Break the Sky

They sat on the bridge, watching the stream below. They held hands, seeing the ducks and flowers flowing beneath them. It was quiet out in the woods, beyond the bustling city a mile or so back. Alex grinned, looking up at the sky.

Nothing could be better than this.

"Rose, I want to ask you something." He took in a deep breath. "You have every right to say 'no' if you please."

She nodded. "What is it, Alex?"

"Rosalyn Sarah Clive, will you marry me?"

She stared at him. "Alex, this isn't funny. Marriage is a very serious commitment." Rose started to lecture him. "My parents--"

"I was being serious." Alex frowned, playing with the ring between his fingers. "Rose, I would be honored if you said 'yes'." His mother's diamond ring glistened in the light, the silver reflecting their faces. Rose had met Alex's mother a couple of times, and she was a very polite woman. She was shocked that Mrs. Gaskarth had given Alex her engagement ring.

Rose sighed. "Alex, I wouldn't be able to say 'yes' even if I wanted to." After all, what would her father say? He would disown her. And her mother? Wouldn't her family be outraged? Wouldn't they sue Alex's parents? It would be ridiculous. And Darren...who knows what would happen if he found out about Alex and Rose.

"Then I'll talk to your father about this." Alex grinned. "It's not a big deal. I'm sure he would say yes." He didn't understand the half of it. "Rose, everything will be all right."

If only everything was that simple. She smiled weakly and remained seated.

Determined, Alex stood up and started to march in the direction of the town. Rose quickly jumped to her feet and followed him, frightened. "Alex, you don't understand, my father will..." her words trailed off as she realized there was no way she could stop him.

By the time Alex and Rose arrived at her house, Mr. Clive was sitting in the living room, reading his paper and listening to the radio as he did every night. Rose quickly stepped inside, Alex following her lead. She closed the door slowly, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. "Rose, why are you coming home so late?" her father snapped, looking up from his paper. He glared at both of them, but more so at Alex. Mrs. Clive waltzed in to greet Rose, but kept her mouth shut upon seeing the look on Mr. Clive's face.

"We were out, father." Rose avoided his gaze, meeting her mother's eyes. Mrs. Clive shrugged, frowning. She had nothing to do with this interrogation.

"Where did you go?" He was still suspicious by her vague answer.

"We went to the bridge, passed the town." She knew her father hated it when she acted bold. She continued with the little confidence she had left.

"Why don't you two sit over here, so we can get acquainted with your friend?" Mrs. Clive tried her best to avoid a fight. "Come and sit on the sofa, children." They awkwardly trudged to the striped love seat and sat down.

Mr. Clive bombarded Alex with questions about his family and what he would do for a living. Alex tried his best to answer them, but the questions became more about the relationship between him and Rose. This went on until Mrs. Clive stopped them. "Why don't we all go have some supper? I'm sure you kids are starving." They nodded and headed into the dining room, where everything was already set up with cutlery and a casserole.

"Where's Darren?" Rose asked, noticing the empty chair.

"He's out with his friends. He said he was staying over and Shane's house." Mrs. Clive beckoned Alex to sit in Darren's seat as she sat in her own. The conversations were mostly based around Alex, and Mr. Clive continued to openly attack him.

After the dinner, Alex asked if he could speak to Mr. Clive, which was a bold move on his part. The quartet went out into the kitchen and waited for one of them to speak. Rose was concerned for Alex, who might be eaten alive by her father. She could only imagine the horrible things Mr. Clive would say. She had no way or predicting what her father would say toher lover Alex.

Alex looked directly into Mr. Clive's eyes. "Mr. Clive, I was wondering if I could have your daughter's hand in marriage?"

Rose's father gave Alex a cold stare. He took his hand back and had it collide with Alex's cheek.