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Ruairi smirks. "Maybe now you'll realize just how much of a fucking screw up you truly are. You're useless, Da. You're fucking useless. You can't take care of your family, you piss away your money, and then you have the nerve to steal from your daughter—the woman who’s keeping a roof over yours and your children's heads. Did you think making her pay your debt was going to have no consequences for you?" Ruairi shakes his head. "No fucking way. If I have to go fucking see Jed O'Connor myself, so be it, but I swear to fucking God, Ailbhe won't be paying it off any longer."
Da's enraged. I don't think I've seen him so angry before. His eyes are shining with unshed tears, the vein on his forehead is bigger than ever, and his jaw is clenched. I catch a glimpse of his hand. It's balled up into a fist.
"Don't," I say as I step in front of Ruairi. "Da, don't do it. The girls are upstairs. They don't need to see you two fighting," I say as I raise my hands in front of me, but it's too late.
Da pulls back and lets his fist fly, hitting Ruairi, which only infuriates my brother and causes him to fight back. I'm stuck between two grown men fighting, and no matter how much I beg for them to stop, they continue to throw punches at one another.
"For the love of God, will you two cop the hell on and grow the fuck up?" I snap as I push against both Da and Ruairi's chests. I have one hand on each and I’m pushing as hard as I can, but neither man moves. They're both angry and not listening to me.
"Move, Al," Ruairi growls as he once again throws a punch at Da.
I'm so angry that neither of them are even considering that the girls could come downstairs at any moment and see them acting like gobshites. I drop my hands from them and turn to walk away. If they're determined to pound each other into the ground, then fuck them. They can get on with it.
Before I'm able to escape the fray, a stray fist lands against my temple. The sheer force behind the blow knocks me off my feet, and I crumple to the ground. My vision blurs, and the last thing I hear is Mikey calling out my name.
* * *
"The fuck do you think you were playing at?" Ruairi hisses at me a while later.
I roll my eyes as he continues to pace the room. I passed out, and when I came to, Ruairi was doing just as he is now and pacing the room, whereas Mikey was trying to wake me up while applying a cold compress to my head. Da left not long after I passed out. Not that I'm surprised. He’s usually gone at the first sign of trouble.
The girls woke up during the commotion, but thankfully, by the time they came downstairs, I had regained consciousness. The girls are far from stupid, though. They know something happened. They're watching us with wide eyes as they eat breakfast.
"Seriously, Ailbhe, you could have been really hurt," Mikey tells me, a slight tremor in his voice. "Watching you go down without a sound..." He shakes his head, his voice cracking at the end. "Don't do it again."
"I didn't mean to," I whisper, hating that he's so upset. "I just didn't want them fighting. I didn't want the girls to come downstairs and see it happening."
Ruairi sighs. "I was an arsehole. I baited him and pushed him to it. I'm sorry."
I shake my head and wince as pain lances through my temple. "It's fine," I say, still uneasy but feeling a little better. I know that once we're alone, Ruairi and I are going to have a conversation. He's left a fucking lot out about why he's home. I despise lies and he damn well knows that. He should have been upfront with me from the start. I would have been pissed, but I would have gotten over it. Finding out that he lied to me just makes me sad.
"I'm okay," I assure them. "I'm going to have a sore head for a while, but I'm good."
Ruairi's eyes narrow, makes me wonder whether he can see through the lie, but Mikey nods, looking relieved. "I'll take the girls to the park once they're finished with their breakfast; give you some time to rest. Please don't get between them again. They're capable of fighting amongst themselves."
I bring my finger to my heart and make a cross. "Promise."
He gives me a big smile, looking a lot more relaxed than moments ago. "Good." He turns to the girls. "If you're finished, shall we go to the park?"
Fiona's eyes narrow but she nods. I have a feeling she'll spend the entire time trying to get information out of Mikey.
The girls all get to their feet, and I'm shocked when every single one of them brings their plates and cups to the sink. Usually, they'll leave them on the table for me to clear.
Twenty minutes later Ruairi and I are sitting at the table. He looks contrite, unable to look me in the eye, and I know it's because he lied, but I need answers from him. I need to know why he lied.
"I knew you'd be angry that I was fighting for money. I knew you'd be raging that I was gambling, especially with everything Da’s put us through."
"I would have been, yeah, but I would have gotten over it. God, Ruairi, you didn't have to lie to me. I may not have been happy, but we'd have sorted it out."
He runs his hand over his face. "I know. I fucked up. I'm sorry."
"So what happened with the landlord? How did you manage to get him to change the tenancy over to me?" I ask, still unsure about how that actually played out.
His grin is cunning and I can't help but smile. "I went to see John. He hasn’t changed much, has he?"
I laugh. "You mean he's still a miserable old bastard? No, he hasn't."
"I told him that you'd been paying the bills for the past few months and that Ma had gone. To say he was displeased is an understatement. So it was easy for me to ask him to change the tenancy over to you. He said Da's a useless bastard and that if you're paying the bills, at least he knows he'll get the money."
