AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grip the wood underneath me, hoping I don’t break off a chunk and throw it at her stupid face, or set it on fire with how angry I am. My dad mumbles some curse words under his breath, obviously not used to hearing a parent, let alone his own wife, talking that way to their child. I know damn well he would’ve interjected, but I also know Christine has told him not to bother with it. He enters the house, allegedly looking for Jensen, but I know it’s to regroup his thoughts.
“You always have to embarrass me. Look at you! Your dress is shorter than short.” Christine continues, “Your skin is all in ink. Your makeup makes you look like a whore.”
“Mom, stop, please, I’ll cover up.” Ronan’s voice is trembling.
“I will not stop, Ronan. You ruined my marriage, I won’t let your behavior ruin this one.”
“You are on a good track to ruin it yourself, don’t worry about her.” I spit as I reach Ronan, but she takes a step back, glaring at her mother. I know my father well enough to know he will not tolerate this kind of behavior. He cares about us the most, and now that Ronan is his family too, she shares that ‘above everyone else’place with the three of us. Or four, if we include Matilda. And he won’t fight in front of us for that reason only. I wonder if the lies Christine probably told him, about Ronan, are finally catching up to her.
“I was a child!” she screams at her mother, “I was a goddamn child, Christine. I didn’t want to ruin it all for you.”
My eyes keep bouncing between them as their fight continues, like they are having a fucking tennis match. Every time I step closer to Ronan, she moves away. Jensen and dad are staring at the three of us from the porch, yelling at Christine to stop. Jensen’s rage is palpable and the veins all over his neck are now so prominent that I can see them in the dark.
Ronan’s sobs echo through the woods. Her shoulders shaking, her eyes bloodshot red.
There’s nothing I can do to save her from this or to erase this. Nothing, but I wish so badly there was. The pain on her face is the scariest thing I ever saw. She looks like she is about to break at any moment, and I don’t know if there would be a way for me to glue her back together.
“I don’t want you here, Ronan. I don’t want you near my new family. You ruin everything you touch,” she bites. “I want you gone in the morning.”
Ronan turns around and runs up the stairs. Her cries shake the house, her feet jump over two steps at the time. I follow her closely, but I am not fast enough. She slams the door in my face. I am dumbfounded for a moment, not knowing what to do. Jensen stands silently next to me, as dad and Christine fight outside. Loud ‘what the fuck’-sfill the space, my livid dad’s voice rumbles as he continues counting down the number of times she called Ronan fat and disrespected her without being provoked.
“Go to her. She needs you,” my brother says gently, petting my shoulder.
I open the door slowly, looking at darkness spilled all over the room. Her ginger hair shines in the moonlight against the milky skin of her face. Her eyes find mine and she lifts her head from her pillow.
“I didn’t want this, Noah,” she whispers. “I was hoping it would be different this time.”
“I know,” I whisper back, taking heavy steps towards her, the guilt eating at me. I was the one who pressed for both of us to go. “I know, Ljubavi.”
“Can you hold me?” Her eyes look so full of hurt and pain, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t refuse.
“We leave tomorrow morning.” I say, “If you are not welcome here, then I don’t want to be here a second longer than I have to.”
I get up from the bed to get her a fresh pair of panties and some pajamas. I dress her slowly as she cries into her palms. Shuffling into the bed, I pull her close.
She lays on my shoulder, snuggling up to me, and nods softly. Her tears soak my T-shirt, as I hold her trembling body. Sleep finds her tired mind quickly, but I stay awake through the whole night caressing her.
16
Talk me down - Troye Sivan
Noah
The morning after the fight Ronan and I leave. Jensen, as expected, decides to leave with us, saying he misses his blue-eyed Grindr guy, which Ronan smiles at, and I still wonder what that's all about.
Dad and Christine agreed to stay at the villa for two weeks total, which means he wanted to sort things out before getting back to Oaks Creek, which also means heaven on Earth for Ronan and me.
I can finally walk with her, holding her hand. I can kiss her out in the rain in front of our favorite bakery, just like in the movies. I can love her, but I can't say it. The words are always either at the back of my mind or at the tip of my tongue, but I just…can’t. The moment doesn’t feel right.
After our flight back, I drive Ronan home and she asks me to stay the night. I’ve never spent the night at a girl’s place before, so it’s an entirely new experience for me. She shows me her skin care routine and we do it together. All ten steps of it. My skin has never been so smooth as the morning after.
***
Whilst she’s taking a shower, I decide to make us a tiny dinner. All of her kitchen utensils are green, so I figure that is definitely her favorite color. Good to know. We never actually talked about that silly, relaxing stuff like favorite colors or movies. At first, we were busy setting up my new store and apartment, now we are preoccupied with all the bad shit that keeps getting in our way.
And when I say bad shit, I mean Christine.
Ronan gives me a toothbrush, saying that I should have one at hers, and that makes me smile ear to ear. She wants me there. It makes me feel like I am, at least temporarily, living in arom-commovie. When I come out of the shower, she is already in bed, covered in fluffy blankets, resting her head on a dozen pillows. I crawl in and wrap my arms around her, holding her tight. She puts a movie on, but falls asleep soon after it starts. For a long time I just lay there, holding her, breathing her in.
