forum In Fair Verona // Modern Romeo and Juliet // Private RP - CLOSED

Started February 05, 2019 by @blue_topaz

tune

“Paris, if you were in my position, you wouldn’t be telling yourself this.” I closed my eyes.

“But I would never treat you as I treat myself. My regard and love for you is much higher.” I replied smoothly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

Love.. The word was an icy shock to my system. “Don’t say that…” I whispered before I could stop myself, squeezing my eyes shut. “There’s—“ What do I say? “There’s no such thing as love.”

“There is, Juliet… And I hope we can find it in each other one day.” I breathed out slowly. I can’t believe Mercutio would do this. Has he changed that much? He isn’t the little cousin I used to have… “And until we do, we have to believe it’s out there, somewhere.”

“There’s no such thing as love,” I repeated numbly, staring up at the ceiling as I lied through my teeth. “Not for me.”

She doesn’t mean that. She’s just scared. He probably threatened her. “I’ll fix this, Juliet.” I stood up from the bed, determined to help my fiancé. “I promise. Hold tight.”

“No.” My raspy voice held a surprising amount of force when I spoke again. “There was no sinister plot behind this, Paris. And—And either way, it’s not your problem to fix. I am going to get revenge. Not you.”

“You’re my fiancé. If someone hurts you, they hurt me.” I responded flatly, leaning over the bed to press a gentle kiss to Juliet’s forehead. “I’ve met the Montagues get away with so much because of my worry for Mercutio and his little friends, but if this is the thanks I get then J can’t allow this to continue any longer.” I spoke each word with dread, my voice heavy with both grief and anger. “I’ll return as soon as I can, Juliet.”

I caught his wrist with one hand, unintentionally exposing the fresh row of cuts. “For the love of god, Paris.” I spoke as flatly as possible, but inside, I was a mess of panic and fear. What if he targeted Romeo?? “You cannot walk into this blind. You don’t even know who attacked for sure. Gather information and formulate a plan.”

Buy then some time.

“Juliet… How could you?” I couldn’t keep the betrayed tone out of my shaking voice as I spotted a line of fresh cuts far too neat to be caused by the Montagues. I sucked into another breath, trying to find the words to express the distress that radiated off of me. “Am— Am I that awful to you. Must you hate me so? After everything—“ My voice cut off as I stared at her arm, unable to rip my gaze away.

I ripped my hand away as if burned, eyes flying open. Panic tore through my carefully crafted expression as I clutched the arm to my chest——Stupid, stupid Juliet.

“It’s not you,” I blurted, shaking my head rapidly. Desperation seeped into my tone. “Don’t—Don’t tell anyone. It’s not you, I—I promise.”

“Okay…” I breathed slowly. “Okay… But I need you to tell me why. And I need whatever you’re using.” I murmured frantically. “You’re not allowed to do that. Ever, okay? We can figure something out.”

I clenched my teeth to keep frenzied breaths from escaping, but I was practically hyperventilating anyways, too caught up in the panic of being found out by Paris to calm down. “I—I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Juliet, I’m here to protect you. No one else is going to find out. Not even your father.” I assured her, forcing myself to at least appear calm.

I forced my aching, trembling body into a sitting position, smearing blood on the sheets while I shifted, and looked him right in the eye. “I—I said, I don’t want to—to talk about it.”

“That’s not an option anymore.” I replied firmly, staring back at her with fierce determination. “If you want this to stay a secret then I need to know what’s going on.”

“You don’t get to blackmail me with something like this, Paris,” I told him quietly, voice trembling. “And you don’t get to force me into opening up. I’ll do that in my own time. If you tell people, I—I’ll only hurt myself more. I have nails, I can suffocate myself, and I can starve myself. I don’t need a knife to do harm.”

“The only thing stopping us from getting married any day now is me.” I correctly her sharply, my voice hardly above a whisper. “You know why? Because I know you don’t love me. I wanted to give you time and space so we could adjust. But if it takes marrying you so I can constantly by my side then by God’s name I will marry you today.” I hissed back, feeling my heart shatter in my chest.

The fragile thread of trust between us shattered. Betrayal overtook my expression, I forced all emotion from my eyes until they were nothing but blank, soulless voids. I was freezing all over, drenched in a bucket of ice water, trembling in… fear. Of him.

“I really thought I would be able to trust you..” I hated how broken I sounded. “My mistake, right? If you really want to know that badly, fine. I—“ The partial lie slid from my mouth quickly and easily, my last line of defence. “I hate myself. I’m weak, cowardly, and broken. I let those Montagues beat me to the ground yesterday, so I punished myself today. Are you happy?”

“Why do you hate me? What did I do to you that made you hate me so much?” I backed away, feeling my heart wrench in my chest. “Do you want me to call everything off? Is that it? Would you hate me less if I told Angelo I can’t marry you?” I tore myself away for her moving quickly towards the door.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Paris?"

Why did I sound so… defeated? "I don't hate you. And I don't understand why you think I do. I don't believe in love, and I don't believe in happiness, either, but I believe that if we could just cooperate, things would be alright. You know what the consequences of calling off this marriage would be—–" As much as I want you to. "—–So don't do it. If you would just…. be patient with the seventeen-year-old girl instead of threatening to marry her the instant she won't tell you about something she's never told anyone, ever?"

Liar.

“I…” My hand froze on the doorknob, my face heating up red with embarrassment. I shook my head and cleared my throat. “I… I apologize.” I mumbled stiffly. I want us to be happy. I want you to love me. I gazed at Juliet for a moment and time unfroze. “I have to leave.” I murmured curtly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and fixed my eyes to my lap. Relief overtook me, but I let none of it show. "If you must…."

“I would never leave your side if the world did not swept me away every time we meet.” I sighed, opening the door. “Take care, Juliet.” And with that I closed the door behind me, silently leaving the Capulet home.

And the moment he left, I crumbled.

He had me completely under his thumb, in his control. He could make me do anything he wanted by threatening to bring the marriage closer, despite the fact that we barely knew each other. Despite the fact that I was seventeen. And he could do so much worse than that—I shuddered at the thought. He could take me, force himself on me while I was weakest.. It was all too much.