AOIFE
THE SMELL WAS the first thing that hit me when I jumped out of Dad’s van at the bottom of the road and ran towards the crowds gathering on the street outside 95 Elk’s Terrace.
Huge plumes of black smoke continued to rise into the sky as the fire brigade battled to extinguish the blaze that was devouring my boyfriend’s house.
“Aoife!” Casey called out. “Oh my god, Aoif!” Slipping around a group of pajama clad women, she ran straight for me. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.” Breathless and panting, she threw her arms around me when she reached me. “I heard the sirens, and then I saw all the flames, and everyone started coming out of their houses. Jesus, I tried to call you, but your phone’s going straight to voicemail. I was terrified you might be in there. When I saw Joey losing his shit—”
“You saw him?” I demanded, chest heaving, as I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. “When? Where? Is he okay? Was he—”
“Yeah, I saw him. He’s okay – well, clearly, he wasn’t okay. I mean, he was understandably losing his shit, trying to go back into the house, but Johnny Kavanagh showed up and hauled him away.”
And that was all it took.
He’s okay.
Two words.
“He’s okay?” Sobbing uncontrollably as a tsunami of relief washed over me, I felt my legs give out beneath me. “Joe’s okay?”
“You’re okay, too,” Dad soothed, catching me before I hit the ground. “You’re okay, too, pet.” Turning to Casey, he asked, “Did everyone get out?”
“All the kids got out,” I heard her tell him. “From what I’ve been hearing from the neighbors, Joe and all the kids have been taken to Shannon’s boyfriend’s house. It’s just his mother and father. They’re the only ones who burned—”
“Right, that’s enough,” Dad interrupted, hooking an arm around me and pulling me to his chest. “You’re coming home with me right now. Casey, pet, are you coming? I think Aoife could use her little sidekick tonight.”
“For sure, Daddy-T, I’m coming.”
“What? No, no, no!” Wide-eyed and horrified, I spun around to gape at me father. “Dad, no. I can’t go home. I have to go to him. He’s—”
“No.” Cutting me off, my father wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders and led me back to the van. “You’re not. You’re coming home with me and Casey, and you’re going to stay home. Tomorrow’s another day. You can go and see him then. I promise you faithfully I will take you to the Kavanagh’s house myself, but right now, I need you to come home and rest.”
“Dad, you don’t understand—”
“No, you don’t understand, Aoife,” he snapped, helping me into the passenger side of the van, and then waiting for Casey to climb in beside me
before slamming the door shut and rounding the driver’s side. “You’re pregnant, for Christ’s sake,” he continued, climbing in alongside us and starting the engine. “This isn’t good for you. I know you love the boy, and my heart is breaking for him, too. I’ve indulged you all night. I’ve done everything I can to help and support you, but I’m putting my foot down now. This isn’t good for the baby, and I think it’s high time you start putting the baby first.”
