FINNNALLLLY I am back on fan fiction and I will continue to post more chapters on my stories. I know I haven't posted in forever (3 months!) on this story, but I am now. BTW: there is one more chapter after this one. I know I said that this one would be the last one, but I feel like carrying it out to two more chapters. As for my other story, An Unexpected Arrival, I will post the next chapter either tomorrow or Saturday.
So to end this very long Author's note, Enjoy. (:
Chapter 7: Reminiscing the Past
Josh arrived at his old house in a bundle of nerves. So many memories were created there, it brought forth memories of parental abandonment , anguish, despair, loneliness, etc etc. Now, he was hoping to create a happy memory to that depressing list, today would be the day he would convince his parents to allow him and Massie to be together.
"It all seems so easy right? I mean, I don't even like Alicia at all." He thought to himself. Normal parents would allow their kids to be with the person they choose, but his parents were far from normal. And besides, arranged marriages are completely outdated.
This calmed him down a bit, but that didn't stop his hands from shaking when he reached to ring the door bell.
"DING-dong" When he actually heard the piercing sound that meant he was going to go through with this, he had to stop himself from running away. Finally, the tall brass door creaked open and Maria, the Hotz' house keeper's face appeared.
"Mister Josh!" She cried and threw her arms around him. Maria was like a grandmother to Josh, attending to him as a child when his parents were away. (Which, to be honest, was just about all the time.) She always doted on him, treating him with the love and compassion that his parents never seemed able to give to their only child.
"Hey, Maria. How've you been?" He said, with a grin on his handsome face.
"Oh, I've just been keeping the house in order as usual. What are you doing here? Did you and Mr Fisher get into some sort of trouble again?" She asked, giving him "the look"
"No, I have a very important matter to speak with my parents. Have you seen them anywhere?" He said, running a hand through his thick brown hair.
"Your mother is out on the patio having tea, and your father is in the study I believe,"
"Okay, thanks."
Before he walked away, Maria said,"Good, luck Mister Josh," knowing full well what the "very important matter" revolved around.
He let out a breath and nodded his head, before walking out to the hallway. While walking through the house, he looked to the pictures that adorned the walls. He looked so suffocated in his little black Armani suit. His mother would force him and his father to take a picture each year to show that their family was a "family."
To Josh, though, growing up with Dr. and Mrs. Hotz felt like more of a boarding school with two very stern teachers that would constantly be in "teacher meetings." The rules were brutal and unfair, hence the whole "you must only marry Alicia Riviera" thing.
He finally reached the glass door that led out onto the patio where his mother sat, reading what he assumed to be her social calendar. He cleared his throat and she looked up.
"Joshua," his mother's lightly accented Spanish voice spoke out," what are you doing home? Is it Christmas already?"
He sighed, and she motioned for him to sit down. She told the maid to bring out his father, and he sat down on the white cushioned seat.
"You," she said pointing to a leering maid,"bring my son some tea." The maid scampered off in the call of duty.
"No, Mother. I'm not staying long."
She was about to speak when his father's deep masculine voice spoke out, "Josh, son. What are you doing here? Is it Christmas already?" He said, and his mother passed Josh a look.
"I need to speak with you." he said while a very frightened maid placed a cup of tea in front of him.
"Will it take long? I'll need to cancel my next meeting." He was just about to signal the maid when Josh blurted out,
"I'm not going to marry Alicia Riviera. I want Massie Block" He said and closed his eyes. Silence, complete and total silence, except for the sound of rushing water coming from the Aphrodite fountain.
When he opened his brown eyes, his parents had an aghast look of disapproval on their faces.
"Well, that's it. Just wanted to tell you so that you can cancel those wedding plans." He said quickly and got up to leave, but his mother's voice cut their silence like a knife. She was mad.
"Wait just a minute, Joshua Alexander Hotz. You know our agreement" She only said his embarrassing middle name when she was really mad.
"Agreement? What agreement? All my life its always been forced upon me! I've never gotten to just live my own life, be who I want to be and above all choose who I want to be with." He said, his voice rising into a yell.
"Do not raise your voice to your mother, Josh." His father said.
"Dad," He pleaded, "I don't love Alicia. I never have and never will. She drives me insane."
"And you love this Massie Block I assume?" His father replied.
"Yes," he said letting out a breath he had been holding in, " I always have. Whenever I am with her, I feel complete. It feels so right when-"
His mother cut him off, "Yes, that's very nice Josh but-"
Josh then cut his mother off, "No, let me finish."
His mother nodded. "With Alicia, when I am around her all I ever want to do is to get away. If I marry her, I will be miserable forever. I would bury myself in work and try to spend every waking minute away. My family with her wouldn't be a real family. It..It would be..Well, it would be like ours is now." He said, letting the words sink in for his parents.
He looked at them now, his two parents. The people who never showed real emotion, the people who were now trying so very hard to hold back tears.
"I don't want that life for myself." He finished, looking down at his shoes. "And if you really cared about me, neither would you."
It was his father who spoke first, "Alright Josh, your mother and I will talk about this and come find you when we have reached a decision."
Annnd.. That's all I will post for now. The next chapter will be MUCH longer and be the final chapter for this story. I'm sorry this chapter only involved Josh, but I promise that the next one will be full of MassiexJosh interaction and closure.
REVIEW and I will post very very soon. (:
