Get Me Married

Chapter 6: The proposal

kidney” my father interrupted and I gaped at him. “Wait…what….” My eyes travelled back to Ava. She didn’t look pale, she didn’t look sick, she looked better than she had ever been in ages. But I was still confused. “I…don’t. understand” I said and turned to my parents. “What she said earlier was the truth” my mother said nervously and my confusion increased. “She got a new kidney” my father said calmly. “How…what are you saying?” I asked in frustration.  I heard what my sister said earlier and it was still a joke to me, it was still confusing. “Leona Chase had paid her hospital bills” my mom said and my eyes widened. I had heard about the family of the former head of state and the things I heard were none of my business so I didn’t pay attention to them. I only knew they were rich and in our state, poor people stay away from the rich, that was how it worked if you didn’t want to be in trouble or be their puppet. “She paid for the transplant?” I asked in realization and understanding. My mom nodded her head vigorously, tears streaming down her cheeks in happiness. “You mean….she won’t get sick ever” I said as I felt more tears burn the back of my eyes. My mom nodded her head again and my heart leaped in Joy beyond comprehension. The tears freely flowed and I felt relieved and happy, thoughts of what life was like for her, she was never like the normal kids and it affected every one. I had to watch her go through pain and as her big sister it was always hurting me to see her that way. The way I felt at the pure knowledge that it was over, the health issues, the sleepless nights, they were over. I couldn’t be happier. I got up from my feet and stared at my parents. I wanted to scream, I wanted to shriek, I wanted to jump all at once. My father saw through me as he always did and he also got up and pulled me into hug. “She is going to be fine” I cried into his chest while his hands ran through my hair. “Her bills came with a price” my father said with a sad voice. Though I wanted to remain in that happy, jubilating mood, I could sense the sadness and fear in his voice. I pulled away from his hug and stared at him. “What?” I asked, nervousness creeping into my body system. He stared at me for long and dropped his hands to his side and looked away. It felt like he was unable to speak for the fear of what he had to say. “You are to marry her son in less than two weeks” he said without meeting my eyes. For a moment there, I stumbled back a little while I tried comprehending the things he said. They were the exact same thing Ava had said earlier. I shook my head violently, it couldn’t be, how could it be? I turned to my mom and a tear slipped down her cheeks, she affirmed what my dad had said and more tears rolled down my cheeks immensely. “How could you?” I yelled accusingly at my parents. “Am I just some property of yours that you can give out? How could you agree to such terms? I am your daughter” I yelled louder and my mom cried openly. My heart was broken at the thought of not achieving my dreams, they sold me off, they gave me away like I was nothing. They didn’t care about me, they didn’t care about my future, how could they do that? “No…my dear, our hands were tied, we had no escape. She had paid the bills and……”my mom tried explaining but I wasn’t listening. The thought of loosing everything, I worked and strived so hard just to graduate so I could build a better home and they were all for nothing, My chest began to hurt and I found myself a place to seat down. “are you okay dear?” my dad asked and tried touching me, I openly glared at him. “Don’t you dare come close to me” my voice held anger and coldness, it shook him and he moved away. “We didn’t mean to Gen……” “You sold me out mom, you sold me out to a family I know nothing about. Didn’t you care about my dreams and my opinions? My wishes and life, you just threw everything away” I screamed at her. “Calm down, it’s not all that bad, the family have money. It’s a life changing opportunity for you and us, we would no longer be poor” my dad added and I glared harder at him with more tears streaming down my cheeks. “Money, this is what it’s about. You are tired of being poor and used me as a collateral for your rich life” I snapped and my dad flinched back, his shoulders slumped and he looked away from me. My words were hurting him but I didn’t just care . I couldn’t take the sight of them anymore and I took to my heels and left the room. Tears kept streaming down my cheeks as I ran out of the hospital and got into the first cab I saw. I didn’t stop crying, I couldn’t stop crying. I felt betrayed, I felt like nothing, I was hurting terribly. They knew how much I wanted to graduate, they knew how much I dreamed for us, they knew how hard I had worked to get to where I was, I didn’t understand