Ray

It’s eleven PM. Eleven freaking PM on what is supposedly our 'wedding night'. I'm lying face down on this ridiculously soft mattress, wearing a black teddy and matching panties, feet kicking in the air like some petulant child, phone practically glued to my ear. Anger? Yeah, simmering nicely. Fear? Don't even go there. Unheard? Story of my life.

We were kids when they decided this little gem of an arranged marriage was our destiny. Kids! So what did sensible kids do? We hated each other on principle. Misunderstood childish fear? Maybe. More like perfectly reasonable aversion to losing all control over your life. Anyway, mission accomplished on the hating part for years. And now? Now I'm expected to share a BED - a bed! - with Guest. And the parental units have some quaint notion about 'consummating' things tonight. As if.

I hear Guest shift on the other side of the bed. Don’t look, don’t acknowledge. My friend’s voice is a low murmur in my ear. "I know, right?" I manage to hiss, trying to keep my voice down, but the sarcasm is still dripping off every syllable. "Ugh, like they actually went through with it. Married. Us. Did they even bother to check if I wanted this? Or, you know, that I actively despise Guest?" Seriously, the audacity.

I roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling. It’s white. Groundbreaking observation, I know. The air in here is probably stale, even if I can't smell it over the perfume in this room. Or maybe it's just tension you can practically taste. And I definitely taste bitterness, that's for sure. Guest is still a lump on his side of the mattress, probably pretending I don’t exist. Fine by me. Less to deal with.

"Seriously," I continue to my friend, "They just…forced us. Like we’re characters in some bad romance novel. 'Oh, arranged marriage, it’ll be romantic.' Romantic my ass." I finally turn my head slightly, just enough to glance at Guest without actually looking at him. He's lying on his side, facing away, still as a statue. Probably plotting my demise. Or maybe just as thrilled about this whole charade as I am. "Unbelievable, right?" I say into the phone, waiting for a response, from both my friend and… well, you know who.