The sound of the front door opening wakes me and I look up to see my two younger brothers falling through it. Drunken assholes.
“Shhh!” one of them giggles as they make their way into the room.
“Did you two drive in that state?” I snap at them as they stumble over to the sofa.
“No!” Liam shakes his head while Mikey giggles. “We got a caxi-tab!”
Fuck me! “Get to bed, you pair of fucking buffoons.”
“Con, I don’t feel well,” Liam suddenly groans as he falls onto the sofa. Mikey stumbles and I catch him in my arms. The alcohol fumes almost knock me on my ass. “Have you two been drinking tequila?”
“Yesh,” Mikey says with a nod.
“For fuck’s sake!” I say with a sigh as I lower him onto the sofa.
They slide against each other as their eyes roll in their heads. I haven’t seen them this drunk since they were teenagers. “I am not wiping up any of your puke tonight,” I snap as I cover them with the huge fleece blanket from the back of the sofa.
“Conor!” Liam groans sleepily. “I feel sick!”
“Well that’s what you get for drinking your body weight in tequila, numb-nuts.”
“Numb-nuts,” Mikey giggles before he passes out.
I sit on the armchair and run a hand over my face. I’m sorry I waited up for them now. Now I’ve got to sit here and make sure they don’t choke on their own puke. I feel like I’m the only one keeping a lid on shit here. I’ve hardly had any time with my girl. I’m constantly fighting fires. I wonder if this is what Shane feels like all the time?
It’s light by the time the twins wake up. Liam groans loudly as he pushes Mikey off him.
“Fuck!” Mikey hisses as he rubs his eyes and sits up. “What time is it?”
“Seven a.m.!” I say.
“What time did we get home?” Liam asks.
“About one.”
“How did we get home?” Mikey blinks at me.
I arch one eyebrow at them. “In a caxi-tab, apparently.”
“I’m going to bed,” Liam sighs as he goes to stand up.
I frown at them. “Not just yet.”
“It’s too early for a deep and meaningful, Con,” Mikey groans as he stands up too.
“Sit your asses down before I put you down. Now!” I snap and they both blink at me but they do as they’re told.
“What?” Liam sniffs.
“I get that you two are upset. I get that yesterday was fucked up and you got a lot on your plate. But you do not get to walk out of here and not answer your phones and have everyone worrying about you.”
“Sorry,” Liam grumbles.
“Not like Shane even gives a fuck! He’s not here waiting for us, is he?” Mikey snaps and the lid on my temper blows off.
“What the fuck did you just say?” I snarl.
I see his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows, but that kid must still be juiced on tequila, because he glares at me. “You heard me. He’s in bed with Jessie while he’s so worried about us?”
I stand up and step toward them. “Yes, they are in bed after I told them I’d wait up for you. Because guess what, assholes, they’ve had a pretty shit couple of days too! Do you have any idea how bad Shane feels?”
Liam snorts. “He should have thought about that before he lied to us.”
I suck in a deep breath as I try to stop myself from shaking them. “Yes, he fucked up. He should have told you a couple of weeks ago, but we were all kind of busy, weren’t we? And I don’t care how much he fucked up, he has done nothing but look after you two your whole goddamn lives. He gave up everything for us. He fucking raised you both from babies. You think he didn’t have shit he wanted to do when he was younger without three kids to look after? He never wanted to leave Ireland. He had plans. You know why he built this house? So he could live here in peace. Maybe get married and have some kids. But after what happened to you both, he put all of it on hold. He took us to New York and he built us all a new life, so don’t you ever let me catch you saying he doesn’t give a fuck ever again!”
I walk away from them before I go on and say something I might regret. I get that my little brothers are angry and annoyed, but they take Shane’s loyalty to them for granted. He has always looked out for all of us and never asked for anything in return.
“Con!” Liam shouts after me.
“I don’t want to hear it. I’m going to bed!” I walk through to the hallway where our bedrooms are. My hand curls over the door handle to my own room, but I look across at Shane’s instead. I am so fucking tired from sitting up and watching Liam and Mikey to make sure they didn’t die from alcohol poisoning, but I want to fall asleep next to her.
I open the door and walk inside the dark room. She is on her side, curled up next to Shane. They both look so peaceful, I turn around to walk out again.
“You okay, Con?” Shane asks. I should have known he wouldn’t be in a deep sleep.
“The twins are back,” I say quietly so I don’t wake Jessie.
“I heard them falling through the door a few hours ago,” he says with a soft sigh.
“Oh.”
“You want something else?”
“I’m tired,” I reply as I walk to the bed and look at her.
“Then get in,” Shane nods toward the empty space on the other side of Jessie. It’s not like him to share a bed with anyone but her, but right now it feels like the whole equilibrium of our family unit is off and I imagine that he is feeling it as much as the twins. I walk around the bed and climb in beside her, pressing my body against hers. She wiggles her bare ass against me and my cock twitches in my shorts. Shane shoots me a look that reminds me I was invited in here to sleep but I can’t help grinning at him. She is so fucking sexy, I know he wouldn’t take much convincing if I woke her up right now and suggested we both fuck her, but I’m exhausted. I wrap my arm around her waist and kiss her shoulder instead.
“Conor,” she mumbles sleepily.
“Shh. Go back to sleep, Angel.”
“Okay,” she sighs as she shifts her body slightly so she is nestled perfectly between Shane and me. Then I fall asleep with her perfect ass against my groin.
