Page 14 of In a Perfect World

“I will not calm down,” I spat at my mother.“I also won’t listen to any more of this...this personal violation.”

Before either of them could say anything more, I stormed out of their house, vibrating with rage.I also had no idea where I was going as I jumped into my car to leave, but I didn’t care.I just wanted as far away from my parents as possible right now.

Doing my best to be mindful of traffic and pedestrians, I kept my eyes on the road, though they were threatening to spill over with tears of anger.Even though my parents couldn’t force me to marry Romelio, the fact that they even tried was enough to leave me breathless with disappointment and sadness.I was never going to be able to see my parents in the same light after this, and that was a big deal to me.We’d always been close, but this had changed everything, and I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to come back from this.My father had seriously called me a failure because I didn’t want to marry his choice for me, and that level of judgement was staggering to accept.

I wasn’t certain how long I’d driven for, but when I came upon a riverbank, the road ending at a sign that read “Marigold Springs’, I turned off the ignition, then looked around, having no idea where in the hell I was.The area was very green and beautiful, and that was rare around here.What used to be New Mexico had always been hot and dry, and the same could be said for Nevada, so this was something different.Of course, a lot had changed over the past twenty-five years, and seeing as how I rarely left the city, maybe this had always been here.I mean, I knew that the Rio Grande ran through here somewhere, but I didn’t know of every river or creek that flowed through the region, mostly because it was impossible to know every detail about the area.

Getting out of my car, I was immediately hit with the different scents of the wild, and it smelled nice.There were trees everywhere, birds chirping, and I could hear the faint rush of water that sounded soothing and welcoming.

Deciding that I needed some of that peace to help me figure out what to do, I locked my car, then started walking.I had no idea where I was going, but I had my cellphone, so it’d be impossible to get lost out here.Luckily, technology had advanced enough that there wasn’t a place in the nation where you couldn’t get a cell signal.Sure, you still had places like the jungles of the Amazon and stuff like that, but in the RNA, it was rare.

When I finally came upon the creek, it was just as beautiful as I had imagined.It was like peace come to life, and it really was enough to take my breath away.While I preferred city life, I could see the allure of camping if you got to camp in places like this.Now, because I wasn’t stupid, I wasn’t going to venture too far out, knowing that there were more than birds inhabiting this place, but I still wanted to see a little bit more of what nature had to offer.Plus, I still needed some downtime to figure out how to make my parents understand how wrong they were.

After a little while, I came upon a patch of posies, deciding that this was the spot that I needed to calm down and figure out what to do.I didn’t want to cause a rift between me and my parents, but I also wasn’t going to marry Romelio.Now, if that meant that I had to look for another job, then so be it.I had the degree and experience to find something well-paying and stable, but me quitting the family business would just widen the chasm being created by this little drama, and I didn’t want that.

There was also Tomasco to consider.I didn’t want to drag my brother into this, but if my parents were playing for keeps, then he was going to be forced to pick a side, and I just wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to pick mine.From birth, as the firstborn and only son, he’d been groomed to take over the family business and keep our legacy going, and I just really didn’t know if he was willing to choose a different path if it came down to it.I mean, if my parents were fine with threatening my job, why wouldn’t they be okay with threatening his?

Not caring about my jeans, I sat down, leaning up against a huge tree trunk, posies surrounding me like I was living in some damn fairytale.The only thing missing were the deer and bunnies approaching me to be friends, and that thought had me immediately thinking of Sonia.I was going to have to call her and tell her what was going on, because I didn’t trust my parents not to call her and try to manipulate her as well.

I closed my eyes, dropped my head back, then prayed for peace, even though I knew that I wasn’t going to find it out here.

Chapter 8

Kairo~

I was ready to go home, but the guys were having a good time, and since it wasn’t often that we were all able to get together like this, I was willing to stick it out.It was also barely noon, but it was clear that they were all going to have to sober up a bit before driving home.After Winston had kept me out all hours of the night last night, I’d decided on water this morning, and no amount of peer pressure had weakened me, thank God.

“I’m going to go handle a bit of mother nature,” I told them as I set my fishing pole down, then stood up to stretch my back.

“You are seriously a lightweight,” Winston snorted.

“I’m drinking water, you putz,” I reminded him.“And water goes through you a lot faster than beer.”

“Just don’t pee in the creek,” Dallas joked, and it was clear who was the drunker of the three.

“I’d never pee in the water, asshole,” I replied dryly.