My pulse thrummed as all the possibilities rushed through my head. When it came to Noah, I had far too many questions and not nearly enough answers.
Noah paid for my things, then packed them into a bag before handing it to me with a little flourish. “Here you go, Madame.”
“Um, thank you for getting all this, but I’m going to Aoife’s now so you can head home if you like.”
He turned and stared me down. My throat tightened at the flicker of wildness in his eyes. “You’re coming with me, and we’re going to set my sister straight.”
Any words died on my tongue as he led me outside. Aoife shot me a wide-eyed, questioning look as I passed her by. “I’ll, eh, I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” I managed to get out before Noah lifted me by the hips and placed me on his bike. I didn’t even have time to contemplate the feel of his hands on me because seconds later we were on the road. His touch still lingered though, like an invisible tattoo on my skin. I was always so aware whenever he touched me, aware in a way I’d never been of anyone else.
Five minutes later we pulled into the driveway at Ard na Mara. Thankfully, Vee wasn’t standing at the door this time. Noah cut the engine, climbed off the bike and walked straight into the house.
I got a bad feeling.
He pushed open the front door and loudly stomped his way into the house and up the stairs.
“What’s all this racket?” Vee asked incredulously as she emerged from the living room in her pyjamas.
She glanced at me, and my eyes went to Noah, who had just reached the top of the stairs. There was a loud thump, and she rushed up after him. I followed and gasped when I saw him kicking in the door to the bathroom. The one Vee had locked me out of.
Sylvia’s bedroom was downstairs and had its own adjoining bathroom like Vee’s, so Noah and I were the only ones using this one. I realised belatedly he must not have come home last night after all. If he had he would’ve noticed the bathroom was locked before I told him. Which made me wonder, where had he been?
“Noah! What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Vee demanded.
“What does it look like? I’m kicking the fucking door in,” he answered in a loud yet calm voice. I wasn’t fooled. Noah was angry. And on my behalf, too, it seemed. Vee was right about him being unpredictable, but I felt oddly vindicated, especially with the stunned look on Vee’s face. Thanks to Noah, all the anger I’d been stewing in since this morning had finally found an outlet.
“Well stop it! You’re destroying the place,” Vee shrieked at him.
“If you want to act like a headcase and go around locking doors on people, you shouldn’t be surprised when they act like a headcase right back,” Noah yelled at her.
My heart pounded. I was both terrified and elated by him. He was acting crazy, but it felt good to see Vee shaken. I shouldn’t have enjoyed her fear, but she’d spent the last two years making me feel worthless, and I had a lot of built up resentment.
“I didn’t lock it on you,” Vee said, and he swung around.
“Who did you mean to lock it on then?” he hissed.
“On … on Estella,” she answered in a small, frightened voice. Guilt trickled in, but I shoved it away. If anyone deserved to be put in their place it was Vee.
“So, you’ve turned your hand to torture,” Noah surmised.
“It’s not torture,” Vee protested.
“Denying someone the use of a bathroom is torture, Veronica. You’re behaving just like they did. Don’t do it again.” Noah enunciated each word, and Vee seemed to shrink in on herself. Who were they?
Noah gave another powerful kick, and the door finally sprung open. Shards of wood stuck out from where his boot had almost gone right through it.
“Ah, that’s better,” he announced happily. “Now we can all use the bathroom whenever the fuck we like.”
“You’re a lunatic!” Vee said, her voice full of tears as she turned and fled to her room.
Noah’s eyes came to me. “See? Problem solved. I told you I was going to help you.”
“Um …” I didn’t know what to say. What he just did was completely insane, and though it was good that Vee had some comeuppance, I was far from comfortable with the aggressive way he’d gone about things.
“I think a thank you will suffice,” Noah said, moving past me. “By the way, I’ll leave those letters out for you to deliver on your way to school in the morning.”
With that, he left. I stared at the mess he’d made kicking in the door and sighed.