Redeeming 6 (Boys of Tommen, #4)

by Chloe Walsh

“Maybe I do it badly,” I choked out, as my heart splintered apart. “But I do love you.”

“You don’t even realize how brave you are.” It was the truth. Where she saw weakness, I saw strength. Where she saw fear, I saw resilience.

The baby would be spared the pain of ever being carried through the threshold of hell that was our home. The baby would never feel the sting of our father’s slap or the pain of our mother’s lack of emotion. There would be one less sibling to protect, to worry about, to feed, to nurture, and I would be a liar if I pretended otherwise.

It was the one that assured me that my life had indeed gone to shit, without any chance of recourse, and if the only relief I found came in the form of narcotics, then so be it. Because I’d done enough, fought enough, tried hard enough for everyone else. I’d paid my goddamn dues, taken enough shit to earn my rite of passage. I wasn’t hurting anyone, not really, and if I was careful this time, I could control my urges instead of letting my urges control me.

“Joey, please,” she sobbed, clinging to me just the same as always. “What about me?” What about her? What about Tadhg? What about Ollie? What about Sean? What about Darren? “What about me?” I broke down and cried. “What about me, Shannon? What about me!”