Be Rude but Love Me | ✔

CHAPTER 13

My forehead hits the car roof slightly and I hear the clatter of my phone as it lands near the lever. I hear a shit! coming from Yann on my right and a loud bang. With my body propelled to the front, my foot jerks as well to the front and pound on the gas pedal. The car seems to soar out of the hole with the unexpected speed. I see Yann's hands fly before me as he reaches to get to the wheel.

"Brakes, Graham, fucking brakes!"

Somehow, my brain reacts to his words, mainly because they're spoken with much panic and force. I lift my foot from the gas pedal in a spontaneous move and press my other sole with as much strength as I can on the brake pedal. Ellie's small X-Trail jerks violently before coming to a stop, the roaring of the engine ceasing with a worrying and unusual rumbling.

I sit in the car, dizzy. Up and down goes my chest restlessly. My shaking fingers can't seem to rest on my thighs. Goosebumps cover my skin and I am feeling cold despite the warm air outside the car.

I hear a door open but the closing sound never comes. My shoulder leans against the door and supports my suddenly weak body. But as the door is yanked opened, I almost fall off my seat, my rigid body retained only by the security belt.

"Get out!"

Unable to recover yet from my shock, I slowly lift my head to meet Yann's gaze. I am still breathing loudly, still feeling dizzy, still feeling like I might have ended the day in a hospital. Images from a few days ago fill my head and panic seizes me again for a moment.

"Get out!" Yann orders again.

When I make no move to obey, he leans in. The pressure from the seat belt disappears from my chest and I realize Yann has taken the belt off. He must realize that I am slightly in shock because when he speaks again, his voice is much less hostile. It holds a hint of patience in it, as if talking to a child.

"Graham," he says, "come on, you're alright."

I feel his hands slide across my back and under my knees as he lifts me up. He is right to carry me because I am not sure my legs would work properly right now.

"What happened?" I murmur quietly.

"Because you were acting like a child, we've got a bumped car on our hands. That's what happened, Graham. Get in."

I want to retort that he is the one who kept changing the station like a pesky child but I prefer not to cause more trouble than there already is. I don't even realize we have gotten to the passenger side of the car. I feel Yann's hand slide from my back as he puts me in. He buckles me before slamming the door shut.

He places himself in the driver's seat seconds later. Twisting the key in the ignition, he tries to start up the car. It makes a few coughing sounds before dying. Yann tries again, but the result is the same once more.

"Come on," he pleads at his third attempt. "Fuck!" The curse echoes around the car, but my ears are oblivious to the word. I'm too lost in a world of mine.

Managing to unbuckle myself, I get out f the car and tentatively stand on my legs. They hold me up and I go to the front to check out the damage. The bumper is damaged and so is the bodywork, but only a little less. It's nothing major but it will still cost a few hundred bills.

"Damn!"

I bend down and trail my fingers against the considerable defect in the bumper. Just as I take a look closer, the car roars to life and I jump away in fright. Looking up, I see Yann staring at me impatiently as if to say – and I'll use his language – "Graham, get in the fucking car already."

I do. I get in the car. I slam the door shut, put on my seat belt. I don't touch the radio, I look out the window, I cross my arms over my torso.

Why doesn't he have a license to drive himself? Why does he have to be such a brute? Why can't he simply try to change be less angry at everyone? Eyes closed, I find myself asking these questions that are flying away with the wind, traveling and traveling, never settling down. My questions are always left unanswered when it comes to Yann anyways.