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“Okay, darling, I’ll speak to you later. Be safe. I love you.”
I grin as my grip on the phone tightens. “I love you too, Ma. Speak soon.”
The second I end the call, my da’s in front of me, pulling me into his arms. “Good flight, Peanut?” he asks.
I used to despise him calling me Peanut, but now I love to hear it. He has a nickname for each one of us girls.
“Yeah,” I whisper as I sink into his embrace. God, I’ve missed him.
He takes my suitcase as we walk toward the car.
“Did you have a good time with Mallory?” he asks once we’re seated and he’s driving toward my aunt Edwina’s house.
Mallory is my best friend. We just spent a week together in New York City. I had the greatest time, and I’m sad that it’s over. As is Mallory. It’s something we want to do again in the future. It was our first real holiday as adults, and both of us were so excited. Our other friend, Jessica, wasn’t able to come with us. She’s rarely able to do anything anymore. Since her ma died, Jess has become withdrawn.
Thinking about New York, I can’t help but feel sad. James never did message me about meeting up again. I get it; I was a one-time thing. As much as it hurts, I’m glad we had that one time together. I’m never going to see him again, but that’s okay. I have enough memories of our one night to last a lifetime.
“It was the best,” I breathe. “Da, it was so amazing. We really did have the best time. We’re hoping to do it again next year.”
“You know that as long as you’re happy, your ma and I will do anything for you.”
My heart warms with so much love for my parents. I’m spoiled, I know I am. Not only am I, but every sibling that I have is too. It’s my da’s way of showing how much he loves us. He’s the best da in the world; not because he buys us stuff, but because he spends all his free time with us, making sure we’re happy and healthy, just as Ma does. When I become a parent, I want to be just like my own. They have wrapped me in love and affection and taught me the values of life.
“Da, you know I won’t accept money from you.” That was something I made clear early on. My da wanted to pay for mine and Mallory’s trip, but we said no. I spoke to Ma about it, and while she wanted to offer us the security of not having to worry about money, she understood our desire to be able to stand on our own two feet. So, at the age of sixteen, Mallory and I got jobs working on the weekends, and we saved every bit of money we could so we could go to New York.
“You’re damn hard-headed. You take after your ma,” he gripes. “Callie still to this day won’t let me pay for the damn house.”
I can’t help but laugh. When Ma and Da got together, things weren’t great. Da was still married to Zoe, and he lied to my ma about it. Zoe, being the bitch that she was, had Ma attacked and almost killed due to her jealousy. The house Ma lived in was forever tainted, and she could no longer stay there. The memories of what happened that night still haunt her, and they always will. When she was looking for a new home, I went with her and Uncle Maverick to choose one. In the end, Ma purchased a ten-bedroom mansion to fit all the family in. Da has been trying to pay Ma back for the past five years, but she’s not having it. I love that she’s not a push over, and that she’s such a girl boss.
She’s my inspiration. The way she runs her business as well as takes care of her children is amazing. She’s special. She’s the person who saw me when I was at my lowest and pushed me to become who I’ve always wanted to be. Without Callie O’Hara-Gallagher, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. I was damn lucky to find her when I did, and I know Da feels the same way too.
“It’s one of the reasons you love her, Da. Ma takes no shit from you, but she also doesn’t take from you. Unlike with Zoe, your marriage is a partnership.”
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about my birth mother. My stomach churns at the thought of her still being in our lives, and I thank my lucky stars that she’s no longer around. Not one of my siblings misses her. That says a lot about the woman she was.
Growing up was hard. I was always being put down about my weight, my looks, and the way I dressed. If Da was out of town for work, I’d be put on a diet and wouldn’t be allowed to eat a proper meal for days on end. The only food I’d be allowed to eat was lettuce leaves. Zoe would tell me I was putting on too much weight and that no one liked pudgy girls.
My da’s jaw tightens. He hates talking about Zoe. He despises everything about the woman. He would have killed her years before he actually did if she hadn’t been threatening him. If it had been against himself, Da wouldn’t have cared, but Zoe had evidence against my oldest brother, Danny. Had that evidence got out, my brother would have been looking at doing hard time in prison.
It’s something I could never understand. Why would Zoe do that? Why would she put her child in the position of losing everything he’d worked hard for; of being sent away, unable to watch his daughter grow up? I can’t ever forgive her for that. No matter how often my older brothers tell me that it’s okay to forgive Zoe and let her rest in peace, I can’t. The woman tried to take away my family. She tried to have my ma killed, my brother sent to prison, and God knows what she would have done to Malcolm and Holly, let alone the younger siblings. I don’t have forgiveness in me for that woman, and I made peace with that a long time ago.
“Zoe wasn’t right,” he begins, his voice tight with anger. He also stopped calling her my Ma a few years ago. When I transitioned into calling Callie Ma, Zoe was no longer spoken about in our home. I’m so happy that she’s not around to taint Mary and Gareth with her bullshit. Two Gallaghers will never know the true extent of that woman’s bullshit.
“What that woman did was unforgiveable, Chloe. She was a bitch, and she only cared about herself. What she did to my children is something I can never forget. I’ll spend the rest of my days regretting not doing something about it sooner.”
My heart hurts for him. I hate that he still feels guilty for letting her be in our lives longer than she should have been. But there was no other way around it.
“I hate that she used you all as bargaining chips,” he snarls. “But it’s over now, and that’s all that matters.”
My phone rings and I glance at the screen. Sean Kelly Senior. God, the man just doesn’t leave me the hell alone. I hit reject call and put it onto silent. He’s not going to stop calling until I answer and I’m not doing that with my da around.
Da has no idea that Zoe’s bullshit is still affecting me. I can’t tell him. I won’t. If he knew the Kelly’s wanted to get to know me, he’d lose his mind. I’ve made it clear that I don’t want to talk to them. Sean Kelly Jr was my biological father, whereas Sean Kelly Snr is my brother Gareth’s biological father. Making Gareth my little brother-uncle. Zoe slept with both father and son. God, she makes me sick.
One thing about Zoe is she loved her powerful men. My da, Jerry Houlihan—Malcolm’s biological father—Sean Kelly Jr and Senior, and whoever it is that is Mary’s biological father. She slept with all of these, and God knows who else. Each of them she wanted to keep so she could use them as pawns whenever the hell she wanted.
No one knows the full story of Sean’s death, only that someone broke into the house and tried to kill Aoife, his sister, but instead, Sean Kelly Junior was the one that died. Rumor has it that Sean Kelly Junior met a grizzly end and by someone close to him. Many believe it was his father, Sean Kelly Senior—Sean Jnr was getting a lot of men at his back and Sean Snr wasn’t happy. No one will ever know the truth fully.
I just pray that the Kelly’s stay the hell away from me. I don’t want to be a part of their life and I sure as hell don’t want to speak to them. But I have a feeling that what I want isn’t going to matter. Sean Kelly Senior seems hell bent on speaking with me, and from everything I’ve heard about the man, he gets what he wants one way or another.
