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“Does he look okay?” I heard myself strangle out, peeking between my hands at my friends. “Is he fighting?” My heart seized in my chest and I forced out the words: “Is he high?”
“I’m not sure,” Casey replied, voice slurred. “He’s definitely not fighting, but he’s too far away to tell if he’s buzzed or not.” She craned her neck to see better and a few seconds later let out a furious growl. “So, apparently Dolly Parton was wrong when she said Jolene was a redhead.” Inclining her head toward the kitchen, she hissed, “It turns out she’s a blond with a death wish.”
“Oh god,” Katie groaned, sounding queasy. “Please tell me he isn’t?”
Heart hammering violently in my chest, I forced myself to inhale a few steadying breaths before daring to glance in his direction again.
Dressed in dark jeans and a fitted navy shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, Joey leaned against the kitchen island. With his arms folded across his chest, he stared down at the floor, looking mildly amused as the blond, who was sitting on the island beside him, swung her feet back and forth as she talked to him.
Pain.
It hit me so hard and fast that I honestly thought I would crack down the center.
“Oh no, guys, that’s only Lizzie,” Katie was quick to point out. “She’s in third year at Tommen. She’s best friends with Claire.”
“Maybe for now,” Casey corrected hotly. “Soon, she’ll just be known as the girl I went to prison for killing.”
“You’re drunk, Casey. Put your claws away,” Katie snapped before turning her attention back to me. “She’s probably friends with Joey’s sister, too, and that’s why he’s talking to her,” she offered calmly. “They’re only talking, Aoife. It looks completely innocent.”
“Oh, please,” Casey slurred, swatting the air like it had offended her. “Don’t be so naive, Katie. There’s nothing innocent about that Mischa Barton wannabe.”
“I know you have nothing but good intentions, but right now, you’re causing more harm than good,” Katie grumbled. “Aoife doesn’t need this. She doesn’t need to hear your inner running commentary, Case.”
“Maybe she doesn’t,” Casey declared before bounding off in the direction of the kitchen. “But he’s going to.”
“Oh, this is so bad, Katie.” Jerking unsteadily to my feet, I pressed my fingers to my temples and watched in horror as Casey rounded on Joey in the kitchen. “You know what she gets like. She can be a messy drunk at the best of times.”
“Then you need to go over there.”
“I can’t,” I choked out, feeling starved for oxygen at the prospect of having to face him again. “I’m not nearly drunk enough to jump back in the ring with him.”
“You have to,” she urged, pushing me toward the doorway. “They’re arguing over you. You need to get in there and defuse it.”
“No.”
“You go and get Casey, and I’ll find Patrick Feely. He’s not drinking tonight, so he’ll give you guys a spin home.”
“I can’t go over there.”
“You don’t have a choice.”
“No.”
“Yes, Aoife.”
“Okay, okay, fine!” Exhaling a ragged breath, I shook my hands out and sucked in a deep, calming breath before forcing myself to walk into the kitchen to face him.
7
The Road to Hell Is Paved with Good Intentions
JOEY
“And then there’s Ronan McGarry. He’s a little shit, but he’s relatively harmless,” Lizzie said, reeling off the last on her list of potential troublemakers that Shannon might run into at her new school. “Honestly, though, aside from the odd gossiper or queen bee, it’s pretty mellow at Tommen. Of course, there’s Bella Wilkinson to contend with.”
“Who’s she?” I asked, standing in the kitchen alongside her, mentally taking notes. “Would I know her?”
“Doubtful,” she shot back. “You’re hot, but you don’t have the pedigree to get on her radar.”
