Unravelling

Chapter 32 - Coping Mechanism

Can I trust him?

Maybe he is the kind of douchebag my brothers claimed he was when they first told me to stay away from him. But maybe they are simply exaggerating or they are being, well, boys. Simple as that. If I have learned anything from growing up in a male-dominated household it is that everything is always a competition with boys.

Who is the fastest?

Who is the strongest?

Who the loudest?

Who can get his hands on the most food and who can devour it the quickest?

Who can make the most disgusting noises?

And so on. At least that is the picture I have of what it is like to be one of the boys and this impression is based on a lot of evidence. Of course, there are hundreds of other areas that they perceive as some kind of a power play. These daily competitions to be at the top of the food chain must be so exhausting. Considering all this, I have a certain understanding if they act a bit weird at times.

However, I still think that Aidan's "involvement" today was totally unnecessary.

I was once again checking the clock when suddenly Jordan burst into my room without knocking. That alone is an offense that I don't easily forgive. But before I had a chance to make my displeasure known, he wordlessly walked up to me, pulled me off my desk chair and unceremoniously threw me over his shoulder.

I was so stunned by his actions that we were already halfway down the stairs by the time I started to put up a fight.

"Save your energy for later, kiddo," is all Jordan said as he walked straight towards the front door.

He only stopped briefly to grab something that looked suspiciously like my sports bag with his free hand and he was out the door. He didn't even bother to close it behind us. That might have interrupted his flow of movements, I guess.

I delivered another few hits to his back and frantically kicked my legs but that didn't impress him very much. Before I knew what was happening to me, Jordan threw me into the back seat of Josh's car (the back door was conveniently already open), tossed my gym bag in behind me and shut the door forcefully. I hadn't even scrambled to sit up properly by the time he was already pulling out of our driveway and onto the street.

Which brings us to now.

"What the hell, Jordan!" I scream at him.

"Put your seatbelt on," he replies nonchalantly.

"No!" I realise that I sound like a little kid but I am not happy right now.

"Lily," he warns me. "You know that it's the law."

Is he seriously going to go there?

"Kidnapping is against the law, too!" I shout.

All I get in return from him is a low chuckle.

"I am serious! What are you doing? Where the fuck are we going?" I yell furiously.

Let's just say that over the years I have developed a strong dislike at being manhandled and taken advantage of by people who are of superior size and strength to me. Which, unfortunately, is everybody in my family. But that doesn't give them the right to abuse their physical power over me like this.

"That's about enough with the cussing, young lady. Calm down and put the fucking seatbelt on already."

What a hypocrite!

I deliberately mutter a few additional curse words under my breath, clearly attempting for them to be audible just to piss him off. But I relent and put my seatbelt on. There is no reason to die from the impact in case my brother hits anything on the way to wherever we are going.