Solitaire

Chapter 21

Irish pov
I let out a sigh of frustration as I pulled on my hair.

This can't be happening

Honestly, how did we get here? My entire life has been hell. For once, I wish I could feel stress-free. My hands were covered in small strands of my hair. This whole situation was causing my hair to slowly fall out.

"Damn, you're balding before me."

I turned my head and was face to face with Cyrus. He stood stiff in the doorway as he scratched the back of his neck.

"It's okay. I see you got some grays." I smirked.

"Cruel." He laughed.

"Why do you keep coming here after every screaming match? This club holds so many bad memories."

"So does our house, my car, and any other place I've stepped foot in; including Colorado." I sighed.

"Colorado?"

"That's a long ass story. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Irish, I'm sorry. I was so relieved to hear you were alive. But when I actually saw you, I was so mad. How could you leave me like that? I finally had you back in my life and then you disappear again."

"I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. Part of me still doesn't know. I just told myself that your lives would be better if I was gone... Why didn't you tell me that dad kicked you out? Why did you let us think you left?" I asked.

"Because I knew how mom would react. The same way she's reacting now." He shrugged.

"Yeah, dad's in deep shit. So what happened?"

———————Cyrus's Flashback...

"No! All you care about is this stupid business! You don't give a fuck about this family! Your daughter is only seven years old and knows how to use a handgun! What kind of shit is that!?" I yelled as dad kept his eyes on the stack of papers sitting in front of him.

"Cyrus, I suggest you stop talking, before you say something you're gonna regret. You know I love my family."

"Your family? We aren't your family! You treat your kids like cons instead of pros! Dad, I'm so fucking sick of it. I'm tired of seeing my baby sister cry because of you. I don't know how mom can't see what a crook you truly are..." I scoffed.

"Then leave. Matter a fact, you have until tomorrow night to pack your shit, and get the fuck out of my house." He growled.

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving Irish. You're gonna corrupt, traumatize, and control her. I don't need her ending up like me. If I go, she comes with m-"

"You aren't taking my daughter anywhere! If you want to leave, then go. But just know, by leaving, your sister will lead her own team when she's old enough. Think about that while you're packing." He said with a smirk.

"You're evil."

———————
As I packed my bags, I wiped my tears with my sleeve. The last thing I wanted to do was leave Irish. I didn't want him corrupting her mind as he did mine.

"Cy?"

I spun around and looked at Irish as she stood in my doorway. I quickly rushed out of the closet, shoving the rest of my things in my suitcase.

"W-What are you doing?" Irish asked as she scrambled to my bed.

I gave a weak smile before walking over and bending down to her level.

"Irish... I can't do this anymore. So much pressure was put on me for something I don't even want to do. I'm leaving-"

"Leaving!?" She yelled. Before I covered her mouth and shushed her.

"You can't leave. I can't deal with mom and dad by myself! Especially not dad. You're my only happiness.." She cried.

I pulled her into a hug. Squeezing her tighter and tighter as if I was never going to see her again.

"Kids? Come down to eat!" Dad yelled.

The sound of his footsteps coming up the stairs made me rush to my bag. I zipped it up and ran to Irish; kissing her on her head.

"No matter where I am, you're always gonna be in my heart. I love you so much, Irish... But I can't... I'm so sorry."

And with that, I jumped out the two-story window. I felt my heart drop when I realized how evil my dad is. And what did I do? I still covered his ass. I didn't need Irish to grow up resenting him. Then again, she'll do that on her own...

————————

"I didn't want you to hate him as much as I did, so I let you guys believe I left on my own. I'm sorry I never told you. I guess we're even now." He chuckled.

I knew dad was crazy, but throwing your son out of the house? He was really off his shit.

"It's surprising he's so chill now that we're adults. As kids, we couldn't stand his ass. When you were gone, Sir and I snuck two boys in the house, and even though Charlie didn't see them, somehow dad still found out. Had to spend extra hours boxing him. He beat my ass."

"That's hard-core abuse." He burst into laughter.

"One thing I can say is he made us tough."

"He also gave us trust issues. Kids deserve to have a childhood, and we got the opposite." He sighed.

"Hey, do you know what happened between dad and Talan?" He asked.

"No clue. But, I'm glad that son of a bitch is 6 feet underground." I said with a shiver.

"If only his psycho fiancé would die too."

"Her time is coming. Trust me."
——————————

When Cyrus and I finally had a conversation that didn't involve screaming, I felt like I could breathe again. I think him hating me hurt more than anyone else hating me.

A smiled appeared on my face when I got a text from Liam.

Liam: Navaan wants to see you. Are you down?

Me: Ofc I'm down! Let me know what time ;)

"Irish-"

My head shot up and I was not faced with my dad standing in the hallway.

"I have nothing to say to you." I groaned.

"Well I have plenty to say to you. Remember when you pretended to be dead?"

"Remember when you threw my brother out of the house and lied about him leaving on his own? Oh not to mention, you mentally corrupted me my whole life. And you're a fake ass bitch. You told me you weren't mad at me. But of course, you'd be the first to throw it in my face after you've been caught."

"I'm sorry."

"You're not sorry yet. We're gonna sit, and you're gonna tell me everything I wanna know about Talan."

Liam: We can meet when he gets out of school in 2 hours. Is that okay?

Me: Yeah. Can't wait to see him <3

"What do you wanna know?" He sighed.

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Heyyyyyyy I'm so sorry I've been inactive fr fr my head is in 25 different places 🤦🏾‍♀️ but don't worry we still have a long way to go~ Butters🫶🏽