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Mam sucked in another sharp breath.
Yeah, it’s bad.
“Here,” she said, handing me a bag of frozen veg wrapped in a tea towel. “Press that to your cheek. It’ll help with the swelling.”
“I’m going to need a new shirt for school,” I muttered, reaching for my smoke. “Fucker ruined this one.”
“There’s a spare shirt in the hot press.” Her hands were on my back then, pressing a wet cloth over my burning flesh. “Just stay still and let me clean this.”
“Am I still bleeding?”
“A bit.”
“Do I need stitches?”
“I don’t think so. Not this time.”
Shaking my head, I took another drag of my cigarette, while my mother cleaned me up. “If he wants me out, I’ll go.”
“I don’t want you out.”
“But I’m not leaving Shan or the boys here,” I continued, ignoring her words. “If I go, they go with me.”
“Joey.”
“I mean it.”
“Nobody’s going anywhere.”
That was the problem. “I know you agree with him.”
“Agree with him about what?”
“About Aoife.”
Her hands stilled on my back. “I don’t want this life for you.”
“Yeah, and I don’t want this life for you.”
Mam sighed wearily. “Joey.”
“I’m going to stand by her, Mam. She’s my girlfriend, and believe it or not, I happen to love her a lot.” Repressing a shudder when her fingers probed a particularly tender part of my back, I bit out, “I’ll stand by her, and I’ll do a hell of a lot better job than he did with you.”
“Aren’t you frightened?”
I’m terrified.
“I’m frightened for you,” she said when I didn’t answer. “I wish it wasn’t happening.”
“Well, it is.”
“I wish you both would reconsider getting a—”
“Stop,” I cut her off and warned, “That’s not what Aoife wants.”
“And what about what you want, Joey?”
“I want her to be okay.”
