“Oh my god, you are such a snob,” I screamed, throwing my hands up.
“Why?” Kev demanded. “Because I’m a realist? Because I’m stating facts? Because I’m pissed that my sister has thrown her future away for an asshole from Elk’s Terrace, with no decent prospects?”
“Because you’re ungrateful,” Mam interjected, looking beyond hurt. “All of those fancy computer games lining the shelves in your bedroom were paid for with oil-stained hands. Every stitch of clothes on your body, and every morsel of food you’ve put in your mouth since the day you were born came from those same hands. Your father’s hands. Your father the mechanic, who has spent most of his life busting his bollocks to give his children a better life than the one he had.”
“Which is exactly why you should be praising me for appreciating the sacrifices that you and Dad have made for us, and berating her for throwing them back in your face.”
“How have I thrown anything back in their faces?”
“By being thick enough to let that scumbag drug-addict between your legs,” Kev snarled. “You do realize that the father of your grandchild is a fucking junkie, don’t ya, Mam?”
“Shut the hell up, Kevin,” I hissed, lunging for him once more.
“Stop,” Mam warned, separating us again. “Calm down, Aoife. This isn’t good for you.”
“He isn’t good for her.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!”
“Look at you,” my brother roared. “Look at the state of you. Picking fights in your condition. You know why, don’t you? It’s because he’s after rubbing off on you. You had everything going for you, and you threw it away.” He shook his head in disgust. “For him.”
“What’s going on in here?” Dad asked then, strolling into the kitchen, lunchbox in hand – and yes, his hands were stained with engine oil. He looked from me to Kev, and his brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you all shouting about?” He looked to Mam. “It’s lunchtime, Trish. Why are the twins not at school?”
“Nothing,” Mam was quick to interject, moving to our father. “It’s nothing, Tony.”
“Enjoy becoming his mother, Aoife,” Kev continued, ignoring our parents, as he glowered at me. “Because the entire town knows what kind of a doormat she is. You should take some tips from her sometime, because that’s all you’ll amount to now.”
“Shut up, Kevin,” Mam hissed. “Not another goddamn word.”
“Mother?” Dad blinked in confusion. “Whose mother?”
“This is your fault,” Kev snapped, turning his accusing glare on our father. “You brought him into our lives.”
“Please, Mam,” I groaned, dropping my head in my hands, while Mam tried and failed to silence my furious brother. “Just make him stop talking.”
“Who?” Dad demanded, looking wholly confused. “What are you talking about?”
“Aoife’s pregnant!” Kev roared, jabbing a finger in my direction, and with those words, he blew my world to smithereens. Again. “Off that piece of shit that you’re so hellbent on seeing the best of.”
My father reeled back like the words my brother spoke had physically struck him.
“Kevin,” Mam strangled out and then quickly placed her hands on my father’s chest. “Tony, breathe. It’s alright, love, just take a breath.”
“Yeah, golden boy doesn’t seem so perfect now, does he?” Kev taunted, looking angrier than I’d ever seen. “Not when he’s knocked up your daughter, huh, Dad?”
“What are you…？” My father’s panicked eyes flicked to me. “Aoife?”
“Dad, I didn’t mean… I’m so sorry,” I sobbed, hands hanging limply at my sides. I looked at my brother and shook my head. “I hate you.”
“I tried to tell you about him,” Kev continued to shout, aiming his pain at our father now. “But you wouldn’t be told. I warned you about what kind of person he was, but you insisted on hiring him – on treating him like the son you always wanted but never got with me!”
“Kevin.”
“Well, congrats, Dad,” Kev croaked out, voice breaking. “You finally got your wish. You’ll have a grandchild off him soon enough that will cement him deeper into the family. You’ll finally have the son you always wanted.”
Unable to handle another second of watching my world fall around me, I bolted from the kitchen, ignoring my mother’s pleading and father’s shouting, as I made a beeline for the front door, desperate to escape.
“Aoife,” Kev called out, hurrying after me. “Wait up.“
“Don’t touch me,” I spat, yanking my arm free from his hold, and I glared up at him. “And don’t ever speak to me again.”
“I didn’t…” my brother began to say, but then jutted his chin out defiantly and hissed, “He had to know.”
“It wasn’t your place to tell him,” I countered shakily, feeling the ultimate form of betrayal at the hands of the person who’d shared a womb with me. “It wasn’t your place to tell anyone. It was mine, and you took that choice away from me.”
Regret flickered in his eyes.
“You’re so jealous of Joey’s relationship with Dad that you threw your own twin under the bus to get one up on him.”
“Aoife.”
“You literally destroyed my entire world, Kevin.” I shook my head, not bothering to wipe the tears from my cheeks. Fresh ones would just take their place. “Why?”
“I didn’t…” He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Look, at least it’s out in the open now. If anything, I did you a favor.”
“You told my father before I could,” I choked out, chest heaving. “You told Paul who told my baby’s father before I could.”
Confusion filled his eyes. “Joey didn’t know?”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t know that.” Sighing heavily, he reached for my hand. “Shit, Aoif, I didn’t—”
“No.” I held a hand up and warned him off. “Stay back.”
“Aoife.”
“I mean it,” I snapped. “I’m ashamed to call you my brother.”
“And you think I’m proud to call you my sister?” he shouted back, cheeks reddening. “Proud to have a slut in the family? You’re the embarrassment here, Aoife. You’re the one bringing down the tone. You’re the screw-up, not me,” he tossed out defensively. “It’s not my fault that you didn’t tell the guy. He’s the first one you should’ve told.”
“Not your fault?” I gaped at him. “This is all your fault. You might have the brains when it comes to school, but you’re a cruel, spoilt, jealous bastard, without a shred of heart, and I will never forgive you for this. Do you hear me, Kevin? I will never forgive you!”
“Fine,” he shot back defensively, tone thick with emotion. “See if I care.”