‘Why did you do that?’ I demanded, furious, as I glared at Mam and Darren. ‘He was just dropping me home.’
‘Look at the cut of you,’ Mam choked out. ‘Going out dressed like that.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with what I’m wearing,’ I shot back defiantly.
Mam’s face reddened. ‘You look like a –’
‘Whore?’ I offered. ‘Thanks, Dad.’
Mam flinched and dropped her head in her hands.
I rolled my eyes, too furious to deal with her waterworks right now. ‘You were both horrible,’ I hissed, focusing on Darren. ‘You just shut the door in his face!’
‘Can you blame me?’ Darren growled. ‘You heard how he spoke to Mam.’
‘He was telling the truth,’ I spat, blinking back the traitorous tears that were pooling in my eyes. ‘And you know it!’
‘And you wonder why this family has a bad reputation,’ Joey mused around bites of a ham sandwich. ‘Shan’s right.’ He took a swig from his can of coke. ‘That was rude as fuck.’
‘Our family has a bad reputation because you can’t keep yourself out of trouble, so don’t you start giving me shit,’ Darren shot back angrily. ‘I know you were suspended from school again yesterday for fighting. Your principal called me, Joey. What was it this time? Some lad said something you didn’t like so you go ahead and puck the head off him?’
Joey shrugged, unaffected. ‘Something like that.’
‘If you don’t steady up and learn to control that temper, you’re going to end up getting yourself locked up,’ Darren warned. ‘Mark my words.’
‘I thought this was about Kavanagh?’ Joey replied, scratching his jaw. ‘How did this suddenly get turned on me?’
‘It’s not about Johnny,’ I hissed, keeping my furious gaze locked on Darren. ‘It’s about how you’re trying to control my life.’
‘He’s still outside, you know,’ Joey added.
My heart leapt in my chest. ‘He is?’
‘Stay where you are, Shannon,’ Darren warned before stalking into the hallway and swinging the door open. Muttering a string of curses under his breath, he slammed the door shut and returned with a thunderous expression. ‘He’s still there.’
‘Like I said,’ Joey replied, taking another bite of his sandwich. ‘Go on out to him, Shan,’ he added mid-chew. ‘Don’t mind the two of them.’
‘Don’t even think about it, Shannon,’ Mam screeched. ‘I don’t want you going anywhere near that boy.’
‘Jesus Christ,’ Joey growled, tossing his half-eaten sandwich down on the counter. ‘You’re making a big fucking deal out of nothing. Just let her go outside and talk to him, let him do all his checkups to see she’s not being hurt or whatever the fuck he does that calms his nerves, and then she’ll come back inside. No harm done.’
‘No harm done?’ Mam choked out. ‘Plenty harm could be done, Joey.’
‘Give her a bit of credit,’ my brother hissed in a disgusted tone. ‘She’s not you.’
Mam wailed and Joey rolled his eyes.
‘Intelligence doesn’t play a role in this,’ Darren bit out. ‘Hormones play the only role in this.’
‘Well then, I happen to possess the perfect antidote to hormones.’ Joey slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. Flipping it open, he retrieved a condom and waved it around. ‘I know you’ve never seen one of these,’ he added, sneering at our mother. ‘And I doubt they’re even holding fucking hands, but just in case – here, Shan, hold the tip when you roll it on.’ He tossed me the condom and winked. ‘Now.’ Picking his sandwich back up, Joey took a big bite and chewed. ‘Crisis averted. Everyone breathe.’
‘What the fuck is wrong with you, Joey?’ Darren growled, snatching the condom out of my hands and shoving it into his pocket. ‘She’s sixteen years old.’
‘I’m aware,’ Joey agreed, taking another swig from his coke.
‘He’s too old for her,’ Mam wailed.
‘No, he’s not,’ Joey scoffed. ‘He’s seventeen, not seventy. Relax, woman.’
‘Yes, he damn well is too old,’ Mam countered shakily.
‘Well, that’s your opinion,’ Joey shot back.
‘It’s the truth,’ Mam strangled out. ‘And you shouldn’t be encouraging her.’
‘Listen,’ Joey snapped, wiping his buttery fingers on his overalls. ‘I know you’re both new at this, but here’s a helpful parenting tip: you either swallow your pride and let her be with him, or this whole thing blows up in your face. I think it’s pretty clear by now that he’s not going anywhere, so you might as well get on board with it.’ Shrugging, he added, ‘Shannon has a boyfriend. Big deal. She’s not a baby anymore, and it’s about time you two stop treating her like one.’
‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘No, what’s ridiculous is you going along with that woman’s fucked up thought process and trying to keep Shan in this house after everything that happened,’ Joey countered. ‘If you keep it up – if you force them apart – he will lose his shit. Draw a battle line with that fucker and he will go to war with you.’ Turning to Mam, he added, ‘And if I was you, I’d lay off throwing threats around because you have a hell of a lot more to lose out of this – and a lot more skeletons to be exposed – if his daddy decides to have you done for slander.’
Mam had her head in her hands and Darren had his back to me, but Joey was facing me and when he noticed me edging closer to the kitchen door, he smirked and winked.
‘What are you –’ Darren’s voice trailed off and he spun around, catching me red-handed. ‘Don’t even think about it,’ he warned.
Tearing through the hallway, I yanked the front door open.
‘Shannon, I’m not messing around here –’
I didn’t stop to listen to him. Instead, I hurried out the front door, breaking into an excited run when my eyes landed on Johnny leaning against the side of his car, scowling at my house like it personally offended him. His eyes found mine and relief flooded his features. ‘Are you okay?’
Nodding, I barreled bare-foot through the garden and rounded the footpath at top speed, not stopping until I was flush against him. ‘You didn’t go home,’ I said, panting, as I looked up at him. ‘You didn’t leave.’
‘I couldn’t,’ Johnny replied thickly. His hands dropped to my hips, pulling me closer. ‘I needed to know you were safe.’
My heart burst open in my chest, and I felt like I was drowning in feelings. ‘I’m safe.’
‘You sure?’ He looked so vulnerable when he said, ‘Because I think I’m going to need a promise.’
Oh god…
Reaching up, I snaked a hand in his hair and pulled his face down to mine. ‘Would you settle for a kiss goodnight?’
‘Only if you promise you’ll still be here in the morning,’ he replied, brushing his lips against mine. ‘So, do you promise?’
I blew out a ragged breath. ‘I’ll be here.’
‘If you need me, you call me,’ he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and then cupping my cheek. ‘Doesn’t matter what time it is. Just pick up that phone, and I’ll come, okay?’
Unable to stop myself, I leaned my cheek into his touch. ‘Okay.’
‘I’ll call you tomorrow,’ he added gruffly, trailing his thumb over my cheek. ‘And I’ll pick you up for school on Monday.’
‘No, no, no. You don’t have to do that for me,’ I hurried to say. ‘I can get a –’
‘I want to pick you up,’ he interrupted. ‘If you want me to?’
I nodded weakly. ‘I want you.’ To. Add the to, Shannon. ‘To,’ I croaked out. ‘I mean, I want you to pick me up.’
‘I want you, too,’ he said with a smirk. ‘In every way.’
My body grew hot and achy. ‘I, uh…I –’
Johnny didn’t wait for me to respond before pressing his lips to mine, firmer this time. Deeper.
Holding onto his arms, I kissed him back with everything I had, desperately trying to show him how much he meant to me.
‘If that’s what you call hand-holding then I’d really like to know what you call the other shit,’ I heard Darren say from somewhere nearby.
‘Maybe they’re gone beyond hand-holding,’ I heard Joey muse. ‘I can’t always be right.’
