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“Was that cocaine?”
“No.”
“Liar! Since when are you taking cocaine?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does,” I snapped. “Talk to me, dammit!”
“Why?” Jerking free of my hold, he stood up and quickly backed away. “The fuck has it got to do with you?”
“You broughtcocaineinto my house, Joey,” I repeated my earlier words, hoping that this time he would understand how wrong his behavior was. “Into my father’s house.” I pushed at his chest, trying to evoke a reaction out of him. “You remember my dad, don’t you? He’s the one who gave you that job at the garage. The one who trusted you to—”
“Get out of my face, Molloy,” he growled, trying and failing to sidestep me in his pointless bid to escape an interrogation. “I know I fucked up, okay?”
“Get out of your face? You’re lucky I’m not tearing strips out of your face, asshole,” I snapped, pushing at his chest, forcing him to back up until he was pressed up against my bathroom wall.
I kept my hand on his chest, feeling an abnormal amount of heat emanating from beneath his uniform.
“What the hell,” I muttered, reaching up and pressing my hand to his neck and then his cheek. “Jesus, Joey, you’re burning up.”
Panicked, I watched as his green irises disappeared right in front of me, overtaken by pupils so dark and dilated that it made him look like a completely different person. “I’m okay.”
“You’re okay?” I stared at his ridiculously gorgeous face, feeling nothing but terror. “Joey, I just caught you snorting a line. I think it’s safe to say that you are absolutelynotokay.”
“That was a mistake,” he was quick to say. “I shouldn’t have done that here.”
“No, you shouldn’t have done it atall,” I corrected, concern filling me at a rapid pace.
“It was a mistake.” A shudder racked through him. “Your father trusts me. I shouldn’t have…I let him down.” The more he spoke, the faster his words flew out of his mouth, and the looser his tone became. “It’s all good, though, Molloy.” He reached up and snatched up my hand that I was still cupping his chin with. “It’s a mistake. I, ah, I make a lot of those. I’m just so fucking tired sometimes and I, ah, well, it helps, ya know. Fuck it.”
He shook his head again but didn’t let go of my hand. “Joe?”
“I don’t know what I’m trying to say.” His entire frame pulsed with energy as he rolled his shoulders and looked around the room like it was the first time that he was seeing it. “I’ve a match over at the GAA pitch in an hour, it’s against St. Pats, they’ve a serious defense, and I haven’t slept in days.” he blew out a shaky breath, “I’m just so fucking tired and I needed something to give me a boost…but it won’t happen again. It won’t happen again.”
“Days?” I shook my head. “Why haven’t you slept in days?”
“Night feeds.”
“Night feeds?” What was he talking about? Was he rambling? Was this a side effect of taking cocaine? I had no clue. “Joe, are you with me?”
I could feel the tremors racking through his body.
Theyterrifiedme.
“Again, I’m, ah, I’m sorry about what you saw there. I don’t make a habit of, well, you know.” Shrugging, Joey suddenly dropped my hand like it had scalded him and shoved a hand through his blond hair before moving for the door. “It’s really not a big deal, though, so no worries, yeah? There’s not a bother on me.”
“Not a bother on you?” The boy had spoken more words to me in the past three minutes than he had in the past three years. He was clearly bothered. “You’re going to a matchnow? Like this?”
“Yeah, I sort of have to. Don’t really want to be playing, but its, ah, well, it’s not worth the hassle of trying to get out of.” Nodding vigorously, he yanked the bathroom door open. “Tell your father that I, ah, I sorted the shower. It’s running perfect again.” He turned back and gave me one final clipped nod. “I’ll be seeing ya, Molloy.”
As I watched him walk away, it took me a moment to get my bearings, and then a couple more to stop my head from spinning off my shoulders, as I registered what the hell I had just witnessed.
This was more than sharing a spliff and a flagon of cider withthe boyson a Friday night.
This was cocaine.
It was serious.
