Needing 13 - Johnny Kavanagh

THOUGH SHE BE BUT LITTLE, SHE IS FIERCE!

JOHNNY

"Well... that was fun," Da laughed, shaking his head as Mam closed the door behind her with an exasperated sigh.

"More than fun, John," Gibsie cackled, clutching his stomach like he could hardly breathe from laughing so hard. The eejit was practically rolling on the floor, absolutely delirious. "That was fucking hilarious! Bloody hell, for a second there, I thought she was gonna strangle him with the monitor cable or something!"

I blinked, trying to focus through the haze of drugs swirling in my system. "Wha... Who was she?" I slurred, my mind struggling to catch up with the conversation. Everything felt distant and foggy, like I was fighting my way through a thick cloud of... something. "Gibsie, what in the name of Jaysus did you give me?"

My best friend's laughter came to a sudden halt, and he looked at me with wide eyes, stunned. He then turned to Shannon, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. "Is he serious?" he asked, pointing at me. "You...You don't recognize her?"

I shook my head slowly, trying to piece things together. "She's pretty," I mumbled, still lost in a fog of confusion. "But not as pretty as—"

Shite.

Tara.

"Ah, shite," I groaned, the realization hitting me like a punch to the gut. My girlfriend. Tara. "She can't find out."

"Who?" Da asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned forward, looking half-amused, half-concerned.

"My girlfriend, Da," I muttered, shaking my head as I tried to sit up in the bed, only for the world to spin wildly around me. "If she finds out I'm in the hospital, she'll kill me."

"Woah there, son," both Gibsie and Da jumped to their feet, pushing me back down onto the bed before I could make a complete fool of myself—or worse, fall flat on my face. "Relax, will you? You just had a surgery."

"You don't get it, Da," I protested, trying once again to haul myself upright but nearly face-planting onto the floor if it hadn't been for Gibsie catching me just in time. "She hates rugby. Fucking despises it. If she finds out this happened because of it, she'll break up with me."

Da chuckled, low and knowing, as he sank back into his chair. "Your mam hates rugby too, and that doesn't stop you from being her son."

"But it's different. Mam puts up with me 'cause I'm her only son."

"Careful there, son, I think we still can return you to where you came from. I'm sure your mother has the receipt from the clinic stashed away somewhere."

I groaned, flopping back onto the bed in defeat. "I'm so dead," I muttered, staring up at the ceiling as dread pooled in my stomach. "She's gonna murder me."

"He really doesn't recognize her?" I heard Shannon whisper to Gibsie, her voice soft and uncertain.

"He's off his face on morphine, Little Shannon. Let him figure it out for himself. You just sit back and enjoy the show."

The door swung open again, and Mam appeared, leading in the blonde girl who had been screaming at me not five minutes ago. Her eyes were all puffy and swollen, like she had been crying.

"I'm going to kill you, ya gobshite!" she spluttered, storming toward my bed, her fists clenched at her sides. "How can you be such a bloody eejit?"

Her hand shot out, and I let out a high-pitched shriek—an embarrassingly loud one. "Get away!" I yelped, my voice sounding far more panicked than I'd intended.

She stopped in her tracks, blinking in surprise. "What the—?"

"I have a girlfriend!" I practically squealed, yanking the sheets up to cover my bare torso and scooting back on the bed as much as I could. "Don't come any bleeding closer! I have a girlfriend, and I love her. And I'm not saying you're not pretty—you are—but you're not my girlfriend, so..." I motioned with my hand for her to back off, my heart racing, "please, just stay away."