Needing 13 - Johnny Kavanagh

THE HEIR AND THE SPARE

 OCTOBER 31ST 2001

TARA 

"Are you going to the Pav tonight?" Joey asked. In front of us, Tadhg and Ollie, our younger brothers, were bustling about with excitement. They were decked out in their Halloween costumes, their faces painted and adorned with a riot of colorful makeup. Each of them clutched a bulging bag of sweets, the handles straining under the weight of the sugary loot.

"I guess if Darragh and Erin go, I'll tag along."

"Our whole group is going. Casey, Aoife, Podge, Alec—and I think Aoife's managed to convince Katie too."

"You just want to see Aoife in her costume. Bet you're imagining it right now."

I enjoyed teasing my brother about his crush on her. It was a lighthearted way to handle the more complicated feelings he harbored—feelings that had to do with our fucked up bloodline and his own doubts about whether he deserved someone as wonderful as Aoife.

Thanks, Da.

"Do you know what she's going to be dressed up as?"

"Are you planning to find a matching costume?" I joked, giving him a sidelong glance. "Looks like she's got you on a fucking leash, Joey."

"Molloy doesn't have me on a fucking leash," Joey shot back, his defensiveness clear as day. "I don't give a shit about her."

I poked him in the ribs. "You do give two shits about her." You love her.

"Whatever."

"Can I go with you, Tara?" Tadhg asked, his wide brown eyes brimming with a mix of hope and desperation. He looked up at me with that familiar pleading expression that usually made me cave in, but today was different. Today, I had other plans. "I don't want to stay home."

Joey and I had big plans to hit the other side of town and get properly shitfaced with our friends. A few days ago, after a particularly nasty fight with Mam, Da had disappeared again, leaving us to fend for ourselves.

"I'm sorry," I said, reaching out to adjust the Batman mask he was wearing, pulling it more securely over his face. "But Joey and I have a lot of plans tonight, and we can't take you along."

"What plans?" Ollie demanded, eyeing me with suspicion as we guided them across the street, my hand firmly on Tadhg's shoulder when he nearly dashed into the path of an approaching car.

"Plans the Gardai shouldn't know about, Olls," Joey replied slyly, throwing a wink towards our little brother. "All you need to know is it's a party."

"Is it fancy dress?" Ollie's face brightened with excitement. "Do you gots a costume?"

"It's got, not gots," Tadhg corrected, "Learn some fucking grammar, will ya?"

"Tadhg, watch it," I warned before turning my attention back to my little brother. "Darragh, Erin, and I are going as Greek gods."

"Slutty Greek gods, more like," Joey muttered under his breath with a mocking tone, just loud enough for me to hear. I smacked him on the back of his head, my own eyes flashing with a mixture of amusement and irritation.

"I'm not lying," he protested, rubbing the back of his head where I'd hit him. "I'm stating facts."

"You're just jealous I'm the hotter twin," I retorted with a self-satisfied smile. "But don't worry, Joe. I'll let Aoife know how good her legs will look in the costume you have no fucking clue about."

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"Are you really going to leave dressed like that?" Mam's sharp voice sliced through the air as she appeared in the hallway, one hand resting protectively on her swollen belly.