Chapter 5 #2
“Can you get paper and a pen?” I asked, letting go of Aisling as she skipped toward the living room. “I’ll find the dice.”
“She always wins,” he complained as he headed toward the backpacks still lined up by the door. I really needed to go through the supplies left and take an inventory before I finally put those away.
“She deserves the win tonight,” I murmured as I headed toward the junk drawer in the kitchen. I found the dice and spun around to find Cian behind me.
“Sorry I blew up,” he said quietly.
“Understandable.”
“Still.” He was looking over my shoulder. “If I would’ve just kept my mouth shut she would’ve left before you got here, and you wouldn’t have had to deal with that whole thing.”
“It would’ve come up at some point.” I let him off the hook.
“Richie really got you that necklace?”
“Graduation present,” I confirmed.
“It’s pretty,” he mumbled. “You better put it on or hide it.”
He knew Mom had been stealing. I thought I’d shielded him from it. I’d never said anything.
“I will.”
Cian nodded. “Don’t forget the popcorn,” he ordered, turning to leave the room. “Sersh said she wants extra salt.”
We spent the rest of the night playing games, the TV blaring mostly unnoticed. Aisling beat us at dice, Cian killed at poker, and Saoirse won twice at some board game that I’d found at a garage sale—probably because she was the only one who seemed to understand the directions.
Ronan and Saoirse eventually fell asleep on the floor, so I ended up on the couch for the night in case Mom came home.
I didn’t want them dealing with her alone, and I didn’t have the heart to wake them up.
Cian carried Aisling upstairs to bed, promising her as they left that she could sleep in his room on Ronan’s bed.
Checking my phone, I realized Richie had texted me a few times, and I replied to them while I walked around, making sure all our windows were shut and the doors were locked.
In a couple of hours, it would be hot as hell in the house, but I was too scared to leave the windows open downstairs.
I crawled onto the couch and stared at my phone, glad that I’d been able to turn the night around.
Richie was so sure that everything would work out well in the end, but after nights like the one I’d just had, I knew that was wishful thinking.
It was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan again.
Mom might have appeased child services for the moment, but if things continued on like they had been, I wasn’t sure how I could keep everything under control.
We had an aunt in Oregon, and I tried to remember what I knew about her.
She was Mom’s older sister, and I hadn’t seen her since Dad’s funeral.
When she’d tried to talk to Mom about getting her act together so she’d stop scaring her kids, they’d gotten into a massive fight.
Mom had kicked her out, Aunt Ashley had ignored her and stayed two more days, and then she’d gone home.
Every once in a while, I’d hear Mom on the phone with her, but it didn’t happen often.
Aunt Ashley was a self-proclaimed lone wolf, and I secretly loved that about her.
When Dad was alive, she used to come out once a year to visit, spending the week taking us kids to the park and arcade and out for ice cream. She seemed to like us.
I prodded at the idea of calling her like a loose tooth, moving away from the idea as I tried to remember everything from those weeks she spent with us, but always eventually circling back to wondering if she’d be willing to take us on.
I couldn’t imagine how I could even ask her about it.
I didn’t know her number, and I was pretty sure my mom wouldn’t give it to me.
From the few comments she’d made, she was still pissed at her sister.
She’d be suspicious and nasty if she thought I was trying to reach out to her.
I fell asleep somewhere between thinking I needed to find a way to sneak into Mom’s phone and waiting for Richie to respond to my texts. The next morning, I woke up to the kids scrounging around in the kitchen for breakfast, and my boyfriend walking in the front door.
“Rough night?” he teased, coming to lean over the back of the couch.
Lifting a hand to my face, I traced the lines the textured throw pillow had left on my cheek. “Kids fell asleep on the floor, so I slept down here,” I rasped groggily.
“I brought doughnuts,” he said, lifting the box with one hand.
“You’re a saint,” I groaned, pushing myself up. “Ronan is going to worship you.”
I checked out the front window to make sure Mom hadn’t somehow snuck in while I was sleeping, but her car wasn’t in the driveway. Grabbing my hand, Richie tugged me with him to the kitchen.
“I smell doughnuts,” Saoirse said instantly, pointing her nose in the air.
“Bloodhound,” Cian muttered.
“Doughnuts!” Aisling yelled. “Yes!”
“Who’s hungry?” Richie asked, setting the box down on the table.
Saoirse, Ronan, and Aisling dove in, but Cian just looked at me from across the kitchen.
“I made coffee,” he said, lifting his own mug.
“Bless you,” I murmured, heading his way. “When did you start drinking coffee?”
“Two years ago.”
“What?” I did a double-take. How did I miss that?
“I hate getting up early,” he muttered. “Grade schoolers don’t mind getting up at the ass crack of dawn. They should be the ones starting early. Middle and high school should start later.”
“No argument there,” I replied, pouring my coffee. “You ready for high school?”
“Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. “I’m gonna get my ass kicked.”
“What? Why?” I stared at him.
“Because I’ll be the youngest one there.”
“Speaking of,” I mused. “Your birthday’s coming up. What do you want to do?”
“Disneyland,” he joked drolly. “Make it happen, yeah?”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes. “We can do something . What about paintball or something like that? You could invite a couple of friends.”
“Nah, nothin’.”
“We have to do something,” I argued.
“Fine, I want stroganoff for dinner, a carrot cake—the one you make from scratch, none of that box shit—and the TV all to myself for a whole night.”
“That’s the dumbest birthday ever.”
“That’s what I want.”
“You gotta do something better than that,” Richie called as he brought me a maple bar.
“My favorite,” I said, grinning as he handed it over.
“I know.” He smiled back.
“You two are a little disgustin’, you know that?” Cian asked, wrinkling his nose.
“Birthday,” I reminded him firmly.
“Fine. Penny arcade,” Cian replied.
“Yeah!” Ronan bellowed.
“No,” I argued, pointing my doughnut at Cian. “Pick something for you .”
“Tattoo,” he said flatly.
“Try again.”
He stared at the ceiling, like he was searching there for his patience, then looked at me, snapping his fingers. “River,” he said. “All day.”
“Done,” I muttered around the bite in my mouth.
“And my cake.”
“That cake takes forever,” I complained half-heartedly.
“Please,” he argued, walking over to grab a doughnut. “I could tell you I wanted a chocolate box cake, and you’d still make my carrot cake. You always make my carrot cake.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“It’s nasty.” Ronan shuddered. “Who puts carrots in a cake?”
“Yet, you always eat it,” I mumbled under my breath.
“There’s zucchini in those chocolate muffins you love so much,” Cian shot back.
“What?” Ronan yelped, his head whipping around to stare at me in accusation.
“You’re an asshole,” I snapped at Cian.
“There’s zucchini in my muffins?” Ronan nearly shouted with horror.
“You can’t even taste it,” I replied placatingly.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re going to melt into a puddle of artificial preservatives and sugar if I don’t sneak some vegetables into your diet,” I mumbled into my doughnut.
Richie laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we leaned against the counter. Ronan continued to pout, but I was relieved to see that the kids were all in pretty good moods otherwise. I’d been able to turn their night around.
“You didn’t text me back until after I was asleep last night,” Richie said quietly in my ear. “Everything okay?”
“Mother of the year struck again,” I whispered back. “I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Did you bring water balloons?” Aisling interrupted, looking at Richie. “Ronan said you were bringing more water balloons.”
“No, sorry.” Richie shook his head.
“Dang.”
“If you guys pick up all the balloon pieces out of the yard, I’ll pick some up today before my shift.”
“Why are you still workin’ at the pizza place?” Cian asked, his mouth full of doughnut. “Didn’t you just get a new job?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t started at the new one yet,” Richie replied. “I’m giving the parlor time to find someone to replace me.”
“No more random pizzas for us,” Cian joked in mock disappointment.
“In a couple of years, you can start working there and bring home your own pizzas,” Richie replied, smiling.
“I’m gonna work for a mechanic,” Cian contradicted. “That way I can keep Aoife’s piece of shit car running.”
I smiled. “That’s sweet.”
“I’ll need something to drive.” He shrugged.
“God, no,” I moaned. “No driving.”
“At least it doesn’t go above forty-five,” Saoirse pointed out helpfully. “He won’t be able to go very fast.”
“Thank you for that,” I replied dryly.
“I’m not wrong,” she said cheerfully.
“She really isn’t,” Richie added.
“You too?” I gasped.
“Your car was on its last leg ten years ago,” Richie said with a laugh.
“It gets me from here to the store and back.” I threw my hands in the air. “What more do I need?”
None of us mentioned that even if I wanted a new car, there was no way on earth I’d ever be able to afford one. I’d saved for over a year to get the one I had. I’d be driving that thing until it died.
“Who wants to go to the park?” Richie asked as the kids finished up their food.
“Me!” Aisling called quickly.
“The one by the skate park?” Cian asked.
“Yup.”
“Did you bring your board?”
Richie looked at him. “Obviously.”
“I’m in,” Cian replied.
“Me too!” Ronan raised his hand like he was at school.
“I’m bringing a book,” Saoirse piped in.
“Yeah?” Richie asked me.
“I just have to be back by two,” I replied, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I’ve got work at three.”
“Perfect.”
We took the kids to the park that day and almost every day after it that summer.
Sometimes when I had to work on the weekends, Richie would even stop by the store to switch cars with me so he could bring the kids on his own.
It was practically idyllic. It had been years in the making, but that first summer after high school really solidified our little unit.
Richie’s new job started at seven in the morning, he didn’t get home until four-thirty, and two nights a week he had to go to night school, but we got creative planning how to see each other when our schedules worked out.
He came over most nights after the kids were in bed, and as we fell asleep, he’d tell me all about the guys he worked with and the different things they were teaching him.
He loved his new job so much and listening to him was usually the highlight of my day.
Cian’s birthday barreled toward me like a freight train as I scrounged money together so I could get him some gifts.
He really needed some new clothes for school, but I wanted him to have something he really wanted , too, so I’d been eyeballing a skateboard in one of the little shops near my work.
I was pretty sure I’d be able to swing it as long as I scrimped on groceries for a week or two.
Mom kept her shit mostly together, and she didn’t leave again for more than a night. There were no more outbursts or comments about me and Richie having sex. For the most part, she kept to herself, and we were grateful for it.
I started feeling happy. Hopeful even. Things were going well. Steady. Consistent.
I knew it couldn’t last, but I don’t think any of us could’ve imagined how quickly things would go sideways. It was almost embarrassing to admit how blindsided we were.