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“Or you could just kill her.” My reply wasn’t supposed to come out so harsh, but I can’t help the way I feel.
Why aren’t she, Sean, and Liam dead already? They are the enemies.
“I would never do that to Shay,” he says, his disappointment evident. “I know what it’s like to grow up without a mum. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone, especially my son.”
I’m ashamed of myself for even thinking it.
“Why did ye take him?”
Now I’m the one who’s disappointed. “I didn’t take him for ransom, if that’s what you’re thinking. Regardless of who his mother is, I actually really like Shay. He is the reason I was able to escape. When Aoife left me alone in the dark, he’d come visit me.
“He’d sneak me fresh food and water, and even though I couldn’t eat because each second I was handcuffed to that bed made me sicker and sicker, I appreciated the gesture. If it wasn’t for Shay, I would still be a prisoner.”
I swallow down the memories as they threaten to make me sick.
“I always felt a sense of…calm around him. Like he was familiar to me, and now I know why that is. He saved me. His courage reminds me of someone else I know.”
Punky’s chest falls as he exhales heavily.
“There was an opportunity, and I took it. I wasn’t going to wait around to be saved. I had to save myself and was prepared to do that at any cost.” I wiggle my cast, proof that I mean every word. “Aoife left to get milk, and I knew it was now or never.”
He flinches, and I wonder why.
“Shay brought me some soap and helped free me from the cuffs. But as I was working on the other wrist, I heard someone at the front door. It was Liam.”
I rarely see Punky surprised, so when his lips part, and he’s left speechless, I know I did the right thing in leaving.
“I broke my wrist because I was running out of time. And I took Shay because he was in danger. We escaped and hid in a forest. I passed out, and when I came to, we walked and walked until I realized where we were.”
My exhaustion suddenly returns when I detail what we went through to get here.
I wait for Punky to speak, but he doesn’t. He simply stands frozen, barely blinking.
As I shift to get comfortable, a sharp stinging shoots up my leg. I’d forgotten about my feet. Pulling back the bedspread, I see my feet are bandaged.
I wonder how long I’ve been asleep for.
But I ask the most important question. “Where’s Shay?”
“He’s watchin’ TV,” Punky replies blankly.
This stilted conversation is new. We’ve never been stuck for words. I want nothing more than for him to comfort me, but I need…space. A lot has happened, and I need time to digest it. I can’t help but wonder about Rory.
Was it a merciful death? I suppose there is no such thing in our world.
It’s hard for me to accept that he knew the truth the entire time we were together. I feel nothing but a fool. But I suppose I should have never accepted his proposal. I suppose I should have done a lot of things differently.
But when I look at Punky, I know that no matter our history, I would never change falling in love with him.
“I’m goin’ to fuckingkillhim,” he snarls under his breath, startling me with his fury.
“Who?”
He finally meets my eyes, and when he does, I realize this is the final chapter. Punky is done. Those who betrayed us are going to pay—once and for all.
“Liam.”
“When?”
