Chapter 9
9
AGE 17
“ W hat are you doing?” Ash whispers as I round the back of the wedding car on a solo mission, leaving Jamie and Ash to continue egging the silver Rolls Royce the soon-to-be newlyweds have hired for the day.
“Adding one final touch.” I smirk as I shove a couple of potatoes into the exhaust, using a stick to push them up the pipe out of sight.
“Jono just messaged,” Jamie says, pelting the last egg on top of the roof. “We need to drive the car back.”
The wedding driver is a local guy, well-known for being a big gambler. His usual MO is to leave the car outside the church while the ceremony is taking place and head to the bookies. Thank fuck for his predictability today. Jono was already in the bookies waiting, and he snuck the keys out of his pocket when he wasn’t looking and ran up here with them. Then he ran back to keep an eye on him.
Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone around when we drove the car from the church up the road and into the rear of the car park adjacent to a small apartment building. It’s always empty during the day, and we’ve been able to work without interruption or an audience. There’s no fun in getting caught sabotaging their wedding day although they’ll definitely know we did this. Can’t do jack shit without proof though. As an added precaution we’re all wearing black hoodies and bandanas covering most of our faces.
“You two head home,” I say. “I’ll drive it back and take the heat if anyone sees me.”
“Like fuck you will!” Ash shakes her stubborn head. “If we get caught, we all own this shit.” There’s my ballbuster little sis. It’s good to know she’s still in there underneath all the heartache and pain.
Jamie grins and hugs her. “That’s my girl.”
My scowl is instantaneous. Jamie flips me the bird as he lets Ash go and gets into the passenger seat. I climb behind the wheel while Ash gets into the back. “They’ll have one more surprise,” Jamie says, glancing back at Ash with a wide grin.
I start the engine and reverse around the corner.
“My cousin Elaine made their wedding cake,” he explains, “and I paid her a visit while she was baking it and added laxative to the mix when she was out of the room.”
I burst out laughing as I drive through the gate of the apartments. “Nice one, mate.”
Through the mirror, I catch Ash’s smile. “That’ll give them the shits for hours. Thanks, Jay. You’re my hero.”
I groan as the compliment soaks into his skin and he beams like he’s just won a Grammy. I might have to have words with my best mate again.
“Thought that was me,” I joke as we head towards the church.
“You’re my savior, Dillon,” she quietly says. “You’re the only reason I can even get out of bed each day.”
The atmosphere sobers, and pain lances me straight through the heart. I hate this for my sister, and I wish I could make it all go away.
I love you. I think it, but, of course, I can’t say it. “You’re my everything, Ash. I would do anything for you.”
She offers me a watery smile through the mirror. “Same.”
Jamie’s Adam’s apple bobs in his throat as he looks between the two of us. In that moment, he knows it’s been really, really bad. I’ve told Jamie Ash is struggling, but he doesn’t know the details. She wouldn’t want anyone knowing how bad it is.
“What’re you doing?” Jay asks, frowning as Ash sits on the floor in the back, spreading a cloth across the seat in between chugging red wine from a bottle.
“Rubbing red wine into the leather. I can’t have it too visible, or she won’t sit down, but I reckon a fine layer of red wine will still work wonders on her white dress.”
“That’s diabolical.” Jamie chuckles. “I approve. But remind me to never get on your bad side.”
“Or mine.” I side-eye him with intent.
He just rolls his eyes and watches Ash at work.
“They might not leave for the hotel in this car when they see the state of it,” I say.
“Oh, they will.” Ash smears the back seat with the rest of the red wine while I swing the car around in a U-turn. “Mrs. Doyle might be proper religious, but she’s a snob at heart. She won’t have them showing up to a five-star hotel in their old Toyota. She’ll go mad when she sees the car, but she’ll swing into action. She’ll get water from the garage and make the driver clean the egg off.”
“But she won’t know about the red wine or the surprise in the exhaust pipe until it’s too late.” Jay waggles his brows.
“I hate both of them, I truly do, but that won’t kill them or hurt their…” She sucks in a sharp breath, and her lower lip wobbles. “They won’t get poisoned by fumes, Dil, right?” Her worried gaze meets mine in the mirror as I near the church.
I hadn’t actually considered that, and the truth is, I don’t know. It’s a common prank around these parts, and I’ve never heard of anyone getting toxic poisoning. But that slut is pregnant, and the baby is innocent. “The hotel is close by, and the car should break down on the way, so I don’t think it’s a big concern. But I’ll send an anonymous message to the driver telling him there are potatoes in the exhaust pipe to be on the safe side.” I don’t want anyone’s death or illness on my conscience.
“Come on,” Jay says when I kill the engine. “Let’s get the fuck out of Dodge.”
A few cars driving past the church slow down as we get out of the car, but they don’t stop, and they don’t know who we are as we all have our hoods up, our bandanas covering most of our faces, and our heads down as we run off through the housing estate across the road, taking the shortcut at the end of the estate, which leads onto Lott Lane.
I tell the others to go on while I stop to message the driver via the contact form on his wedding car hire website, hoping it sends the message straight to his mobile phone. Then I run to catch up with my sister and best mate, and we cut through some fields, staying well away from the road and entering our farm through a loose fence at the rear of our property. Ash and I used to use it a lot when we were younger to sneak off the farm unnoticed.
We fist pump the air, laughing and hollering as we make our way to the Toxic Gods outbuilding where we burn our bandanas and change our clothes on the off chance any of the wedding party show up here with scowls and accusations.
“I would fucking love to be there when they come out of the church and see their car.” Jamie slaps his knee and grins.
“Or when she gets out of the car at the posh hotel with red wine stains all over the back of her dress.” I chuckle. “I wonder how long it’ll take someone to point it out?”
“Maybe we should sneak into the hotel later and watch the shit go down after the cake is cut.” Jamie howls with laughter at his pun, and it feels good to have done something. Maybe we’re petty assholes for trying to ruin their big day, but the cunts brought it on themselves. They’re the reason I’m trying to hold my heartbroken sister together.
A strangled sob rips through the air, instantly slicing through our amusement.
Jamie and I whip our heads around to the sofa where Ash is sitting. Tears are streaming down her face, and she’s doubled over, hugging herself and shaking.
“Shit, Ash.” I grab my sister onto my lap and fold her into my arms as she breaks down. “It’s okay.”
“It’s really not.” She hiccups over more sobs. “I could forget while we were trashing the car, but he’s still up there in that church saying his vows to her. ”
“It’s gonna be okay, sis.” I smooth a hand down her hair. “It won’t always feel like this.”
I hope.
I mean, what the fuck do I know about how she’s feeling? The only feelings I’ve ever had for a bird are the ones in my dick, and they are fleeting and completely hormone driven. I have no clue what it’s like to be in love or to think you’re in love because, honestly, how much can you be in love at our age?
I carry Ash to the house, tucking her in bed, before I head back to the outbuilding to get ready for band practice.
“I didn’t realize she was still so upset,” Jamie quietly says as we tune up our guitars.
“She’s in bits, mate.” As I tighten my guitar strings it feels like I’m tightening the invisible strings around my heart. When Ash hurts, I hurt. It’s that simple.
“We should have beat him bloody,” he says in a clipped tone.
“I might yet,” I honestly reply.
“Dillon! I need you to get to the house quickly!” Ma’s panicked tone over the phone sends blood rushing to my head. In the background, there is lots of noise and multiple raised voices.
“What’s happened?” I ask, instantly removing my guitar and setting it down. I make a slicing motion across my throat so Jay, Conor, and Aaron know practice is finished for today. We’ve been at it for hours, and it’s late now anyway.
“It’s your sister.” Ma’s voice cracks.
My anxiety spikes instantly. Ash has been super quiet in the three weeks since the wedding, like she’s breaking all over again. “Is she okay?” My heart thuds painfully against my rib cage as I sprint out the door and race down the road towards the farmhouse.
“She won’t stop screaming and throwing things. She won’t listen to any of us,” Ma cries.
“I’m on my way. Tell her I’ll be there in a minute.” I hang up, shove my phone in my pocket, and run harder than I’ve ever run before.
I’m panting by the time I stumble into Ash’s bedroom. She’s stopped throwing things, but her room is destroyed. Books, smashed picture frames, broken jewelry, and spilled perfume bottles litter the floor as I pick my way through the mess to get to my sister. The teddy bear Cillian won for Ash is ripped apart, and fluffy particles are floating in the air. Posters have been torn off the walls, lying in shreds across her bed. Her laptop dangles precariously off one side of her desk, the screen displaying a multitude of spider cracks. Her desk chair is broken, and wooden spindles lie haphazardly under the open window. The net curtain blows softly, offering a glimpse of the moon resting high in the pitch-black sky.
Ash is sitting quietly on her knees in the middle of the devastation, wearing pajamas, just staring straight ahead. Her face is pale, and she looks exhausted. Dropping down beside her, I pull her into my arms. She doesn’t move; she just sits there in a daze with Ma, Da, and Ro standing helplessly in the doorway with concern written all over their faces. “I’ve got her,” I tell them, subtly nodding in Ro’s direction. He’s only fourteen, and he doesn’t need to see this.
Da pulls Ro away, steering him back to bed while Ma hovers reluctantly. “It’s okay, Ma. I’ll take care of her.” I tighten my arms around my sister, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair. Strawberry-blonde strands stick to her cheeks and her brow, but I gently remove them, tucking them behind her ears as Ma softly closes the door, leaving me with my sister.
“What happened?” I ask, sweeping my fingers across her cheek.
She gulps but says nothing.
“Please, Ash. Talk to me.”
Slowly, she turns her head and looks at my face. Her throat is hoarse when she speaks, the words uttered in a monotone voice. “Cillian showed up.” She looks at me as if she’s looking through me. “He said he was sorry, he still loves me, and he only married her because of the baby. He said we can still be together.”
I grind my teeth to the molars and work hard to strangle the potent rage flowing through my veins.
“He said nothing had to change. It didn’t mean we have to be over.” A bitter laugh escapes her mouth, and her eyes blaze angrily. “He said we could still fuck one another behind Kelly’s back, that she didn’t have to know.”
My entire body vibrates with bone-deep fury.
“Then he kissed me.”
I take deep breaths trying to calm down.
Her lips curl into a snarl. “I bit his lip and drew blood. Then I scratched his face and started screaming. I totally lost it. Threw the chair at him as he was escaping through the window.”
As soon as she mentioned his name, I knew the coward had snuck in through her bedroom window. He’d been doing that for years when they were a couple.
She shucks off my embrace and stands on wobbly legs. “I’m tired. I want to go back to bed.”
“Ash.” I climb to my feet and reach for her.
“It’s okay, Dil.” She smiles weakly. “This actually helped. All I was good for was sex. That’s clearly all I meant to him. I never meant to him what he meant to me. I see that now.”
I don’t think that was true, and I’m not sure I believe this has genuinely helped, but now isn’t the time to get into all that. Together, we clean up her room in silence, salvaging what we can and dumping the rest in black sacks. Then I make her tea with honey and lemon, and after she drinks it, I turn off the overhead light and lie on top of the bed with my arm over her while she’s under the covers. I have every intention of sneaking off to find Cillian and reacquaint him with my fists, but I fall asleep beside my sister, and the next thing I know, Ma is shaking us to get ready for school.
Ash refuses to go to school, and Ma doesn’t have the heart to make her after last night. It’s not like she’s been present at school much lately anyway. I’m not so lucky. I offer to stay home with Ash knowing it’s Ma’s day to volunteer at the local nursing home, Da is already at work on the farm, and Ro will be at school. Ma refuses to let me stay home, but I can make that work to my advantage. After getting dressed in my school uniform in record time, I skip breakfast and leave the house early, running across the road from my farm, straight towards Cillian’s house.
Kelly was bragging at school last week that Cillian’s parents renovated the playroom downstairs, turning it into a master bedroom with en suite bathroom for the newlyweds. It’s no wonder her big mouth gets her into so much trouble.
She made this too easy. The window is open, and I climb inside with zero hesitation. The shower is on, and Cillian is the only one in the bed, still fast asleep and oblivious.
But not for long.
Dragging that sad sack of shit out from under the covers, I beat him to a pulp with zero remorse. Red-hot rage is the blood flowing through my veins as I pummel his face and his bare torso, not giving him a chance to retaliate. “You don’t get to disrespect my sister like that after everything you’ve done,” I roar, landing a particularly vicious punch to his gut. At some point, his wife must have emerged from the shower, but I was too busy fucking up her husband to notice. Kelly is screaming and cowering in the corner, wearing only a towel, cradling her stomach like her baby needs protecting from me. As much as I hate her, I would never lay a finger on her or her unborn child.
Mr. and Mrs. Doyle rush into the room a few minutes later. I punch Cillian’s da in the face when he tries to pull me off his son.
“Tell them what you did!” I roar, shoving Cillian up against the wall. His face is awash with blood, but it’s telling he’s not even attempting to fight back. He knows he deserves this. “Tell your pregnant wife how you crept into my sister’s bedroom last night and told her you still loved her.”
Kelly’s screeching reaches new heights as Mrs. Doyle helps her husband to his feet, but I tune her out. Bitch is giving me a headache. “Man the fuck up, Cillian. Tell them how you kissed Ash without her permission and told her you wanted to keep fucking her because you only married Kelly to do right by the baby.” I land another savage punch, and he spits blood out of his mouth. It’s possible he might have broken a tooth or two.
“That’s enough.” Mr. Doyle grabs my arms and yanks me away from his son. Cillian slithers to the floor like the slimy snake he is. “Elizabeth, call the police.”
His wife moves towards the door. “While you’re at it,” I calmly say, “don’t forget to tell them about your son’s breaking and entering and forcing himself on a woman who isn’t his wife. Be sure to mention that. I can just see the headline now in The Wicklow People .” Appearances are the only thing besides God and her precious family that matters to Elizabeth Doyle.
She falters in the doorway, casting a worried glance at her husband.
Mr. Doyle lets me go with a shove. “Leave, Dillon, and don’t come back.”
I turn around and smirk. “Tell your son to stay away from my sister and my house. I won’t come back here as long as he keeps the fuck away from Ash.”
Mrs. Doyle cringes as if cursing in her presence paints a dark stain on her soul.
“He won’t be going anywhere near your slut of a sister,” Kelly hisses, having stopped her screaming and shrieking. I guess she’s Cillian’s mouthpiece now. I doubt her mother-in-law is impressed with her language either.
“Brave words for a skank who got herself knocked up before she’s even finished school,” I sneer. “Or are they stupid words from a bitch so desperate to hold on to a man she had to steal she’d overlook his blatant cheating while she’s carrying his child? I’d put a tracking device on that one, Kelly.” I jab my finger in Cillian’s direction. He’s sitting on the ground with his knees bent and his head cradled in his hands. “You’re going to need it.”
I purposely shove Mr. Doyle’s shoulder as I walk towards the door. Elizabeth plasters her back to the wall like I’m the devil and she doesn’t want to even breathe the same air as me. I can’t help leaning into her face and fixing her with my most menacing stare. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” She slides sideways, ducking away from me, and runs to the safety of her husband’s arms. I laugh as I shove my torn, bloody knuckles in the pockets of my school trousers and saunter off shouting “fuck” repeatedly at the top of my lungs.