Needing 13 - Johnny Kavanagh

A BROTHER FOR A BROTHER

JANUARY 31ST 2004

TARA

"You fucking bitch!"

"What the fuck did you just call my sister, Ricey?"

"Easy, Mike Tyson." Aoife was quick to react, grabbing Joey's arm and forcing him back down into his seat. She straddled him to keep him seated. "Don't mind him, Stud," she whispered, trying to soothe his anger.

Aoife Molloy, I fucking love you.

I turned my attention back to Prick Paul, raising an eyebrow. "Was that directed at me, Ricey?" I asked coolly. "What have I done now, according to you?"

"Do you find it fucking funny?" He was livid, his face flushed and the vein in his forehead throbbing with rage. "My brother is facing drug charges and my father has Internal Affairs watching him because of you."

Feigning ignorance, I tilted my head. "Since when is Billy boy doing drugs? Who would have thought Garda Superintendent Jerry Rice's first-born son was into drugs?" I tsked, shaking my head. "Sorry about that, lad."

"I know it was you. Billy told me."

I smirked, leaning back in my chair. "Enlighten me," I said, watching him squirm. He remained silent, his eyes burning with hatred. "You don't have any fucking proof, do you?" I laughed cruelly. "It's a dog-eat-dog world, Ricey. If you think you and your fucking privileged family can attack my brother and get away with it, you are very wrong. You beat him up and arrested him on trumped-up charges. Who says I can't do the same with Billy?"

Joey looked at me, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Wait," he said slowly, "what the fuck have you done, Tara?"

"No body, no crime," I said, reaching over to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Don't ask questions, baby bro."

"You fucking bitch!"

Jesus fucking Christ. Was today the day to call Tara a bitch, and I had missed the bleeding memo?

"What the fuck did you just call her, Danielle?" Casey and Erin stepped in front of me as they saw Danielle stomping toward us, her friend Rebecca Favley trailing behind her like a lost puppy.

"Look," I snorted, pointing a finger between Prick Paul and Dirty Danielle, "you guys are one-size-fits-all. You really need to come up with more original insults than that."

"What's happening?" Alec asked, with Podge following closely behind. "Oh, Mammy T drama unfolding. Shite. I didn't bring any popcorn. Have we missed a lot?"

"Here, lad," Darragh said, handing him a few M&Ms. "We were just starting."

"Tara, I know you're a bitch, but this is a new low even for you," Dirty Danielle shrieked, her face turning red as she stomped her feet in frustration. "How dare ye? That was private."

"Excuse me?" I spat out, my temper flaring. "There's nothing bleeding private about you, Danielle. You had this fucking coming. You think that you and Prick Paul here can make fun of my brother and my best friend by turning them into pariahs, and I'm just going to fucking sit there and do nothing? You're fucking delusional. An attack on them," I pointed at my brother and his girlfriend, "is a personal attack on me."

"You printed out private conversations that happened ages ago," Rebecca, Danielle's minion, yelled in a high-pitched voice. "The whole school knows about it."

"Actually, printing them wasn't my idea," I giggled, unable to hold back my amusement. "It was Tadhg's idea. He claimed that not everyone had a phone and to make sure everyone knew, we printed it in size 20 font in case anyone had impaired vision or something."

Alec snorted, struggling to hold back his laughter. "You should get a fucking medal or something for taking the time to do that. An A for effort."

"We spent a whole weekend, baby Alec," Dirty Danielle turned a shade of red I didn't think was possible, and Prick Paul's face whitened as he began to understand what texts had been printed out. "Let's be clear that this would not have happened if you, ignorant bastard," I said, pointing to Prick Paul, "had shown a minimum of fucking respect for Aoife all these years. The list of your transgressions is fucking endless, and honestly, you are not fucking worth it. And you, ye manipulative whore," I looked at Danielle with disdain, "I did it simply because I felt like it. Oh wait, maybe this happened because you had sex with my brother when he was drugged and couldn't give you his consent. Maybe that had something to do with it."

"He wanted it too," she snapped, glaring at my brother. "Really, Joey? What the hell have you told your sister? You're not exactly a saint for her to defend you like that."

"He's not a saint, but he's my fucking twin, Danielle. So if you don't want those texts getting to Daddy and Mammy Long, you're going to leave right now with your tail between your legs and get a taste of your own fucking medicine."

"You actually think this is funny." Prick Paul snapped in disbelief. "You're ruining lives with your little fucking games."

"I'm doing the same thing you did when you and Billy lied to the Garda and used your father's name to get your way. Luckily, I happen to have a couple of people higher in rank than your father who owe me favors."

"Among them, my father," Darragh said with a broad smile. "Deputy Chief Cian O'Shea, and if I'm not mistaken, he is your father's boss, right?"

"Take the L, Ricey," Alec cackled, "and fuck off."

"This is not over, Tara."

"You know where to find me, although seeing the state in which Billy entered the E.R., if I were you, I would think twice."

Paul took a step forward, but Darragh moved in front of me, blocking his path. "Don't be fucking stupid," he warned, his voice low and dangerous. "You'll make it worse for Daddy Ricey and Billy boy."