Midnight Train

Chapter 11

"I stayed with Uncle Nathan and everyone else until I turned 18. After that, I got my own place, still close to theirs. Even after my 18th birthday, I never contacted my parents and they never contacted me. Though, just as a safety measure, I blocked their numbers."

"Your Dad and I continued to date after I moved out. I would often randomly pop up in videos, either in the background or literally in front of the camera. It became a kind of fun game for the viewers to try and spot me. We dated each other for about two years before your Dad proposed to me. And even then I would still randomly pop up in videos. That or James would constantly show me off to the millions of people who watched the videos. He still does to this day."

"That's because you were beautiful back then and you still are. If only I could find words to describe how beautiful you are. Then I wouldn't need to constantly show the world how breathtakingly gorgeous the love of my life is."

A massive blush paints my cheeks as I duck my head. James places his hand under my chin, making me look up. His face shows an unreadable expression. From what I can determine, it was a mix of love, comfort, passion, and something I couldn't determine. He closed the gap between us and kissed me on the lips. The passion in that kiss could break rocks and move mountains. It was the kind of kiss that could defeat anything that stood in the way of that love.

"I still remember where I proposed to you. We were on the train. It was late at night and most of the people who were riding were asleep. The few who were not asleep were basically zombies. Your head was leaning on my shoulder and you were almost asleep as well. When I pulled out the ring, though, you woke right up. The few people who were aware of what was going on applauded us."

I hold up my left hand, admiring my ring for the thousandth time since I got it. I loved this ring. Sure, it wasn't the flashiest or the most expensive one, bit I still loved it for what it symbolized. Not only was it a sign for our love for each other, it was a sign of the life we created. No longer was I living under my parents' tyrannical rule. Now I was a parent: a mother to three amazing kids who I loved more than the world.

"I was 19 when we got married. It was around five months after our engagement. I have no idea why we were married so soon. I guess because we loved each other. And still do. We had invited all of our family and friends, including my parents. I didn't think they'd come. I mean, they didn't contact me since before the trial."

"I still remember the wedding so well," my husband starts. He had gained a faraway look in his eyes. "Seeing you walk down the aisle was like seeing an angel. You looked absolutely gorgeous in your dress. I knew from that moment that I would love you for the rest of my life."

I smile and blush. James always knew how to make me feel like the queen he always knew me to be.

"We had just gotten to the part where the priest asked everyone if anyone objected to the wedding. Just then my parents barged into the church saying I couldn't marry James because I was too young and, because of my age, I needed parental consent to get married, which they did not give. The whole church waited in silence for a moment before I tried to explain that I could get married without parental consent because I was legally an adult. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. James couldn't get a word in edgewise. Even the priest couldn't stop the bombardment of yelling. The guests we invited were starting to get rowdy too, defending us. It was sweet on their part, but I could barely discern one shouting voice from another. Finally I got tired of the argument resonating around the walls of the church. I handed my bouquet to James before coming up with a plan to put an end to this shouting match. I grabbed the microphone on the pulpit and asked the priest if I could borrow the mic attached to his vestments. With a quick warning to the wedding party to cover their ears, I put the two mics in range of each other. This sent out a wave of feedback that got everyone to stop talking and cover their ears from the commotion."

"Once I was satisfied that everyone was done yelling, I pulled the mics apart. I handed Father his mic back, and placed the other one back on the pulpit. My parents were about to launch into another bout of yelling before I stopped them with a threat of making the two microphones create feedback again. I walked back to my place across from James, taking my bouquet back. Now that the disturbance was taken care of, I tried to explain to them that we had gone through the proper counseling, and I was old enough to get married without my parents saying I could."

"They didn't like that and both grabbed my by my arms and started dragging me down the aisle, away from the man I desperately wanted to marry. I kicked and screamed, but no one seemed to want to help me. I heard a shout, ' Get your hands off the love of my life.' My eyes snapped open to see James standing heroically at the altar before making his way toward me. Uncles Nathan, Gabe, Cedrick, and Jordan stood up and followed him. My knights in shining armor. Surprisingly, someone else stood up to my aid. My brother, Brett, who was about two years older than me.

He was my parents' favorite and they never bothered hiding it. The reason Brett never knew about the mistreatment I suffered through was because he had been away at college and had only recently come home for my wedding. No doubt my parents filled his ears with lies about why I wasn't at home. Now he was seeing the abuse first hand.

"Brett demanded my parents release me and wanted.to know what was happening. More lies spilled from my parents' lips, to which I firmly argued against. James and his friends jumped to my defense as well. My father tried to get him to leave, saying he forbade me from seeing James again, and calming Brett down, trying to desperately to convince him that they were in the right. James argued that they couldn't do that and had given up their parental rights the second the court said Uncle Nathan became my legal guardian. Brett hadn't heard of this and vehemently insisted that he be told what was happening. Nathan, Gabe, Cedrick, and Jordan filled him on what had happened. He went livid at what they had done. He was.ready to leave the family too. They didn't know what to say to that and they slowly released me from their grip, defeated."

"I went and comforted Brett, calming him down. Our parents were awkwardly standing there, just taking up space. I could tell the threat of losing their favorite kid had taken its toll. I could also tell that I was lucky Brett had been here. Otherwise, this thing wouldn't have ended without a fight. Jordan threatened to call the cops on them if they wouldn't leave, and so they solemnly left."

"After they left, we carried on with the ceremony and we finally got to say our "I do's". Then we kissed and went to the reception. And that, kids, is the story of how we met."

I ended the story and looked around to see all three of our kids asleep. James and I chuckle at the scene.

"I guess it got too late for them," James says, a smile stretching across his face.

"I remember when we first rode the train. I know I fell asleep, too."

We smile at each other and a silent conversation passes between us. I move Atlanta from my lap and James picks up Sam and moves him to the seat I was sitting in previously. I move to sit next to my handsome husband. I lean my head on his shoulder and he leans his head on top of mine. We sit there, listening to the sound of the train running over the tracks.

"I love you," I whisper in the quiet.

"I love you too."