"No, no, no," I grumbled, not feeling happy now. "I wanna see her."
"Johnny, love, she can come visit when you're more yourself –"
"Shannon?" I roared, calling out her name at the top of my lungs. "Shannon?"
"Let the girl in, Edel," Dad mused. "He's going to scream the place down like a toddler otherwise."
"Shannon!"
"Oh Jesus, fine!" Mam muttered. "You better behave yourself, Johnathon."
The sound of high heels clicking on tiles filled my ears, and then I was blinded in light.
A few moments passed by in hushed whispers.
And then I heard those two words.
"Hi, Johnny."
"Boom, boom, fucking boom, Da," I groaned, slapping a hand against my chest. "I'm done for."
66
I won't leave you
Shannon
"Shannon, love," Mrs. Kavanagh acknowledged when she stepped out of Johnny's hospital room and found me skulking in the corridor. "It's lovely to see you again."
"Hi, Mrs. Kavanagh," I croaked out, feeling incredibly uncertain.
I'd been lurking around outside Johnny's room for over ten minutes, forcing myself not to push my way through the door.
I knew his parents were in there, and that should have terrified me, but it didn’t.
Because I needed to see that boy more than I needed to be afraid.
Pushing off the wall, I clasped my hands together and asked, "Is Johnny okay?"
"Well," she said, worrying her lip. "He's a little off form right now, love."
Oh, god.
Concern burst to life inside of me.
"Can I see him?" I forced myself to be brave and ask.
Mrs. Kavanagh frowned.
"Please? I'll be really quick," I begged, hoping his mother would take mercy on my fragile heart. "I just need to see him…uh, I mean, I need to check that he's…okay."
With a heavy sigh, Mrs. Kavanagh nodded and gestured for me to go inside.
On unsteady feet, I walked into the dark room, illuminated only from the lights of the city shining in from the other side of the window pane.
My eyes immediately darted to the bed in the middle of the room.
There was a man sitting in a chair to Johnny's right, and Gibsie was standing to his left.
I instantly recognized the man as the one from the photograph in Johnny's room that day.
The hero.
His father was holding Johnny's hand, sitting right by his bedside, and looking like his son thirty years into the future.
Meanwhile, I just stood there, in the middle of his hospital room, with my heart hammering in my chest, and my eyes glued to his slumped body.
"Hi, Johnny," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.
"Boom, boom, fucking boom, Da," Johnny slurred, clutching his chest. "I'm done for."
His choice of words caused Gibsie to laugh loudly and Mrs. Kavanagh, who had rejoined us, to groan in despair.
"Bring the lights back, Da," Johnny instructed, slurring his words. "Light up the world. You need to see this girl."
"Johnny," his mother said in a warning tone. "Behave yourself."
"I wanna see her, Ma," he groaned. "I can't see her."
My heart leapt in my chest.
"Me?" I squeaked.
"Always you," Johnny groaned. "Fucking balls."
"He's not himself, Shannon," Mrs. Kavanagh hurried to say. "Don’t mind anything that comes out of his mouth."
"Uh…" I looked to her and nodded uncertainly. "Okay?"
His father switched on a small overhead light then, bathing the room in a soft glow.
With my heart racing, I took in the sight of Johnny hooked up to a beeping machine at his bedside.
He had wires strapped to his bare chest, and one coming out of his arm that was hooked to a drip.
For once, I managed to not ogle at his naked chest, concentrating on his beautiful, bruised, and tired looking face instead.
"See her, Da? See? So fucking beautiful!" Johnny announced. "Told ye all."
Oh, god…
"Oh, Johnny," his mother sighed.
"Leave him be, Edel," his father chuckled. "He can't help himself right now."
"Shannon," Johnny slurred, sounding terribly groggy. "She's too far away."
"I'm here, Johnny," I croaked out.
"You're here?" He nodded, more to himself than anyone else. "Don’t leave me again."
My heart squeezed in my chest and my words came out in a small puff. "I won't."
I felt incredibly uncomfortably, having both of his parents in the room, but I pushed down those feelings and made my legs walk towards him.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, closing the space between us, choosing to come around Gibsie's side of the bed. "Are you okay?"
"Come closer," Johnny purred, his bleary eyes trained on my face, as he crooked his finger at me. "I wanna show you something."
"Uh, okay?"
Stepping around Gibsie, I moved to his bedside.
"Don’t you dare!" Mrs. Kavanagh barked, causing me to jerk back and Johnny to groan.
"Spoil sport," Johnny huffed.
"John, tuck those blankets under the mattress," she instructed before turning her glare on her son. "I don’t care how high you are, Johnathon Robert Kavanagh Jr., I will cut it off if you so much as think about showing her."
"Show me what?" I asked nervously.
"My dick," Johnny announced, twisting to face me. "You wanna see?" He smiled lazily up at me. "It's all better now."
Gibsie threw his head back and howled laughing.
Mr. Kavanagh joined him.
"And Jesus wept," Mrs. Kavanagh sobbed.
"He's high, little Shannon," Gibsie explained, still snickering. "As a fucking kite."
"Oh, well, that's okay," I whispered, feeling my cheeks flame in embarrassment.
"Hold my hand," Johnny instructed, flapping a hand out towards me.
I looked to his mother, unsure whether she would mind me touching her son in this condition.
Mrs. Kavanagh just sighed and nodded.
"I was worried about you," I told him, taking his big hand in mine. "You gave me an awful fright."
"And I was worried about you," Johnny replied, wide-eyed and sincere. "I'm always worried about you."
He tugged hard and dragged me onto the bed.
"Johnny!"
"It's okay," I assured Mr. Kavanagh before taking an uncertain seat at the edge of his bed.
I had no choice in this.
It was either sit on the edge of Johnny's bed or let him pull me on top of him because he wasn’t letting go.
"I didn’t know where you were," Johnny continued to tell me as he shook his head, looking all flustered and sounding confused. "I thought I lost you…and my head? My head is hiiiigh as balls, baby."
He called you baby.
He called you baby again.
"I'm here now," I whispered, unable to stop my smile at how adorable he was in this moment. "And you're going to be okay."
"I love you, Shannon like the River," he slurred.
My heart stopped.
Did he just?
No.
No, of course he didn’t.
"I fucking love you," Johnny said again.
Oh, god.
He did.
He absolutely did.
Twice.
He's high, Shannon.
He doesn’t know what he's saying.
Don’t take this to heart.
"Gibs?"
"Yeah, lad?"
"My sperm chord didn’t snap." Johnny sighed happily. "No ball explosions."
Gibsie snickered. "Good to know, Cap."
"See, Ma," Johnny said in a groggy slur. "She'll have my babies – " He twisted his head from side to side until he found my face. And then he smiled. "You'll have my babies, won't you?"
"I…" I cleared my throat and exhaled a ragged breath. "I…"
"Shannon, I am so sorry," Mrs. Kavanagh strangled out.
"Say it," Johnny groaned, clutching my hand. "Tell me you'll have my babies."
"Johnny –"
"Just tell me you will," he begged loudly. "Just say it, Shannon! Please! I can't take it."
"Sure?" I croaked out, feeling faint. "Whatever you want, Johnny."
"Gibs," Johnny called out happily. "Did you hear that, lad?"
"I sure did, Bulldozer."
"Didn’t I do good, Da?" he continued to rave. "See? I found her!"
"You did a great job," Mr. Kavanagh coaxed.