Royal Prick(46)

Hearing him say the words out loud seemed to make them more real. I never admitted to being afraid of my mom, but Royal understood things others didn’t. Sometimes I didn’t have to say a word for him to get what I was trying to say. Sometimes there were no words to be said. Instead there was merely emotions and feelings to be shown.

Mark peered up into the sky, his head tilting back. I totally understood the stress he was under. Royal being here, my mom constantly nagging him, and now everything that we did today. I’m sure he needed a stiff drink or two.

“I’m trying to understand what’s going on here, but I can’t. I know your mother is hard to deal with, but why would you be scared of her? I just don’t get it.” We were still standing in the school parking lot with a slight drizzle coming down, and I didn’t feel like discussing the entire issue here.

Royal’s arms tightened around me, bringing me back to the present. “I’m not going home unless you guys are there too.” It was the last comment I would make about it.

I pulled myself out of Royal’s warm embrace and backpedaled toward my car. I would sit in the driveway for hours, hell I would sit here in this parking lot in my car instead of going home.

“Just because you don’t believe it doesn’t mean it isn’t true, then again look at how you perceive me. Just this morning your bitch wife slapped her across the face,” Royal sounded disgusted. All I wanted to do was scream into the cold air. I felt strong and secure inside, but now that I was out here, facing the soon to be punishment of what I did, I was crumbling. There was nothing that I could do to save myself from the wrath called my mother.

“This is absolutely ludicrous!” Mark threw his hands up in the air as if he was giving up. I couldn’t blame him. Sometimes we all needed a day off, or a minute in time out.

“I’m going with her. Whatever you want to tell me you can tell me at the house, but I am not letting her go into that house and face her crazy mother alone.” Royal came to my defense, even when he didn’t have to. I smiled on the inside even though my belly was filled to the brim with anxiety. Misbehaving wasn’t something I ever did. It felt great telling Sasha how I really felt about her, and landing a punch or two against that perfectly shaped nose of hers.

“Whatever. Get in the car and drive back to the house. No lollygagging,” Mark ordered obviously still annoyed with us, before heading back toward his BMW. We watched him get in the car and drive out of the parking lot.

“Come on, I’ll drive.” Royal’s voice was soft, and it soothed the achiness that washed over me. I gave him my car keys and we got into my Jeep without another word said. I was certain the drive home would be a quiet one, but Royal felt otherwise.

“Don’t be scared of her,” Royal interrupted the silence between us. I blinked, trying to digest what he said. How could he tell me not to be scared of her? It wasn’t as if I was truly afraid of her, I just knew she would try something sketchy without them there. I mean the things that she did when they were there were bad enough. My mother was conniving like that. If she could do something to break another person down and build herself up, she would; even it was her own daughter she was hurting.

“I’m not scared of her, not in the fearful sense. I just know the type of person she is, and what she could do if she really wanted to. Being her daughter doesn’t change the darkness inside of her. She’s out to better one person’s life only, and that’s her own.” I hated the wobbliness of my voice and how it almost made me seem weak. I wasn’t weak. I was just learning to deal with the pain.

“Please don’t cry, Noelle. Please… I…” It was strange to see Royal struggle with his words. One of his hands gripped the wheel while the other one raked through his hair a million times over.

“I’m fine, Royal.” I tried to make myself sound big, happy— anything but sad— still he could see right through it. He slowed the car down right before we got to our subdivision and then he pulled over on the side of the road slamming the car into park. I didn’t know what he was doing, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Goddamnit, Noelle, please don’t lie to me.” His words were rushed as he slammed his hands down on steering wheel. I understood where his rage was coming from. I hated that our parents were so dysfunctional, and that we were blamed today for something that wasn’t our fault. It just seemed like that was a part of life. You lived with the hand you were dealt until you could change it.

“I’m not lying.” I fidgeted in my seat. He took a deep breath and then he was in my face, almost bending over the center console.