Page 64 of Prove Me Wrong
I sniff. “Jade and I are good.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, and it does nothing to push away the uneasiness settling into my gut. “We watched your practice. And the race in Canberra last weekend. You?—”
“Mum, why did you want me to call you?” I interject, not really wanting to waste time with pointless words.
Breathing out heavily, my body stiffens, sensing that something isn’t right. Is something wrong with Dad? Is he back in hospital, or getting worse with his condition?
My questions are quickly answered when Mum’s voice rises, sounding less shocked and more upbeat. “Your dad and I have been talking, and we thought that this argument between us is just silly. We really shouldn’t be upset with you. So, we want you to come live with us in Rafters Falls so that you can focus on your racing.”
Blinking slowly, my jaw ticks at how nonchalant she’s sounding despite the uncomfortable fire simmering in my chest. “Mum, it was never a silly argument. How could you blow it off as something like that?”
She sighs, as if I am inconveniencing her by not agreeing with her ridiculous suggestion. “Noah, I knew what I was talking about?—”
“You told me to give up my own daughter. In the hospital. Right after she was born! How can you call that a silly argument?” My tone rises with frustration, the simmering igniting fully into flames.
“Because it ruined your career,” she seethes, making my toes scrunch and stomach twist. “She messed everything up, can’t you see that?”
Forcing my eyes closed, my finger and thumb pinch the bridge of my nose, teeth clamped so tightly that pain shoots down my jaw and neck. “I can’t believe you just said that.” I murmur out under my breath, the words like ice.
“We just want the best?—”
“No, you don’t!” I snap, jumping to my feet, hand fisted at my side. “You want me to be what Dad was before his accident. But I hate to break it to you, that’s not me anymore. You’re my mum, and you told me to give up my own daughter. I told you not to talk with me again, told you to forget my number, to leave me alone. And now out of the blue, you message me asking me to call you to tell me again that I made a mistake? Jade wasn’t a mistake!” My voice rises, but I couldn't care less if someone overhears me.
Mum exhales loudly, trying to prove her point that she’s upset with my arguing, but it makes my blood boil even more. “Look, we have discussed this, and we think it would be better for you to live closer to us. That way we can watch her when you race, and you can go back to being a full- time driver. You’ll get better deals, sponsors, and?—”
“Mum, stop!” I shout into the phone. Tugging on my hair, I sit on the edge of the bed, head hanging between my shoulders. “I don’t want that. I want to be with Jade as much as I can, and I like my life in Barrenridge. Do you not understand that I’m not that person anymore? I’m her dad. Her only parent. Jade needs me, but I don’t need you or Dad anymore. And you can’t make decisions without me and expect me to be fine with it. That’s not how it works. I don’t want to be a primary driver. I want to be Jade’s dad, bringing her up myself, and working at the mechanics like I have been for eighteen months. That’s what I want!”
“But you could be such a famous driver if you let us help you out. It’ll help your finances, and you’llbe more well-known.”
“Says who?” I clap back at her in a murderous tone. “This is my life, Mum. I get to set the rules here, not you. You haven’t even seen your granddaughter since that night. You refused to hold her in the hospital. You didn’t even visit me when I needed you the most. I was so lost and exhausted, and you left me to be a dad on my own. What makes you think I want you looking after Jade now? I have someone doing that for me already, and she’s a lot nicer than you’ve ever been.”
Her tone sharpens like the edge of a knife, stabbing me repeatedly in the back and leaving gaping wounds. “Because Iamher grandmother, and I should get to know her. And you’ll need the help when you go back to primary driver like you were meant to be when we signed your first contract. Your dad and I are willing to look after her so that you don’t need to. I really don’t see what the issue is here, Noah.”
My jaw slackens as my entire body flames with rage. “You don’t see the issue? What, are you really that dense, Mum? You have refused to see her for over a year, and now you’re just willing to help me out? Were the last eighteen months of Jade’s life pointless? You told me to get rid of her. You told me to let her go after I had just lost someone significant in my life. I was all Jade had, and you wanted her gone because my career is the only thing that’s important to you. You haven’t been there for me at all, so I’m not letting you take her now!”
She’s silent for a moment, and I think that maybe she’s finally seen the light. That she knows she’s gone too far. That I don’t want this. But then her words make me want to hit something with my fist.
“Noah, I think you’re being very unreasonable…”
“No, I’m not!” My veins are so heated that I’m starting to see red. I’m one step away from punching the wall, my anger close to being fully unleashed, ready to destroy everything surrounding me. My breathing techniques won’t save me at this point, only hitting things will. I haven’tbeen this furious since Jade was born, and that’s when I lost all my control. “Don’t call me again. I don’t want you seeing Jade, and I don’t want to see you or Dad. Not after what you said to me, and you won’t even apologise for it!”
“Noah—”
I smash the end button and throw my phone on the bed. Teeth gritted, eyes shut, chest fuming, I dig my hands through my damp hair repeatedly, trying to control my rage that’s threatening to bubble out of me. I’ve held myself together for this long, now is not the time to fall apart.
Tears brim my eyes, glazing them in wetness. I grunt and punch the bed covers a few times to release my pent-up anger. I can’t believe how insensitive my parents are. So apathetic and unapologetic. It drives meinsane.
Breathing heavily, I do the one thing that I know will calm me down. I call Grey.
Chapter Twenty-Three
MIA
The ringing noise brings me back to consciousness. Groaning, I roll onto my other side, buried deep in Noah’s covers as the screen of my phone lights up. I didn’t mean to fall asleep this early, but Jade wore me out with running around all afternoon. She’s got some serious energy.
Reaching for it, his racing number appears, and a giddiness bubbles inside of me. “Noah?” My voice is thick with sleep.
All I can hear is his heavy breathing, and it forces me to sit up, my heart jolting restlessly. “Mia,” he pushes out, and I know something is wrong.
