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I glance at my phone and see it's not even seven in the morning. God, what on earth is going on? When the hell did Da get back? He’s been gone for four months with not even a phone call. The day he walked out was the day Ruairi came home, and we’ve not seen him since.
"I could ask you the same question," Ruairi yells.
I jump out of bed, beyond pissed that they're having a screaming match at this time of the morning on a fucking Sunday.
"What the hell is going on?" I hiss. Thankfully, I'm able to keep my voice lower than these two amadans.
"What the fuck is he doing in my house?" Da snarls. "It’s bad enough I have a whore living under my roof; I don't want to have a fucking waste of space too. Don't think I'll be paying for you to be here."
I snort. "It’s not like you pay for anyone, Da. I'm the one paying the bills."
"You've got an attitude problem, girl, and I don't fucking like it. You’d best watch who you're fucking talking to. Have some fucking respect."
I roll my eyes. Oh, here we go again. Da loves to lord about the place. He believes that because he's older than I am, he's better than me.
"I lost respect for you the day you hit Ma. Not to mention, you left your eighteen-year-old daughter to pick up the pieces of your heartbroken children after Ma left. Oh, and I’m also paying off the debt you've racked up and I’m covering all the goddamn bills. So no, I won't have respect and I don't care who the hell I'm talking to. What are you doing here?"
His eyes flash with anger and his nostrils flare. "I'm warning you, Ailbhe, don't fucking test me. You'll not like the consequences."
The bitter laugh that escapes me is something that I know will rile him up, but I can't help it. The man's ridiculous. How does he truly believe that I'll do whatever the hell he tells me to do? "What are you going to do, Da? Steal more money from me? You've really sunk to a new low, haven't you? Stealing money from your child, money that keeps a roof over your children's heads."
"That money is dirty money," he snarls. "Money that you've whored yourself out for."
I raise a brow. I'm not going to let him make me feel guilty for doing something he forced me into. I won't be made out to be a whore when I'm doing right by my family—something that he himself should be doing. "Jealous?" I taunt, knowing that he’s envious of the money that I’m making. Hell, he’s resentful that I have a better relationship with the kids than he does. He never took the time to get to know them. He never took the time to get to know me.
His face reddens. "Don't," he says, his voice vibrating with anger. "Don't fucking push me."
"Best you leave," Ruairi says, stepping in front of me, trying to shield me from Da's view.
"Best get out of my way, son. You wouldn't want Ailbhe here to find out the real reason you're home, would you?"
I glance at my brother, wondering what the hell Da's talking about. Ruairi doesn't look at me. In fact, he pushes closer to Da.
"Try it," he snarls as he squares up to Da. "Try it, old man, and see how far it gets you."
Da laughs. "He's just as bad as I am, Ailbhe. He's been gambling his money away. The fighting he's been doing? Illegal bare knuckle boxing. And he's been betting on his fights. He's lucky he's not in prison."
My body trembles as I watch Ruairi's eyes narrow. He's not denying what Da's saying, which means it's true. Fuck, what the hell is going on? Why would he do that? He knows how bad things have gotten with Da’s gambling. Even before he left he knew how bad Da was, so why on earth would he do it?
"You're done," Ruairi hisses. "Time for you to fucking leave."
"This is my house, boy. You're not going to evict me from my own home. You can't. I'm the tenant on the lease."
"You haven’t made a payment on the rent in over six years, Da. Ma did, and now Ailbhe does. I've spoken to the landlord and he's agreed to put the tenancy in Ailbhe's name. Your lease ended yesterday."
What?
Da fumbles in his pocket. He pulls out his phone and quickly hits dial on a number before bringing it to his ear. "John? Yeah, it's me, Peter. What's this shit about the lease ending?"
I watch on, unable to breathe as Da's face gets redder with each passing moment.
"You can't fucking do this to me, John. You hear me? You can't do this."
I'm dumbstruck as I watch on. How on earth did Ruairi manage to do this? When did he have the time?
Da edges closer to us, and I skirt around Ruairi and try to position myself between them. The last thing I need is them fighting.
"You arsehole, Ruairi. The fuck do you think you're playing at?"
