by Chloe Walsh
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Turning to Gibsie, I mouthed the words keep your mouth shut.
He responded with a theatrical finger to mouth zipper motion.
When we reached the turn off to my house, half an hour later, I mumbled a few short directions.
Joey responded with a clipped nod and turned right, leaving the main road for the rickety secondary road that led to the entrance of the property.
I was feeling more clear-headed now – I guess the near brush with death at the hands of Shannon's brother had shaken some sense into me and sobered my ass up.
I wished the same could be said for Gibsie, who was passed out beside me, snoring like a grizzly bear.
When Joey pulled up outside the gates of the property, I said, "We can get out here, man."
"That's where you live?" Shannon's brother asked, speaking for the first time since the almost disaster that was our miscommunication.
His attention was riveted to the huge cast iron gates with the ugly ass eagles on either pillar.
"How far is it up that driveway to your house?" he asked.
"About a quarter of a mile."
"You'll never manage getting him to walk that far," he muttered. "I'll drive you up to the door."
"310587," I rolled out the code, which just so happened to be my date of birth. "Just key that into the pad over there and they'll open for you."
Joey keyed the code into the pad and waited for the gates to open inwards.
"Again, I appreciate this," I felt the need to mention. "I know it's out of your way."
"Just returning the favor," he replied, driving up the narrow laneway towards the house.
"This place is amazing," Aoife said with a dreamy sigh. "Look at all the trees and – oh my god! Look at the size of that house," she squeaked when the house came into view, lit up like a fucking Christmas tree.
Mam was paranoid as fuck about potential robbers thinking the house was empty so she had automatic sensors and timed lighting installed everywhere.
In the yard.
In the house.
On the lawn.
It was ridiculous but drunk me was grateful for the illumination.
Joey killed the engine and climbed out, adjusting his seat as far forward as it would go.
I was much steadier on my feet when I was getting out than I had been climbing in.
"Thanks again," I said before reaching into the back and hauling sleeping beauty himself out of the car. "I owe you one."
Wrapping an arm around Gibsie's waist who was still half-asleep, I dragged him to the front door, and wrestled to get my keys out.
Failing to get them out of my jeans pocket, I dropped him on his ass, and battled with my jeans for a long moment before finally retrieving my keys.
"Stop, will ya, I'm sensitive," Gibsie groaned before curling up, snoring resumed.
"Here," Joey announced when I managed to stab the timber frame with the key, missing the keyhole by a good three inches. "Let me give you a hand."
Grateful for the intervention, I handed over my keys and turned my attention to my friend.
"Get up," I growled, nudging him with my foot. "We're home."
Fucker didn’t budge.
"Gibsie!" I barked.
Nothing but snores.
Goddammit.
Releasing a frustrated sigh, I reached down and grabbed his shoulders and tried to haul him off the ground.
Joey, who had the door open, came and helped me heave him up.
I was in no position to decline his help, so with each of us taking a side, we hauled his deadweight ass into the house.
"Drop him down in here," I instructed, gesturing to the living room.
"You sure?" Joey asked, flicking on the light. "That couch is white, man."
"It's leather," I muttered, too tired and sore to worry about my mother's three-piece suite. Shuffling over to the couch, we tossed Gibsie down "If he pukes, he'll be hosing it down by himself in the morning."
"Fair enough," Joey replied with a shrug before turning around and heading for the door.
I trailed after him, not really knowing what to say.
This night had gone from depressing to infuriating to downright confusing in a matter of hours.
"Listen," Joey said when he stepped outside onto the gravel. "About Shannon."
Here we go, I thought to myself.
I'd been waiting for this since I climbed into his piece of shit car.
Behave yourself, Kav, keep your mouth shut.
"What about Shannon?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"She's fragile," he came right out and said. "Vulnerable."
"Yeah." My voice was gruff, so I cleared my throat and tried again. "I, uh, already guessed that."
Joey nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.
I kept my mouth shut, waiting for him to continue.
"What I'm trying to say here is that I appreciate you looking out for my sister," he finally said. "She's had a hard few years and Tommen seems like a good fit for her. So, I guess I'm hoping that you continue keeping an eye out for her at school –you know, making sure no one is giving her any hassle."
My brows shot up. "Ah, yeah, sure. That's no problem."
He nodded again, his words coming out faster now. "She seems to be settling in at Tommen, and she keeps telling me the kids are nice to her, but I'm at BCS so I've no way to tell if she's okay or not, and she never tells anyone what's going on in that head of hers until it's too late."
I frowned. "Too late?"
"Bitchy girl shit," he explained. "My sister has had a target on her back since she was in nappies."
"That's pretty messed up," I muttered, already knowing all of this, but having the good sense to not tell her brother that.
"Kids are cruel," he agreed.
"They sure are," I muttered.
He stared at me for a long time before saying, "Are you going to tell me about it?"
Oh, Jesus.
What?
The fuck did he want me to tell him?
I racked my brain and came up with nothing PG so I kept my mouth shut.
"Ciara Maloney's boyfriend," Joey filled in, giving me an odd look. "Some fella from Tommen beat the shit out of him in town yesterday."
"Oh?" I arched a brow and folded my arms across my chest. "Is that so?"
Joey smirked. "Yeah, it is."
"Well, I hope he fucked him up," I slurred, feeling my body thrum with anger at the memory of those nasty fucking girls. "Heard his girlfriend's a bitch."
"I heard he was in a bad way," Joey replied. "Broken nose. A few stiches."
"How awful," I drawled.
Joey stared at me for another long pause before shaking his head. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that my sister has someone looking out for her. When I can't."
He turned to leave only to spin back around.
"Friend." His word held a bite to it. "My sister needs a friend, Kavanagh," he clarified. "She doesn’t need to be getting her hopes up on a guy who’ll be gone come the summer."
I heard his warning loud and clear.
My fucked-up brain might not heed the warning, but I definitely heard it.
Without another word, Joey turned around and walked away, leaving me standing in the doorway, staring after him with only two things on my mind.
The first: finding an icepack for my balls.
The second: fantasizing about all the terribly inappropriate things I longed to do with his sister.
32
Days off and demon brothers
Shannon
"I think you need to buy that girl a ring, Joe," I announced as I read and then reread the note Aoife had left on my brother's bedside locker on Sunday morning. "She's a keeper."
"Yeah," Joey muttered, scratching his jaw. "She must really love me."
"Uh, you think?" I rolled my eyes. "She adores you."
"But I don’t get why she would do this for me."
>
"Me either," I teased. "Especially when you look so much like Shrek."
"Cheeky fucker," he chuckled, play-shoving me. "Give me a look at that note again."
I held it out for him – the same note he had already read at least a dozen times – and then padded over to the kitchen table with my mug of tea.
Taking a seat, I watched my brother read the note again, brows scrunched in confusion.
"Why did she do this, Shan?" Shaking his head, he walked from cupboard door to cupboard door, opening and closing them. "She must've gotten up at the crack of dawn to do this." He opened the fridge, revealing a heaving stack of groceries slotted inside. "It must've cost her a fortune."
Joey was right.
Aoife had to have gotten up early to do this, considering it was only eleven o clock.
He was also right about it costing her a fortune.
I had found the shopping receipt in the bin for €143.67.
"Says here, she'll be back around one o clock with the boys," he added, re-reading the note he'd been brooding over since he woke up. "They're going to the playground first, and then the pitch for a kick about after that."
"Did you see this?" I asked as I thumbed through seven neatly stacked envelopes, labeled by day of the week.
Shaking one of the little brown envelope's in my hand, I smiled when I heard the sound of coins clanging.
"Your girlfriend allotted your money into daily budget packets."
Joey gaped at me. "What?"
"Yep," I giggled, placing Tuesday's envelope back down on the pile.
"No fucking way," he muttered as he stalked over to where I was and picked up a handful of the tiny, rectangular envelopes.
"And she put little hearts on them for you," I snickered. "It's so cute."
"Is it normal to be mad at a person because they love you?" my brother asked, eyeing the envelopes with confusion. He turned his green eyes on me and asked, "Is this normal?"
"Why are you asking me?" I shrugged uncomfortably. "I have no experience with this sort of thing."
"Oh, would you look at this," he said with a sigh, pointing to the €20 note lodged beneath Aoife's car keys and the sticky note alongside it saying: Joey and Shannon's breakfast fund.
In capital letters beneath that were the words: Feed your sister, babe. She's too skinny.
"My girlfriend left me pocket money." Joey's tone was laced with sarcasm. "Jesus Christ, Shan."
"Don’t be mad at her," I told him. "She's trying to help us."
"I know." He pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled heavily. "And I'm not mad. I just don’t know how to handle it."
"Maybe just by saying thank you?" I offered. "And I love you, too? Or flowers? Those are good too."
Joey smirked. "You're full of ideas, aren’t you?"
I smiled back at him and then sighed, forcing myself to address the elephant in the room – or the lack of. "Do you think Mam will be home soon?"
The light in my brother's eyes dimmed out.
"I really don’t give a fuck what she does, Shan," he replied tightly. "So long as that prick stays away from this house."
He will come back, Joey.
You know this.
Stop lying to yourself.
"Yeah." I chewed on my nail, contemplating his reply for a moment before saying, "What are we going to do if Mam doesn’t come back, Joe?"
That was where my worries rested.
With my mother.
Because she had never left us overnight like this before.
"We'll manage, Shan," Joey replied, Adam's apple bobbing. "Like we always do."
"And school?" I whispered.
"Nanny will be home from Beara tonight," Joey stated in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "She'll sort the boys the same as she always does with school and all that stuff." He scrubbed a hand over his face before adding, "All we have to do is keep the house, pay the bills, pack them a lunch in the mornings, and be here at night when Nanny drops them off."
"I was supposed to go on the school trip after Easter, but if she's not home I'll cancel –"
"No," he barked. "You won't."
"Joey." I sighed. "If Mam isn’t back by then, you can't take care of the boys on your own."
"I won't be," he countered. "I've already told you Nanny will help – Aoife, too. There's no way you're missing that trip. You need out of this shithole, Shan. More than any of us."
"Are you sure?" I squeezed out.
He nodded.
Inhaling a steadying breath, I said, "I know I don’t say this often, but I want you to know that I love you and I'm so bloody grateful that you're my big brother."
Joey pulled a face. "Are you going soft on me, baby sister?"
"No." I blushed. "I just want you to know that you're important to us. And we appreciate everything you do for us."
Don’t leave us.
Please don’t ever leave me.
"Well, right back atcha, kid," he replied, looking a little awkward.
"You'll make a great dad someday," I decided to tease and make him even more uncomfortable.
Joey snorted. "Yeah, that's never fucking happening."
I winked. "Never say never, Joe."
"Believe me, I've had more than enough of playing daddy to another man's kids to last me a lifetime," he shot back. "Now, go upstairs and throw some clothes on and we'll hit up the Deli for a chicken fillet roll."
"The fridge is full now," I informed him.
"Yeah." He grinned. "But my girlfriend left me a direct order and I'm not nearly thick enough to ignore that."
I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday and my stomach growled in anticipation.
"Hash browns," I practically purred as I thought about what I was going to have. "And some jellies and a can of coke."
Springing off the chair, I hurried for the staircase with food on my mind.
"Hold on, Shan. I almost forgot–" Breaking off mid-sentence, Joey padded into kitchen, returning a few moments later with a small, gift wrapped parcel in his hands.
Joey handed me the gift and then ruffled my hair. "Happy sweet sixteenth, Shan."
"Thanks Joey." I beamed, clutching what I already knew was a CD beneath the pink wrapping paper.
"I'd get you more if I could," he told me with an embarrassed shrug. "And I forgot to get a card –"
"Stop," I told him as I sank down on the step of the stairs and ripped at the paper only to sequel with excitement. "McFly's album!" Eyes wide with excitement, I stared down at the CD in my hand and smiled. "I really wanted this."
"I know," he snorted. "You're such a girl." Slipping his hand into his jeans pocket, he tossed another box on my lap. "This one's from Aoife," he explained.
Thrilled at the prospect of getting two presents, I tore at the polka dot wrapping paper and gasped when I saw what was inside.
"Whoa," I breathed, gaping at the designer bottle of perfume in my hands. "This must have cost her a fortune."
"She must love you, too," Joey teased.
I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh."
"Hurry up and get changed," he ordered, moving for the front door. "I'll be in the car."
Bolting into my room with my presents in tow, I placed them carefully on my dresser before tearing off my pajamas.
Pulling on a jumper and tracksuit pants, I ripped open the box that contained my new bottle of perfume, squirted myself all over, and then raced after Joey.
Shoving my feet into my runners in the hall, I grabbed my coat off the banister and hurried outside to the car.
The minute I climbed into the passenger seat, the smell of alcohol assaulted my senses.
"Jesus, Joey," I coughed as I rolled down the window. "It smells like a brewery in here."
"I know," Joey replied as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. "You can blame your friends from Tommen for that."
"My friends?" I shook my head and stared at his side profile. "What are you talking about?"
"Johnny Kava
nagh," Joey stated. "We ended up dropping him home from the pub last night."
"Oh."
Wait.
What?
"You dropped Johnny home?" I hated the way my voice was all loud and pitchy. "When… How… Why?"
"Last night when we were picking up our takeaway," Joey explained as he pulled out of the estate and onto the main road. "He was thrown down against a wall outside the chipper in town. He was in a bad way."
"He was?"
Oh god.
Concern filled my chest.
"What was wrong with him?"
"He was drunk off his tits," Joey grumbled. "His friend was worse."
"His friend?" I asked, careful to mask the emotion in my voice. "His…girlfriend?"
"Nah, some big, blond fucker," Joey corrected and I mentally sagged in relief. "I think his name was Gussie or Gillie or something like that."
"Gibsie," I confirmed quietly, thinking about how those two were joined at the hip at school.
"That's the one." Joey nodded, then released a low chuckle. "Bloody eejit threw himself on top of the car, demanding I give him back his center." Laughing, he added, "He looked serious, too. Like he genuinely thought I was kidnapping Kavanagh."
My brows furrowed. "Why did Gibsie call Johnny his center?"
"Johnny's position is outside center in rugby," he explained. "He's number 13."
Oh, yeah, I knew that.
I remembered his jersey.
"So, you dropped them both home?" I asked, feeling warm. "To Johnny's house?"
"Yep," my brother confirmed. "Had to help Kavanagh carry that Gibsie fella into the house. He was legless, Shan. A right bloody mess. We left him in the living room."
"You were inside Johnny's house?"
My brain was reeling, trying to digest everything my brother was telling me.
He was with Johnny last night.
He was at his house.
He was inside his house.
I wanted to ask him if he asked about me, but I managed to keep that question from spilling from my lips.
"Yeah, Shan, and Jesus Christ, by the looks of their property, his family must be minted." Joey blew out a breath. "Never seen anything so fancy in my life –"
The sound of a phone ringing cut through the air, distracting us both.
We both patted our pockets.
