Neon Escape

Chapter 4

My world seemed to rotate, looking like it was closing on me. Marriage? To a stranger? How do I get married to someone from the Raymonds? Different thoughts followed through my mind all at once as the weight of the news came down on me.

Tears filled my eyes, blurring my sight. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Not now. I took a look at my parents, seeking some kind of explanation, a tinge of hope, but all I saw was a mix of helplessness and a painful apology in their eyes.

“Grandma,” my voice broke, and a desperate sigh escaped my lips.

“Why me? Why does it have to be me?”

With shaky hands, she reached out and cupped my face. For the first time, I saw vulnerability and worry in her eyes.

“It's me, Gemma,” she confessed, her voice filled with emotions.

“I'm sick, Gem. Very sick. The bills are large, and the family business is struggling, we are about to go bankrupt.” she said as a glint of tears filled her eyes.

“The Raymonds decided to help us but with the condition that you would get married to Matteo Raymond.”

A bitter taste filled my mouth. So it wasn't about me. It was never about me. It was about saving the family business because of Grandma's illness. A rush of hot and suffocating anger consumed me.

“How… How do I get married to Matteo, granny? I don't even know him, he is a stranger, for God's Sake. I can't just…” my voice broke, this is so unfair, anxiety took over me.

Granny's hold tightened on my face, her eyes looking directly at me.

“I know this is a lot to ask for and take in Gemma, but you are the only one who can do this. You are our last hope to save the family and… me, Gem.”

I looked at my tear-filled self in the window. My future, the one I dreamt of, filled with laughter and love on my own terms was going down the drain. How did I get here? Yet, when I looked into Sarah's eyes, I knew I wasn't alone.

“Don't you dare let them do this to you, Gem. Sarah spat, her voice laced with strong possessiveness that melted a little corner of my cold heart.

“This is your life, Gem don’t let anyone detect it for you. You can't just sacrifice it away… for some stupid deal.”

My grandmother's mouth singled into a line, but the vulnerability I saw earlier had come back to life.

“Sarah, stay out of this. This is not your concern.”

“The second it involves Gemma, it becomes my concern.” Sarah countered, her chin bulging out aggressively.

“She is my best friend, remember.”

A suffocating sob escaped my lips. Sarah was right. This isn't right. I can't be traded like a pawn in some sick game. My chest tightened as the weight of my family's burden pressed down on me.

“There has to be another way out of this. It can't just be this.” I whispered, my voice barely audible.

My parents looked at each other helplessly. My father, who carries himself with authority and strength, looked defeated. My stepmother, usually the emotional type, couldn't stop crying.

The silence extended, heavy and suffocating, until Sarah said something,

“Maybe there is,” she said, her voice unusually calm.

“We just have to think, we can't decide out of fear.

Relief washed over me. Sarah with her passionate heart always knew how to go through the problem and find a solution. We spent the next few hours brainstorming like detectives, piecing together puzzles after they left.

Ideas kept flowing around, some were funny, and some were surprising. We went through options, from getting a part-time job which was unrealistic bearing in mind my already filled schedules. Reality dawned on us, to persuade the Raymonds, there must be another way.

Just as sadness started to creep in, Sarah jumped up, with a mischievous look in her eyes.

“The club! We need to go to the club,” she said

“The club?” I repeated, how would going dancing solve the problem?

“Think Gemma,” Sarah urged, walking around the room.

“Remember the news you showed me last week? About the charity gala happening this weekend at Club Bliss? Didn't you say some big shot would be attending?” she asked.

A spark lit up in my mind. The charity gala! It was a big shot but maybe… just maybe there is a chance we could find someone who could help us save the family business without getting married.

“You are a genius, Sarah. How did I not think of this?” I exclaimed

“I'm just a messenger, Gem,” she winked a smirk appearing on her face.

“Now let's get you all glammed up. We are gonna draw attention and maybe find a solution to this problem with a little sacrifice,” she said to me.

And that's how we found ourselves at Club Bliss that night, the opposite of the tearful drama that happened this evening.

Sarah, the fashionista, had turned me from a heartbroken mess to a beauty in a borrowed sequined dress that glittered under the disco light. The music pounded in my chest, a disrupted sound that reflected the confused heap of emotions going on inside me.

Sarah, on the other hand, was having a good time, running into the dance floor, her contagious energy dragging me out of my space.

For a few hours, we drank, danced, and drowned our worries in the music. I even caught the eyes of a handsome stranger with kind eyes and a beautiful smile.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said to me as he walked up to me.

His brown eyes held a strange power that drew me in. They seemed to go right through me, sending shivers down my spine. His blond hair was soft looking and they fell perfectly around his face. His jawline was sharp and strong. and I couldn't help but notice how broad his shoulders were, wishing I could run my hands on them.

“Hi…hello,” I stammered, letting out a laugh.

We talked for a while, it was like an escape from the reality of my problem, but as the night went on, the drink flowed freely. The thin line that's between friendship and flirtation is mixed up.

One thing led to another, but before I knew what was happening, the night didn't end on the dance floor. I found myself in a dimly lit cab going to a place I barely knew with a man whose name I don't remember. Shamed filled me as the weight of my actions came down on me.

The next morning, I woke up with my head pounding and a heavy sense of regret. The stranger was gone, leaving behind a faded smell of cologne and a note on the nightstand,

“Hey beautiful, I wish I could be by your side when you wake but I've got to go.” it read, with the initials ‘M.R’ on it.

“Oh, God,” I sighed, burying my face into the pillow. How could I be this careless? This is a disaster on top of a disaster.

Guilt washed over me as I remembered leaving Sarah on her own last night while I was having a careless fling. She must have been so worried. How could I have been so selfish?

With a heavy sigh, I got myself into a sitting position, my eye fell on an empty glass cup on the nightstand. I was thirsty, dehydration may be the reason behind my pounding headache. I swung my legs to the other side of the bed and walked to the bathroom as the cold tiles hit my bare feet, a welcome shock to my system.

The reflection staring back at me was a pale, swollen side of myself. Dark circle surrounded my eyes like a raccoon mess, and my hair was a mess. I poured cold water on my face, the shame and regret I felt.

As I wiped my face, my eyes fell on the empty space beside the sink. Sitting on the counter, was my phone, a silent cue to the world I had briefly escaped. I was unsure for a moment, then reached for it.

The screen came up, disclosing the numerous missed calls and unread messages. My heart sank as I went through the list of names. Sarah, my parents, Aurora, and even Marcus called.

My breath caught in my throat as my hands fidgeted. What have I done? How do I explain this to Sarah? And my parents? And Marcus… the thought of facing him filled me with fear and anxiety.