Tie Me Down

"Carter stop! You're doing it wrong!"

"Man, no I'm not."

"Yes you are. You didn't even read the instructions."

"I don't need to."

"Yes you do dummy!"

"Mya and Carter, what is it this time?"

"The same thing that is is every other time. This retard won't read the instructions for the lab."

Ms. Calhoun sighed. This is how all of our labs went. Carter would try to do the lab without reading the directions, I would scream at him, and then we'd start arguing. Eventually, Ms. Calhoun would come over and ask what's wrong then make Carter stop and read the instructions. It never fails. Sometimes, I think he does this just to piss me off.

I was thankful when the bell rang thirty minutes later. This is my last class, and it's Friday, meaning I won't have to see Carter's face for two days. Some people like weekends. I cherish them. Not having to be around Carter Mitchell for a whole two days is a blessing. Believe me when I say that.

**********

"Mya!"

I got up and went downatairs, wondering what my mom could want. I walked into the living room and my dad smiled at me.

"Why you come downstairs looking all crazy?" he asked trying to hold back a laugh.

"What you mean?" I asked confused.

My mom shook her head at him and grabbed my shoulders, guiding me to the mirror on the wall.

"Oh my God!" My hair was a mess! Before my mom called me downstairs I was up in my room dancing around to my iPod. My hair had got messed up and I ran downstairs without fixing it.

My dad busted out laughing and I turned to glare at him.

"Go fix your hair." my mom said patting my shoulder. "We're going out for dinner."

I sent one last glare at my dad before going up to my room to brush my hair.

"So, why are we going out to eat again?" I asked as we pulled into a parking lot.

"No reason in particular. Just wanted to try something new." my mom said.

I looked out the window and realized that we were at Olive Garden. I arched a brow and got out of the car. "Mom, there is nothing new about this place. We've been here hundreds of times."

She waved me off. "Oh hush, you know what I meant. I just didn't feel like cooking tonight."

I crossed my arms and eyed them suspiciously as we entered the restaurant. Something ain't right here. There is never a time when that woman doesn't feel like cooking. The waitress took us to our table and I suddenly realized why my parents were acting so weird.

Sitting at the table with his parents was the demon that I tried to escape on weekends. He looked just as surprised as I did.

"What the hell is this?" I asked looking at my parents.

"That's what I wanna know." he said looking at his mom and dad for an answer.

"Nothing." his mom said. "Sasha and I just thought it'd be fun if we all had dinner together."

Okay, so I forgot to mention a few things. One, Carter's mom and my mom are best friends, meaning that me and Carter grew up together. And two, we were best friends up until seventh grade, but that's a story for another time. Now, they both know that Carter and I don't get along, so I'm completely confused as to how they thought this would be fun.

"I'm sorry, but did you just say fun?" I asked.

"Yes Mya. Fun. Now sit down." my mom said sternly.

I sat down and crossed my arms. I could tell now that this dinner was going to be anything but fun. Dinner was full of laughs from our parent and the sounds of me and Carter's forks and knives hitting our plates. Carter and I said nothing, even though our parents tried to get us to talk to each other.

After we finished eating, our parents gave each other knowing looks that they probably thought we wouldn't catch.

"Okay. We didn't really bring you two here because we thought it'd be fun." my dad said.

I rolled my eyes. "Shocker." I heard Carter snicker and his mom hit him.

My mom sent me a glare and I shifted in my seat.

"We've noticed that you two aren't as close as you used to be and we thought we'd do something to get you closer."

"And what exactly did you have in mind? An intervention?" I asked, causing Carter to snicker again.

"Mya!" My mom sent me another glare, but I just shrugged.

"Not exactly. We decided that you guys are going to get married." his mom said.

"What?!" we both shouted.

She did not just say that I'm marrying Carter. There is no way in hell that I'm marrying him!

"Calm down before y'all cause a scene."

"Hell naw! What type of shit is this? Who the hell makes their child get married when they're sixteen?!" Carter snapped.

For the first time in years I actually agreed with him. I can't believe my parents would do this to me. They better not be serious about this.

"Please tell me that this is some sick prank y'all are trying to play on us." I said looking at them, silently praying that it was.

"Look, we're sorry if you two don't agree with our choice, but we've made up our minds."

Oh my God, they're serious.

"You two will move into the house that we got you tomorrow, and you'll be getting married in August."

Carter got up from the table and stormed out. Tears streamed down my face as I let what they said sink in.

I'm getting married to Carter Mitchell. I shook my head as fresh tears clouded my vision. This can't be happening to me.