Redeeming 6 (Boys of Tommen, #4)

by Chloe Walsh

“You’re honestly trying to tell me that those two aren’t in love?” “I never said they weren’t in love.” Chuckling, she added, “Only that they’re not together.”

Oh Gibsie and Claire-bear

Our eyes met, green on green, and he winked at me from across the room. And just like that, I was ruined.

“You can’t tell me what to do, Joe,” I growled, feeling a combination of drunk and dizzy. “You don’t own me.” “Well, that’s bad fucking luck on my account, because you sure as shit own me!” Drunk or not, his words hit me like a wrecking ball to the chest. Feeling the air whoosh from my lungs, I glared up at him, feeling a torrent of emotions crashing through me. “Why would you say that to me?” “Because it’s the truth.” “Since when?” “Since I was twelve.”

I could hear murmurs of a conversation happening around us, but I couldn’t make out a single word of it, because my entire focus was on the girl who’d been successfully tormenting me from the first day we met.

Because every part of me loved every part of her. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I fucking reveled in all of it. She had my heart in knots and my head spinning.

“Then let me be very clear about it,” he replied, reaching up to cup the side of my face. “It’s you, Molloy.” He tipped my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “It’s you.” “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.” “It’s you,” he repeated gruffly, fingers tightening on my waist. “I pick you. Every single time.”

“I’m a big girl and I knew what I was getting myself into when I kissed you that day outside your house. You have this warped notion that you need to shield me from your life when nothing about your life has come as a surprise to me. I walked into this relationship with my eyes wide open, and guess what, my eyes are still open, and I still want in.”

Aoife. Molloy.

“I’ll love you the right way this time,” he whispered, and his breath fanned my cheek. “If you’ll show me how.”

“What I did at Christmas? How far I went? It scared the shit out of me, and all I could think about was if I didn’t get you away from me, I would end up destroying my world, because that’s what you are to me, Aoife. You’re my whole goddamn world wrapped up in one girl. So, yeah, maybe I’ve gone about it entirely the wrong way, but all I’ve ever tried to do is protect you.”

“I’m not your mother or your sister. I’m not another girl who needs something from you. I’m the girl who wholeheartedly wants you. I’m the girl who wholeheartedly loves you. The hurler. The mechanic. The boy. The protector. The asshole. The lover. The addict.” Sniffling, I added, “All of your versions. All of your shapes and colors. I accept them all.

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Aoife. Molloy.

“No more secrets and cover-ups, okay? We’re way past those. Because I’ve never been your enemy,” I squeezed out. “I’ve always been your teammate.”

Because Aoife Molloy was not going to harm me. It had taken me six long years to accept that. When she told me that she loved me, she meant it, and it was as unsettling as it was addictive, because if she only felt a fifth for me of what I felt for her, then I was one lucky son of a bitch.

“Ride or die, Molloy.” Her lips crashed against mine, and it was in this very moment that I knew I would never be able to untangle myself from this girl. Not in this lifetime.

“This is my world. It’s fucking horrible, but I’m willing to show you, if you’re willing to stay.” “Always, Joe,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Always.”

Where she saw weakness, I saw strength. Where she saw fear, I saw resilience.

“Because I’m only doing life for you.”

“Because, you see this face?” Leaning in close, I rested my brow against hers and stroked her nose with mine. “Your face right here is the only face I’ve been seeing since I was twelve. Because no matter how off my head I’ve been over the years, no matter how far from reality I’ve let my mind wander, I have never lost sight of this face.”

🥹🥹🥹

“So, what’s the story with you and your buddy’s sister?” “Who?” he asked. “Claire?” I nodded. “She’s my intended,” he came right out and said, without a hint of embarrassment. “The fuck?” “It’s true,” he urged, eyes wide and full of sincerity. “We’re betrothed.” “Since when?” “Since she was four and I was six, and I promised her that I would marry her.” “So, in other words, you signed your life away on a child’s promise?” “What can I say?” He shrugged before adding, “I’m a man of my word.”

“He’s your friend, Aoife, and you’re his. Never mind loving one another, that’s the easy part, you and Joey like each other. You enjoy one another’s company, and I can promise you that all of those wonderful aspects of your relationship, all of those effortless conversations you find yourself having with him, or all of the content spells of silence you spend in one another’s company, will only strengthen your ability to stand the test of time.

“I’m here when I don’t want to be, when I would rather be anywhere else on this planet—and that includes a coffin—but I’m here because you called. Because you need me. Because they need me. Even though being inside this house makes me want to peel my skin off. I’m fucking here. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, then I don’t know what to say. I really don’t.”

My poor Joey Lynch.

“Think about your future.” “I don’t have one of those anymore.” “Yes, you do.” “No.” I shook my head and yanked the door open. “He took her away from me.”

“Because when you hurt, I hurt. When you burn, I go down in flames with you. We’re entwined, Joe. We’re mirrors. Don’t you get that by now?”

Because guess what, fucker? Aoife Molloy loves you. Do you hear me, you lucky son of a bitch? Hands down the best-looking girl in our school—possibly in the whole town—with the best, top-quality banter loves you.”

“No. You don’t get it. You are the love of my life,” I bit out, catching his chin and forcing him to look at me. “What I feel for you? How deeply I love you? It’s fucking insane, Joe. So, yeah, I’m going to do the right thing for you every time, whether that pisses you off or not, because I want you here with me. On planet earth. For a long time.”

The strongest fmc I've read. Such a queen.

We’d grown up together. Our lives were tangled up and entwined. She had never been someone to pass away the time with until something better came along. She was the time, the better, the goal, the whole nine yards. Any future I had ever dared to imagine for myself never veered from having her slap-bang in the center of it.

😭😭😭

“You’re worth believing in, Joe. You are so incredibly worth it all.”

“He’s the best damn thing that came out of your marriage and you’re too stupid to see it. He’s not your bodyguard. He’s not your bank account. He’s not your babysitter. He’s not your fucking husband. He’s your child. He’s your son

Fucking Aoife Molloy.

“And there’s absolutely nothing either of you can say to change that. You can’t pay me off or bribe me because I’m not going away.” “Then you’re going to ruin his life.” “Then at least he’ll be ruined with love and not pain.”

“Don’t go, queen.” “I won’t.” “Stay with me.” “Always.”

Whatever the old man had done to me in the kitchen that evening had broken me. The cord that attached my heart to my head had been severed. It had been beaten out of me.

I knew he was still in there, though. My Joey was still inside the person strung out next to me. And I loved him enough to keep fighting for him. Even when he’d given up on himself.

“You protected my son’s future, and now I’m here to protect yours,” he finally said, folding his arms across his chest. “Sounds like a fair trade if you ask me.”

John Sr Kavanaugh 👏🏼

“They deserve a better life than the one they’ve been dealt.” Swallowing roughly, I forced myself to say, “They deserve to have parents.” “From what I can tell, they’ve always had one,” John said, giving me a meaningful look. “You’ve been one hell of a father, Joey Lynch.”

😭😭😭

“When did it happen?” Edel asked once her husband had left the room. “When did what happen?” “When did you lose yourself?” “The day I was born.”

“I am all in with these children,” she vowed, voice thick with emotion. “I am all in with him.” “I hope so,” I replied, tone mirroring hers. “Because he’s going to get better, I can promise you that, and then your family is going to meet the real Joey. And I promise, you guys are going to fall head over heels in love with him.” She smiled softly. “We already are, love, we already are.”

Edel Kavanaugh 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

“Well, I love you, Joey Lynch,” I croaked out, wiping my cheeks with my free hand. “And apparently, I can’t stop.” “Thank fuck for that,” he replied. “Because apparently I can’t stop loving you, either, Aoife Molloy.”

“I wouldn’t have made it to eighteen without her. Hell, I probably wouldn’t have made it to fifteen without her. You weren’t there. You didn’t see. I was a piece of shit. Sincerely. I was fucking terrible. To myself. To her. My behavior toward her was horrendous. I was the worst possible version of myself. And still, she stuck it out with me. She saw something worth saving in me, and she decided to love me anyway, and I am so fucking thankful that she did.” I shook my head. “You will never understand how much I owe that girl. How much I fucking worship the ground she walks on!”

😭👏🏼😭

“I’ve always been a father!” I roared back, chest heaving. “And I’ve done a pretty fucking good job with the four I’ve raised. And yeah, I’m a mess, and yeah, I’m an addict, but I’m a good father! I’m a good fucking parent, Darren. I kept them alive. I kept them fed, and loved, and nurtured, and goddamn educated. I did that. Not you. Not him. Not Mam. Me. So, call me a junkie and whatever the hell else you want to call me, but don’t say that I’m too young to be a father!”

Yes yes yes! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

“And if he lets her down again?” “I’ve a shovel in the backyard that we can use to bury him with.”

Aoife's dad is also a MVP

“Because in this version of forever, we get the happy ending, Molloy.”

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹