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He laughed. “You’re hilarious!”
“This isn’t a laughing matter.”
“Would you prefer I road rage?”
“Do it.”
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
“LEARN HOW TO DRIVE OR GET OFF THE ROAD, ASSHOLE!”
I hadn’t been expecting that.
“Control your rage.”
“Jeezuz, Aria!” Noah shouted furiously. “Did you give your stepdad this much attitude daily? I don’t think so!” He honked his horn when someone else cut him off. “Son of a bitch!” he yelled out the window while I rolled my eyes. Robert’s violent temper tantrums had made me numb to acts of aggression; it was part of my norm while living with the monster.
I was quiet now. I had never seen Noah this angry before. Surely all his rage was meant to be directed at me instead of that clueless driver. Rob had nothing to do with our argument. It hurt that Noah had brought him into it.
“Look,” he sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mention him.”
“Whatever.”
He seemed to have read my mind.
“It was a low blow. I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, but it didn’t make me feel any better.
“Aria.”
“Just drop it!”
Numb yourself. No tears. Change the subject:This had always been my pattern of coping with pain.
“You want me tomake nicewith Vanessa? You can forget it—not happening. Everything she had said to me was out of line and she knows it. She never even apologized!”
Noah stayed quiet, but it didn’t last long.
“You say you want to be treated like an adult…”
“Iaman adult!”
“Then act like one! Adults communicate. Adults listen to each other and work together when repairing relationships.”
“The same way you’re trying torepairthings with Evan?” It was my turn to throw some spite and sarcasm in his face.
“Don’t go there,” he warned.
“Why not? You’re hardly a role model, and you don’t practice what you preach. Your hostility toward him is destructive and your threats are meaningless. It’s funny how you call meimmature when you’re the one who stormed into your brother’s place, made a huge scene as if we were in some stupid soap opera—oh, and let’s not forget about how you abducted me like a crazy psychopath.”
“Psychopath? Really? I’m your legal guardian, not him!”
“I’m not a child! I don’t need a guardian anymore!”
“Myhouse,myrules!”
“You’re such a control freak!”
Noah hit the brakes again as my body jerked forward. He’d almost driven through a red light. I’m sure if I didn’t have a seat belt on, I would have gone right through the windshield. I had provoked him to lose his temper, and it sucked being stuck in traffic with someone who was pissed off.
