“I’m not—” I start, at the same time Niall says, “she’s not—”
JJ laughs, shaking his head. “You know me, Claire-Bear. Always taking the piss.” He passes the book to Niall, who takes it gingerly.
Claire is still looking between us, confused. I feel my gut twisting up. I have to tell her, at least the bare bones details. That I like her brother and I may or may not have kissed him once or twice.
“I should probably go. My mom’s gonna be here soon.” It’s a lie. I’m just supposed to text her when I’m ready to be picked up,since Niall’s mother is giving him his car back until he needs it for school again. “Wanna wait outside with me, Claire?”
She nods, following me towards the hall. I can hear JJ start chattering to Niall as soon as we leave.
“So what’s up?” she asks as soon as we’re outside.
“I kissed Niall,” I blurt out, then cringe. “Or maybe it was a group effort? And it... it’s happened more than once, but I just didn’t know how to tell you...”
“Oh,” she says, blinking a couple times as if processing. “Oh. Wow.”
“Are you mad?”
“No,” she shakes her head quickly. “No, I’m just... surprised. I didn’t realize you liked him.”
“I didn’t realize either,” I admit. “And I don’t know if he really likes me back. I don’t know how he feels at all.”
She laughs. “Oh, Molly. He definitely likes you.”
“How do you know?” All I can think of is him ignoring me forweeksafter we kissed. And then the only time he was transparent about his feelings, he had been drinking.
“Cause he’s been weird around you since you got here,” she shrugs. “He’s liked you since the moment he laid eyes on you, Mol, I’m sure of it.”
“I’m just worried where it would even go with him,” I sigh, leaning against her shoulder. “And I don’t want things to be weird between you and me.”
“They won’t,” she promises, hugging me tightly. “But you have to promise to tell me everything.”
“Everything?” I ask, pulling back.
“Well, not everything-everything. Because ew. But like, if he ever hurts your feelings, let me know and I'll kick his arse.”
I laugh. “It’s a deal.”
31
How Did You Know?
Niall
November, 2007
“HOW DID YOU... know?”
I regret the words before they’ve even cleared my teeth. But it’s too late to take them back now.
The school may have been lax with my punishment (since I knew it could have beenmuchworse than a couple lousy suspensions), but my mother sure wasn’t. No car, no phone, no going out anywhere except to the bakery where she has been making me work during the hours Ishouldbe in school.
The only bright side is that my knee seems to have lightened up on me a little bit. Oh, and that Mam didn’t find out I was drinking. Nobody except Molly really did. If Coach had known (which I had a small feeling he did), he hadn’t said anything.
The only thing keeping me sane while working here was a quick nip every hour or so from the bottle of Jameson I’ve got tucked behind the industrial bags of sugar in the supply room.
I lied to Molly yesterday. I had to lie to Molly. If she thought I had a drinking problem, any chances of her giving me that“second chance” she mentioned were out the window. And Ireallywanted that second chance.
I think Ma enjoys me working here with her. She’s been entertaining me with stories of growing up in Glen Alder with Auntie Roisin, and how she’d eventually fallen for my dad. I knew the story—I’d heard it a million times, though she and dad always told it a little bit differently—though it was strange hearing about it while I was trying to come to terms with... whatever my feelings were for Molly.
