AN: Comment some feedback right here so I know what people want from the story and what they would like to see.
“Alright, you three, have fun, enjoy yourselves, but be safe and look out for each other, okay.”
“We will,” Gia responded with an eager smile on her face, practically vibrating in place and constantly looking back towards the open door as if she could hear the carnival.
My mother smiled at Gia before glancing up at me, “Adrian, make sure everyone gets home tonight in one piece, okay?”
“I’ll do what I can, but if a ride malfunctions on some Final Destination shit, I can’t make any promises,” I said dryly, making my mother shoot me an admonishing look, “Alright fine, I’ll make sure everyone gets home.”
“Thank you,” My mom sighed with relief, “Now get on out, all three of you.
Love you to death, but I need a night to myself.”
“Do you think Mom would let us go to the fair if it was just me and Gia?”
I glanced over at Rue as I leaned against the open car windowsill, my left elbow resting on the ledge with my right hand on the steering wheel, “What, you think me agreeing to go was the deciding factor for Mom giving us permission?”
Rue shifted in the passenger seat, throwing her legs up on the dash, “Yeah, I think it was.”
I turned my eyes back to the road, “She would have let you and Gia go if I had really insisted on staying home.”
“But she definitely feels better knowing that you’re there to watch over us,” Rue continued.
“Or what I should really say is, watch over me.”
“Self-centered much?” Gia muttered from the backseat without ever glancing up from her phone.
Rue paused before turning to glance back at our little sister, “Do you even have anything playing through your headphones, or are you just using them to make people assume you’re not eavesdropping?”
“I plead the fifth,” Gia replied as she held up a hand yet still focused on her phone.
“Okay, so this isn’t a court of law, so that doesn’t work here,” Rue stressed as she gestured around the car, “Also, who are you going to the fair with?”
“Some friends,” Gia answered noncommittally and I watched in the overhead mirror as she briefly glanced up to look at Rue, “What about you?
“Uhhh, she should be, everyone is going to be there,” Rue answered before glancing over at me, “Unless you’re some type of weirdo who, for some reason, doesn’t like amusement rides, sweet and salty food, and games with prizes.”
“I feel like I’m being targeted,” I remarked dryly, “Also, my stance on local fairs is much more reasonable when you know how many amusement rides fail each year, how ridiculous the upcharge is on the food, and how rigged those games are.”
“Or you could forget about all of that and just enjoy the atmosphere,” Rue commented, “You know, get lost in the moment and just enjoy the bliss.”
“That’s how consequential thinking works, Rue,” I stated firmly, “Can’t just turn it off.”
“…Well I guess I should give you some credit,” Rue said after a quick pause as she glanced out the window, “Last year you would have flat-out refused to take us.”
“I probably still would have, but someone recently convinced me that I had a habit of being uncompromising and that I needed to maintain the positive relationships in my life to balance out my other unhealthy tendencies, ” I admitted with a grin as I watched Rue shift uncomfortably.
“Jesus Christ, Rue, you can’t lie for shit, huh?
“I didn’t even say anything; how could I be lying?!” Rue muttered.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes, “I know you’re talking to Ali.
He told me the morning after you two talked at the dinner.”
“He told you?” Rue asked, almost sounding offended, “Why would he do that?”
“Why the fuck wouldn’t he?” I asked, now my turn to be offended, and glanced at Rue as if she had lost her mind.
“You knew that Ali had been helping me over the Summer.
He told you that when he first confronted you about your lies in NA.”
Rue’s frown deepened, and the tension in the car climbed by the second,” So what, you’re mad at me for stealing your discount therapist?”
“You didn’t fucking steal him, Rue.
I think it’s great that you talked to Ali…and you should continue to do so.” I threw up my hand in exhaustion, already mentally drained and with an entire night at the fair to get through.
“Well, I’m glad I got your permission,” Rue muttered sarcastically only for me to scoff, “You fucking should be, Ali asked me if it was okay to talk to you, and I imagine that if I gave anything but a resolute yes, he wouldn’t have approached you.” This chapter is updated first at novelping . com.
“Oh, and I bet you just love being able to tell me that,” Rue said spitefully, “You have this savior and superiority complex, and it honestly makes me sick.
You always have to be the one who’s put in charge.”
I let out a dark laugh as my hand tightened on the steering wheel, “You’re right Rue I just love always being the most responsible one.
I love the pressure of knowing that if anything goes wrong, I’ll be the first one who gets blamed.
It must be so hard for you, going through life with no one having any expectations of you because at every turn you show that you’re unreliable.”
“You know it really is, so maybe you should give it a try since it’s so much fun!” Rue snapped back with a sickeningly sweet smile, “Poor Adrian, you must be so tired all the time with all those big responsibilities weighing you down and making your life miserable.”
“They wouldn’t be nearly as draining if someone didn’t constantly heckle me,” I spat before hitting the turn signal and easing off the gas.
“I could say the exact same thing to you,” Rue muttered with a withering glare.
“Rue, why the fuck do you think I’m talking to Ali?
For the same reason you want to talk to him,” I put the car in park after coming to a stop in the temporary parking lot that was really just a flat field, outside of where the carnival was set up.
The moment I put the car into park, I heard the back door open and looked back just in time to see Gia quickly climb out of the car and slam the door behind her.
“Fucking fantastic,” I muttered before letting out a tired sigh.
“Gia!”
“Leave her,” I said softly as my head lolled back and I exhaled through my nose, “She needs space.”
Rue glared at me one final time before climbing out of the car and slamming it for emphasis, “…and this is why I wanted to stay home.”
Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out a lighter and a blunt.
A second later, a thick blue cloud of hazy smoke rushed out of the open window, and for a moment I tried to mellow in the taste, only to meet the same dissatisfaction I had come to expect.
‘This weed…still ain’t shit.’