Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

Jerlina was impressed that Jeremy knew each of those kids and he had their parents' number too. She tried to stop him, but he called the parents of each one of them before confiscating their keys.

The parents arrived to pick up their kids and after lecturing them, Jeremy handed over the keys.

One couple seemed to have lied to their parents that they are going to the library to study. Another seemed to have been honest with them, but they didn't say they were going to the bridge. And the last one- the couple in the truck, had snuck out of their homes. 

Jerlina didn't think Jeremy could be petty until she saw Jeremy smiling at the boy teasingly when his father said that he is grounded.

All this because our kiss was interrupted?

After the entire area was cleared, Jeremy came back to the Jeep. He sighed as he picked up a blanket from the back. Jerina got down and picked up the food and beer. It seemed like he had prepared a place for them to have dinner.

"Can't you let them have fun for a night?" Jerlina asked leaning on the Jeep.

"No! Did you have fun for a night without studying?" he asked and got everything she had in her hand. 

"I can carry something too, you know," she tried to get a bag, but he walked in the front, after getting her purse.

"I know a place where the view is good... It's... Follow me," he said without even looking back.

"Okay..." she followed him.

He is tall and well-built. Carrying a lot of loads didn't even slow him a bit. He gave the impression that he can do anything with ease. She looked at her empty hands. 

It was weird for her. All her life, she'd carried her own burden. Whether it is carrying her luggage or paying her bills, she carried her burdens alone. She never thought about it much. It was something she has to do and she was fine with it.

But these days, everything's different. She felt free; like she is floating. She didn't feel detached from reality though, but she felt relaxed and at peace. It was easy for her to breathe and started seeing the beauty around her.

For example... she could hear the chirps of crickets or she saw a lot of grasshoppers around. She never noticed these bugs before. And ants... there are a lot of them.

This place had a very distinct scent of wildflowers and plants. Combined with the sound of flowing water, it gave a serene feeling. She looked up and the sky was getting dark and stars were starting to appear. The moon was rising at the horizon.

Hmm... Didn't realize today is a full moon day... Isn't today exactly like "that" day?

"Can't walk?" 

She didn't even realize she had slowed down until she heard that voice. 

"Want me to carry you?" he asked and without even thinking twice, crouched down. "Come on, climb. We'll have to climb up that small hill," he pointed at a small hill 100 meters from where they were.

"I can-" Walk!

She wasn't feeling tired at all, but he turned and gestured for her to come closer. She didn't think twice and climbed on him. He walked with the same gait as before.

"Joel," she wrapped her hand around his shoulders and leaned on his neck. "I don't feel tired. I can walk if you-"

"I know..." he wrapped his arms around her legs and jumped a bit to settle her comfortably. "I just wanted to carry you."

"Why?" she asked poking her finger on his cheek. His side profile looked like a meticulously carved marble statue.

"Just..." he shrugged.

"Okay then. Tell me if I get too heavy to carry. I'll walk." She didn't want to get down. This was the first time someone was carrying her this way. 

And she trusted him. It was darkening and there were no lights ahead. The ground was covered in knee-length grass and there could be poisonous beings lurking. But she wasn't thinking of anything else and was just admiring his face.

"Never. You're light as a feather," he rested his head over hers.

"Yeah?" Jerlina giggled.

"Yeah." He was sure of it. "If you let me, I'll carry you for the rest of my life."

"Is that so?" she held him a little tighter. 

Maybe it won't be bad to have days like these often, right? Yeah, this is not bad, right?

They reached the top of the hill in no time and there was a small bench. Jerlina took a tissue from her purse and wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was a little hard for him to carry her as they reached the peak, but he didn't show it in his face and carried her to the end.

"We don't know who did what here..." he spread the blanket over the bench. "Have a seat, my lovely lady," he made a bow.

"Why, thank you, good sir," Jerlina with a giggle sat on the blanket.

They had dinner with the torch in their phone. Jerlina didn't think she'd love this experience this much but she did. She never was an outdoorsy person, but maybe she was with him and he carefully took care of her every need, she felt at ease.

"And here," he opened the beer for her. 

"Well, look at you opening the bottle with your teeth," Jerlina was really impressed. Holding the bottle in one hand, she vaguely remembered that day she first had a beer.

"Come closer if you feel cold," he held out his arm and she scooted closer to him. His arm was warmer than any scarf she ever wore. 

She rested her head in the nook of his neck and turned off the phone torch. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dim light. The moon was shining clearly and the entire place looked like it was covered with mist. The river flowed towards the sea, tall trees stood on the side and the moon was hanging up in the sky.

"This is a nice place," she took a sip from the bottle. "And the moon is beautiful. I don't think I've ever looked at the moon this closely before. Those dark spots are the craters in the moon, did you know?"

"No, that's Jack and Jill who went up there to fetch a pail of water... See, they splashed the water though," he pointed and Jerlina laughed.

"It looks that way, isn't it?"

  "I am glad you like this place, Jerlina," he kissed her forehead.

"I am glad you brought me here," she replied. She really liked being here with him like this.

It gave her a new kind of feeling in her heart. A very lovely feeling.

But then suddenly he stood up and Jerlina was startled.

"What?" 

"Shh, wait..." he held her hand and Jerlina watched him as he...