Page 16

Aoi

I bid him goodnight and climb into the car, sliding behind the steering wheel. Visha yawns, fighting sleep to tell me, “Jason’s mean.”

It’s so random that I burst out laughing. I can’t disagree because it’s true. Jason is a mean person but never with loved ones. He was more on edge and rude today than usual which bothered me too, but I met up with him to ask for a favor, so I couldn’t argue over his unpleasant attitude.

“Why do you think that?”

Visha frowns and crosses his arms over his chest as I start driving. “He looks like he hates me and acts like I stole his dog,” he mumbles, pursing his lips.

“Jason’s a complicated man.” I sigh. “He basically hates everyone except for those he doesn’t. It would give anyone a headache trying to understand how his brain works, so don’t fret it.”

“So, he’s always like that? Rude and unlikable?”

I wince. “I think you’re being a bit hard on him.”

The night is heavy, and city lights brighten the road. Driving by night is a pain in the ass. Driving in the first place used to be impossible after the accident. It gradually became feasible with time and practice until the terrifying thought of crashing evaporated into thin air.

I almost crash the car when Visha speaks up, “What deal did you make with him?”

Ugh. Kids and their incessant questions. Why didn’t he just fall asleep, listen to the radio or I don’t know, ask about my dead cat? I DON’T KNOW. Anything but this.

“Why are you asking?”

“Am I not allowed to?”

“That’s not what I said but I don’t understand where your curiosity stems from.”

“You didn’t seem very happy about that deal with him.” He scrunches his nose. “If it’s that terrible for you then don’t do anything. I’ll figure out how to escape the Keytons. You don’t need to go to such lengths for me.”

The sound of crunching leather under my fingers echoes in the vehicle. He flinches as I stare him down.

“Don’t ever say something like that again,” I snap. “I will never let you deal with this alone. Never . Do you hear me?”

He nods. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize if you don’t know what you did wrong.”

I’m being too harsh on him. I can tell by the manner in which he shies away from me. Fuck, I don’t want him to fear me. The tension in my shoulders eases and my muscles relax when a faint smile shines through his obvious distress.

“So, what’s it about?”

I want to slam my head on the steering wheel but getting into an accident because of something as silly just isn’t worth the damage.