Epilogue
Declan
A Month Later…
“Y’fancy headin’ over t’ Fiadh’s place f’a bit t’ eat tonight?” I asked, reading the text message from John-Francis. I kissed Tess’s hair where she had laid her head on my chest. “Y’still feelin’ rough?”
“A little,” Tess muttered. “It’s not so bad. I find it gets better as the day goes on.”
“Be guessin’ that’s why it’d be called ‘mornin’ sickness’, aye?” I teased, laughing when Tess rolled her eyes at me. “So, is that a ‘yes’ t’ tea?”
She sat up, stretching her back out and rolling to sit on her hip, tucking her legs beneath her. “Sure. I love Fiadh.”
I tapped out a confirmation for John-Francis. “Aye, she’s a gem, like. Still can’t get me head ‘round runnin’ inta them here. What’re the chances, now?”
Tess snorted and I glanced up at her. She had a brow cocked and I scowled. “What?”
“Yeah, it’s a real mystery,” she replied sarcastically. When I continued to look at her, Tess’s smirk died away. “Wait, are you serious?”
“Ya not makin’ any sense, now. Y’sayin’ it’s not a coincidence we ran into them here?”
Tess’s eyes widened. “Oh, my god. You haven’t figured it out, have you?”
I could feel heat creeping up the back of my neck, embarrassed to have been slow on the uptake of something. “Tess, f’feck’s sake. Spit it out. What haven’t I figured out, like? Tell me!”
“Well, I mean, it’s obvious. John-Francis and Ronan?” I stared at her blankly, willing her to elaborate. “They’re, y’know…” More staring. “They’re together, Declan. God, I didn’t realise I was going to need to spell it out quite that plainly for you.”
My brow furrowed. John-Francis and Ronan? Together? It was like a missing puzzle piece. My mind went haywire, knitting together all of the evidence I’d been completely overlooking. Fuck. Fuck!
I leapt up from the bed, jostling Tess in my haste and making her squeal with surprise. I was at the door, nigh on pulling it from its hinges as she called for me.
“Declan! Declan! Don’t—”
The door slammed behind me, and I stormed across to John-Francis’s caravan, parked up only a few meters from my own. I hammered my fist on the door, barely allowing any time for him to answer before I was battering it again.
“John-Francis!” I shouted. “Get y’arse out here right now!”
A second or two later, the door flew open, revealing the angry face of my best mate.
“The feck y’playin’ at?” he snapped, though there was no true malice in his tone.
For a moment, time slowed down and I gazed up at him. We’d been mates for years, had been through so much together, and yet I felt like I was seeing him for the first time. It was jarring to be looking at someone so familiar, and yet they may as well have been a stranger.
“Y’gay, like?” I spluttered.
In an instant, John-Francis’s face fell serious and I knew Tess had been right. My mind was blown, and I found myself playing memories back, wondering how the fuck I’d missed something so huge.
“A-aye,” he muttered, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “That a problem?”
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing back and forth. “Jaysus Christ…”
Tess appeared beside me, her face drawn tight with worry. “C’mon Declan, let’s just take a minute to—”
I spun around, gazing up at John-Francis. He was frozen in the doorway bracing for a negative reaction. My stomach dropped.
“Why didn’t ya tell me?” I sighed. “Y’shoulda feckin’ told me. Jaysus, have I been so feckin’ up me own hole that I missed somethin’ so important in me best mate?”
There was a tense silence. John-Francis and Tess glanced at one another before he cleared his throat.
“Well, I mean… Don’t beat yourself up, now. I’d be doin’ a good job o’ hidin’ it, eh?”
“Aye, but y’thought y’needed t’ hide if from me, like?” I mumbled. “Y’thought I’d not be supportive?”
John-Francis was clearly dumbfounded, at a loss for words. He scratched the back of his head, mouth opening and closing before he eventually spluttered:
“I couldn’t be sure, aye?”
“F’feck’s sake,” I snapped, gesturing for him to step forward. “Get down here.”
When John-Francis hopped down from his doorway, I tugged him into a rough embrace, clapping him firmly on the back before shoving him away just as swiftly.
“Y’feckin’ keep shite from me again an’ I’d be punchin’ ya in the feckin’ teeth, y’hear?” I snapped, pointing my finger into his chest. “Just ‘cause y’me best mate doesn’t mean I’d be opposed t’ knockin’ the shite outta ya. Clear?”
I started walking backwards away from him and John-Francis’s lips turned up into a smirk, one I’d seen upon his expression more times than I’d care to count.
“I’d like t’ see ya try, now. A lot has changed since the last time y’had me on me arse. I’d not be sixteen anymore, like.”
“Bring it on y’fat feckin’ langer,” I taunted. “Any day o’ the week, now.”
Tess stood between us, looking back and forth with an expression of bemusement. “I’m not sure I’ll ever quite get my head around you travellers. Do you even like one another? I genuinely can’t tell sometimes.”
I laughed. You could take the girl from the buffer life, but I supposed you’d never get the buffer life from the girl, not completely anyway.
“Aye, I like him well enough, now, but even if I didn’t, I’d not be without him.” I smirked, pleased when John-Francis mirrored it. “We’re family, like.”
The End.