AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, I can’t,” I hurried to protest. “I’ll pay you back, I swear.”
“You can try, but I won’t take it,” he replied calmly. “The fact that you needed it badly enough to come to me in the first place is the scary part.” He stared at me for a long moment before saying, “Lynchy’s in deep, isn’t he?”
I debated lying to him, but how the hell could I?
Whether he realized it or not, this boy had unintentionally spared my boyfriend another hospitalization. Or worse, an early grave.
“So deep, Gibs,” I squeezed out, heart racing wildly. “And I’m trying…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m trying so hard to save him, but it’s just getting harder and harder.”
“How bad are we talking?”
“It’s heroin,” I choked out, quickly batting a rogue tear from my cheek. “And oxy, and coke, and pretty much anything he can snort up his nose or inject in his veins.”
“And the money?”
“For his dealer,” I admitted, pressing my temples. “If I don’t pay up, he’ll make Joe work it off or worse.”
Gibsie blew out a harsh breath. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, demoralized and weary. “He’s also really unwell. Like, physically unwell. Everyone is looking at Shannon and I get it, I do, but what about Joe?” Shaking my head, I bit back a sob. “He could have died in the kitchen that day, too.”
“I didn’t know that,” Gibsie replied quietly.
“Because his entire family treats him like an afterthought,” I choked out. “And no, I don’t mean Shan and the little ones. I mean his mother and his brother and his…” Breaking off before I had a nervous breakdown, I sucked in several calming breaths before trying again. “I just need him to be okay, Gibs. I just…I need that boy.”
“Because you’ve got a bun in the oven?”
“What?” I stilled, frowning. “How did you—”
“Don’t worry, I can keep secrets, too,” he surprised me by saying. “Word of advice, though. I would start doubling up on those oversized hoodies if you don’t want people catching on, because, and I mean this in the kindest of ways, you’re blooming.”
“Oh fuck.”
“I’m guessing Shannon doesn’t know?” he mused. “Which means Johnny doesn’t know, because if Johnny knew, I would know.”
“No, and you can’t tell them yet because—”
“Like I said, I can keep a secret,” he offered with a wink. “I’ve got your back, Mrs. Joey the hurler.”
84
Mrs. Kavanagh
JOEY
I wasn’t sure how I made it back to Johnny’s house in the dark, but I must have, because when I woke up the following morning, it was to the sight of the rim of a porcelain toilet bowl. There was also the sound of a woman losing her shit on the other side of the door.
Feeling a small bit more together than I had the day before, I climbed to my feet and quickly checked the bathroom for damage. Relieved to find none, I decided to bite the bullet and step outside, needing to get my ass out of Mister Rugby’s manor and back to the mother of my child without delay.
Disgust didn’t come close to explaining how I was feeling about myself.
Hatred wasn’t a strong enough word, either.
What I’d done.
My behavior.
How I’d left her.
