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“I am better than him.”
“Because you’re school smart, and he’s not? Because you’re going to university, and he isn’t? Because you’ve been given the luxury of concentrating on your studies, while he’s had to work since he was twelve? You think that makes you better than him?”
“See, you’re trying to insult me, when all you’re really doing is listing off positive characteristic traits.”
Ugh.
“Kevin, Aoife,” Mam tried to interject. “Let’s just back up a second and breathe.”
“News flash, asshole, there’s a whole big world out there that won’t give a crap about how many points you get on the leaving cert, or how high you rank in your class,” I shouted, ignoring our mother’s request. “And if you keep this holier-than-thou attitude up, I guarantee you won’t last a week in the real world. So, you can go on thinking that you’re better than my boyfriend, but the truth is you couldn’t hold a candle to him,” I spat out. “You’re a spoilt, pampered little boy and Joey is a real man. You could try your whole life and never come close to being on his level!”
“If not being on his level means not having to slog it out under the bonnet of a car for the rest of my life, with permanently oil-stained hands, for a shitty wage at the end of the week that won’t secure a decent mortgage, then you won’t hear me complaining.”
“Oh my god, you are such a snob,” I screamed, throwing my hands up.
“Why?” Kev demanded. “Because I’m a realist? Because I’m stating facts? Because I’m pissed that my sister has thrown her future away for an asshole from Elk’s Terrace with no decent prospects?”
“Because you’re ungrateful,” Mam interjected, looking beyond hurt. “All of those fancy computer games lining the shelves in your bedroom were paid for with oil-stained hands. Every stitch of clothes on your body and every morsel of food you’ve put in your mouth since the day you were born came from those same hands. Your father’s hands. Your father the mechanic, who has spent most of his life busting his bollocks to give his children a better life than the one he had.”
“Which is exactly why you should be praising me for appreciating the sacrifices that you and Dad have made for us, and berating her for throwing them back in your face.”
“How have I thrown anything back in their faces?”
“By being thick enough to let that scumbag drug addict between your legs,” Kev snarled. “You do realize that the father of your grandchild is a fucking junkie, don’t ya, Mam?”
“Shut the hell up, Kevin,” I hissed, lunging for him once more.
“Stop,” Mam warned, separating us again. “Calm down, Aoife. This isn’t good for you.”
“He isn’t good for her.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”
“Look at you,” my brother roared. “Look at the state of you. Picking fights in your condition. You know why, don’t you? It’s because he’s after rubbing off on you. You had everything going for you, and you threw it away.” He shook his head in disgust. “For him.”
“What’s going on in here?” Dad asked then, strolling into the kitchen, lunch box in hand—and yes, his hands were stained with engine oil. He looked from me to Kev, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “What are you all shouting about?” He looked to Mam. “It’s lunchtime, Trish. Why are the twins not at school?”
“Nothing,” Mam was quick to interject, moving to our father. “It’s nothing, Tony.”
“Enjoy becoming his mother, Aoife,” Kev continued, ignoring our parents as he glowered at me. “Because the entire town knows what kind of a doormat she is. You should take some tips from her sometime because that’s all you’ll amount to now.”
“Shut up, Kevin,” Mam hissed. “Not another goddamn word.”
“Mother?” Dad blinked in confusion. “Whose mother?”
“This is your fault,” Kev snapped, turning his accusing glare on our father. “You brought him into our lives.”
“Please, Mam,” I groaned, dropping my head in my hands, while Mam tried and failed to silence my furious brother. “Just make him stop talking.”
“Who?” Dad demanded, looking wholly confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Aoife’s pregnant!” Kev roared, jabbing a finger in my direction, and with those words, he blew my world to smithereens. Again. “Off that piece of shit that you’re so hell-bent on seeing the best of.”
My father reeled back like the words my brother spoke had physically struck him.
“Kevin,” Mam strangled out and then quickly placed her hands on my father’s chest. “Tony, breathe. It’s alright, love, just take a breath.”
“Yeah, golden boy doesn’t seem so perfect now, does he?” Kev taunted, looking angrier than I’d ever seen. “Not when he’s knocked up your daughter, huh, Dad?”
