Married to the Bad Boy (4 page)

I looked over at Brandon thinking he had gone insane. Why in the world would he want us to get married? We had just started talking today and it wasn’t even in the direction of romance. I tried to pull out of his hold, but he just gripped my shirt to keep me in place as if he knew I wasn’t going to like this idea.

The lady looked over at us with shock written across her face, her eyes squinting at the way Brandon was keeping me in place. The way she had taken in my bruised face and now this, I’m sure she was thinking that I was being forced into marrying him. When I had agreed to go along with his plan, I didn’t know this was what he had intended, so in a way I was being forced.

“I’ll go get the paperwork,” she said, eyeing me one last time, pushing her chair back and walking into a room to the left side of us. 

“Brandon, this is crazy. Let’s get out of here,” I said when he finally let go. I turned to walk out the door we had just walked through, only to have him grip my upper arm to keep me in place.

“No, Kami. This is the only solution I can think of right now. I know this isn’t the smartest idea, but we can figure all this out later on tonight,” he told me in a stern voice.

I looked back over at the room that the lady had walked in. “Brandon, I’m sure that the lady thinks you are the one who put this bruise on my face,” I said, pointing to the room as I looked into his brown eyes. “Let’s go before she calls the cops and gets you thrown in jail for something you didn’t do.”

“He didn’t do that to you, dear?” I heard the lady ask, coming back out with paperwork in hand. I shook my head, looking down now. “Can I ask who did?”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m keeping her away from them now,” Brandon answered for me. “So what kind of information do you need from us?”

“Well, first I’m going to need your identification cards,” she said, standing behind the desk now. Brandon went and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket, then went to his other pocket, pulling out mine, that he had grabbed before leaving my room, and handing it to me. We handed over our cards to her as she places a clipboard with paperwork for us to fill out on the desk. “I’ll go make copies of this so we can go file for your marriage certificate. When was it you like to get married?”

It wasn’t hard to miss the unsettledness about us getting married in her voice. Then with the way she kept her eyes on Brandon, it seemed she was still unsure if he was the reason I have the bruise on my face.

“Today, please,” Brandon answered, holding my hand to keep me in my spot next to him. With me rocking back and forth as they spoke, I must have given off how nervous I was about this marriage thing he had come up with.

The lady went bug-eyed at how soon he wanted us to be married. She shook her head, perhaps to shake the shocked feeling as she took in this information. “I’m sorry, son, but the law states you have to wait seventy-two hours before you get married after filing for your marriage certificate.”

“Isn’t there a way to bypass the system?” Brandon asked with annoyance behind his voice. With the way he was gripping my hand, I could tell he was trying to control his anger. “I know a couple who came here about sixteen years ago who got married the same day.”

“There is a way, but it’s illegal,” the lady said, looking around the empty room. “We could hold a wedding ceremony for you today, but indicate that the date is this Saturday. We will just send in for your marriage certificate and then have you come back to pick it up and sign, but you must not tell anyone about this.”

I looked over at Brandon, not wanting to cause problems for this woman. “We don’t need to do this. I’m sure there something else we can do,” I whispered to him. As I looked into his eyes, I could see the concern in them. He was probably thinking about me going back to that evil family.

 “Do what you must, but I like for us to be married by today, please,” he said, not tearing his eyes from me. I could hear some rumbling going on as Brandon let go of my hand, only to wrap it around my waist and pulled me to him, so our chests were touching. He tucked some of my hair behind my left ear as he leaned down and whispered, “You’re not doing this alone anymore. I’m in this now and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”

The lady interrupted by saying, “Ok, then we’ll get everything ready while you go to our dressing area to change into more suitable clothing.” She handed us a paper to fill out. “We’ll do the ceremony in a few minutes, but you must not tell anyone about this. We’ll just send in for your marriage certificate and you can come back on Saturday to sign a few papers and then everything will be final.”

As she handed us the paperwork, Brandon took it and sat down to fill it out. After handing over our IDs, she had disappeared back into the side room she went in, to get the paperwork from. Nothing was said as everything got filled out and put away, making me more nervous about the situation I have gotten myself into.

As I was brought to the back to change into a wedding dress, I took in how this was all happening too fast. Why was Brandon so set on getting married when we knew nothing about one another? A part of me knew it was because he wanted to keep me safe, but there had to be another way.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do this,” I told the lady who was standing in the back waiting for me to pick a dress to change into. “Do you think I could talk to Brandon for a moment?”

 The lady didn’t say anything as she walked out of the room. I sat down in the chair and tried to control my rollercoaster of emotions as I waited.

“What’s wrong?” I heard Brandon ask as he walked into the room wearing a pair of dress pants and a white tux shirt.

“This is wrong. We can’t get married,” I said, looking down at my hands not wanting him to see how nervous I was about this. “There has to be another way to keep my step-father away from me.”

“There’s always going to the cops, like I said before,” he stated, kneeling down in front of me. “Look, I get it you’re nervous, but I promise to protect you. I don’t want to have to worry about you being in danger and being beaten. Try not to think of us getting married, but more of a safe haven to keep you out of danger.” Tears started falling down my face as I listened to him talk about the reason why he wanted to marry me. “Now, please, let’s walk down that aisle and say some silly vows, then we will try to figure out the rest of this later.”

“Okay,” I said as he grabbed my hands to pull me up to my feet. He let go and I turned to go back to the dressing room to pick a dress, but I still saw worry in his eyes as I walked away from him. Was he really that worried that something terrible was going to happen to me at all times? It should bother me, but there was also that hope that I could rely on Brandon to keep me safe from my stepfather till we figure the rest of the marriage thing out.

I looked through the dresses thinking about how people would take the news about us being married. It was like the whole girl population was mad when he mentioned me being his girlfriend for the day, but marriage was a different story. Could this affect his reputation of being the guy who didn’t seem to care about anything since he was showing that he really did care for something?

That was when I stopped and thought about the fact that he was showing me a different side of him. He was letting down his guard and letting me see who he was, someone who was against abuse and would do what was needed to keep me safe.

“Sweetie, that dress would fit you perfectly. I don’t think that boy would be able to keep his eyes off you if you walked down the aisle in that,” the lady said as she walked into the room.

I looked down at the dress I was holding and examined it. It was almost designed like a strapless dress, but had small sleeves that hung down the arms starting at the armpit area that could cover up the bruises on top of my arms. The dress was long enough that it would cover my feet and was made of lace with little flower designs on it. 

“Come, we need to fix you up a little,” she said, pulling me to sit in front of a mirror with makeup and hair products on it. “Don’t worry, leave this all to me.” Then she started to put stuff on my face to cover up my bruise.

I sat there for I don’t know how long till she finally said she was done and brought me to a mirror and I took a look at myself. Who I saw looking back at me didn’t look like me. The girl looking back at me was someone different. Her blond hair was wavy and some of it was on the side where my bruised cheek was but you couldn’t see it. Her blue eyes looked back at me with the same shock I felt going through me.

“You look lovely, dear. Now come, it’s time to get you down to your man,” she said, with a giggle.

She pushed me to the glass doors and handed me a bundle of white lilies. I smiled up at her as a thank you as the glass doors opened and I could hear soft music coming through. I stepped into the room and walked down to see Brandon standing at the end, waiting for me with an older man dressed as a minister.

My nerves almost had me walking back out to turn and run the opposite way, but I fought them and kept my eyes on Brandon till I finally got to where he was waiting for me.

He grabbed hold of my hand as I stood next to him after the lady took the flowers away. I’m sure I had fear in my eyes as I heard him say, “Everything’s going to be fine. Just trust me.”

When he smiled at me, I just knew I had to put some trust in him, for it was the kind of smile that made me smile back at him.

 As the minister talked, I faded into my own thoughts, thinking how the last twenty-four hours had turned out. How just last night I was beaten to the point of blacking out... Now I was standing here with with this guy that came into my life just this morning, and who was vowing to protect me from anyone harming me. 

“Hmm, Kami,” I heard Brandon’s voice come through my thoughts. I looked up at him as he started laughing. “Are you going to answer him?”

 “What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at his question and looking at the lady and the minister.

He let out another chuckle as he shook his head. “Always lost in your own world,” he said between laughs. “He asked you if you want to take me as your husband.”

I felt slightly embarrassed that I hadn’t even paid attention to the wedding ceremony to know that we had gotten this far. Looking around the empty room at all the seats and not seeing anyone in them brought a smile to my face.

Brandon had said this marriage was just between the both of us and now seeing the bare room, I knew he was right. I had been on my own for so many years that I felt nice to have one person I could count on just a little and not have a crowd of people watching us. I turned back to him and smiled. “Yes, yes I do.”

“Then I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” the minister said, shutting his book and making me jump.

I looked at Brandon now in a state of horror. I had never kissed anyone before and this wasn’t how I pictured it happening. I always imagined it with someone I love and have a deep passion for, not someone who was only vowing to keep me safe. When I saw him start to lean in, I turned my head a tiny bit just as his lips landed on my cheek, missing my lips by a centimeter, which made him laugh a bit.  

“Oh, she’s a shy one,” I heard the minister say as he patted Brandon’s shoulder. “You take care of her, son,” he told him.

“I plan to, sir,” Brandon said, taking my hand and walking out of the room back to the lobby. He turned me around to face him. “So what was that?”

“What was what?” I asked, wanting to get out of this dress and back into my baggy clothes, trying to forget what just happen.

 “Why didn’t you let me kiss you?” he asked, acting a little hurt and he put his hand over his heart. “The man said I had the right to and you didn’t let me.”

“Ammm, I don’t know,” I said, looking down at the floor not wanting to tell him the reason. I didn’t want my first kiss to happen just because of an agreement.

I felt him bring two of his fingers up under my chin to make me look back up at him. “Kami, there’s no reason to look down at the floor when I ask you something, okay?” Not trusting my voice, I shook my head in understanding as he wrapped his other hand into my hair.

“You look lovely by the way. At first, it took me a moment to notice it was you. I’m glad I was able to pay them to let us keep the clothing because this dress is perfect for you,” he spoke, letting go of my chin but wrapping his arm around my waist. “When I finally did notice it was you, I could see your true beauty and not the girl who hides away from everyone. That’s the girl I want to see from now on. No more hiding.”

 “That might take some time, Brandon. I’ve been used to being invisible all these years.” I spoke in a shaky voice. “I can’t just change overnight.”

“I know, but at least try. I promise to keep you safe, but I need you not to hide from me and try to let me in when something is bothering you.”

 “I’ll try, but that is all I can promise.”

“And that’s all I’m asking.” Then he let go of my waist and gripped my hand. “Now, come on. We need to go tell my parents what I just did. They’re going to have a field day about this.” He laughed as we walked out of the building, only making me more nervous. How were his parents going to take this? 

Pulling up to Brandon house, I could feel my nerves start working against me. How were his parents going to take us getting married when we barely knew one another? The only thing we did know about each other was just the things that happened in school. Besides the fact that Brandon knew about me being abused and my plans after graduation, we were still strangers to one another. This just convinced me that this marriage wasn't that great of an idea.   

“Brandon, I can’t do this,” I told him as we pulled up his semicircular driveway. I took in a deep breath, looking out my window at the two-story white house in front of me.

I saw the step that led to the front door with pillars where the porch began. Along the top level above the door stood a balcony where I could make out flowers growing along the panels. The house was twice as large as the house I grow up in.

“Kami, there’s no need to be scared. I understand this is all shocking, but just think that this will all be over in a few months,” he said, turning the car off and opening his door. “Now come on, let’s go talk to my parents. I’m sure once they meet you, they will love you. There’s nothing to worry about. Come on.” I didn't want to get out of the car and make this more real than it already was.

When my side door opened and I turned to look up, Brandon was looking at me with an annoyed expression. “Kami, come on, get out of the car.”

I was too nervous to get out though and deal with telling someone else about my troublesome past. I wasn’t sure how they would take it. The only thing I could think was they would kick us out, or kick me out.

“Can’t we rethink this through? Maybe it’s best if we get a divorce and we think of something else,” I tried to reason. “Maybe I can stay somewhere else hidden from my family, till graduation.”

“No, Kami. I want to be able to keep an eye on you to know that you’re safe.” He motioned with his head. “Now get out of the car or I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you in.”

I was feeling too anxious to get out of the car. This day had more drama in it than I ever image could happen in one day. I should have known when Brandon walked up to me this morning that it was going to be absurd crazy kind of day.

It occurred that trouble followed this boy around and cursed whomever he was with. Now here I was sitting in his car in front of his house, about to tell his parents that we had gotten married, not sure how they were going to take it.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that when Brandon leaned over me and unbuckled my seatbelt, I didn't have time to react till he was pulling me out of the car and throwing me over his shoulder as he kicked the car door shut. “We don’t have all day, Kami. The sooner we get this done, the better things will be.”

When he had picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potato, it made my side burn. If it hadn't been for the sting going down my side as he walked to the door, I would have totally forgotten about the bruises that were on my side.

I didn't want Brandon to think he was hurting me, so I bit my lip to wait for the pain to pass and focused more on the matter of telling his parents about this plan of his.    

“Brandon, put me down!” I yelled, slamming my hands against his back. I don’t know what he intended to tell his parents, but I was becoming more and more uncomfortable the closer he walked us to the front door. 

“If I do, will you walk to the front door like a normal person?” he asked as I saw the steps start to appear under my head. The further he walked up the steps, the darker it got, informing me that we were getting closer to the front door.

I let out a big sigh knowing there was no winning against this boy, but before I could tell him that I surrendered, I heard a woman's voice speak up. “Brandon, what do you think you are doing? I can hear that girl screaming all the way inside.”

As the woman spoke, Brandon puts me back down on my feet. I looked up at him with pleading eyes to just let me go. I was starting to feel doubtful about Brandon’s desire to help me. I still didn’t fully understand why he felt the need to help me, but a small part of me was thankful. 

“Mom, this is Kami,” he told her, looking down at me with a smile. He brought his hand up and caressed my cheek gently while giving me a caring look. As I looked into his eyes, I could see the apologies within them, as if sensing he had hurt me when he had picked me up.

“Ok, and what is she doing here?” the lady questioned him. Even with my back turned to this lady, I could tell by her voice that she was uneasy about me being here, which only made me second guess this agreement even more.

“She is going to be living here, till the end of school,” he answered her, now looking up from behind me at his mother. I stood there studying his face, to see if he was starting to lose his edge.

“Brandon, that won’t be happening. Not in this house. Take that girl back from where you found her; this isn’t a boarding house,” she said back at him.

That was when Brandon gripped my hand and pulled me around and started walking to the door. I brought my eyes down, afraid to look up at this lady, who made it clear she didn’t want me in her house.  “No, mom. I’m not taking her back to the pits of hell. She is going to be staying here, regardless of what you have to say.”

He pushed himself through the door with me behind him. I was starting to feel bad for causing all this ruckus between him and his mom. Maybe it would have been best to go to the cops. This wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Louis, tell your son to take this girl back home,” the woman said from behind us. “That she won’t be living here.”

I was so focused on the ground that I didn’t hear anyone else enter the foyer till I heard a male voice speak up. “Brandon, what is the meaning of this? We never had this kind of behavior from you before.”

I wanted to laugh at the irony of that statement.  Didn’t this man know that their son was the one who caused the most trouble in school? That he had a passion for getting into fights, just because he didn’t like it when someone did something he wasn’t fond of? This was the bad boy of my school and most people tried to steer clear of him.

“Can’t we just sit down and talk about this. I promise it’s not what it looks like,” Brandon stated. I could tell he was trying to keep calm as he spoke to his parents.

He walked around to face me as he brought his finger under my chin and lifted my head till I met his eyes. As I once again got lost in his eyes, I saw the same caring look he had been showing me outside. “Kami and I got married a little while ago.”  

“You what!?” His mother yelled, making me flinch a little by the way she took the news. I tried to move my head back down, but Brandon kept his finger in place so I wouldn't.

“I said Kami here is my wife. This is the reason why she is going to be living here with us, till we graduate from school,” he explained in a softer voice.

“Brandon, you need to stop and think about what you’re doing. You’re only eighteen years old. You have your whole life to live. Do you think it’s best to be getting married so young? I don’t think that is the best decision to make,” the man said from behind me. I could hear him stepping around us, but I didn’t dare tear my eyes from Brandon. “Why did you feel the need to get married so young?”

“We didn’t even know you were serious about anyone,” his mother spoke. “Do her parents know about this? Maybe it would be best if we all got together and talk about this.”

Brandon tore his eyes from me and turned to face his parents as I cast my eyes back down to the ground. “Her family has no say in this. This marriage is an agreement between me and her, not anyone else. Her family can jump to hell for what they did to her, for all I care.” 

“Brandon, don’t talk to your mother like that,” His father said. “We’re just trying to make light about all this. What did her family do that was so bad, that you feel the need to bring her here and tell us you got married?”

 “Are you blind, old man? Just look at her,” Brandon yelled back at him. The more he yelled, the more I pictured my stepfather hitting me when something happened to his dislike. I thought Brandon was about to start a fight with his father. I looked up at him to see that he had a challenging look. “Think about what happened sixteen years ago because it looks like history repeating itself.” 

That's when I felt a pair of warm small hands go along my jaw line and move my face to look into a pair of remorseful brown eyes. “Her family did this to her?” his mother asked as she took in my bruised face, even though it was still lightly covered with makeup. She had the same brown eyes that Brandon had, but with honey blond hair lying around her face. She had the perfect model heart-shape face that any guy would be attracted to. The only flaw I could see was the faded scar that ran along her right cheekbone.  

“Yes, mom,” Brandon answered. “When I saw her face this morning at school, I knew I had to do something to help her. I stayed by her side and saw nothing out of the ordinary, so I followed her home.” Then he took a deep breath before continuing. “When I got to her room, I found her step-father had tied her to her bed and was about to rape her.”

A shiver went through me as I thought about what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up when he did. “I beat the shit out of that sick fuck and got her out of there. We started driving around when I saw that white wedding chapel. We walked in and asked to be married, which wouldn’t be final till Saturday though.”

Brandon gripped my hand tighter as his mother released me from her hold, about the time I saw tears running down her cheeks. “I promise to keep her safe till graduation. After that we will figure everything out,” he explained, pulling me to him and wrapping his arm around my waist. “Is there anything else you need to know?”

“No, son. I think we understand a little more about what is going on,” his father said. “Go get washed up. Dinner will be ready soon.” 

As we walked up the stairs, I thought back to what just happened and how they just accepted me without a second thought after Brandon said something that took place so many years ago. “What happened sixteen years ago?”

“That doesn’t matter anymore. It’s in the past and is over,” he told me as we got to the top of the stairs. “Although I think you look stunning in that dress, let’s go see if we can find something a little more comfortable for you to wear.”

He opened a door to the left and led me in with his hand. I took in the unmade bed along the wall next to the door, with clothes scattered on the floor. Brandon pulled me inside before shutting the door and walking me over to the closet to look for some clothes. “Here, this should work for now.” He handed me a pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt. 

“Thanks,” I said, looking around for some place to change in private. Even though he had already seen me in my weakest state, I wasn’t ready to be exposed to him in that manner again. 

“The bathroom’s there,” he said, pointing to another door next to the one he just came out of, seeing my uneasiness about where to change.

When I looked up at him, I saw how he started rubbing the back of his head and his eyes looked from side to side, showing I wasn’t the only one who was nervous about this. “When you’re done, I guess we can talk or find something to do.”

“Brandon, I get it, ok? You don’t really like me and I still don’t understand why we got married, but we don’t have to tell anyone. I want you to live your life the way you did before. Thank you though for getting me out of that nightmare and bringing me into your family, but don’t worry. I’m not going to force you into acting like a husband to me,” I told him. It wouldn’t be fair to make him change when this wasn’t going to be a real marriage. He did this to protect me.

I leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek. Then turned to walk into the bathroom to change out of the dress.

Placing the change of clothes by the sink, I looked down at my wedding dress and sighed. At least the clothes Brandon gave me were baggy and his mom and dad wouldn’t see those bruises on me. I slipped on the sweatpants and pulled the string so they wouldn’t fall off, and pulled the oversized shirt on and opened the door to go back into the room.

When I walked out, Brandon was sitting on the bed with his face down looking at his phone. He looked annoyed. He had also changed out of his clothes into a pair of basketball shorts and a white shirt. I could see the muscles in his toned arms, showing how strong he really was.

Never before have I ever paid real attention to Brandon’s appearance because I was mostly looking into his brown eyes. There was something about them that made me feel safe, like no one could harm me as long as I looked into them.

“Are you ok?” I asked, stepping back into the room, leaving the dress in the counter in the bathroom.

He looked up and my eyes locked with his. “I was just thinking about what you just told me.”

“What do you mean?”

“How you said I didn’t need to change my ways. It just wouldn’t be fair to you, though, if I keep doing what I’ve always done.” He looked back down at his phone. “It might be hard, but I think it is best if we try to make this a faithful marriage. I’ll keep you protected better if I stay away from other girls and going to bed with them.”

I looked over at him thinking what had made all this come out. “Brandon, there’s no reason to change for me just because we are married. I respect you for not wanting to cheat on me, but just think of this as a fake marriage. As soon as school’s done, we can get a divorce and I’ll get my inheritance. You will never have to see me again.”