AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We get out of the car and loud chatter engulfs us. Everyone is hugging except Christine and Ronan. Jensen grabs my girl’s hands and drags her inside the huge building. I stay behind to get the luggage out and lock our car. Sun is already high and bright, even though it’s early morning, and that gives me hope.
There will be no fighting.
There will be no feuds.
There will be no violence.
Those three thoughts occupy my mind. I repeat them as my mantra for the day.
After quite some tense-up time, we finally stroll to the gate. Boarding the plane is easy when you have only one tiny suitcase filled with lots of underwear and three complete outfits. We are staying in the rental house for a long weekend, so I didn’t pack too much. Only the necessities. Toothbrush, hairbrush, lube…andyes, lube is a goddamn necessity.
The plane is small, which makes me feel good, since I don’t particularly enjoy a crowd, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any problems with the seating.
“I don’t want to sit next toher.” Christine says to Jensen, “How about you switch seats with Ronan? I don’t like sitting next to big people. They take up way too much space and squish me, and I’m pretty sure you won’t do any of that.” She spits, adding an eye roll to the mix, whilst my stomach turns.
“How about you stop being a bitch to your daughter for once?” Jensen snaps, as my dad comes closer and tries to calm the situation down, confused at Christine’s behavior and the way she talks about her own child. As if it’s the first time he hears something like that. Maybe it is, considering how sickeningly sweet she is around him. He is either blind, or his age is messing with his compass. What surprises me a bit is the fact that Jensen is losing his cool, and I have no idea what’s going on. He tries his best to always be zen, and gets his frustrations out at the gym, but for the last few months, his behavior has changed.
“Honey, please, it’s just for a few hours. She is your daughter, for Christ’s sake. How can you say that to her? Ronan, love, you’re gorgeous. I apologize.” he says, turning to my brother. “Jensen, I will talk toyoulater.”
“I don’t want to be squished by her. And I want to sit next to you and Jensen.” Christine says calmly, like it’s the most normal thing in the world to insult your daughter so nonchalantly.
“Dad, do you mind if Jensen and I switch seats with you and Ronan’s mom?” I ask, my words loud enough to drag all of their attention to me.
Yes, bitch, I amnotletting you close to my brother.
He agrees at the same time Christine rejects my offer. Tough shit, because I’m already pushing my way into the row, window seat taken by me. Thank you very much.
Ronan scooches next to me, and Jensen follows. The three of us are now taking up the whole row. He squeezes her knee gently and murmurs some apologies. Ronan kisses his cheek and turns slightly to me.
She mouths a ‘thank you’and bows her gorgeous head, a crack in her shield showing her sadness again.
We strap in in silence, but her sniffles break it. I reach for her hand, but she quickly takes it away, darting her eyes to the row behind us and a tiny space in between the seats, which is in Christine's perfect line of sight.
“Are you okay?” I whisper to her.
“I will be.” She nods her head to herself, trying to believe those words.
I grab a backpack from Jensen’s lap and put it over my left hand. Stretching out a bit I grab Ronan’s pinkie finger with mine and pull it under the bag. She shivers and squeezes it tightly. ‘I got you’,I mouth to her. A delicate, but still hurt smile graces her, yet again, puffy face.
Once we finally take off, she leans her head onto my shoulder, pretending she’s asleep. She nuzzles into me innocently, but at some point she does doze off for real. I turn my head and kiss her hair, knowing what a dumb and risky move that is, and I’m met with Christine’s ice-cold stare. She is staring daggers into my profile, and I can’t help but smirk. If I have to be the only person who has Ronan’s back, and face the wrath of the rest of the world, I will. I am not afraid of anything that might come my way if I need to protect her.
I know this tiny hair-kiss probably earns me a mouthful once we get off, but I’ll gladly take it. I’ll take it all for her.
14
Feeling good - Michael Bublé
Ronan
This eight hour flight goes by so quickly. I fell asleep at some point, after pressing my cheek to Noah’s shoulder. His lemony scent sends me in deep, and I finally get the rest I desperately needed.
The night before was sleepless and full of tears, and that's the only reason why I didn’t respond to my mother’s spiteful words. I came to this trip with the hope of fixing my relationship with Christine one last time or at least burying the hatchet, but she is amazing at pissing all over my hopes, obviously. I am not sure how much longer I can take it. I honestly doubt we could right the wrongs that have been done in the years behind us, and wish I could just forget.
The landing is a bit rocky. For some reason I always get scared of it, but this time I don’t have a full-blown panic attack, and I take that as a win. Jensen and Noah hold my hands tightly and take deep, calming breaths with me.
Once we are out of the plane, hot air fills my lungs. It’s six in the evening, the sky has this beautiful pink color, so I take a few pictures of it. The one with Noah’s hair in the corner becomes my new screensaver.
Marko’s friend picks us up and drives us for quite a while to our rental place in his big, fire-engine red van. The ride is interesting since I’ve never heard anyone curse that much while driving. I don't actually understand a single word he says, but I know for a fact those are curse words, since Noah’s dad keeps apologizing, and looking at me like his friend is borderline insane. My mother ignores me all the way to the villa, and I let myself admit that I’m truly grateful for it.
