THE DRUGGED BRIDE

CHAPTER FIVE : The Mirror Image

Riley's POV

This salon's in a rich part of town I've never seen. It's so white, neat, and has scents of flowers and lab stuff. The lady doing my hair keeps on asking questions, but I can't focus on her. I just nod and say yes to what she wants.

"Your hair is very nice," she says, touching my wet hair. "We'll make it glow. You'll seem like a new person when I'm done."

I don't wish to be new. I want to vanish. But I can't do that now, I guess.

Landon is in the seats, looking at his phone. He's not on me, but I feel him watch me anyway. I feel his force in my chest. Each choice he makes for how I look, I take. Each thought he has for how I should be, I agree.

The stylist trims my hair a bit, adding layers around my face. She makes it a dark brown with honey that shines. It seems high class. It seems like the hair of someone of worth. It seems like the hair of one for Landon Cooper.

"You seem great," she says, turning the chair so I see my face in the mirror.

I don't know the girl staring at me now. The hair is fine, sure. But the eyes still look scared. The face is still hurt inside. You may change how one looks, but inside they're the same. Their truth stays as it is.

That haircut had a price higher than my rent. I never ask about that cost. I watch Landon just hand over his card like air.

The next stop was the big store.

Landon strolled through the racks like he was helping me, grabbing clothes I'd skip over. Tiny dresses showing off my legs. Tight tops that hugged too close. All made to catch eyes on me. All made to make me seem owned by him.

"You must look like you fit in my world," he told me, holding a green dress that felt like being bare. "You must look fancy. You must look like I picked you as worth picking."

I tried on clothes in a room while he stood outside. Each made me feel small and bare. I'm like a toy now. Landon is playing dress-up with a real girl.

When we left the store, I had lots of bags of clothes that felt so alien. Then we got jewelry. A soft gold chain. Earrings worth many dollars. A bracelet so bright it stung my eyes.

"Better," Landon said, checking me out like a painter with art. "You almost seem like you fit in now."

Almost. Like still something was not there. Like still something was broken in me that shopping can't mend.

Once we're at his flat, I slip into a new dress quickly. It's a dark shade that makes my skin seem ghostly and my eyes get big. I seem like someone who could date a guy like Landon. I seem like someone with funds and clout, plus folks who care for her. I seem like a fib.

"Stay with me," Landon speaks, touching the spot next to him on his big couch. I do just what he wants, because I've found that if you don't listen to Landon it has scary effects I can't handle.

He puts his arm around my back and then pulls me in close now. We're sitting close like a real couple would sit. Like two folks who really are into each other now. His scent smells like posh items and power.

"At my family's big house, you must act like you're so into me," he says into my ear next to me. "You must touch me like you crave me to touch you. You must glance at me like I hung up the moon. Got it all?"

I nod slowly because I lack real words to say now. Words feel risky and too hot now.

"My brothers will try all they can to make you laugh out loud. My dad will ask you dull stuff about your whole life. My mom will try to find some reason that she can hate you. And you're to stay calm and sweet and just right all through that."

"What if I just can't?" I asked him very quietly.

"You can do it. You will do it. Since if you don't then all of it breaks. Your dad will lose his safe job fast. Your stepsister gets all she wants now. And you end up so alone and sadder than before meeting me."

He's correct now. That's the thing that truly scares me still. He's totally correct. I lack any good choices. I own bad choices and awful choices now.

Landon speaks, "Just one other item," and my whole self freezes up, like odd. "We're getting wed once we return from my family's big old house."

I pull away back so hard from him I nearly topple from the odd sofa. "Huh? Nope. Zero chance. I'm not going to be your spouse."

"Yes, you will," he mentions in a calm voice. "My mom will ask questions. She'll want to know if we're for real. Proving my real feelings means marriage. It shows I have trust. That I think we're a thing."

"This has gone bonkers," I speak, getting up fast. "I don't even know you well. There's no love. I do not wish to be wed."

"But still, you shall," Landon also rises, towering so high that I need to peek way up. "Because I'll ask you to marry before my whole family later. And your answer is yes. Expect joyful, happy tears. You'll seem like the luckiest girl."

"What happens if I don't?"

"Then I will crush your poor dad. I ensure he's done with real estate work forever. Making sure they all know that his own daughter tried to trick me and then fibbed. Ensuring your life is hell."

He says all this soft yet clear, which proves he truly feels each and every single word.

"I'm going to pack up all your new things," he goes ahead, walking away far from my own presence. "We depart to my family's place at sixty. Get yourself ready and fixed. Think how you'll say yes when I ask."

I'm stuck in his flat all by myself, wearing a dress I can't stand, feeling like my body isn't even mine anymore.

Then it hits me like a bad dream, there's just no way I can get out of this mess.

Not if I want to keep even one little piece of my old life.