that dog anymore. What do you think is going to happen." he says. "I don't know." I say. "She's going to lose it and most likely let the anxiety take over." he says and leaves.

I walk into the bedroom, but Lili wasn't in there, neither was her stuff. I open all the door except for a locked one. "Lili?" I knock on the door. She doesn't answer, but I can hear her taking deep breaths. "Lili. Open the door." I say. "Go away. I don't need you." she yells. "Please open the door." I say. "I said go away." she snaps. I sigh and go to the bedroom. I lay on the bed and try to sleep.

Lili
I couldn't sleep that night. I changed into some running clothes and got some coffee. I stepped outside, but Cole was on the porch smoking. Dakota ran down the stairs and Cole turned to look at me. "Where are you going?" he asks. "Doesn't matter." I reply, going after Dakota. "Yea it does. We are married. We are supposed to tell each other things." he says and I laugh. "Wow Cole. Pulling the marriage card. Perfect. I'll see you when I get back." I scoff, and start running, Dakota trialing me.

I ran until my legs were about to give out. I sat on a bench, trying to catch my breath. "Hey. You're that famous lady, Lili Reinhart, right?" I hear. I turn and see a guy that had brown hair and really tall. "Depends. Who are you?" I ask, our of breath. "I'm Casey. Casey Cott. I'm a huge fan!" he says, making me chuckle. "What are you doing our here all by yourself?" he asks. "I'm not completely alone. I have my dog, but I was on a run. I just need to catch my breath before I head home." I say. "I'm just going for a midnight stroll. I have a lot on my mind." he sighs. "Tell me about it." I grumble. He sits next to me and sighs. "What's your dogs name?" he asks. "Dakota. He's literally the only one who's been with me through thick and thin." I smile at the dog. "That sounds heavenly. I don't have anyone like that." he says. "What do you do?" I ask. "Oh. I'm new to the actor business." he says. "I've got a few roles in acting. I mostly do the FX makeup on he actors. I've released a few albums, but I think I'm gonna let everything settle in my life before I continuing what I'm doing." I chuckle. "That would be nice. I've already auditioned for a few roles." he sighs. "Little piece of advice. Don't go after so many roles. I've done that and I didn't get a single one of them. Then, I did one audition, and then I got the part." I say. "That's some really great advice! Thank you!" he smiles. "No problem." I smile at him, "Well. I should be heading home." I stand and start heading home. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime." I say. "Maybe." he smiles. I start to run and I make to the house around 2:30. I get some water and sit on the couch. "You're back." I hear from the doorway. "I'm back." I reply. I stand and head to my room. I take a shower, and get changed into some pajamas. "Are you going to talk to me?" he asks. I give him a look and close my bedroom door, locking it.