Chapter Fifteen
Rowan
When we exit the office, Eamon and Teagan are still sitting, waiting for their turn to speak with Ms. Bowland. Even though she’s giving Bridget another chance, I’m hoping my mates will be able to add a little more info to swing things in her favor.
“Mr. Kennedy and Mr. O’Brien?” Mrs. Stanley pokes her head out of the doorway. “Ms. Bowland will see you now.”
The old bird bats her lashes at Eamon. He smiles politely, but I can tell he’s about to crawl out of his skin. I file this away to use later when I want to bring out Norah’s fire sprite. There’s nothing better than getting a fellow redhead riled.
“Call me later, yeah?” I mumble as they pass by me. They both nod and slip into the office.
I turn to find Alicia and Bridget a few paces down the hallway.
Alicia is trying desperately to get her sister to say something, but the lass isn’t having it.
She keeps looking at her shoes like they’ll portal her to another world if she just clicks her heels together three times.
I lean against the wall to give them a moment, replaying the whole day over in my head.
Not ideal, but I did get to touch Alicia more in a handful of hours than I have in months.
Is it too much to hope that her allowing it means she’s ready to give this a go?
Maybe she’s missed me as much as I’ve missed her.
Completely lost in my own thoughts, I don’t hear her approach me until she speaks.
“Hey.”
Smiling, I ask quietly, “You okay?”
There’s a bit of relief in her eyes, but she still seems like she’s on the edge of a breakdown.
“Yeah. Thanks for…everything.”
I nod solemnly. “I’d like to do more. If you’ll let me.”
She breaks eye contact and looks down the hall. “I don’t know what more you could do, Ro. You literally saved my sister from a group of teenage cunts who likely wouldn’t have stopped until she was unconscious.”
“Aye, but I’d like to think anyone would—should—do that. You don’t need to thank me for it.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Finally, she looks back at me, forehead furrowed in confusion. “You fought for her. You don’t even know her, and you fought for her. There’s a good chance she started the whole thing. The principal wasn’t lying about her record. Bridget is on thin ice.”
Nodding, I reach out, taking her hand in mine, and she doesn’t pull away.
“She reminds me a lot of myself when I was a lad. Nobody ever fought for me until my first football coach. Rather than tossin’ me out of school on my arse, he made me come to the pitch before and after school.
He’d have me running for what felt like ages before making me line up shot after shot to kick.
He saw I had a bit of talent and convinced me to join the team. I owe everything to that man.”
“So.” Alicia’s lips tip into a smirk. “Are you saying that I need to put her in soccer?”
I give her a cheeky grin. “Never know. Could work wonders. I bet Eamon could help sort her out. He’s a good man, and a good coach.”
“So are you, Ro.” She cups the side of my face with one hand then stretches onto her toes to kiss my cheek. Instinctively, my hand goes to her hip.
Her breath tickles the shell of my ear when she whispers, “Thank you.”
I swallow thickly, fighting the desire to pull her into me and never let go, but I release her, nodding in reply. My eyes never leave Alicia as she meets Bridget at the end of the hall.
* * *
“So, what was the verdict?” I take a healthy swig of my beer and wait to hear the outcome of my mates’ meeting with the principal.
After leaving the school in somewhat of a daze, I picked up a few different types of beer and headed to my flat.
I should probably drive back to Charlotte tonight so I don’t have to get up so early for practice in the morning, but I’m genuinely dreading leaving.
I want to stay in Wilmington, just in case I’m needed.
Eamon sinks into the other end of the second hand leather sofa I found at an estate sale and runs a hand over his face. Teagan should be here soon. Said he had to do something at home, which likely means Layla.
“Bowland ended up suspending the three who initiated the fight all of next week. Said Bridget had quite the champion.” He raises his dark brows at me.
I shrug. “Couldn’t let her take the blame when it was clear she wasn’t at fault.”
“Did you know she was Alicia’s sister beforehand?”
Glancing over at Eamon, I see he’s watching me closely. “No, mate. Honest to Christ, I didn’t. I mean, when I first saw her she reminded me of Li, but I didn’t even consider they might be related. She doesn’t speak of her sister often, so I think I forgot.”
“I wish I’d known,” he remarks, regret tinging his words. “I would have kept an eye on her. Tried to help.”
“Actually…”
“What?” He narrows his eyes.
“I, uh, told Alicia that maybe it would do Bridget some good to have an outlet for her aggression, and suggested maybe she get into footy.”
“Okay, so how does this involve me?”
“You’re a good coach, Kennedy.” I focus on the label around my beer bottle. “Maybe you could work with her.”
There’s a stretch of silence that’s making me anxious. Eventually, I look over and find Eamon grinning.
“What?” I ask innocently.
“Gallagher, did you just pay me a compliment?”
I roll my eyes dramatically. “Feck off. Don’t be a wanker about it.”
He laughs loudly and I fight a smile.
“This is a big day for you, isn’t it, mate? First, you ask for relationship advice, then you rescue the love of your life’s wee sister, and now you’re complimenting me. Who are you and what have you done with Rowan Gallagher?”
“Ah, here!” I cry in mock outrage. “Go on with ya, ya tosspot.”
There’s a quick rap on the door before it opens, revealing a rather disheveled Teagan.
His hair is all mussed and the buttons on his shirt are all cockeyed.
If I’m not mistaken, there appears to be some red lipstick smeared on his neck.
Eamon and I must both be giving him a look, because he stops mid-step.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
I motion to his shirt. “Did ya get dressed in the dark, O’Brien?”
He looks down, swears, and starts fixing his buttons. Eamon chuckles as he rises from the sofa and heads to the kitchen.
“Beer, Teag?” he asks, pulling open the fridge.
“Aye, thanks a million. Sorry I’m late.”
I snort in amusement. “Seems like it was for a worthy cause. As long as your lady is pleased, we’ll forgive you this time.”
Teagan gives me a cheeky grin. “Oh, she’s pleased alright. I don’t leave her wanting.”
“Good man,” I commend, tipping my bottle at him. “I take it things are still going well with Layla then?”
“Yeah, more than well, thanks very much.” He runs his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it before asking, “So, uh, what’s going on with you and Alicia? I was surprised when she had you go with her to talk to the principal.”
“You’re not the only one,” I confess. “I didn’t even realize the lass was her sister until she showed up. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I was able to help a bit, but the last thing I expected was for her to bring me in there with her.”
Eamon stalks over, hands Teagan his beer, then reclaims his spot on the sofa, throwing an arm over the back of it. “I’ve never seen her so upset before. She doesn’t usually show her cards like that.”
I drain my beer before saying anything, even though I know they’re both waiting for me to elaborate on it all.
Deep down, I know they’re going to give legitimate advice, and there’s no one else I’d rather receive relationship advice from than these two.
But opening up? Especially in regards to this, goes against every fiber of my being.
Bolstering my courage, I lean forward to set the bottle on the black coffee table.
“Right, so Alicia and I hooked up after your wedding.” Might as well get that out of the way first thing.
There’s a beat of silence before Teagan lifts his arms in the air and lets out a whoop of excitement. “Fucking finally, mate! Good on ya!”
“Wait,” Eamon starts. “When exactly did this happen?”
The bloke is too observant for his own good.
Suddenly very interested in the label on my beer, I spin it in my fingers like I’m reading every word. “That night. We left the reception and went to my room.”
“So that’s where you disappeared to. I was wondering, but figured you had a good reason,” Eamon muses. “I was right.”
All I can do is nod.
“So what happened after that?” Teagan questions. “Have you been secretly dating this whole time?”
I laugh because he’s an eejit. “What do you think, mate? You think I would have been so surprised to see her if that were the case? Nah, she was gone before I woke up the next day. We’ve barely spoken since.”
They already knew about our near hookup at the club over a year ago, and had tried to orchestrate a little meeting between us, but it backfired.
I fill them in on the details of that night and every interaction since.
Neither one of them interrupts me or makes smart arse comments like I would.
They just listen as I pour it all out—not just the condensed version, but how I was all in, ready to give her the world.
How I thought we were on the same page, but apparently, we weren’t even in the same story.
“And you tried to get a hold of her after, right?” Teagan asks when he sprawls out in the arm chair across from us.
“Yeah, ‘course I did. I called, texted, everything. I even tried to see her at Paddy’s but she’d disappear into the back the moment she saw me. Before I knew it, it was time to head to Charlotte for training.”
“It’s hard to say what spooked her when we don’t know much about her life,” Eamon muses. “What was her childhood like?”
“That’s the thing,” I tell them, running a hand through my hair in frustration. “The only thing I know is she’s been the primary caretaker for her sister for a long time, but no clue why or when it began. These were all things I’d hoped to learn after Ireland. She never gave me the chance though.”
My knee starts bouncing the more I think about it, so I stand to pace the room instead.
“I don’t want to demand answers, but today gave me mixed signals. It’s like jumping back and forth between an ice bucket and a hot tub.”
“I can ask Norah if she knows anything,” Eamon offers, leaning forward to put his bottle on the coffee table next to mine. “They’ve become closer over the last year.”
It’s good that Li’s found someone like Norah to confide in. I only wish she’d feel that safe with me, too.