“It’s not funny.”
“Do you want a piggyback?”
“How about I wait here while you run back to my house for my car and come get me?” she suggested instead.
“Molloy.” I laughed. “We’re nearly there.”
“Ugh, fine,” she relented with a huff as she released my hand only to wrap her arm around my waist, and then slide her hand into my ass pocket. “So, what’s the plan for your birthday? It’s only a couple of months away, Joe. Which might sound like we have a lot of time, but with all the project work and practical exam prep we have at school between now and Christmas break, we really need to start making a plan.”
“No, we don’t,” I warned. “Because I’m not having a party or any of that bullshit, so put it out of your head right now.”
“Fine, you don’t want a party, but how about we go out with a bunch of our friends on Christmas eve instead?”
“I need to be home on Christmas Eve.”
“Why?” she teased. “Is Santa coming?”
I smirked. “Funny.”
“Just hear me out,” she said, and then dove into a flamboyant tangent of plotting and planning before finishing it up with, “And after the pub, we can stay at my house, and then we can spend the day lounging around. That night, we can sleep over at your house, and I’ll make sure you’re tucked up in bed nice and early for Santa, then, when you wake up the next morning on your birthday, we can celebrate with some very fun and un-Virgin-Mary birthday sex?”
“Sounds tempting.”
“Then be tempted,” she encouraged, twirling under my arm until she was flush against me. “Say yes.” Batting her long lashes, she smiled sweetly up at me. “Please.”
“Fine,” I gave in and replied. “Whatever makes you happy, Molloy.”
She grabbed my face and kissed me, giving me no choice in the matter, no option but to feel her presence, to kiss her back.
“See?” Breaking our kiss, she winked and patted my chest. “I knew you’d get the hang of this boyfriend gig.”
“Hm.”
“Hey, Joe?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad that I waited,” she whispered, curling her arm around my neck. “It meant more with you.”
What was I supposed to say to that?
We both knew I couldn’t say the same.
Blowing out a breath, I went with the truth and said, “It never meant anything before you.”
“Aw,” she teased. “You’re a sweet slut.”
I grinned. “Thanks.”
I KNOW EXACTLY WHO I’M TALKING TO
OCTOBER 18TH 2004
AOIFE
Joey didn’t show up to school today.
I knew this because I’d waited an abnormal length of time, standing in the rain outside of school, waiting on him to arrive.
All of my calls had gone straight to voicemail, and I wasn’t ashamed to say that I was beyond worried.
Shannon wasn’t at school either, which put me on red alert.
I knew his sister was having even more problems than usual with some of the girls at school. While I had warned off a group of little bitches when I caught them hassling her in the bathroom, I knew there was a war raging.
By the time school ended, I got in my car and headed straight for Elk’s Terrace, with a pain in my chest, and a knot in my stomach.
"Back like a bad smell," his father sneered, when he opened the front door and locked his menacing brown eyes on me. "You're here so often, you should start paying fucking rent."
Asshole.
I’d been here a grand total of three times and had only bumped into him on one of those occasions.
"Funny,” I deadpanned. “I could say the same thing about you."
His eyes narrowed. "What did you say to me?"
My hands itched from the urge I had to lunge forward and avenge my boyfriend.
Instead, I offered him a cold stare. "Only that you're here enough that you should be contributing. Instead of having your teenage son shoulder your dead weight."
"You cheeky little whore," he snarled, hand tightening on the door. "Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"
"Oh, I know exactly who I’m talking to,” I snapped right back. Folding my arms across my chest I let him know in no uncertain terms that he didn’t wield an ounce of power or control over me. “Now, is Joey here or not?”
Whatever he saw on my face in that moment caused him to back down. “No, he’s down the station with the other one.”
“The Garda station?” my heartrate spiked. “With who – Shannon?”
He gave me a clipped nod. “He’s missing an important fucking training session for her, too.”
“Why?” My eyes widened. “What happened to her?”
“Some young ones gave her a hiding on the way to school.” There was no emotion in his voice, no affection or concern. He truly didn’t care about his daughter. About any of his children. “That girl has never brought anything but hassle to her mother.”
No, that’s you, dick.
Not bothering to say goodbye, I turned on my heels and made my way back to where I had parked my car.
“You know,” he called after me. “If you ever get tired of letting my young fella dick ya, you could always let his old man show you how it’s really done?”
“No thanks,” I called over my shoulder, repressing the urge to show weakness and shudder. “That young fella of yours is more than capable of keeping me satisfied.”
“Prick-tease,” he muttered after me.
I rolled my eyes. “Scumbag.”
DO YOU THINK THEY’LL LEAVE ME ALONE NOW?
OCTOBER 18TH 2004
JOEY
“How are you feeling now, Shan?” I asked, as I sat opposite my sister in the chipper, and watched as she toyed with the same chip that she’d been holding for ten minutes. “Any better?”
“I’m okay, Joe,” she replied, voice barely more than a whisper. Her eyes glazed over as she clearly drifted in and out of her thoughts.
She wasn’t eating again, and I was fucking terrified of letting it go to a stage where she couldn’t come back from it.
I knew all about falling over the edge of bullshit, and I didn’t want that for my sister.
“Just eat another five chips,” I coaxed, pushing the tray closer to her. “I won’t ask for any more than five.”
“I’m not anorexic, Joe,” she explained weakly, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I’m just…I’m just…” she exhaled a ragged breath before whispering, “not well.”
Yeah, I knew how that felt.
When I didn’t feel well, I self-medicated.
When my sister didn’t feel well, she starved herself half to death.
Her reaction to stress was as real to her as mine was to me.
But that didn’t make it easy for me to sit back and watch, especially when everything inside of me demanded that I fix this.
That I fix her.
I couldn’t blame her for feeling the way she did.
On the way to school this morning, she’d been jumped by Ciara Maloney and Hannah Daly.
I wasn’t with her, because I’d hung back to have a smoke with a few of the lads from my road.
I had never felt so goddamn helpless in my life, when I finally caught up with her and saw her getting attacked.
They were accusing her of being with Ciara’s fella.
Shannon.
The same Shannon who had never glanced sideways at the opposite sex, let alone robbed someone’s fella.
It was beyond absurd, and I couldn’t hit them to get them off her.
I couldn’t do a damn thing, because as much as I willing to return the favor to their brothers and boyfriends, they were nowhere to be seen in the moment, and I would rather slit my wrists than put hands on a female.
Those bitches knew that which meant that all I could do was drag her out from beneath them and shield her small body with mine.