Married to the Bad Boy

  Then there was Brandon. How he had tried to save me from the nightmare my life was. Within the same day, he talked me into marrying him and did everything he could to keep me safe and protected, only to find out the other night he was in love with me. We experienced the love we shared that special night and how close we had become, only to have it ripped from us now.

  My father might have not been able to kill me physically, but mentally he had. If it wasn’t for what he did to Brandon and me, I wouldn’t be pondering about leaving him. No, I’d be soaking up the sun and enjoying my husband’s loving embrace. I wouldn’t be in this gloomy hospital room watching my husband fight for his life.

  With that thought, I looked back over to Brandon to see his eyelids had stopped fluttering and now it was like a sense of peace had fallen across his face. It seemed that he was no longer in pain as his breathing normalized. Whatever was going on behind those eyelids of his, I just hoped he was happy. I leaned down and kissed his lips softly, wanting him to know I was here with him at the moment.

  I scooted the chair closer to the bed and laid my head down on the bed next to his hand. I could feel the tears once again fall down my face. Why was it that just when I started to finally feel happy with my life, it was getting ripped from me? Why couldn’t people just leave me alone and let me be?

  I was so crossed about everything going on inside me at the moment that I wanted to scream. My brain was telling me to leave Brandon, that it was best for him and to keep him safe. Then there was my heart breaking at the idea of not having him in my life, that I would do anything in this world to protect him. My heart was telling me to stay and fight like hell to keep him to myself.

  I knew when we first got married, I really didn’t know that much about him besides the fact that he was always doing something to get in trouble. But shortly after getting married, I found out he had a caring side. That also when he set his mind to something, he’d do it no matter how crazy it was. That what I love about him the most was how he always seemed to be by my side when I needed him the most.

  With everything going on around me though, I knew this marriage was to dangerous for him to be in. How my father wanted me dead. I didn’t know if there was someone else willing to take his place and cause the same kind of harm to me and Brandon, but I wasn’t willing to take it if there was. No, I would trade my life for his no matter what. This was my battle and I need to fight it myself, without getting Brandon hurt again. It’d be selfish for me to stay in this marriage if all it was going to bring was danger and harm to one another.

  I wondered what Brandon will say to all this once he wakes up. Would he finally see the train wreck this marriage has come? Would he want to go through the agreement and get a divorce after we graduate in high school? I knew that whatever he wanted, I’d give it to him, no matter how much it would break my heart.

  All this thinking was making me feel more depressed than I was before. My eyelids started closing themselves as a wave of tiredness hit me. “I love you, Brandon. Forever and always,” I stated from the heart. I started to slip into my own dream world and felt a hand stroke my hair down and I thought I heard a faint male’s voice say, “I love you also, Kami.”

  Then I slipped into an illusion of Brandon and me living happily ever after where nothing could touch us.

  Epilogue

  Over the past few days, I never left Brandon’s side as doctors looked him over. When Brandon would try to sit up, the doctor would tell him to lie back down. But he wouldn’t listen to them. Only when I would come in and repeat what the doctor asked would he obey. When the doctor asked him why he only listened to me, he told him it was because I was his wife and he only took orders from me, not some overpriced doctor.

  Finally, after a week and a half, Brandon was given permission to fly back home, but had to follow up with a doctor till all his bullet wounds were fully healed, which wouldn’t be months from now. Brandon just kept telling the doctor that he understood and promised he would be in perfect health by the end of the summer, which made the doctor laugh. When I was pushing Brandon out of the hospital, one of the nurses wished me luck with him.

  Since we were still being guarded by the FBI, they drove us to a private hangar where a charter plane was waiting for us with Brandon’s family. When we finally got into the cabin, Brandon pulled me to the back of the plane, saying he just wanted some privacy from his family. Sitting beside me, he pulled me into his uninjured side till my head lay against his shoulder, so he could lay his head on top of mine.

  “Kami, what’s wrong?” he asked about the time we felt the plane take off. “You seem distanced this past week.”

  I lifted my head, looking into his chocolate brown eyes, feeling myself being pulled by them, just like the day when he had shown up at my locker. It felt like that day happened years ago when in fact it was just a few weeks ago. How I was scared of being near this boy when we first got married only to fall deeply in love with him. That love was what brought me to my dilemma, knowing that love was the reason he was hurt. “I’ve just been thinking about what’s going to happen once we got home. If you have forgotten, we’re still in school and have missed quite a bit of it now this past week. I’m scared that I won’t be able to bring my grades up and get into a good college,” I told him, not wanting to go into details on how I was feeling.

  He let out a small laugh, wrapping his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. “Kami, there’s no need to worry about your grades or if we’re going to graduate on time. My mother told me that they were already informed about the incident and are offering us to stay home to finish the rest of the school year there, so we’ll be able to recover. Then in a few weeks we will be able to walk on the stage and live our lives the way we want.”

  Nothing else was said between us as Brandon slept the rest of the way home, but my mind kept running away with me. I love him, yes, but I also knew that love had caused all these problems. We got married was for all the wrong reasons. We should have dated for a while to try to build some kind of relationship, then gotten married leading to us making love. The way we took this all in at the beginning was all wrong, but there was no going back to change it now.

  Once we got home, Brandon was complaining about being in pain all the time and not wanting to do his school work. I had even moved into the guess room, which I should have done the day that I found myself at my father’s wedding.

  I hadn’t really thought too much about my father since I’ve been home or even when we had been at the hospital. It was like the idea of knowing my father was dead did nothing to me or even affected me in any way. I guess with the fact that he had been out of my life for so long, he was already dead to me.

  What did cross my mind were the things he had told me when I was his prisoner. How could I have not seen that those people I had been living with weren’t really my family? Why had I never questioned it? How he blamed me for killing the love of his life, my real mother, when she gave birth to me, to send me to those people who treated me the way they did. My whole life was a lie and I didn’t even know it. I was confused about my life more than ever now and what the future was going to bring my way.

  “Kami,” Brandon’s voice broke through my thoughts. “What’s this I’m hearing about you wanting to go back to school without me?”

  I turned to look at him to see him standing in the doorway with a pissed off look on his face. I hadn’t told him I was caught up on all my missing school work and was able to go back to school. I didn’t want to spend the last few weeks of our senior year hearing Brandon complain about having to do school work or how he wanted his shoulder to feel better. It was really starting to get on my nerve. “I’ve finished with all my makeup work and they said I could come back if I wanted. I thought it would be smart to finish the school year out like most kids do.”

  I watched as he walked into the room slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine. It felt like he could tell I was hiding something from him. “Kami, what’s
really going on? Ever since we came back, you were distancing yourself from me. First, you locked yourself in the room and barely talked to me and now you’re going back to school on your own.”

  I let out a deep sigh knowing it was time to tell him the truth. “Brandon, I think we need to talk.”

  “You’re damn right we need to talk, so start talking.” He paused, sitting down at the end of the bed as I turned the desk chair around to face him. I was scared to tell him everything I had been feeling, but it was time to let it out in the open and not let it bottled up inside anymore.

  “I think it’s best if we stay with our original plan and get a divorce,” I blurted out, dropping my head to look down at my lap. I didn’t want to see the hurt in his eyes, knowing I was the cause of it.

  “Divorce. Are you kidding me?” he asked. It wasn’t hard to miss the hurt in his voice as he spoke and it broke my heart even more. “After everything we’ve been through, you just wanted to throw it out the door like it was nothing.”

  I shook my head. “Brandon, it’s not like that. I just feel we made a mistake getting married the way we did. A lot has happened in the last few months and I would feel better if we took some time apart,” I tried to reason, looking back up into his burning brown eyes. What I didn’t expect to see were the tears that started to build up under them. “Brandon, please know I do love you, but I just feel that this love has done nothing but cause us heartache and danger. If we had never gotten married, then you wouldn’t be in the state you’re in now.”

  I watched as he took in a deep breath and his face twisted from the painful movement. “No, Kami, you don’t get it. You’re letting what your father did get in the way of us. It doesn’t matter what happened or what could have happened, our love should be able to fight through it, but now you’re letting what he did get the best of you.” I watched as he stood up and walked over to me before leaning down on his knees to look me in the eye. “Kami, I love you and would do whatever it takes to keep you safe. I promise that much to you the day we got married and I have kept that promise. It just so happened we fell in love with one another in the process, so please don’t throw away what we have just because you’re scared of what could happen.”

  By now I could feel the tears running down my cheeks. “Brandon, I can’t. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you because of me and the things in my past.”

  He dropped his head to look at the ground as he let out a deep sigh. I could tell he was in deep thought with the way he kept shaking his head back and forth, but soon he lifted it back up to look at me. “Okay, Kami, if this is what you want, then I’ll grant you your wishes. But know I will not stop fighting for you. One day you’re going to see that we are meant for each other and when that day comes, I’ll be right there.” He brought his hand up to wipe the tears that were flowing down. “I know deep down you do love me, but you’re just scared and need some time to get used to the idea. Fine, I’ll give you what you want, but on one condition.”

  “What would that be?”

  “You promise that we stay friends and talk at least once a day. I need to know you’re okay and not in any harm. Even if it’s a simple ‘good morning’ or ‘good night,’ it will work for me. I just can’t let you go, but at the same time I can’t make you stay knowing in the beginning this was what we planned on doing.” He pulled me out of the chair and sat me on his lap.

  “So you’re okay with staying with the original plan?” I asked, laying my head down on his good side as he wrapped his arms tightly around me, keeping me in place.

  “No, I’m not, but you know the saying, ‘If you let love go and it comes back, it’s meant to be.’ I know that we will be together one day. I know that with all my heart.” He laid his head on top of mine. “I’m just not ready to let you go just yet though, so let’s just sit here and let me hold you please.”

  By the end of the next month, we were walking across the stage to get our diplomas. It was odd sitting next to Brandon holding his hand during the graduating ceremony since we were still married, but all that changed the next day when we signed our divorce paper.

  After that night when we had agreed to stick with the original plan, we told his parents. They didn’t fully understand why, but they never questioned us. So the morning after graduation, we went to his family attorney who had paperwork already filled out for us to sign. Brandon’s step-father, Louis, had even found out who was in charge of my inheritance so everything was done all at once. I knew the moment I walked out of that lawyer’s office that my world was going to change once again, but this time I wouldn’t have Brandon to lead on.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked at the world around me and feeling, for once, that my world was at peace. There wouldn’t be anyone to harm me anymore and I could do whatever I wanted with my life. I took a few more steps down, wondering what my life was going to bring me next, when I heard Brandon calling out my name. I faced him, thinking how it broke his heart to have to sign the paperwork, but he only did because I asked.

  When he reached my side, he grabbed my hand. “I have something I need to tell you, but I wanted to wait till after all this was said and done.” As he spoke, I felt worried about what he had kept from me that I wasn’t already aware of. “After I agree to stick with the original plan, I received an acceptance letter from a college.”

  I looked at him, shocked. I hadn’t even known he had appealed since I had never seen him do any of his work or even try to do well in school. “That’s great! Which one?” I asked, smiling up at him as he wrapped his arms around my waist now, pulling me to him.

  Then he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “The same one you’re going to.” Pushing away a little and looking up at him, I saw him smiling down at me. “I know I said I would give you this time to find yourself, but I just couldn’t let you walk away from me either. If you forgot, the night we made love I told you that this was going to be forever. I meant it, Kami. I love you and I will go to hell and back as needed just to prove that to you. I’m not leaving your side.”

  “I love you, too, Brandon, but I never thought you enjoyed school,” I said, still confused about why he wanted to apply when he could have simply just followed me to the town I was going to.

  “I don’t love school, but college is where you find yourself. You get to pick the kind of classes you want to take, not what the public school system wants.” He smiled. “So with that said and knowing that we’re still going to be seeing one another, will you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend this time?”

  I looked in his eyes, thinking that even after everything I had put him through these past few months, he still wanted to be with me. How the love I had for him grew with each passing day and I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d rather be with. “I would love to become your girlfriend!” I smiled up at him as he leaned down and kissed me.

  I knew from the beginning I didn't marry Brandon out of love, nor because I liked him. Truth be told, in the beginning, I couldn’t care less about who he was. I had married the bad boy for protection. He had kept me safe from the harmful world around me, but in the matter of time we had fallen in love. The only problem with that love was it brought great danger into our lives. But now there was no danger, leaving us in this state of peace. I hoped that one day, I wouldn’t marry the bad boy for protection, but because I was truly, madly, deeply in love with him.

  But right now was all that mattered. I was at this very moment with him, my lips locked onto his, and I was wrapped in the safety of his embrace.

  The End

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  When I say I am nobody, I mean it literally. It was as though I was completely invisible. People run into
me or just don't acknowledge my presence. Or if they do, they just look down at me. It's pretty basic. I'm quiet. I do my work and try to stay out of trouble. But that doesn't mean that trouble doesn't find me.

  I saw it flying toward me at high speed, but it was too fast for my mind to gather what was happening. It soared towards me, connecting with my head. I went flying backwards and landed on my butt painfully. I lay, sprawled on the hard gym floor, completely winded.

  Laughter erupted around me, causing my cheeks to flood with heat. I just wanted to die from embarrassment. Finally, I think someone realised I was practically dead on the floor and came over. I heard the ascending footsteps come to a halt beside my head. Rotating my head around, I stared up at them, trying to not look as shocked as I felt.

  "You all right, Emma?" The teacher asked while chewing gum loudly. I was afraid it was going to drop and land on my face.

  "I'll live." I replied, smiling weakly.

  I slowly scrambled to my feet. Black dots danced across my vision and my head was pounding painfully. Tears pricked my eyes, but I refused to let any shed. I plastered a false smile and continued to just stand there, avoiding everyone and the flying balls. My goal: stay out of the way and pretend I don’t exist.

  One of those girls, yeah, you know the type—the ones who think they know everything and that they’re better than you in every way—snickered at my humiliation. She turned and began babbling to her group of followers, not being subtle at all that the topic of conversation revolved around me. They all glanced my way, laughing.