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“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.”
“Aoife Molloy is the single best thing that’s ever happened to you, Joey Lynch, and everyone knows it. She loves you, asshole, despite your reputation and all of the horrible things you’ve done in your past, and instead of treating her with the love and respect she deserves, you trample all over her with your bullshit.”
While the rest of his friends had long since abandoned their girlfriends and dates, Gibsie hadn’t taken more than three steps away from Claire all night.
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.”
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.
“It’s you,” he repeated gruffly, fingers tightening on my waist. “I pick you. Every single time.”
“I’ll love you the right way this time,” he whispered, and his breath fanned my cheek. “If you’ll show me how.”
“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.”
I had wanted her since I was twelve years old, and now that I finally had her, I quickly realized that I would never stop wanting her.
He loved me now, but would he love me tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, once the truth came out? When he realized that I had taken his future from him? The one he spoke about earlier?
“I’ve loved your daughter for six years,” Joey finally broke his silence by saying. “I can easily love her for another eighteen.”
That’s all she gave me, and it became the song I got up for in the morning. It became the best part of my day. The part before everything got too heavy and the urge to shoot up got the better of me.
“Maybe before they moved on, someone wanted to make sure his first love had a fighting chance with her first love.”
