Keeping 13 (Boys of Tommen, #2)

by Chloe Walsh

“Good,” I replied, tone clipped, as I tried to catch my breath and process this. “I’m going to need him to take my case when I go down for murder.” “Think he’ll represent me, too?” Gibsie asked. Shrugging, he added, “When you’re embarking on hell, it’s always good to have a buddy.”

“You love his sister, and I love his sister’s best friend,” Gibsie replied, scrubbing Joey down with a sponge. “It’s safe to say that pussy got us into this, Kav.”

“They’d only pump him out in the hospital anyway.” “Exactly,” Gibsie agreed, patting Joey’s cheek. “Consider this your own personal free-range stomach-pumping session—Gibsie style.” “Fuck off, ya creepy bastard,” Joey groaned, shaking from head to toe. “Normally, I would take offense at that,” Gibsie huffed. “But considering we’re in a shower together and your naked ass is pressed to my dick, I’m going to let that comment slide because I, too, find this situation slightly creepy.” “He’s saving your neck,” I growled.

“It’s like a Great Dane and a Chihuahua trying to mate, but they somehow make it work.”

“Back off, buddy,” Claire warned, coming to stand beside me. “I have a weapon—” She pointed over Darren’s shoulder. “He’s right over there and I’m not afraid to call him.”

“Give her a bit of credit,” my brother hissed in a disgusted tone. “She’s not you.”

“I said it’s fine, Gerard,” Claire said flatly. “Pick the film. I don’t care.” “You’re lying,” he accused. “It’s not fine and you’re going to make me suffer.” “Do what you want, Gerard.” “Stop mind-fucking me!” “Fine.” “Don’t say that.” “Fine.” “Fine!” He threw his hands up in the air. “Fucking fine. You win.” Turning to the man sitting behind the counter, he said, “Two tickets for The Wedding Date please, and a container for her to store my balls in.”

“You have issues,” Gibsie accused, sounding horrified. “You have serious fucking issues with taking things that aren’t yours. You’re like a kleptomaniac but with humans!”

“This is Shannon’s baby brother,” I explained as calmly as I could, careful not to spook the small child clinging to my hand. “There’s two more where he came from in your garden,” Gibsie offered up. “Johnny stole them.” “You stole her children?” Mam choked out, paling. “Yep, so you might want to call your husband and see if he’s familiar with child abduction cases,” Gibsie replied for me. “And full disclaimer here: For once, this was not my idea.”

“He likes to eat his hand,” Gibsie offered, like that was important information. “But Johnny reckons it’s okay.” Shrugging, he added, “Don’t know much about kids myself. All I have at home is a cat.”

“And we met that weird guy over there—” He paused to point at Gibsie. “Well, Tadhg says he’s weird. I think so, too, but he’s also kind of nice.” Grinning, he added, “He gave me a fiver.”

“I’m in the same car as you, asshole,” Gibsie growled. “I can clearly hear your conversation. What do you want me to do? Stick my head out the window and bark at the traffic like a dog?”

“Oh yes, you fucking are having a party,” Gibsie countered. “A big one. With cake, cocktail sausages, and a shit ton of tequila.” “Tequila again?” Feely glared at Gibsie. “Really?” “Listen, I’m not going to sit here and apologize for something that happened a million years ago,” Gibsie huffed. “I puked on your dog, Feely. It was a genuine mistake. I’ve done it to Sookie a million times, and you don’t see her giving me the cold shoulder. And I haven’t done it since, so can we please move past it?” “I don’t have a dog. That was my mother you puked on!” Feely snapped, sounding outraged. “And it was last Christmas, not a million years ago, asshole.”

“Jesus Christ, I hope your parents didn’t breed any more of you because you are one septic girl. The world doesn’t need another one of your kind prowling around.”

“I should have been here,” he whispered, trembling. “It’s my job to keep them safe.” “They are safe.” Reaching over, I slung an arm around his shoulders. “And so are you.” “No.” He shook his head and I watched as a tear trickled down his cheek. “It was my job to keep her safe.”

“Flanker?” Tadhg snickered, darting up the ladder once Feely and Hughie had climbed down. “More like wanker.”

“You’re twelve,” he panted, climbing into the tree house. “You’re supposed to be a sweet child, not a little monster.” “If I was sweet, you might try and eat me,” Tadhg shot back. “And you’ve clearly eaten enough.” “For the last time, I am not fat,” Gibsie growled. “I’m big-boned. There’s a huge difference.” “Huge,” Tadhg scoffed, clearly enjoying the banter. “You’ve got that right.”

“Timber—” Bang. “Ah, Jesus Christ!” I roared out, clutching the back of my head as pain ricocheted through my scalp. Glancing around me, I spotted the hammer on the grass and blanched. “What the fuck, Gibs?”

“Gerard, you don’t throw hammers at Johnny,” Mam repeated for the tenth time when we walked back into the kitchen, having just returned from the out-of-hours doctor for a quick stitch-and-go.

“Oh, Lord, save me from the stupidity of teenage boys.”

“Johnny, you don’t smother Gerard with your bloodied T-shirt and trip him up. You know he gets squeamish around bodily fluids.”

“My bloodied T-shirt,” Gibsie corrected, narrowing his eyes at me. “It was my bloodied T-shirt to match my broken chin.” “You didn’t break your chin,” I scoffed. “You grazed it.” His mouth fell open. “I have a gaping hole in my face!” “Yeah.” I glared back at him. “To match the gaping hole in my head!” “I have four stitches,” h...

“See that bold boy, Sean?” I teased, pointing to Gibsie. “We’re going to get him, aren’t we? What do we say when we chase people?” “Oof.” Narrowing his eyes at Gibsie, he lunged forward and barked, “Oof.” “Oh my god!” Clutching his stomach, Gibsie fell off the stool from laughing. “You did not teach the baby to bark!”

Like he had when she was alive, Joey remained right by our mother’s side, staring into the hole in the ground that would be her final resting place. A lone teardrop fell from his cheek, and I watched it as it disappeared into the grave with her.

“I hope you enjoyed your last meal, Gerard,” I snarled, leaping onto my bed stark naked. “Because you’re going to die today.” “You keep that beast away from me!” he choked out, making the sign of the cross with his index fingers. “The power of Christ compels you!”

“Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I need to go and find somewhere to take a shit because I’ve been holding one in since we left Ballylaggin—and I had a curry last night, so you can only imagine the pressure I’m under right now.”

“I’ll call you every day,” I vowed as I stood in the middle of Dublin airport with my flight number being called over the intercom. “And I’ll send you a million texts.” “But it won’t be the same.” “I know, but we’ll make it work,” I promised. “How?” “We’ll figure it out, okay? But I need you to stop crying,” I begged. “Please.” “I can’t help it. My heart is breaking here.” “I’ll be home soon,” I coaxed. “It won’t be forever.” “No—no! Just no. You can’t leave me, Johnny!” “I have to go,” I groaned. “Come on, don’t make this harder than it has to be.” “You promise this isn’t a forever goodbye?” “I promise,” I urged, patting his back. “Now, come on, Gibs. You’re cutting off my air supply here.”

“But don’t forget that you’ll always be my 13.” She sniffled and wiped my cheek with her fingers. “My binding 13.”

“Now, I’m keeping 13,” she told me. “So come home to me when you’re done, okay?”

“You don’t call girls fat, Ol,” Tadhg groaned. “Remember what Joey told us? They’re always skinny—even when they’re whales.”