Page 41 of I Shouldn't Feel This Way

Mom intervened. “Aria, sit down. Robert, please. It’s been a rough day.”

“You need to discipline her better, Emily! She’syourdaughter!”

“My daughter? She’sourdaughter!”

“Not anymore, since that son of a gun has come to claim his bastard child!”

They started arguing back and forth, while I stood there, almost catatonic, spectating their squabble.

“You’re hurting her feelings!” Mom said, trying to defend me.

“And she’s been hurting my damn wallet for years!”

That was it—I couldn’t take anymore. It was fight or flight. With seething intent, I grabbed the plate full of steaming mashed potatoes and stuffed it in his face.

“Aria!” My mother looked mortified, while the twins giggled at the comedy-classic scene I just re-enacted. Larry, Curly, and Moe would have been proud. A cold pie in the face would have been a kinder gesture, but he didn’t deserve that.

“You—fucking—bitch! I’m going to whip you for this!”

I couldn’t have left the dining room any more quickly as I sprinted down the hallway to my bedroom, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Panic hit me hard. I knew that lock wouldn’t hold. Rob was like a ginormous, angry bull. He wouldn’t stop until he had his horns digging into me, causing maximum damage.

I leaned my weight against my white dresser and pushed it against the door. Seconds later, the psychotic bull began to pound his body against the barricaded surface that divided predator from prey.

“Let me in, Aria!”

My hands trembled as I managed to pull my phone out of my pocket to send Noah a text:

Can u plz come and get me? Im @ home. Rob has gone psycho!

My stepdad kept slamming his body against the door, attempting to break the lock while my dresser rocked back and forth. I was scared because I knew that if he got in, he would take out his belt, hold me down, and flog me until I’d turn black and blue.

“Robert, stop! Stop this now!”

“That fucking whore nearly burned my face off!”

“Please just stop! Let me talk to her!”

I heard my mom cry out in pain, probably because he shoved her away … or worse.

Please, please text me back,was all I could think. But Noah wasn’t responding. As much as I hated to disturb whatever he was doing, it was a big-time SOS situation for me, so I dialed his number and prayed he’d pick up. Meanwhile, Rob kept yelling and pounding on the door.

“Hi, you’ve reached Noah Hunter. Please leave your name and number, and I will get back to you as soon as possible.”

Shit!I hung up. Why, why did I have to be so stupid and piss off my stepdad like that? It was too late for take-backs.

Rob was jabbing something into the lock, and I felt so scared. I had to think fast. Glancing at my window, I opened it and looked down. Oh God, I had no idea how I was going to get my feet on the sidewalk, but there was enough space for me to walk along the ledge to get over to the unit next to us. My only chance was to tap on the window and pray that the neighbors would let me in so that I could escape through their apartment.

I put on my black leather jacket, shoved my cell and some cash in my pocket, and stepped out on the ledge. Luckily, I was already wearing a pair of Converse sneakers. I avoided looking down, and moved my body, sidestepping carefully. My chest was pressed flush against the brick surface of the building, and I was scared that I would slip and fall.

Okay, I can do this. I can be just as bad ass as“Nikita,” I thought.Arrive alive … arrive alive.I kept repeating that in my head as I got closer to my window of freedom.

It didn’t take me very long to reach the neighbor’s unit. They were an elderly couple, and I rarely ever spoke to the old lady. However, whenever she saw me in the hallway, we would always politely exchange a smile.

I tapped on the glass, catching their attention. The old woman said something to her husband, and then a younger-looking lady with short red hair appeared out of the corner of the living room. She warily opened the window, looking confused and slightly freaked out.

“What are you doing outside of my parents’ window?”

My face and fingertips were freezing as I crouched down and tried to explain.Wheel of Fortunewas playing on their television. It took the woman only a few seconds to hear Rob’s outrageous cursing before she helped me inside. Now she understood why I was standing by the window like a convict on the run.

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