AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know,” Shannon gushed excitedly.
“Isn’t that the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?”
“So adorable.”
“He’s a baby, guys.” Sounding entirely uninterested, Lizzie remained on the couch in Joey and Aoife’s annex/apartment, not bothering to join us in our gushing. “That’s what they do. They suck their thumbs.”
“But this baby is the best baby,” I added, tracing AJ’s chubby cheek with my finger. “I want one.”
“Me too.”
“You two are disturbed.”
“Thanks, girls,” Aoife said, reappearing from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and a fresh pair of pajamas on. She certainly looked a lot fresher than she had when we arrived after school. What with her leaky nipples and AJ’s baby puke on her back.
“I feel like I haven’t showered alone in weeks,” she added with a smile. “Is AJ okay?”
“Well, you sort of haven’t,” Shan replied. “And yep, he’s just as perfect as he was ten minutes ago.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, offering the stunning blond a sympathetic smile. “How are you feeling?”
“She pushed an entire human being out of her body a month ago, Claire,” Lizzie drawled. “How do you think she’s feeling?”
“Vagina,” Ollie chimed in from his perch on the couch, where he was playing Snake on Aoife’s phone. “It’s called a vagina.”
“Hey, good job, stud,” Aoife praised, ruffling her boyfriend’s little brother’s hair. “You are kicking ass with that speech therapist.”
“Thanks,” he replied, beaming up at her like she hung the moon. “When’s Joe home?”
“He’s working late tonight, stud.”
Ollie’s face fell, but like the absolute queen she was, Aoife was quick to add, “It’s all good, Ols. You know he’ll pop next door to say good night to the three of you before bed. Same as always.”
“You promise he’s still better today?” Ollie pushed, brown eyes wide and full of innocence. “He’s not sick again?”
“I promise,” Aoife replied, though she had to clear her throat several times before adding, “Today is another good day, Ols.”
I was quite certain that I felt my heart crack in my chest. This wasn’t an everyday conversation that I was listening to. This orphan child was asking for reassurance that his heroin-addicted brother was still clean. From the girl who’d given birth to said brother’s baby only a few short weeks ago.
That poor kid.
That strong girl.
“Stop it,” Lizzie, who had suddenly appeared by my side, whispered in my ear. Slipping a tissue into my hand, she nudged me toward the door. “Not in front of the kid.”
Pretending that I had to answer my phone, I quickly pressed it to my ear and hurried outside, holding my breath the entire time.
When I had the door of the annex closed behind me, I choked out a sob and clutched my chest, as an array of different emotions battered my heart. “Oh god!”
“You alright there, Claire?” Johnny asked, appearing in the garage doorway with a look of confusion etched on his face. I knew from spending countless hours at the manor this past summer that the garage housed a state-of-the-art home gym.
“Uh-huh,” I choked out, using the tissue Liz gave me to blow my nose. “It’s just so sad.”
“Sad,” a little voice chimed in. It was only then I noticed the small boy clung to Johnny’s legs. “Claire sad.”
“Hi, Sean,” I sniffled, offering a bright smile to my bestie’s youngest brother. “And I’m not sad. I’m super happy.”
“Claire’s silly, isn’t she?” Johnny coaxed, scooping him up in his arms. “Because we’re not supposed to cry when we’re happy, are we? Hmm? Tell her that she’s supposed to laugh.”
