Jumper - sweatshirt
I stared with wide eyes at Johnny silently, praying that this was a dream and I'd wake up any moment. That wish fizzled away when my brother's booming voice spoke up.
"Anyone care to explain? Hm?" Johnny asked impatiently as he tapped his foot with a hand on his hip. If I weren't so caught up in the seriality of this situation, I'd probably burst out laughing at how much he looked like Ma.
"Look, Johnny, you're one of my best mates. This was completely innocent. You know I'd never go there with Maeve. Trust me, everyone on the team heard your threat."
My heart jumped a little. But not in a good way. Did any of the comforting last mean anything? I looked down at my hands, feeling awkward as they talked about me as if I wasn't there. I don't know why they were treating me like a child. I mean, I'm almost 16, for crying out loud!
"Maeve? You listening?" I looked up at the sound of my name and nodded.
"Stay away from all my friends. We don't need any more drama in this friend group." I looked over to Patrick to see what he'd say about Johnny's new rule, only to deflate a little, and then I saw he was nodding his head.
Why am I the only one getting in trouble for this? It's not like Patrick just appeared in my head randomly.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. This was a one-time thing, anyway. It won't happen again. Now, can you guys please leave my room?" I tried to act nonchalant to hide the hurt I was feeling. I could feel Patrick's eyes burning a hole in my head, but I refused to look at him—not after the way he had just thrown me under the bus.
Johnny got up and walked out the door. I waited a few moments before looking over at Patrick. He was looking at the hoodie I was wearing.
Shite, I cursed mentally, forgetting I was wearing his jumper. My throat closed up as memories from last night flooded my mind.
I shivered, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, hoping to soothe the coldness sweeping through my body.
"Maeve? Why do you keep moving?" Patrick groggily asked. He turned over to look at me. His eyes widened as he saw my shivering frame.
"Christ, Maeve, why didn't you say anything? You're colder than ice." I shrugged, not being capable of forming a thorough sentence. He took his jumper off, and I was blessed with his bare skin for a few seconds before his shirt fell back down.
"Here, take this," he pulled me into his chest, tucking my head under his chin. "I'll keep you warm."
I stared down at the ground, refusing to look at him. I slowly removed his jumper and placed it on the bed beside him. He opened his mouth to say something, but I got up before he could. I walked out the door without turning back to look at him.
I left my house with no destination in mind; I just needed to get away from everyone.
——————————————————-
Patrick
"Fuck" I said out loud, still sitting on Maeve's bed, mulling over my decisions from the last 15 hours. I resaid this word a few more times before groaning out loud. I put my head in my hands and closed my eyes.
I jumped in fright as I felt something wet touch my bare foot. I opened my eyes to see Maeve's dog, Murphy or Murph, as she called him. The dog whined softly, practically begging me to pet his golden fur.
I reached out to pet him as he rolled on his back and stuck his tongue out. I smiled, but that smile quickly vanished as I realized how bad it would be if Johnny returned to his sister's room.
I got up, grabbed my sweatshirt, and went downstairs with a solemn look on my face. As I was walking out the door, Edel called my name and ushered me into the kitchen. I froze. The last thing I needed was to sit through an awkward breakfast with Maeve and her brother on either side of me.
To my relief, I only saw Johnny sitting at the table. That relief quickly turned to concern as I thought about where Maeve was. I know she didn't eat dinner last night, as Edel had told me she had gotten sick after only eating a few bites. And now she wasn't home during breakfast?
Something was off. I caught Johnny glaring at me and flushed. My eyes had unknowingly lingered in the empty seat next to mine where Maeve would have been sitting.
While sitting with the Kavanaghs, I ate twice my body weight and talked freely with their family. It felt wrong being in Maeve's bed last night and now eating dinner with her family without her.
After breakfast, I said my goodbyes and headed to my parked car in the driveway. As I was pulling my car door open, I turned around to the noise of footsteps slapping on the tarmac.
"Look, Feely, you know you're one of my best friends, right?" Johnny asked, looking at me expectantly. I nodded, not liking where this conversation was going.
"And Maeve's my sister, but she's problematic. I mean, why do you think she has no friends in her year?" My heart leaped, wanting to defend her, remembering her crying in my arms but knowing I was better off not.
"Look what happened the last time she got into something with someone on the rugby team. Now, she and Pierce can't stand the sight of each other. I don't want that for you guys. It would make things awkward and uncomfortable. You understand that, right?"
I just nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence after what Johnny had just said.
Did she and Pierce date? For how long? Did she go behind Lizzie's back like that?
I put all these thoughts in the back of my head, got into my car, and drove away.
