Read Aloud the Text Content

This audio was created by Woord's Text to Speech service by content creators from all around the world.

Text Content or SSML code:

I wave at my family, but I can’t see their faces. I can’t see anything. I don’t want to see Father anyway. Thank goodness I’m tearing up. Thank goodness I’m too busy trying to swallow the bile in my throat to hear what Mother’s trying to tell me. “I’ll miss you, Vero,” Mina’s older sister Lailani whispers in my ear. “I’ll visit,” I blink my tears away, but they still hover. “To do what? Take a nap?” Lailani giggles. “Sorry about that. Bye, Aloe Vera!” I roll my eyes. I wish I could hang out with Lailani right now for the rest of my life and forget responsibilities. Marriage. After a final hug to Lailani I gather the train of my wedding dress with her help and poke my arm through his. My new husband’s arm; Drew’s. He leads me past the cheering guests outside into the car that speeds off the second the door is shut. We’ve left. Everything is gone; no more Blood Mare. No more talking with Lailani and Terry before class or Aiday drama. No more Waylen. A tear slides down my face. Drew, who I barely noticed in my mental chaos pauses trying to buckle me in. “What?” I shake my head, swatting the tears away. I want to say “Arranged marriages am I right?” But I don’t dare say anything. Even though I’m distraught, Drew’s evil eyes and obvious power shut me up. I’m not safe with a guy like him. He stares at me for a moment, but that’s all I get from him until we arrive at a mansion. It’s bigger Than three Blood Mares stacked on top of each other, and it looks like a castle. I’ve never been so small in my life. “Let’s go.” He says, walking forward into the night like this is a normal honeymoon. Hopefully he doesn’t mind me leaving our room for a different room. I don’t even know where I am; I’m sure I’m lost, but it doesn’t matter. We’ve already done the honeymoon “activity” and I’m ready to have a classic, loveless arranged marriage. “Where are you going?” It’s Drew. His bathrobe is replaced by khakis and a white sweater. He’s holding a golf club, and his creepy expression says to never let my head get within swinging reach. “A new room.” “Let’s go to the field,” I sigh, nodding and following him in the opposite direction. I sit criss-cross on the bleachers, watching him hit ball after ball with his club. A boy scrambles to replace the balls fast enough, and at the point when it looked like Drew would smash his hand he gave him the club. “Why are you crying?” When I don’t say anything he slowly smirks. After making himself comfortable next to me, he asks again. “You know, you’ll see your family again.” “Not if I can help it.” I didn’t know I was even crying. “You’ll see Lailani,” “You should’ve married her. She’s nicer.” “Kinder?” “I meant better. She’ll cook for you, and she’s never a bother,” “You’ve never bothered me. Do I bother you?” You scare me. “No.” He nods, pensive. His eyes wander to the poor boy on the grass, trying to clean up. “I’m sorry I choked you,” He’d shown up one day at Bell Mare, and when he’d snatched me from the dirt into the air his grip on my neck plus the lack of oxygen knocked me out. “But you never cried about that. What changed?” “Nothing. My turbine’s to blame,” I lie. “What’s your turbine?” I raise my hand and pull water from the air, letting it fall on us like rain until we’re drenched. “Huh,” I wave my hands out, sending the moisture back where it came from, my tears with it. “I used to live on the surface and I didn’t think I could do anything. I was kind of evil to my step dad and the only reason I stopped was because my step dad turned out to be a puppet for this semi-spill named October. He was honestly a weirdo, but then he sniffed me and told me I was one too.” “Well then you should really be wishing you were married to someone else now. You’re a semi-spill, a rarity, and I’m spoiled goods,” His face softens for the first time.