Hush, Hush: Chapter 16
Jul. 30th, 2011 09:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zelda_queenZeldaQueen: In which Fitzpatrick channels Wes Craven
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 16
ZeldaQueen: Nora leaves her rather pointless therapy session and finds Vee. Showing signs of intelligence, she finally asks if Vee knows what a home security system costs. Vee basically rolls her eyes because she still thinks it’s stupid to think that Elliot broke into the house. Never mind that the house was broken into and someone clearly is stalking Nora. Nope, let's ignore that to remind us that Nora is stupid to be afraid of Elliot. Is Vee on crack? And as a side note, the home security system thing is pretty much dropped here until the end of the book.
Nora heads to the library, lamenting how she must walk because Vee can’t drive her and her mother has the car. Oh look, she’s going off on her own and has no ride. I wonder where this is going?
At the library, little research turns up on the death at Elliot’s previous school. Nora calls her mom and asks if it would be cool if she took a bus to Portland, with the intention of interviewing some students (she tells her mom it‘s for a school paper article). Her mother makes the very good points that it will be dark soon, it’s a school night, and that all of the students will have gone home by this point. I also must note that Nora comes across as incredibly stupid, given that she knows she’s being stalked and nearly has been attacked twice and decides that the best course of action is to go wandering around in a strange area while it’s dark out. Not since those tourists from The Human Centipede have I seen such idiocy.
Also, apparently Nora is going to be walking home in the dark, which has got to be one of the biggest set-ups ever.
As Nora leaves the library, she runs into Marcie Millar. Fantastic. She always adds so much to the story, doesn’t she? Sure enough, Marcie runs right up to Nora and insults Vee. “It's really sad. I mean, who would attack her? Unless, you know, they couldn't help it. Maybe it was self-defense. I heard it was dark and raining. It would be easy to mistake Vee for a moose. Or a bear, or a buffalo. Really, any hulking animal would do”. You know, that would probably come across as a lot more catty if Vee’s sole purpose in this story hasn’t been “ha ha, she’s fat”.
Nora makes an equally stupid retort and the two go back and forth with one word insults which amount to Marcie calling Nora a weirdo and Nora calling Marcie a slut. You know, for all we’ve been told how Marcie is such a scandalous harlot, I’ve seen very little of her actually whoring around. I mean there was that moment where she tried to cozy up to Elliot, but that came across as more boisterous than flirtatious. She hasn’t really done much of anything, really. Certainly she hasn’t started dating a guy just because he’s rich. *pointed glare at Vee*
Marcie is totally unaffected by Nora insulting her sex life (or alleged sex life, as we’ve seen no hint of one at all). I guess it’s supposed to be a sign of her bitchiness that she doesn’t bend before the lame comebacks, but it really just makes her look like she actually has a backbone.
A security guard at the library door steps in at this point and tells them both to knock it off and go home. Thank you, nameless security guard. I think I shall call you Phil and mail you a gift basket for shutting these idiots up. Marcie jumps into the routine of doing an obvious show of playing the innocent victim, which Phil does not fall for. Marcie then gives him “her trademark toxic smile” and lays it on thick about how she thinks he’s handsome in uniform. Apparently an obviously fake smile and clichéd compliment are enough to melt Phil’s gruff exterior, even though he still kicks Marcie out.
*clears throat*
That up there was clearly Fitzpatrick trying to show us what a skanky whore Marcie is. Imagine, manipulating people by smiling at them and being fake polite and flirting! Ought to be branded with the scarlet letter for that one, really.
It’s also pretty obvious that we’re supposed to see this as standard behavior for Marcie. We’re supposed to figure out that she routinely flirts with boys and has them all on strings because shewhores herself out knows how to push the right buttons with them. Thing is, Marcie is about as subtle as a truck running into a brick wall. So instead of making Marcie look like a manipulative bitch, Fitzpatrick just leaves us with the conclusion that most men in this weird world are complete idiots who think via their penises and give evil girls free passes because hey, a smile and a compliment get them all hot, am I right? Really, it reminds me of this post, which comments on Lynn Johnston’s persecution of Therese and how, besides being sexist as heck, it just made Anthony look bad because he apparently didn’t have the sense to see that he was marrying a woman who was very obviously a bitch.
I also might add that I’ve been in Phil’s place a few times. I volunteer at the book/coffee shop on the bottom floor of my district’s public library, which as luck would have it is situated right next to the lower level exit. Said exit is also where most of the middle and high school students hang out while waiting for their parents to pick them up, and as a result we have to deal with the occasional jerks horse playing, running around, being loud and obnoxious, screwing around with the automatic doors, or harassing patrons who are entering or leaving the library. The janitors, the library employees, the other volunteers, and myself have all often had to tell off those kids for being disruptive jerks, and more than a few of them have tried just that trick, batting their eyes and trying to butter us up, even though we know darned well what they had been up to. I guess it’s a sign of reality that we wouldn’t cave in for a cute face.
This book angers me greatly
Nora decides that she just can’t stand to be in the company of Marcie a second longer, so she takes the lower exit through the underground parking garage. This gets her to start panicking, because she finds herself remembering her father's death and apparently has had a phobia since of walking through dark rooms or by dark alleys. This all just makes what's coming up even worse. She’s setting out and going on about how dark it is when she sees a dark figure in front of her. Surprise! It’s Patch! And he’s an asshole! The more things change!
There's a run-down on everything Patch is wearing (because yeah, that's important) and Nora demands that he tell her what he's doing there. He's stalking you, fool! Seriously, turn around! Go upstairs! Tell Phil you need an escort out of the building!
No, Nora just stands there, contemplating how "If rape, murder, or any other miscreant activities were on Patch's mind, he'd cornered me in the perfect place". *flaps hands* I...what? If you think he's going to rape or hurt you, go upstairs! Don't stand there talking to him! Gah! This is creepy!
Instead, Nora tells Patch that he's going to answer a few of her questions. Patch correctly guesses that Nora will make a break for it if he refuses, and Nora admits to the readers that she know she doesn't have a snowball's chance of actually outrunning this guy. She know she can't outrun him, she knows he's dangerous, she's speculating that he could be planning to rape or murder her, she knows that no one will hear her if she screams, and she decides that this is the best time to badger him for answers. Smooth, girl.
Nora asks how Patch knew she'd be there, and he tries to feed her some bull about it just being a good guess. Then, he lunges at her. No, really. He leaps forward towards her. She moves over so that a car is in between them, and then resumes the questions. Romance of the century, those two.
Second question is where Patch was on Sunday. Without waiting for an actual answer for that, she then asks him if he stalked herself and Vee on their shopping trip. He tells her he did not and she buys that, because people are so often honest about their stalking habits. Actually, given how Patch has behaved, I'd believe he'd be the kind of guy who'd brag to his victim about how he was stalking her.
Patch continues to insist that he was in no way involved in the events of Sunday and Nora does not believe that. Patch replies that it's because "you have trust issues".
*massive eyetwitch*
Oh yes Nora, what a weak-willed person you are, so devoid of trust to not believe the guy who's been stalking and harassing and hiding things from you! Patch is the sort of person that any sensible person would wholeheartedly trust, yesssss!
Hold it in, ZeldaQueen. Hold it in.
Nora does get pissed off at this, but not because Patch is being a dick to her. Instead, it's the usual cutesy "Oh, how irritating that he is so insightful as to my character!" And of course, it's put in a way that doesn't make us think that he's a stalking bastard, but we're instead supposed to believe that he just knows so much about her, so the fangirls can sigh and swoon over how he's such a smart and sensitive guy to understand his girlfriend so well. Yes, I'm sure I'd understand my significant other if I stalked them and peeked in their windows and...I'm very sorry.
So yeah, Nora asks exactly what happened on the Archangel, as well as if Patch saved her there. Patch makes some vague comment about how they wouldn't be having this conversation if he had saved her, and then says that he wasn't implying that Nora would have been dead. Given how this book has had nothing but heavy-handed foreshadowing about how Patch is a fallen angel, it's pretty obvious what the "saving" being referred to is.
At this point, Patch lunges for Nora again. She's caught off guard and makes a break for it, getting three cars away before Patch grabs her and throws her against a cement beam and stands right in front of her so she can't leave.
ZeldaQueen: Right. I think I'll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.
Nora continues with the questioning, even though she's terrified. She asks Patch what he was doing when he was staring at her in PE, and he replies that he was admiring her legs. She asks for the complete truth, and he basically tells her there's not a chance of that, all while leaning up in her face with a dark grin.
River Song? Would you help me out, please?
ZeldaQueen: Thank you, ma'am.
Patch asks Nora why she was so upset when she came outside. While he says this, he takes her hand in his and rubs her knuckles across his lips. I'm pretty sure Fitzpatrick thought this was sexy. I VERY MUCH beg to differ!
"I couldn't remember what we were talking about. All I knew was that Patch's gaze felt especially hot. I had to break eye contact, so I trained my eyes on my hands. They were glistening with sweat, and I slid them behind my back.
'I have to go,' I said. 'I have homework.'
'What happened in there?' He tilted his chin back at the elevators.
'Nothing.'
Before I could stop him, he had my palm pressed to his, forming a steeple with our hands. He slid his fingers between mine, locking me to him. 'Your knuckles are white,' he said, brushing his mouth across them. 'And you came out looking worked up.'
'Let go. And I'm not worked up. Not really. If you'll excuse me, I have homework-'
'Nora.' Patch spoke my name softly, yet with every intention of getting what he wanted."
ZeldaQueen: Yes, that's not creepy in the slightest, not at all SERIOUSLY FANGIRLS WHAT THE FUCK???
And so nice to see him emulating Edward Cullen there. "Young lady, you answer my question this instant! Do you think I give a fuck about your privacy or feelings on the matter?"
Nora finally spills and tells Patch about her fight with Marcie Millar. It's beaten over our heads how weird it is that he doesn't know her because she's a whore and all the boys drool over her, blah, blah, blah, etc, and all that noise. Patch is more interested in the details of the fight, and is disappointed that there wasn't actual hair-pulling or clawing. He asks if he'll have to teach Nora how to fight, and she insists that she's had boxing lessons (which she confides to us was one kickboxing lesson). He asks her to give a shot at him. Gladly. Can we all line up, or is it a one-person thing with drawing lots? Nora says she doesn't want to.
"'We're all alone down here.' Patch's boots were flush with the toes of my shoes. 'A guy like me could take advantage of a girl like you. Better show me what you've got.'"
ZeldaQueen: ...
. . .
I've got nothing. Nothing. Except, perhaps, for WHAT THE UNHOLY FUCKBEANS, FITZPATRICK???
And then Patch offers to give her a ride home on that fucking motorcycle of his
ZeldaQueen: And then Nora seriously considers this
ZeldaQueen: I...she...he... he just made a veiled threat to attack her and chased her and pinned her against a beam and she's going to ride home with him! A stranger offering candy would be more trustworthy!!!
But no, she accepts. She accepts a ride with him. SHE ACCEPTS A RIDE WITH THE GUY WHO THREATENED HER, CHRIST ALMIGHTY! Oh, she tries to excuse it by saying that it would be dangerous to walk home, and under other circumstances I would buy that because of the attacks, but in this case she's weighing the danger of the possibility of someone attacking her as she walks home to the danger of accepting a ride on a vehicle which is hardly the most protected or safest (that fucking motorcycle, remember?) with a guy who acted in a way which I'm fairly certain is grounds for a restraining order, or at the very least a tazer.
Yes folks, we're rounding the bend and reaching the point where Nora will be losing any sense she has shown. Not quite there yet, but we're getting there fast. Because after that lovely display from Patch, after he frightened her and had her pinned and shaking and was invasive and made a veiled threat to hurt her, she pretty much forgets about it.
I shall repeat that. Not two sentences after that horrible quote, Nora is perfectly fine with Patch and is making resigned quips about how he's only offering her a ride because she doesn't like the motorcycle.
There is nothing I can think of to say to that, really. Bella Swan was a complete dumbass, but Nora doesn't have that excuse. She knows what's up with this guy and still she is fine with it. Ms Fitzpatrick, that is not a sexy fantasy. That is either idiocy of the highest order or, more frightening, it is a sign of an abuser breaking down the will of his victim so she sees his behavior as acceptable and desirable. I'm sure neither were what you intended, but come on!
Patch makes a joke about how he doesn't just give her rides because she hates the motorcycle, which is not funny at all because dude, I have a memory span of more than half a page I haven't forgotten him fucking threatening her!!! The ride itself is mercifully brief, and his dropping her off at the house feels like Fitzpatrick was trying to go for some Grease-esque atmosphere. Oh, and Nora feels perfectly safe around Patch. No, REALLY
"I was feeling a lot more relaxed. Patch was warm and solid, and he smelled fantastic. Like mint and rich, dark earth. Nobody had jumpedout at us on the ride home, and all the windows on the lower level of the farmhouse glowed with light. For the first time all day I felt safe"
ZeldaQueen: Yeah, safe except for when he was chasing you around the parking garage. I guess that's such a tiny, insignificant thing though, there's no point in remembering it. Christ knows, Nora doesn't.
Hang on, hold that thought. Thankfully, Nora proves that she hasn't entirely lost her mind yet and briefly recalls that oh yeah, the guy threatened her. So when Patch tells her to skip homework on Saturday and go on a date with him, she tells him that she doesn't go out with strangers. His reply? "Good thing I do. I'll pick you up at five"
It's so wonderful to have a romantic male lead that respects the girl's opinions, isn't it? So pleasant to see how he is kind and loving and gives her the time and space she needs for them to build a relationship on trust. Isn't it sweet to see how he doesn't force his will on her and spend his time threatening and controlling her?
Oh, and spoilers - Nora isn't angry about him making that decision at all. Nor is she frightened, even though she distinctly recalled his behavior in the parking garage when she refused the date. Nope, she's pleased as punch to have a date with Patch. So remember guys, if a girl tells you she doesn't want to go out with you, force her to do so anyway. No means yes, after all. And ladies, don't even bother to contradict or refuse Your Man anything. After all, he's better than you and knows better so there's really no point, is there? Isn't it great, how this book teaches such fantastic lessons on building healthy, loving relationships?
And the sad thing is, I can't drum up a decent rant about this. I really can't. Because this is not the worst by far. So see you next chapter, ladies and gentlemen! I'm going to go sob in the shower now
Onward to: Chapter 17
Back to: Chapter 15
Return to to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 16
ZeldaQueen: Nora leaves her rather pointless therapy session and finds Vee. Showing signs of intelligence, she finally asks if Vee knows what a home security system costs. Vee basically rolls her eyes because she still thinks it’s stupid to think that Elliot broke into the house. Never mind that the house was broken into and someone clearly is stalking Nora. Nope, let's ignore that to remind us that Nora is stupid to be afraid of Elliot. Is Vee on crack? And as a side note, the home security system thing is pretty much dropped here until the end of the book.
Nora heads to the library, lamenting how she must walk because Vee can’t drive her and her mother has the car. Oh look, she’s going off on her own and has no ride. I wonder where this is going?
At the library, little research turns up on the death at Elliot’s previous school. Nora calls her mom and asks if it would be cool if she took a bus to Portland, with the intention of interviewing some students (she tells her mom it‘s for a school paper article). Her mother makes the very good points that it will be dark soon, it’s a school night, and that all of the students will have gone home by this point. I also must note that Nora comes across as incredibly stupid, given that she knows she’s being stalked and nearly has been attacked twice and decides that the best course of action is to go wandering around in a strange area while it’s dark out. Not since those tourists from The Human Centipede have I seen such idiocy.
Also, apparently Nora is going to be walking home in the dark, which has got to be one of the biggest set-ups ever.
As Nora leaves the library, she runs into Marcie Millar. Fantastic. She always adds so much to the story, doesn’t she? Sure enough, Marcie runs right up to Nora and insults Vee. “It's really sad. I mean, who would attack her? Unless, you know, they couldn't help it. Maybe it was self-defense. I heard it was dark and raining. It would be easy to mistake Vee for a moose. Or a bear, or a buffalo. Really, any hulking animal would do”. You know, that would probably come across as a lot more catty if Vee’s sole purpose in this story hasn’t been “ha ha, she’s fat”.
Nora makes an equally stupid retort and the two go back and forth with one word insults which amount to Marcie calling Nora a weirdo and Nora calling Marcie a slut. You know, for all we’ve been told how Marcie is such a scandalous harlot, I’ve seen very little of her actually whoring around. I mean there was that moment where she tried to cozy up to Elliot, but that came across as more boisterous than flirtatious. She hasn’t really done much of anything, really. Certainly she hasn’t started dating a guy just because he’s rich. *pointed glare at Vee*
Marcie is totally unaffected by Nora insulting her sex life (or alleged sex life, as we’ve seen no hint of one at all). I guess it’s supposed to be a sign of her bitchiness that she doesn’t bend before the lame comebacks, but it really just makes her look like she actually has a backbone.
A security guard at the library door steps in at this point and tells them both to knock it off and go home. Thank you, nameless security guard. I think I shall call you Phil and mail you a gift basket for shutting these idiots up. Marcie jumps into the routine of doing an obvious show of playing the innocent victim, which Phil does not fall for. Marcie then gives him “her trademark toxic smile” and lays it on thick about how she thinks he’s handsome in uniform. Apparently an obviously fake smile and clichéd compliment are enough to melt Phil’s gruff exterior, even though he still kicks Marcie out.
*clears throat*
That up there was clearly Fitzpatrick trying to show us what a skanky whore Marcie is. Imagine, manipulating people by smiling at them and being fake polite and flirting! Ought to be branded with the scarlet letter for that one, really.
It’s also pretty obvious that we’re supposed to see this as standard behavior for Marcie. We’re supposed to figure out that she routinely flirts with boys and has them all on strings because she
I also might add that I’ve been in Phil’s place a few times. I volunteer at the book/coffee shop on the bottom floor of my district’s public library, which as luck would have it is situated right next to the lower level exit. Said exit is also where most of the middle and high school students hang out while waiting for their parents to pick them up, and as a result we have to deal with the occasional jerks horse playing, running around, being loud and obnoxious, screwing around with the automatic doors, or harassing patrons who are entering or leaving the library. The janitors, the library employees, the other volunteers, and myself have all often had to tell off those kids for being disruptive jerks, and more than a few of them have tried just that trick, batting their eyes and trying to butter us up, even though we know darned well what they had been up to. I guess it’s a sign of reality that we wouldn’t cave in for a cute face.
This book angers me greatly
Nora decides that she just can’t stand to be in the company of Marcie a second longer, so she takes the lower exit through the underground parking garage. This gets her to start panicking, because she finds herself remembering her father's death and apparently has had a phobia since of walking through dark rooms or by dark alleys. This all just makes what's coming up even worse. She’s setting out and going on about how dark it is when she sees a dark figure in front of her. Surprise! It’s Patch! And he’s an asshole! The more things change!
There's a run-down on everything Patch is wearing (because yeah, that's important) and Nora demands that he tell her what he's doing there. He's stalking you, fool! Seriously, turn around! Go upstairs! Tell Phil you need an escort out of the building!
No, Nora just stands there, contemplating how "If rape, murder, or any other miscreant activities were on Patch's mind, he'd cornered me in the perfect place". *flaps hands* I...what? If you think he's going to rape or hurt you, go upstairs! Don't stand there talking to him! Gah! This is creepy!
Instead, Nora tells Patch that he's going to answer a few of her questions. Patch correctly guesses that Nora will make a break for it if he refuses, and Nora admits to the readers that she know she doesn't have a snowball's chance of actually outrunning this guy. She know she can't outrun him, she knows he's dangerous, she's speculating that he could be planning to rape or murder her, she knows that no one will hear her if she screams, and she decides that this is the best time to badger him for answers. Smooth, girl.
Nora asks how Patch knew she'd be there, and he tries to feed her some bull about it just being a good guess. Then, he lunges at her. No, really. He leaps forward towards her. She moves over so that a car is in between them, and then resumes the questions. Romance of the century, those two.
Second question is where Patch was on Sunday. Without waiting for an actual answer for that, she then asks him if he stalked herself and Vee on their shopping trip. He tells her he did not and she buys that, because people are so often honest about their stalking habits. Actually, given how Patch has behaved, I'd believe he'd be the kind of guy who'd brag to his victim about how he was stalking her.
Patch continues to insist that he was in no way involved in the events of Sunday and Nora does not believe that. Patch replies that it's because "you have trust issues".
*massive eyetwitch*
Oh yes Nora, what a weak-willed person you are, so devoid of trust to not believe the guy who's been stalking and harassing and hiding things from you! Patch is the sort of person that any sensible person would wholeheartedly trust, yesssss!
Hold it in, ZeldaQueen. Hold it in.
Nora does get pissed off at this, but not because Patch is being a dick to her. Instead, it's the usual cutesy "Oh, how irritating that he is so insightful as to my character!" And of course, it's put in a way that doesn't make us think that he's a stalking bastard, but we're instead supposed to believe that he just knows so much about her, so the fangirls can sigh and swoon over how he's such a smart and sensitive guy to understand his girlfriend so well. Yes, I'm sure I'd understand my significant other if I stalked them and peeked in their windows and...I'm very sorry.
So yeah, Nora asks exactly what happened on the Archangel, as well as if Patch saved her there. Patch makes some vague comment about how they wouldn't be having this conversation if he had saved her, and then says that he wasn't implying that Nora would have been dead. Given how this book has had nothing but heavy-handed foreshadowing about how Patch is a fallen angel, it's pretty obvious what the "saving" being referred to is.
At this point, Patch lunges for Nora again. She's caught off guard and makes a break for it, getting three cars away before Patch grabs her and throws her against a cement beam and stands right in front of her so she can't leave.
ZeldaQueen: Right. I think I'll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.
Nora continues with the questioning, even though she's terrified. She asks Patch what he was doing when he was staring at her in PE, and he replies that he was admiring her legs. She asks for the complete truth, and he basically tells her there's not a chance of that, all while leaning up in her face with a dark grin.
River Song? Would you help me out, please?
ZeldaQueen: Thank you, ma'am.
Patch asks Nora why she was so upset when she came outside. While he says this, he takes her hand in his and rubs her knuckles across his lips. I'm pretty sure Fitzpatrick thought this was sexy. I VERY MUCH beg to differ!
"I couldn't remember what we were talking about. All I knew was that Patch's gaze felt especially hot. I had to break eye contact, so I trained my eyes on my hands. They were glistening with sweat, and I slid them behind my back.
'I have to go,' I said. 'I have homework.'
'What happened in there?' He tilted his chin back at the elevators.
'Nothing.'
Before I could stop him, he had my palm pressed to his, forming a steeple with our hands. He slid his fingers between mine, locking me to him. 'Your knuckles are white,' he said, brushing his mouth across them. 'And you came out looking worked up.'
'Let go. And I'm not worked up. Not really. If you'll excuse me, I have homework-'
'Nora.' Patch spoke my name softly, yet with every intention of getting what he wanted."
ZeldaQueen: Yes, that's not creepy in the slightest, not at all SERIOUSLY FANGIRLS WHAT THE FUCK???
And so nice to see him emulating Edward Cullen there. "Young lady, you answer my question this instant! Do you think I give a fuck about your privacy or feelings on the matter?"
Nora finally spills and tells Patch about her fight with Marcie Millar. It's beaten over our heads how weird it is that he doesn't know her because she's a whore and all the boys drool over her, blah, blah, blah, etc, and all that noise. Patch is more interested in the details of the fight, and is disappointed that there wasn't actual hair-pulling or clawing. He asks if he'll have to teach Nora how to fight, and she insists that she's had boxing lessons (which she confides to us was one kickboxing lesson). He asks her to give a shot at him. Gladly. Can we all line up, or is it a one-person thing with drawing lots? Nora says she doesn't want to.
"'We're all alone down here.' Patch's boots were flush with the toes of my shoes. 'A guy like me could take advantage of a girl like you. Better show me what you've got.'"
ZeldaQueen: ...
. . .
I've got nothing. Nothing. Except, perhaps, for WHAT THE UNHOLY FUCKBEANS, FITZPATRICK???
And then Patch offers to give her a ride home on that fucking motorcycle of his
ZeldaQueen: And then Nora seriously considers this
ZeldaQueen: I...she...he... he just made a veiled threat to attack her and chased her and pinned her against a beam and she's going to ride home with him! A stranger offering candy would be more trustworthy!!!
But no, she accepts. She accepts a ride with him. SHE ACCEPTS A RIDE WITH THE GUY WHO THREATENED HER, CHRIST ALMIGHTY! Oh, she tries to excuse it by saying that it would be dangerous to walk home, and under other circumstances I would buy that because of the attacks, but in this case she's weighing the danger of the possibility of someone attacking her as she walks home to the danger of accepting a ride on a vehicle which is hardly the most protected or safest (that fucking motorcycle, remember?) with a guy who acted in a way which I'm fairly certain is grounds for a restraining order, or at the very least a tazer.
Yes folks, we're rounding the bend and reaching the point where Nora will be losing any sense she has shown. Not quite there yet, but we're getting there fast. Because after that lovely display from Patch, after he frightened her and had her pinned and shaking and was invasive and made a veiled threat to hurt her, she pretty much forgets about it.
I shall repeat that. Not two sentences after that horrible quote, Nora is perfectly fine with Patch and is making resigned quips about how he's only offering her a ride because she doesn't like the motorcycle.
There is nothing I can think of to say to that, really. Bella Swan was a complete dumbass, but Nora doesn't have that excuse. She knows what's up with this guy and still she is fine with it. Ms Fitzpatrick, that is not a sexy fantasy. That is either idiocy of the highest order or, more frightening, it is a sign of an abuser breaking down the will of his victim so she sees his behavior as acceptable and desirable. I'm sure neither were what you intended, but come on!
Patch makes a joke about how he doesn't just give her rides because she hates the motorcycle, which is not funny at all because dude, I have a memory span of more than half a page I haven't forgotten him fucking threatening her!!! The ride itself is mercifully brief, and his dropping her off at the house feels like Fitzpatrick was trying to go for some Grease-esque atmosphere. Oh, and Nora feels perfectly safe around Patch. No, REALLY
"I was feeling a lot more relaxed. Patch was warm and solid, and he smelled fantastic. Like mint and rich, dark earth. Nobody had jumpedout at us on the ride home, and all the windows on the lower level of the farmhouse glowed with light. For the first time all day I felt safe"
ZeldaQueen: Yeah, safe except for when he was chasing you around the parking garage. I guess that's such a tiny, insignificant thing though, there's no point in remembering it. Christ knows, Nora doesn't.
Hang on, hold that thought. Thankfully, Nora proves that she hasn't entirely lost her mind yet and briefly recalls that oh yeah, the guy threatened her. So when Patch tells her to skip homework on Saturday and go on a date with him, she tells him that she doesn't go out with strangers. His reply? "Good thing I do. I'll pick you up at five"
It's so wonderful to have a romantic male lead that respects the girl's opinions, isn't it? So pleasant to see how he is kind and loving and gives her the time and space she needs for them to build a relationship on trust. Isn't it sweet to see how he doesn't force his will on her and spend his time threatening and controlling her?
Oh, and spoilers - Nora isn't angry about him making that decision at all. Nor is she frightened, even though she distinctly recalled his behavior in the parking garage when she refused the date. Nope, she's pleased as punch to have a date with Patch. So remember guys, if a girl tells you she doesn't want to go out with you, force her to do so anyway. No means yes, after all. And ladies, don't even bother to contradict or refuse Your Man anything. After all, he's better than you and knows better so there's really no point, is there? Isn't it great, how this book teaches such fantastic lessons on building healthy, loving relationships?
And the sad thing is, I can't drum up a decent rant about this. I really can't. Because this is not the worst by far. So see you next chapter, ladies and gentlemen! I'm going to go sob in the shower now
Onward to: Chapter 17
Back to: Chapter 15
Return to to: Table of Contents