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“Don’t be stupid, boy.”
“I’m not stupid, and I’m not Joey. I won’t stop just because Shannon says so.”
Light-headed and exhausted from the exertion it was taking to keep my heart beating, I swung my bleary-eyed gaze to where my little brother had a knife against our father’s throat, with the sharp tip pressed precariously close to his jugular.
“Tadhg,” I choked out through splutters, when the old man’s grip loosened further. “It’s okay. Just take it easy.”
“It’s not okay, Joe.” With tears streaming down his cheeks, he shook his head. “None of this is okay.”
“What are you going to do, boy?” the stupid prick taunted. “Stab me?”
“Yes.”
The old man moved for the knife, but my baby brother doubled down and stepped closer, still wielding the knife.
“Jesus Christ, Tadhg,” Dad yelped, hands moving from my throat to his as blood trickled from the nick the knife had given him. “You cut me.”
“This ends now,” Tadhg growled, holding the knife a lot steadier than any boy of eleven should. “Get off my brother, and get out of this house for good, or I’ll slit your fucking throat.”
71
Highlights and Heartache
AOIFE
“You are the queen of all things hair and makeup,” Casey declared, doing a three-sixty twirl to get a good look at herself. “Insane, Aoife. Your skills with makeup are un-freaking-real, girl!”
With her bedroom stereo turned up full blast, my best friend bopped around to KC & the Sunshine Band’s “Give It Up,” while striking different poses in the full-length mirror attached to the back of her bedroom door.
After spending most of the day at her mam’s flat, I felt better. Casey had this innate ability to make me feel like my life wasn’t going to shit. It wasn’t that she was overly optimistic; she just happened to possess enough crazy to complement mine.
We just fit together like bacon and cabbage.
Or vodka and Coke.
“I’d like to thank the academy.” I took a dramatic bow before tossing my makeup brushes back into my bag. “And myself because, you know, I’m so amazing and all that jazz.”
“You could make some serious side cash doing makeup and up-styles.”
“Yeah.” I flopped down on her bed and sighed heavily. “That’s the plan, Case.”
“I hope we have a girl,” she said. “So we can instill her with a lifetime of contouring wisdom and fashion knowledge.”
“Joey wants a girl.”
“He does?”
“Yep, and that’s the one,” I declared, watching as she readjusted the skimpy black dress that she was modeling for her date tonight. “Seriously, Case. You look fierce.”
“Hmm.” Sounding unconvinced, she studied her appearance in the mirror for a long beat before shaking her head and whipping the fabric over her head. “I’m going with the pink dress.”
“You’re making a mistake,” I chimed in. “The black one makes you look like you have legs for days.”
“But the pink one makes my boobs look epic.”
“So?” I snorted. “Alec’s seen your boobs a dozen times. He already knows how epic they are.”
“I’m not going out with Alec tonight.”
