Saving 6 (Boys of Tommen #3)

by Chloe Walsh

“I’m not afraid of loving a boy,” I told her honestly. “I’m afraid of losing myself in one.” “I hate to tell you this, but more often than not, the two go hand in hand.” “I know.” That’s what scares me.

“Do you even want to play?” My question seemed to throw him because his furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why would you even ask that?” “Because you never look happy on the pitch,” I replied, readjusting my hold on my towel. Looking up at his face, I offered him a sad smile. “You never look happy anywhere.” “And you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?” he was quick to counter, immediately on the defense, as his walls shot up around him. “Watching everything I do like a fucking stalker.” “Lower the gun, Joe.” Knowing every one of his tricks, I kept my tone even when I said, “I’m not the enemy.” Joey glowered at me for a long moment before the hostility in his eyes eventually gave way to resignation. “I know.” Blinking, he released a harsh breath and shook his head. “I know, Molloy.” “I know you do,” I replied, reaching up to rub the prickly fucker’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I forgive you.” Heat blazed in his dark eyes when he snapped, “I’m not sorry.” Yes, he was. “I know.” Reaching up, I ruffled his blond hair and grinned. “I still forgive you.”

“You’re not coming with me.” “Oh, yes I am.” Joey stared at me in horror, walls shooting back up at a rapid rate. “In what alternative universe did I give you the impression that I would want you to come with me?” “How about the universe where you quit pretending that my mere presence irritates you and admit that you adore the ground I walk on.” His mouth fell open. “I do not.” “You do, too.” Smiling up at him, I patted his shoulder. “Friend.” “I’m not your—“ “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence.” Swiftly clamping his mouth shut, he swallowed. He stared at me for the longest time before growling, “You have five minutes and then I’m leaving.”

Grinning in victory, I patted his chest before stepping aside and moving for the shower. “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes.” “Ten,” he bit out, swinging the bathroom door open. “Or I’m leaving without you.” “Twenty,” I called over my shoulder as I dropped my towel and climbed into the shower. “You can wait in my room.” The bathroom door slammed behind him, and then I heard him say, “Fifteen and that’s final.” “Twenty,” I crooned, thoroughly enjoying his agitation. “You’re a pain in my hole.” I laughed.

My annoyance didn’t stem from the fact that Molloy had, once again, inserted herself into my life by tagging along to the pitch with me. Nor did it come from the play-by-play she had given me on the walk over of the day trip that she had taken with Casey earlier this summer, to the Aqua Dome in Tralee. Yeah, apparently, Molloy deemed me to be a good enough friend of hers to subject me to a detailed account of her misadventure with a rogue tampon string.

His girlfriend was a mischievous, self-assured, free-spirited, good-time girl, with a pure heart and a penchant for trouble. Her easy-going, playful nature meant that she didn’t take a lot of his jibes to heart, but I did. I fucking took them to heart for her.

“Stay out of trouble out there, okay?” I nodded slowly. “I’ll try my best.” “Make sure you do,” she laughed. “Because I’ve put an awful lot of effort into saving you, six.” A confused laugh escaped me. “What does that mean?” Molloy winked. “It means what it means, my friend.

“What are you—” Ricey began to warn, but was quickly silenced by the fist I implanted in his jaw. Staggering backwards, he cupped his jaw and tried to steady himself. “What the hell is your problem?” “You,” I roared, chest heaving. “You putting your hands on her like that.”

I know you care about him, Aoif. I get that, okay? But boys like that can’t be fixed. Not with friendship, or love, or anything else, because they are just not fixable.” “I can’t walk away from him,” I admitted, voice torn. “I don’t know why, but I just can’t do it.”

I’m trapped, I thought to myself, feeling my resolve seep back into my veins at a rapid pace, I’m all alone. I felt snared, fucking cornered. Surrounded by liars and cheats, I couldn’t turn my back for a goddamn second. Exhausted from fighting a war I would never win, and cut open from betrayal, I struggled to rein in my tumultuous thoughts. Nothing made sense anymore. It felt like everyone was out to get me. I couldn’t trust a goddamn soul, that was for sure. Help wasn’t available for people like us, with families like ours. We were fucked, royally screwed, and I was too broken to keep these kids alive any longer. Not when I wanted to die.

The minute he said her name, I found myself searching the room for her familiar blonde hair, only to discover that she was already staring at me. With my brow cocked, I stared back at her, and mouthed the word stalker. Proving, once again, that she was unlike any other girl in our year, who would blush and look away under scrutiny, Molloy arched a brow right back at me and mouthed fuck up. I winked. Nice legs Grinning, she scratched her nose in with her middle finger. Asshole. Biting back the urge to laugh, I shook my head and turned away, knowing all too well how distracting she could be.

“Wait.“ Stopping him from disappearing under the car by pressing my foot to his stomach, I wheeled him back out, unwilling to let him win this particular round of banter. “So, you like the color yellow?” “It recently became my favorite.” “Is that so?” “That’s so, Molloy.” “My favorite color is yellow, too.” “It’s a good color on you.” “I look even better when I take it off.” Feeling mischievous, I purred, “You’re so sure of us being incompatible, but I wonder if that might change if I sat on your lap? Hm? Do you think we’d find common ground there, Joe?” “Why don’t you take a seat, and we’ll find out.” “Wh-what?” Thrown off kilter by his flirtatious attack, I frowned at him. “What are you doing?” “What are you doing?” “You’re flirting with me.” “You’re flirting with me.” “So?” I huffed. “I always flirt with you.”

“Joey,” she called out when I was standing at the garden wall. Wrapping her dressing gown tightly around herself, Mam hurried towards me. Frozen to spot, I didn’t move a muscle when she reached up and pressed her small hand to my cheek. Blue eyes watering with unshed tears, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Be safe.” “Yeah,” I replied gruffly, clearing my throat, as guilt filled me for the sins that we both knew I would commit tonight. “I will, Mam.”

“Hey.” Joey held his hands up and smiled darkly. “All I’m doing is being a good friend to my favorite friend.” “She’s not your anything.” “Uh, yes, I am.” “Hear that, Ricey?” Joey replied, with a shit-eating grin etched on his face. “Your girl here is my anything.” “Hey,” I snapped, glaring up at Joey. “Not cool.” He shrugged in response, unapologetic.

“Oh, so you have friends?” I rolled my eyes. “I thought you were opposed to the idea.” With an amused expression etched on his sickeningly good-looking face, Joey strolled over to where I was sitting. “Ah, that’s not entirely true.” Winking, he reached into my bag and swiped a chip. “I’m only opposed to you, Molloy.” That small act of theft caused an unreasonable surge of violence to grow inside of me. “Oh, look at me,” I heard myself grumble as I made a terrible attempt to mimic his voice. “I’m Joey Lynch. I’m so hard, I’m so tough. I’m not friends with girls, even though I like to steal their chips and pick fights with their boyfriends.” Frowning, I held up a hand and swiftly corrected myself. “Ex. That’s right. He’s my ex-boyfriend, because he sure as hell isn’t my current one. Dick.”

“Will I keep going?” I nodded. “Yes.” “Second difference,” he said. “I’m not your boyfriend, Molloy. I’m not supposed to care about you, remember?” “No, you’re not supposed to,” I agreed with a shiver, as he pinned me to the bonnet of the car. Excitement thrummed to life inside of me. “But you still do.” Heat flashed in his eyes, but he made no move to deny it.

“Wait – no, Joey, don’t go with him!” I strangled out in horror, catching ahold of his hand when he straightened up and took a step back. “Please don’t go anywhere with him,” I urged, scrambling to my feet, as I entwined our fingers and squeezed. “Stay here with me instead.” “Listen, Molloy; about us,” he began to say, and then paused, like he was thinking carefully about what words needed to come next. His entire focus was on our joined hands, as his thumb gently brushed over my knuckles. “About us?” I croaked out, shivering from the feel of his thumb tracing my skin. “You’re my friend,” he finally settled on. “You’re finally admitting it without needing to be coerced?” Nodding, he forced a small, humorless laugh. “Only took a few years, right?” “Only a couple.”

“I like you.” “Wow,” I breathed. “Another admission.” “The hardest one yet.” “I bet.” “I know what you want us to be,” he added, tone gruff. “But that can’t happen.” “Joe—” “No, listen to me,” he urged, giving my hand a small squeeze. “I can be your friend, okay? I can do that. But you need to know that I’ve got some bad genes running through my system. Some seriously fucked up DNA.” “Nobody’s perfect, Joe.” “It’s not about being perfect, Molloy.” Releasing my hand, I watched as he crouched down and retrieved my heel from the mud. “It’s about being dangerous,” he added, wiping it clean with the side of his jeans before slipping it back on my foot. “And that’s what I am, okay? I’m a bad bet.” “No, you’re not.”

“Nice shoes,” he said in a soft voice, tapping my foot. “You were right, they were worth hounding your father for.” “See?” I forced a smile when I felt like crying. “Told you.” “I’m not a good friend for you,” he added quietly, still crouching, with his hand on my foot. “I wouldn’t even know where to start.” “You’re better at it than you think.” “I need my job, Molloy.” And there it was. Finally. “So, you’re finally admitting it?” I heard myself whisper. “You blew me off because of my dad?” “And because you can do better than me.” Releasing my foot, he slowly stood up. “But you can do better than him, too.”

“Listen, we can just chat,” I hurried to say. “Hang out, whatever. As friends. Friends is fine. Just please don’t go with him, Joey.” Please don’t let him sink his claws into you. Releasing a pained breath, he leaned in close and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I could go a fair bit crazy over you, Molloy.” His lips brushed against my brow as he said, “Stay out of my head now, ya hear?”

"Stop crying, Mam." Dragging myself into a sitting position, I attempted to pull at my seat belt before giving up entirely and letting her do it for me instead. “I’ll, ah, it’s all grand…” "You're breaking my heart.” Her voice cracked. "You're killing yourself."

“I’m sorry, Joe, did I push a button? I was just looking for a way to mute you.” His brows shot up and he choked out a laugh. “Shit, that was a good one.” “I know.” A reluctant smile spread across my face. “I was saving it up all day.” “For me?” “Can you name another person I would rather mute?” Another laugh. “Jesus, you’re on fire.” “And you’re on my last nerve.”

He was withholding. I knew he was. “I never thought you’d lie to my face, Joe,” I muttered, feeling thoroughly disappointed in him. “It hurts worse than I thought.” “I didn’t lie,” he was quick to reply, tone hard. “You asked me if I heard anything about Ricey messing around with some girl from Tommen, and I haven’t heard anything about some girl from Tommen.”

“Are you okay?” Joey whispered from beside me. “No,” I snapped, feeling hurt, betrayed, and a million other emotions. “My boyfriend is a lying whore and my best friend’s an even bigger one!” “You shouldn’t call Casey a whore, Molloy.” “I was referring to you, asshole.”

Feeling vengeful, I held my hand up and waited for the teacher to notice me. “Yes, Aoife?” “Joey called me fat.” Sniffling, I batted another tear away. “I’m really upset about it. Can I please be excused?” His mouth fell open. “You bitch.” Fuck you, I mouthed back at him. “Joey!” Ms. Falvey snapped, looking horrified. “Yes, Aoife, go on outside and get some air.”

“Here.” He dropped my school bag at my feet. “You left your bag.” “Thanks.” “I cleared the stash of chocolate in your pencil case.” I sucked in a horrified breath. “You asshole.” “Yeah, well, I’m not sorry,” Joey shot back with a shrug. “You deserved it for pulling that stunt on me.” Releasing a frustrated growl, he added, “But I am sorry for not telling you about prick-face sooner.” Anger dissipated, and feeling sheepish, I leaned in close and nudged his shoulder with mine. “And I’m sorry for telling Ms. Falvey that you called me fat.” “And?” Joey pushed. “And for you getting the red book back.” “And? I blew out an aggravated breath and muttered, “And for threatening to drown you.” “Hm,” Joey grumbled, nudging my shoulder back. “If it was anyone else, Molloy. If it was anyone else.” “But it’s me.” “It’s you,” he confirmed. “Pain in my hole.”

I couldn’t look at her when she was with him. I couldn’t fucking bear it. Seeing her with him made me want to bleach my eyeballs. It made me fucking ache.

“Who said I was turning my back on you?” I demanded. “Because I sure as hell didn’t.” “You hate me.” “No.” “You’re mad at me.” “Yes.” “You want to scream at me.” “Because I—“ Stopping short before I blew a head gasket, I released a furious growl and tried to regain some control before speaking again. “I’m not turning my back on you, Molloy.” “Prove it.” “How?” “Give me a hug.” “Molloy.” “Hug me, Joe.” Exhaling heavily, I hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to my chest, knowing that there wasn’t any point in fighting this girl when she set her mind to something. What she wanted, she got. “Don’t hate me for trying to move on,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my waist, and burying her face in my chest. “I’m doing what I have to move past this.” A shaky breath escaped her. “Same as you.” “Yeah, Molloy.” Feeling my anger dissolve, I sighed heavily and dropped my chin to rest on her blonde hair. “I know.”

“Nice aim, Joey,” Danielle laughed, holding onto his shoulders for balance, as he crouched in front of her and cleaned her fucking leg. “Nice legs.” Oh no he did not! He did. He fucking did! I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw up. The jealousy that rose up inside of me was so intense that I could physically feel my body temperature rising. As a matter of fact, if someone was to take my temperature right that second, it wouldn’t have surprised me to discover that I was spiking a fever. Keep the head, I mentally instructed myself. Do not pick up this pot of Chili and throw it at them. Don’t do it, Aoife. You are too much of a princess for prison. Think of your nails. Just keep stirring.

The minute the green slime plopped onto Joey’s head; his entire frame stiffened. “You’re fucking dead,” he growled, slowly turning around as green slime dripped down his hair, face, and shoulders. “Bring it on, bitch,” I growled, tapping the bottom of the bottle to make sure that every ounce of liquid drained out. “Aoife!” Mrs. Adams screeched. “What in the name of—“ “Put me down!” I screamed, hands and legs flailing wildly, when Joey threw me over his shoulder, and turned back to the sink. “Don’t you dare – ahhhh!”

“Yeah, I thought that might work –” Losing his balance on the floor that had become a glorified ice rink, Joey collapsed in a heap on the ground, taking me with him. There were only three options available to me in this moment; laugh, cry, or keep fighting. I chose the first one, and surprisingly, so did my partner in crime. “Fuck,” he choked out a laugh from beneath me. “That was…” “Stupid.” Lifting up on elbows, I grinned down at him. “I won.” “No, I won.” “Who came out on top?” “You, Molloy.” Shaking his head, he stared up at my face and released an amused sigh. “Always you.”

Stinking of chili and cheap washing up liquid, I leaned in close and took a whiff of her, unsure which one of us smelled worse. “It’s you,” Molloy bit out, reading my mind. “No, it’s definitely you.”

We were having a laugh together, and then she just flipped. The defiant side of my personality demanded that I pay no heed to her bullshit. She’s not your problem. That feeding into her drama would only lead to more. The only problem with ignoring her was that I didn’t want to. After spending an innate amount of time trying to push her away, having her actually go did not feel good. Not good at all.

“Do you want to tell me what I did?” I asked, twisting in my seat to face her. “I clearly did something to piss you off.” “No.” Sighing in resignation, she dropped her head in her hands and groaned. “It’s fine. I’m just... It’s fine. I need to get a grip.” “What’s wrong?” “It’s stupid.” “Tell me.” “You’ll think I’m crazy.” “I already think you’re crazy, Molloy.” “Well, crazier than normal then.” “Try me.” “No.” “Molloy.” Reaching across the desk, I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face me. “Try me.” Her big green eyes locked on mine, and I fucking hated the lonesome look in them. “Joe.”

“That’s fine, Joe, we’re not together. We’re nothing,” she choked out. “So why don’t you go right ahead and fuck Danielle, with her nice legs and shop-bought bottle blonde hair!” “What gave you the impression that I haven’t fucked her?” Molloy’s sharp intake of breath assured me that I had gone too far. “Listen, I didn’t mean to,” I began to say, but she didn’t stick around to listen. Instead, she pushed her chair back and stood up, walking silently from the room. The fact that she didn’t even slam the classroom door behind her let me know that I had, indeed, fucked up in a colossal way. Dropping my head on my desk, I clutched the back of my neck and groaned. “Fuck.”

I made it to the carpark before I broke down. Releasing a pained cry, I slumped down on the concrete footpath and dropped my head in my hands, crying hard and ugly. I hated him. I wanted to hate him so much. I needed to hate him. You need to stop loving him first…

His voice was muffled, and his lips brushed against the piece of fabric that concealed my pebbled nipple, when he groaned, “I miss you.” My heart thudded violently in my chest. “I miss you, too.” “I’m sorry,” he whispered, nuzzling the outline of my nipple with his nose. “For feeding her your line.” “It’s okay.” Knotting my fingers in his hair, I cradled his head against my chest and released a shaky breath. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

With school, work, hurling, and Ollie and Tadhg to look after, I didn’t object when Shannon took on the role of caring for Sean. Because the truth was, I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to love another one.

“He’s an asshole, but he knows his way around the kitchen.” “So, this home economics partner,” Joey said, following me over to the table. “Is he your friend?” My heart flipped in my chest. “He was.” “Was?” Nodding, I sank down on my chair and took a bite or toast. “He used to be my best friend.” “What changed?” “We had a fight.” “Is that right?” “Uh-huh. He broke my heart.” Pain flicked in Joey’s eyes. “Molloy.” “Joke.” Relief flooded his features when he swallowed my lie. “Well, I hear this partner of yours feels shit about the fight the two of you had.” “Does he now?” “Yeah.” Joey nodded. “He misses his friend.”

“It’s me.” Scooping his frail hand up, I gently squeezed. “It’s Joey.” "Your birthday is on Christmas Day,” he whispered, breathing labored. "A holy day." “Yeah,” I agreed. “That’s me.” Winking down at him, I said, “You have the right grandson.” “My favorite grandson,” he wheezed, and then gave me a tiny smile. “My Joseph.” “Ah now, don’t let the rest of them hear ya say that,” I said with a smile, as tears burned the back of my eyes. “Tadhg would be well pissed off.”

"Loyal, kind, forgiving, fearless, nurturer, protector." He smiled up at me. "Joseph acted… He took on a role…. He was the father of the lost." I frowned, confused. “Granda, it's me. Joey.” "I named you Joseph," he croaked out, swallowing hard now. “Did you know that?” “No.” I shook my head. “I didn’t know. How’d that come around?” "Your father wanted to name you Theodor after him,” he strangled out, breathing labored. “He said you were going to be just like him…” he paused to cough wheezily. "But you were no Teddy. You were Joseph." He coughed again. "So, I bribed him with a tenner for the pub, and called you what I wanted you to be called." He smiled up at me. "My Joseph. My brave, brave boy. Terrible burdens. A cursed cross to carry. But always rising from the ashes. Always getting back up. Always the… protector.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Joey said, and then he flicked his surprised green eyes on me. “Molloy.” “Joey.” “You came.” “I did.” He stared hard at me for the longest moment before blowing out a ragged breath, and muttering the word, “Thanks.” “Of course.” Sliding my hand into his, I squeezed and leaned in on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Joe.” Nodding stiffly, he squeezed my hand back and then leaned away, gaze flicking to where my father was, clearly checking to see if he was watching us. “Well, bye,” I whispered, moving along the queue, when all I wanted to do was stay right there in front of him. “I’ll be seeing ya, Molloy,” he replied, with a small wink that was just for me. “Yeah.” My heart hammered in response, and I quickly turned on my heels, and walked straight back, not stopping until I had my arms wrapped around his waist, and my face buried in his neck. “You will.” Joey was rigid for a long moment before his arms came around my body and his pulled me tightly against him. Gripping the back of his shirt, I released a shaky breath and kissed his cheek once more before forcing myself to leave.

“But he put his hands on you.” Joey’s eyes bulged. “I fucking saw.“ “I was messing with her,” Kev choked out. “I wouldn’t really hurt my sister like that, you thick bastard.” “Shut up, Kev,” I hissed, shoving him out of way, before turning my attention back to my classmate. “Joey…, shh, shh, Joe, look at me.” Reaching up, I cupped his face between my hands. “Look at me.” Reluctantly, he did, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight. His eyes were wild and feral looking. He was visibly shaking with barely restrained anger, as he clenched his fists to the point where his knuckles had turned white. “He. Hurt. You.” “No, he didn’t.” “I saw him.” “I’m okay,” I heard myself sooth, thumbs smoothing over his stubbly jaw. “And you’re okay. It’s okay. Everyone’s okay.”

“Why’d you do that, Joe?” I croaked out, standing in front of him. I was physically shaking from head to toe as my earlier adrenalin deserted me. "Because he hurt you," he replied, looking up at me with the most lonesome expression I’d ever seen. In this moment, Joey Lynch looked like the quintessential lost boy. “Because he put his hands on you." "But he’s my brother, Joe,” I heard myself explain softly. We were only messing. It was play fighting.” Joey looked up at me like I was speaking a foreign language, and the rare vulnerability caused me to do something incredibly reckless. “I don’t…” He blew out a sharp breath. “I fucked up.”

I reached out and ruffled his blond hair, and then, unable to stop myself, I cupped his face between both hands, and I looked down at him. “Picking fights with my brother, of all people,” I admonished softly, thumbs grazing over his cheekbones. “Spud packs a bigger punch with his tail.” “I thought he was…” Shaking his head, Joey let his head fall forward to rest against my stomach. “I just saw you on the ground and he was… and I just…” The move was incredibly intimate, and I sucked in a sharp breath from the contact. “Fuck.” “I’m okay,” I coaxed, unable or just plain unwilling to stand back and not comfort him. With trembling hands, I held his face to my stomach, and whispered, “You’re okay.” He didn’t respond, but he didn’t pull away either, so I remained right there in my bedroom, with his cheek pressed to my belly and my hands stroking his hair. Finally, after what felt like an age, I felt the tension slowly leave his shoulders, and then his arms came around my waist. “He hurt you,” he croaked out. “You don’t hit girls.”

“So, are you going to ask me, or are we going to stand out here all night?” My heart flipped in my chest. “Ask you what?” “To walk you home.” “Okay.” I blew out a shaky breath. “Walk me home, Joey Lynch.” “That’s telling,” he teased, leaning against the door, as he smiled down at me, green eyes dark and full of heat. “You need to ask nicely.” My god, it was something else when that boy smiled. He was just so beautiful. “I have a better idea,” I heard myself say, and then I did something incredibly fucking reckless. Reaching into my coat pocket, I withdrew the set of car keys and jingled them in front of his face. “How about you drive me, instead?” Even though he was the master of concealing his emotions, Joey couldn’t mask the excitement that flashed in his eyes. “I won’t be seventeen for two more days. I only have a tractor license until then.”

Because the truth of the matter was that I enjoyed her company. I enjoyed being with her, be it arguing or messing around, flirting or fucking around town in the car her daddy bought for her. I felt genuine affection towards the girl, which was abhorrently abnormal on my behalf. But I did. She could piss me off more than most, and she drove me demented at times, but there was no one else I would prefer to break the law with.

You see, Kevin might be the twin that held the lion’s share of academic intelligence, but I was the one that could talk the ass off a donkey. For real. I had been blessed with the ability to make a conversation out of nothing, which was how I had somehow managed to keep this wildly unattainable boy’s interest piqued for most of the night.

“Bullshit. Comfortable isn’t as good as it gets,” Joey challenged, narrowing his eyes. “You shouldn’t settle for comfortable, Molloy. You shouldn’t settle for anything less than being in love to the point of madness. The only person that you should be settling for is the person who unsettles you the most. The person who drives you to brink of suicide because he or she makes you feel so fucking much that you can’t catch your breath or remotely function without them. And what’s more is you won’t want to. You won’t want to breathe, or feel, or fucking function without them. That’s how you’ll know that it’s a real relationship, Molloy. Only when you’re feeling the most discomfort you’ve ever felt in your entire life, should you even consider settling. Because that’s when you’ll know you’re in love, which, sounds to me, like a hell of a lot nicer way to live than settling for someone you have nothing in common with because it’s comfortable.” Whoa.

That’s me, okay? That’s who I am. I can’t afford to care, Molloy.” “Well, that sucks because I do,” I tossed back, feeling hurt, and flustered, and a million other emotions in this moment. “I care about you, Joey, and I always have.” It had never been my brightest idea. Too bad I was headstrong and incessantly reckless with my heart. Too bad I was determined to care about him regardless. “Don’t fucking say it out loud,” Joey groaned, dropping his head in his hands. “Christ Molloy, why do you always have to go too far? Why can’t you just keep that shit to yourself, please!”