Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Shenna
I lie awake most of the night, thinking.
I don’t know who Hurley Hanlon thinks he is, criticizing my disguise and demanding we get married.
Olivia, Louisa, and Goldie all got quickie marriages for the same reason after they ran away. But they were already in love at the time. Or, perhaps in lust enough that it developed into love.
My situation is different.
I don’t love Hurley. I don’t even lust after him. Not really. Sure, he grew up big and muscular and handsome and capable. And, okay, fine, he’s funny in an annoying way. He’s helpful, and he cares. But being helpful and caring is the bare minimum for a human being, right?
Marrying someone from the same cult that I came from is unthinkable. How do I know he doesn’t still hold onto the same patriarchal belief system? He was shunned, after all. He didn’t leave because he was standing for something. I don’t know his inner thoughts.
And he never came back to try to rescue any of us.
But that’s not entirely fair, is it? It would have been dangerous for him to return. Hurley was shunned because he was just too likable and popular. All the girls had crushes on Hurley in school.
Not me, of course. No one who calls me a giraffe on roller skates is the least bit attractive.
And evidently he still enjoys poking fun of me. Not in the same childish way as when we were kids, but still. He’s insufferable. Exasperating. Bossy. And thinks he knows what’s best for me.
Something in the back of my mind nags at me.
That still, small voice says it plainly: he’s not like them. He’s bossy because he cares. He’s the only one who understands, and he’s willing to go to an outrageous length to keep you safe.
At this point, it seems that I’ve refuted all my own arguments against Hurley’s proposal.
But no. My first instinct has to be the correct one. I can’t marry someone I don’t even like. Even if it’s life or death.
I can run away again.
But how long and how far can you keep running, Shenna Blake?