Marriage by Law

Great.

Please tell me there was a dog house he can sleep in so I can have the master’s bedroom.

"It's okay, you can sleep on the floor," he said, smirking, as he walked up the stairs.

Oh, thank go-

"What?" I yelled and realised I was a bit too loud and looked around waiting for our parents to come out of nowhere.

Making sure the coast is clear, I ran up after him and into his room, shutting it behind me.

"You have the floor. Ladies sleep on beds," I said.

What kind of gentleman was he? "Seeing as it's my bed, and you are no lady, I get to sleep on it. But there is plenty of space on the floor for you to choose from," he said with that smirk I really hated.

I huffed, clenching my fists, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Had he no sympathy? My team just bloody lost, mate!

"It's not your bed!" I said in fustration, giving one of the lamest defenses I could come up with.

He shrugged, walking over and grabbing a pillow and blanket and chucking them at me. I growled angrily and crossed my hands, letting the pillow and blanket fall to the floor. He couldn't possibly be serious.

"Since we both refuse to share, you can have the floor." He was taking off his jacket.

"Whoa, keep your clothes on." I covered my eyes with my hands.

"But I need to change."

I peeked between my fingers and saw that he stopped from undressing. The last thing I needed was this to become an R rated night. No, thank you, Darius. You keep your shirt on, I thought.

Is it just me or did someone heat up this room?

"Too bad. You don't change, I don't change," I said, bending down to pick up the blankets. I laid one on the floor and placed my pillow on one end and sat down. I can't believe it. He was really being serious. First he made me pack the car, and now he wanted me to sleep on the floor.

"You're going to sleep in jeans?" he asked and I shrugged. I have always never bothered to change. What was the point? Taking off my shoes and socks, I lay down on the hard floor and grabbed the blanket.

"Switch the light off," I snapped. I heard him mutter something under his breath before the light was switched off. I sighed and turned to my side. I have never in my life had the need to sleep on a cold floor where I was literally freezing.

Damn, I had left my jacket in the car. And there was no way this gentleman was going to hand me his. Note the sarcasm. I closed my eyes. Maybe I can get an ounce of sleep and I’ll wake up in the warm soft bed next door with the parents gone.

But somehow I felt that my parents...they were going nowhere.

Hurt. Pain. Sore. I hadn't even closed my eyes for five minutes before I was fully awake again. Sleeping on the floor hurt. Maybe it was because the blanket was thin and wasn't really supporting my shoulder blades digging into the floorboards.

"Stop making so much noise."

"Yea, well, you try sleeping on the floor," I retorted. All the moving and rustling was keeping him awake as well. Oh well, too bad. If I couldn't sleep, neither could he. Oh god, I'm cold. No pun intended.

I curled into a fetal position and sighed a bit louder, just to piss him off. I heard him mutter to himself. I smiled to myself as I moved around, making sure to make noises such as my feet thumping on the floor and my head hitting the floor. I had given up on the pillow and placed it under my back instead; the floor was much harder on my spine. After the sixth thump, I stopped. I was now getting a headache. I lay on my back and closed my eyes, wishing for sleep to take me.

Just as I moved again, there was a loud thump and I froze. That was not me. I squinted my eyes in the dark. I had this crazy image in my mind of a zombie coming out from under the bed. The thump was louder and I winced.

"That's not funny," I whispered, feeling my body shiver in the cold.

"What's not funny?"

"That," I said as I heard another sound that resembled the creaking of the door.

"I thought that was you," he said and I sat up looking around and grabbing my pillow. There were footsteps and I turned toward the door, waiting, and saw Darius switch on the bed lamp and sit up on the bed, staring at me.

"What on earth are you doing now?"

"Defending us from the zombie," I said quietly.

"Zombie?"

There were three knocks on the door and I shushed him.

"Ivory, it's me. Are you guys awake?"

"Yes. How do you know my name?" I called back and then mentally slapped myself. Who on earth replies to the walking dead? What a stupid idea.

"I'm your mother. Is it okay if I come in?"

"Of-"

"Get in bed," barked Darius in a hushed tone. I turned around, staring at him. He was sitting up and I could barely make out his silhouette in the dark.

"Excuse me?" I whispered back. First, he tells me to get out, and now he wants me in. Oh hell no, I was definitely not sharing a bed with him. Husband or not-

"They'll know something is up if they see you on the floor."

"Oh hell, naw.”

"What?" asked my mother from the other side of the door.

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