Reckless Love

Chapter 7

Tonight was maybe one of the worst nights of my life.

When Robert Cunning had announced the engagement, the whole room had roared.

The spotlight was solely on me.

I felt embarrassed.

I felt uncomfortable.

And worst of all, I felt self-conscious. A feeling I hadn't felt in a really long time.

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes but I held them in.

I couldn't cry in front of everyone. Not in front of my parents. And definitely not in front of Jared.

"They want us to go on stage and make a speech," Jared whispered, his hot breath hitting the back of my neck, making me even more uncomfortable.

I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes. "I'm not going up there."

He didn't say anything afterwards. He got up and left the table, walking towards the stage.

"Are you okay?" Liza said in a low voice, glimpsing at me with worrisome eyes.

"I'm fine," I muttered rudely. "I just want to be left alone."

With that, I abruptly stood up and left the table, ignoring my parents objections.

All eyes were on me but I knew I had to be strong. Half the people in the room knew my parents and I'm sure their kids would be hearing about our engagement the next day at the breakfast table. Not to mention their kids probably attended Providence High. The media would surely have a frenzy as well. 

My life just became a whole lot complicated.

*

After that night, I locked myself in my bedroom, refusing to talk to anybody. My parents didn't even come to check on me and left for a business trip the next morning.

They publicly announced my engagement without even asking me. I couldn't even back out now since it was all over the news. 

It was Monday morning, and I didn't want to show my face at school but I had no choice. 

Sighing, I dressed in my uniform, grabbed my stuff, and left the room. 

I got in the car and drove towards school in agony. 

I parked my car in the usual spot and just sat there for a few minutes, contemplating whether I should even go to school. 

I knew that once I stepped out of the car, my average life as a student here would never be the same. I wouldn't be the regular Julia everyone knew me as. I would be known as Jared's fiance.

"Ugh, why did this have to happen?"

Hitting the steer wheel in irritation, I grabbed my bag and got out of the car. 

Pulling my hair down from its usual ponytail, I used the back doors to enter the school and rushed to first period which was AP Government. 

The class was empty so I took a seat in the back and covered my face with a book. 

When the bell rang, the last of the students rushed in and class started. 

Thankfully, no one noticed me so I spent the period taking notes and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. 

The trouble started during the next period. AP Calculus was surprisingly an easy class but all the boys in there made it hard to tolerate. It was just my luck that Marie was absent so I was the only girl surrounded by 28 rowdy boys.