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“What about Shannon?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
“She’s fragile,” he came right out and said. “Vulnerable.”
“Yeah.” My voice was gruff, so I cleared my throat and tried again. “I, uh, already guessed that.”
Joey nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.
I kept my mouth shut, waiting for him to continue.
“What I’m trying to say here is that I appreciate you looking out for my sister,” he finally said. “She’s had a hard few years and Tommen seems like a good fit for her. So, I guess I’m hoping that you continue keeping an eye out for her at school—you know, making sure no one is giving her any hassle.”
My brows shot up. “Ah, yeah, sure. That’s no problem.”
He nodded again, his words coming out faster now. “She seems to be settling in at Tommen, and she keeps telling me the kids are nice to her, but I’m at BCS so I’ve no way to tell if she’s okay or not, and she never tells anyone what’s going on in that head of hers until it’s too late.”
I frowned. “Too late?”
“Bitchy girl shit,” he explained. “My sister has had a target on her back since she was in nappies.”
“That’s pretty messed up,” I muttered, already knowing all of this, but having the good sense to not tell her brother that.
“Kids are cruel,” he agreed.
“They sure are,” I muttered.
He stared at me for a long time before saying, “Are you going to tell me about it?”
Oh, Jesus.
What?
The fuck did he want me to tell him?
I racked my brain and came up with nothing PG so I kept my mouth shut.
“Ciara Maloney’s boyfriend,” Joey filled in, giving me an odd look. “Some fella from Tommen beat the shit out of him in town yesterday.”
“Oh?” I arched a brow and folded my arms across my chest. “Is that so?”
Joey smirked. “Yeah, it is.”
“Well, I hope he fucked him up,” I slurred, feeling my body thrum with anger at the memory of those nasty fucking girls. “Heard his girlfriend’s a bitch.”
“I heard he was in a bad way,” Joey replied. “Broken nose. A few stitches.”
“How awful,” I drawled.
Joey stared at me for another long pause before shaking his head. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate that my sister has someone looking out for her. When I can’t.”
He turned to leave, only to spin back around.
“Friend.” His word held a bite to it. “My sister needs a friend, Kavanagh,” he clarified. “She doesn’t need to be getting her hopes up on a guy who’ll be gone come the summer.”
I heard his warning loud and clear. My fucked-up brain might not heed the warning, but I definitely heard it.
Without another word, Joey turned around and walked away, leaving me standing in the doorway, staring after him with only two things on my mind.
The first: finding an ice pack for my balls.
