Needing 13 - Johnny Kavanagh

SIXTH TIME'S A CHARM

MAY 15TH 2001

TARA

Joey: We need to talk.

Me: What's wrong?

Joey: Can I call you?

Me: Yeah.

I glanced up from my spot on the sidelines and spotted my younger brother Tadhg sprinting across the field, his hurley gripped tightly in his hand. I had volunteered to drive him to practice since Joey was stuck at work this afternoon. Trusting our father to handle the pickup was out of the question, so here I was, keeping an eye on him while he practiced.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw my brother's name flashing on the screen. I answered quickly, curiosity and concern mixing in my chest.

"Congratulations. We're going to be parents for the sixth time. Yay!" Joey's voice dripped with sarcasm and frustration, lacking any real enthusiasm.

I felt my heart skip a beat. "What the fuck, Joey? Mam's pregnant?" I blurted out, trying to keep my voice down. Little Ollie was just a few steps away, engrossed in his Lego creations. "Tell me you're kidding."

"I just found out five fucking minutes ago, Tara, and on top of that, they're talking about pulling Shan out of BCS and transferring her to Tommen."

"Tommen?"

Tommen College was an elite private school on the outskirts of Ballylagin, notorious for its exorbitant tuition fees and student body of fucking privileged kids who never had to work a day in their lives. I knew all about it because one of my best friends, Katie, was a student there.

"Next year, we won't be able to protect her," Joey said, his voice tinged with resignation. "Mam's dead set on this idea, even if it means going into fucking debt. And the salary I get from Tony is barely enough to keep us afloat."

"Leave it to me," I replied, watching Tadhg and a few of his teammates make their way toward me. "We'll talk more at home. There's chicken and rice for dinner."

His laughter broke through the tension. "My savior."

Shit.

I mentally did the math in my head. If everything went well, our new brother or sister would be born in November. Knowing our mam, Da had surely convinced her that he had changed. That he had given up drinking and that everything would get better.

Lies.

Lies.

Lies.

One after the other. An endless cycle of fucking lies.

"You okay?" Tadhg's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"I'm fine. Are you done yet?"

He nodded, and I began to gather the books I had scattered on the stands. I always took advantage of Tadhg's training sessions to catch up on my homework.

"Looking good, Tara," Kayden, one of Tadhg's teammates, said with a low whistle of appreciation. "Want to go out sometime?" He winked playfully.

I rolled my eyes. "Ask me in 11 years, Gallagher," I replied just as my brother whacked him on the arm with his hurley. "Stop flirting with my sister."

Ignoring him completely, Kayden smiled at me hopefully. "Will you say yes?"

"No," I said flatly. "Come on, Tadhg," I continued, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and grabbing Ollie's hand. "I have places to be."