JOEY
“BUT HE’S A HURLER, GIBS,” Kav pointed out, voicing my thoughts aloud, as I sat at their lunch table, listening to his demented best friend spurt off his latest wild idea.
It turned out that Gibsie had a lot of wild ideas, and I would know, since I was the misfortunate bastard with a class timetable identical to his, meaning we’d spent the first six classes of the day together.
And oh, yes, he saved a seat for me in every single one of those classes.
Apparently, Johnny was an even bigger egghead than Kev, and was primed for the illustrious 600 points leaving cert score in June that only the academically gifted snagged.
Meanwhile, I was destined for average, right alongside a lad who could never be accused of being average.
“True,” Gibsie replied with a nod. “But Lynchy needs a change of scenery, and we need a winger. Tommen doesn’t have a hurling team, but we do have a rugby team. A team that’s running seriously low on quality players this year.”
“Look at him,” Hughie interjected. “He’s too —”
“I’m too what?” I sneered, daring him with my eyes to finish that sentence.
“Nothing,” he muttered, turning away. “Nothing at all.”
“Yeah,” I growled, still glowering. “That’s what I thought.”
“He’s aggressive and argumentative, not to mention downright vicious at the best of times,” Feely decided to throw his two cents into the conversation.
“The fuck would you know about it?” I snapped, glaring at him. “You don’t know shit about me.”
“Case in point,” Feely replied calmly. “Plus, he’s already a skilled athlete.”
“True,” Kav mused, scratching his chin, expression thoughtful.
“You’ve seen the lad,” Gibsie continued, ignoring me entirely, and concentrating his attention on his teammates. “He’s lightning on his feet.”
Feely smiled. “He’s perfect.”
Turning to face me, Gibsie grinned widely. “So, are ya feeling me, Lynchy?”
“Like fuck I am,” I deadpanned. “If you pricks even think or imagine that I’m going to join your —”
“You’ll get to hit people,” he cut me off by saying, “Repeatedly, legally, and without getting arrested. Consider it a physical form of therapy.”
“I’m reformed,” I replied with a sniff. “Besides, I’m a father now. I don’t have time for sports.”
“Yeah,” all four laughed.
“What?” I snapped. “I fucking am!”
“A father, yeah,” Kav agreed.
“Reformed?” Gibsie snickered. “Never.”
Refusing to take the bait from who I could only compare to a wealthier version of Alec, I shook my head and leaned back in my seat. “Listen, while I appreciate the offer to join your team, I have a girl, a kid, and a job that come before everything. So, it’s a pass.”
“A job?” Kav’s brows shot up. “Already?”
I nodded. “Got my old one back at the garage.”
“Shite, lad.” He smiled, looking genuinely happy for me. “Congrats.” “Cheers.”
“Hey guys,” Shannon chirped, strolling into the canteen with her two pals
in tow. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw me sitting at the table with them, she even bounced a little, but managed to school her features before reaching the table. “Hey, Joe,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant as she moved to take up the vacant seat next to Kav.
“Shan,” I acknowledged, watching as Kav pulled the chair out for her – the same chair he’d been guarding like a lion all lunch.
“Hi, Johnny.”
“Hi, Shannon.”
“That’s her throne,” Gibsie chuckled in my ear. “Nobody but Little Shannon sits next to the king of the jungle – or in our case, the king of Tommen.”
I rolled my eyes, uninterested in social politics.
It did warm something inside of me, though, to see my baby sister find her feet.
To have her own circle. To finally belong.
When Lizzie pushed past me, she offered me a sly wink and nothing else.
Not a hello.
Not a smile.
Not an anything, and I couldn’t have been more grateful to her in this moment.
Keeping my eyes on her, I watched as she
Keeping my eyes on her, I watched as she sat down between Feely and another guy with a shaved head, directly across from Hughie.
This girl. Messy as she was, she had my full support.
I had a girlfriend and a son to come home to, and that wouldn’t have been the case if she hadn’t taken a moment to talk me down from the edge that night. The thought of what could have happened – what would have happened – if she hadn’t stepped in meant I would always be indebted to her. My son had a father because of her, and when the inevitable shitstorm hit her life, she’d have my backing.
For the rest of the school year, she was under the same protective umbrella as Tadhg and Shannon.
“Well, if it isn’t the broken boy and the comeback kid,” Claire Biggs chimed in as she walked over to the lunch table. Seeing no free seats, she dropped onto Gibsie’s lap.
“Oh, Jesus,” Gibsie groaned, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m hardly a comeback kid, Claire-bear,” he added, concentrating really hard on something.
Probably trying not to get a stiffy. Yeah, we’d all been there.
Poor bastard.
“No, Gerard.” Shaking her head, she hooked an arm around his shoulders and leaned in close enough to brush noses with him. “You’re the broken boy. He’s the comeback kid.”
“If I’m broken, what does that make you, Claire-Bear?” “I don’t know, Gerard,” she teased. “What does it make me?”
“My it girl,” he purred, wrapping his arms around her as he closed the distance between their noses. “My everything girl.“
“Claire!” Hughie barked. “Get off his lap. Now.”
“Okay, he’s definitely the annoying old bastard always ruining a moment,” Gibsie huffed, glaring at his friend. “I was having a moment, Hugh!”
“Yeah,” Hughie shot back, his face red. “With my sister!”
“Fine!” Lizzie snapped, pulling my attention back to her as she threw her hands up and glared at Feely. “Say it.” Leaning back in her seat, she folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “Give it your best shot.”
When he didn’t respond, I thought she might scream. She certainly looked like she was close to it. “Dammit, Patrick, just say something.”
“Okay.” Setting his water bottle down, he turned in his seat and gave her his full attention. “I think you have the loneliest blue eyes I’ve ever seen, and looking at you hurts, but not nearly as much as being near you hurts. Your fractured pieces are sharp and jagged and cut anyone who gets too close.”
“Well, shiiiit,” Gibsie laughed when Lizzie stood up and stalked out of the lunch hall. “You told her, lad.” He held up his hand for a high five. “You silenced the viper.”
“Put your hand down, asshole,” Hughie snapped, rising from his chair. “You’re embarrassing yourself.” Without another word, Hughie walked off in the same direction Lizzie went.
Arching a brow, I took a moment to watch their friends’ reactions, waiting for the proverbial penny to drop.
It didn’t.
Clueless, the lot of them. Something was happening there.
Maybe it was years of substance abuse that had made me so damn perceptive. Maybe I had spent too many years as the third wheel in Molloy’s relationship with Ricey, and life had made me cynical.
I thought about it for a moment before shaking the thought off.
Nah, screw that, those two are definitely hooking up.
“Shan?” Two girls approached the table then. “Is your little brother Tadhg Lynch?”
“Yeah,” my sister replied, her brows furrowing in confusion. “Why?”
“He’s outside the girls’ bathroom, getting into it with Ronan McGarry.”
“Oh god,” Shan mumbled, dropping her head into her hands.
“I’ll sort it,” Kav said, rising to his feet, but I was already up, heading toward the main hallway.
“Tadhg!” I snapped, pushing through the crowded corridor in search of my hot-headed baby brother. I spotted his blond head at the far end of the hallway, clearly sizing up some older lad.
“Your kind don’t belong in this school,” the other guy taunted, and I knew his words would be like a red rag to a bull for my brother. “So, why don’t you and the rest of your scumbag siblings go back where you belong.”
“And where exactly do my kind belong?” Tadhg seethed, letting his school bag fall from his shoulders as he stepped forward to shove the bigger guy in the chest. “Hmm? Come on, fuck face. Where do I belong?”
“Across town, in one of the council estates with the rest of your scummy kind.” Grinning, the bigger guy added, “But you can leave your sister here with us, since she so willingly opens her legs for Cap—”
“You’re a fucking dead man, McGarry!” Tadhg roared just as I reached his side, shoving through the crowd.
“Don’t be stupid,” I warned, grabbing hold of the arm my little brother had pulled back. “He’s not worth your time. Walk away.”
“But he called Shannon a—”
“He’s a spoiled, entitled rugby prick who’s never seen a hard day in his life,” I interjected. “We don’t care about his opinion.”
“Ah, would ya look at that,” the prick sneered, tormenting Tadhg with a cruel smirk. “Big brother’s here to bail you out.” His gaze landed on me, and his grin deepened. “Heard all about you, junkie.”
“Original,” I deadpanned, entirely uninterested in wasting my energy arguing with him. “Look at the ugly head on him,” I continued, focusing on my brother. “Poor bastard’s clearly never had a taste of pussy in his life. Walk away, kid.”
Laughter erupted around us, all at the asshole’s expense.
“I’ve seen plenty,” the guy snarled, his face turning bright red.
“Coming out of your mother’s doesn’t count, lad,” Tadhg shot back as I pulled him away. “Sorry to disappoint ya.”
“As opposed to you and that junkie brother of yours?” he countered. “Word around school is that big brother got a slut from BCS pregnant and—”
He didn’t finish his sentence – couldn’t if he wanted to because I laid the bastard flat on his back.
A laugh burst from Tadhg’s chest. “Thought we didn’t care about his opinion?”
“Change of plans.”
