Whatever way he wanted to handle it was fine by me. It wasn’t like I had a leg to stand on.
I’d fucked his daughter’s life up.
If the baby Molloy was growing turned out to be a girl, and she fell in with a scumbag like me, I would take leave of my senses just like Tony.
It was a little after five in the evening when he finally breached the stand-off by slamming a mug of coffee down on the trolley next to me. Not daring to say anything to piss him off further, I raised the mug to my lips only to halt in my tracks and eye the rim warily.
“Relax, I didn’t poison ya,” he grumbled, taking a sip from his own mug and then swapping it with mine to prove it. “Can’t be leaving my grandchild without a father.”
He was saying the words, but the look on his face assured me that he had thought about it.
“Thanks,” I muttered before taking a sip.
“What happened to your face?”
“Walked into a door.”
He shook his head but didn’t push, choosing to take another sip of his coffee instead.
Thankful for his small act of mercy, I swallowed down another mouthful of coffee. “So, are we going to do this?”
“You want to do this now?”
“No time like the present.”
“Fine,” he said, giving me a hard look.
“Fine,” I replied, giving him the respect that he deserved by keeping eye contact with him, while my conscience screamed it’s showtime. Get ready for the pain.
“You let me down, Joey.”
Christ, hearing him say it out loud hurt worse than I thought it would. “I know, Tony.”
“But worse than that, you let my daughter down.”
“Yeah.” Jaw ticking, I nodded stiffly. “I know that, too.”
“What are you going to do about this mess?”
“I’m going to step up.”
“Step up.”
I nodded stiffly. “Do whatever Aoife wants me to do.”
“What about what Trish and I want you to do?”
“That too.” I shrugged. “As long as it aligns with what your daughter wants.”
“You’re going to stick by her?”
“I am.”
“Are you going to marry her?”
“If that’s what she wants.”
“What do you want?”
“Her.”
He stared hard at me for a long moment before blowing out a frustrated breath. “Goddammit, Joey, this would be so much easier if I didn’t like you.”
Yeah, I know.
“She might be having your baby, but she’s still my baby,” he snapped. “She will always be my baby. I would die for her. I would kill for her. I know you’re a good lad, but I’m telling you now, man to man, if you ever consider laying so much as a finger on my daughter or that child—”
“You wouldn’t have to kill me, Tony,” I cut him off and said. “I’d do it myself.”
“I’m not saying that I think you would, but you know why I have to say this to you, don’t ya? I have time for ya, boyo, you know that, and I know you love her, but the home you come from, and the man you were raised by…” His words broke off and he dragged in a sharp breath before leveling me with a warning look. “Do we understand each other?”
Sick to my stomach, and feeling like I’d taken a knife to the back, I forced myself to swallow down the bitter taste of betrayal and nod stiffly. “Yeah, Tony, we understand each other.”
“I’m not saying that I think you’d do it,” he offered. “But you’re—”
“I’m my father’s son,” I filled in flatly. “I get it.”
“Well?” Molloy demanded down the line as I walked home from work that evening. “How did it go? Was he horrible? Are you okay? Did he hit you? Tell me that he didn’t hit you—”
“Molloy, take a breath. I’m grand,” I cut her off by saying before she could launch a full-blown interrogation. “I’m almost home. I’m going to grab a shower and check on the kids, and I’ll swing by your place afterwards.”
“So, you’re really okay?”
Not even close. “Yeah, Molloy, it’s all good.”
“What did he say?”
“He asked me if I planned on marrying you.”
“Oh my god,” she groaned dramatically. “What did you say?”
“I told him that we already got married in secret, and that you got my name tattooed on your ass instead of a wedding ring.”
“You did not say that to my dad.”
“No, I didn’t,” I chuckled. “How are you feeling?”
“The same as I was when you last asked,” she mused. “Chill, Joe, I’m still me.”
Thank fuck for that.
“Well, I’m literally down the street from your house,” she added. “I have the car, so just call me when you’re ready and I’ll come get you.”
“You at Casey’s flat?”
“Yep. I’m putting highlights in her hair. I had to get out of my house or I was going to stab my brother with a spoon.”
“If you’re going to stab him, use something sharper.”
“Like a knife?”
“Maybe just a fork. We don’t need you having that kid in prison.”
She laughed down the line. “I’d look hot in stripes.”
“You definitely would,” I agreed. “Listen, hang up, and I’ll call you later.”
“Love you.”
“Love you back.”
Ending the call, I slid my phone into my pocket only to retrieve it once more when it started ringing.
Not bothering to read the display screen, I clicked accept and put the phone to my ear. “No, Molloy, stripes don’t make you look fat, and no, you haven’t put on weight, either, and yes, even if you do put on weight, I’ll still want you just as much as I want you now—”
“Joey, come home. Come home quick!” Ollie screamed down the line. “Please, come home. Daddy’s going to kill her!”
“Who, Ollie?” I demanded, as my legs broke into a run in the direction of my house. “Is it Mam?” My heart jackknifed in my chest. “Is he hurting Mam?”
“Shannon!” Ollie screamed down the line. “He’s killing Shannon!”
HIM OR US 2.0
JOEY
Running faster than I ever had in my entire life, I sprinted the rest of the way home, with my heart gunning in my chest, and my mind freewheeling into overdrive.
It’s okay.
It won’t be that bad.
Just breathe.
I could see Ollie at the front door when I rounded the garden, waving wildly at me to hurry.
I knew he was screaming and tears were spilling down his cheeks, but I couldn’t make out a word of it.
The only sound in my head was the thundering roar of my pulse in my ears, as I staggered through the front door and followed a trail of blood into the kitchen.
It took me a moment for my brain to absorb what my eyes were seeing.
Blood smeared on the kitchen tiles.
Shannon limp of the floor.
Tadhg covering her body with his.
Blood on his face.
Mam standing in the kitchen screaming.