Page 50 of Fear of Intimacy

“Yes. Now, they are going to be at the gala in three weeks so the two of you can meet before we announce the engagement. I…”My mother kept talking but I was long gone.

My parents wanted me to marry a stranger so they could merge their company with another? There was no way they actually agreed to that.

“Did you already agree?” I interrupted my mother mid-sentence.

“Of course.”Red hot anger grew in my throat.

“You agreed without even asking me.”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” The voice that came out was one I never used on my mother before, but I was fuming. “This is my life, Mother, not yours to throw around.”

“Tasha Nichole Davis, you will not speak to your mother like that.”

“I amnotdoing it.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I am an adult, Mother, and capable of making my own decisions. That also includes who I am going to marry. And I am not going to marry some stranger to benefityourcompany.” I made sure to put emphasis on ‘your’ because it certainly wasn’t mine. I wanted nothing to do with it. Never had.

“Tasha—”

“I am your daughter! Not some pawn for you and Dad to use whenever you please.” My whole body shook with rage.

I was hurt. Beyond hurt at how easily my parents agreed to some deal without even telling me. They wanted to use me for their own gain. Again. And they truly thought I would be okay with that. That I would roll over and be like, “Sure. Sounds good.”

“I—”

“The answer is no.” With that, I hung up before she could say anything else. My phone fell to my bed as I sat there, my chest heaving with each breath.

My parents wanted to marry me off. They were practically selling me as if I was a piece of property and not their blood relative. They were willing to sacrifice my life, my future, and my chance of falling in love so they could prosper. I knew my parents were ruthless but not this much.

Trevor’s face flashed through my mind. Doing what my parents wanted would mean I’d have to give him up. He wasn’t even mine but the thought felt like someone reachedinto my chest and tore my heart out. I would lose him before I even had him.

Gasping for air, I shook my hands out. No. I wasn’t going to allow that.

I was not letting my parents dictate my life. And definitely not who I would be with. Not when the person I wanted was right in front of me and all I had to do was reach out. To hell with my parents. To hell witheveryone.

I was up and out of my bed in a matter of seconds. Throwing on a pair of shorts, I grabbed my phone and shoes, not even bothering to brush my hair or change out of my sleep shirt. Snatching my keys, I all but ran out of my apartment. Forgoing the elevator, I booked it down the stairs and outside to my car. I barely noticed the splatter of rain against my head as I ran across the parking lot.

I was numb as I got in my car, started it, and pulled out, heading in the direction of the only person I wanted to see. The only person who mattered.

The ride passed by in a blur, it was only 8 o’clock in the morning so the roads weren’t too busy yet. I was stuck in a state of disbelief, anger, and hurt. Before I knew it, I was shutting my car off and walking up the front steps of Trevor’s home.

It was a cute white brick house that had large windows and a beautiful patio out front. What stood out the most was the dark blue door. The same blue color as theToronto Knightscolors. I wasn’t sure if it was intentional or not.

I was drenched from head to toe from the pouring rain, but I didn’t care as I rang the doorbell. Didn’t care that I literally rolled out of bed and probably looked like a drowned rat.

When he didn’t immediately answer, I rang the doorbell again, blinking away the water running down my face. Avery drowsy, very ruffled Trevor answered the door. It took him a second to understand that I was in front of him.

“Tasha?”

“I…” My breaths were ragged, almost as if I ran all the way there.

“Are you okay?” Trevor looked more awake as he opened the door farther, his bare chest coming into view. I shook my head at his question.

I wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay right now.

---