𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝟖 (𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐂)

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑𝟑 | 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲!

ORLA LYNCH

"Give it a rest, Golden boy." I heard my older brother, Joey, throw over his shoulder just as the front door slammed shut. "Shannon isn't a fucking baby, she's sixteen and allowed to kiss boys."

Oh my god.

"Exactly. She's sixteen and too young to be carrying a baby on her fucking hip, Joey." I heard Darren snap back, then I saw him thunder after Joey through the sitting room.

"Hey, you can't get pregnant by just kissing someone!" I shot, sat comfortably at the corner of our lousy couch. "Shall I explain it in detail for you? Huh, Darren?"

"Orla, don't get involved—" Darren tried, and failed.

"So.. when a man and a woman love one another—"

"Orla—"

"They begin to feel these.. urges—"

I hear Joey's howl of laughter, and dutifully ignore Darren's protests.

"Sexual urges.. might I add." I continue, jumping up from the couch to purposely follow Darren into the kitchen, raising my voice until it's loud enough for the whole house to hear. "And then, they start passionately snogging one another's faces off—"

"Orla, enough!"

"And than the man whips his willy-wacker out, and—"

"Okay, pack it in, Orla—There are little ears listening." Joey cuts straight through my sentence, right before I can get to the part, and gestures to my younger brother who is currently doubled over in laughter.

"Hey!" Tadgh shoots up, eyes blaring with prepubescent anger. "I'm not fucking little, you asshole!"

"Tadgh, watch your fucking mouth." Joey warns, casting a parental glare towards Tadgh before bringing his coke to his lips and gulping the remaining liquid down.

Tadgh gapes at Joe in disbelief, shaking his head. "You can't tell me not to curse but also curse in the same sentence.." He counters, pointing a finger in his direction. "It's hypocritical—"

"Listen, Kid.. I don't give a shit about your hypocrisies, don't fucking swear. Point blank, period." Joey shrugged carelessly, fiddling with a pack of powdered donuts that I never saw him grab.

Tadgh huffed in outrage before crossing his arms and storming out of the kitchen. Hi feet slam against the staircase, echoing through every wall in this house. "I hate this hypocritical family!"

Joey snorts, and I nearly doubled over in laughter when his voice cracked.

"So you'll listen to Joey but not me, Orla?" Darren snaps, planting his hands on his hips.

I curl my nose in disinterest. "Yes."

Darren let out a scoff before turning away from me, fury steaming out of his ears as annoyance tensed his shoulders. And the sight only made me further annoyed.

This entire evening I had listened to Mam and Darren go at it with Shannon over Johnny Kavanagh, apparently her going out on a small date with her boyfriend was the end of the world in my mother eyes. Thought she was seeing her history repeat itself into Shannon.

But that was not happening.

Because Shannon was not my Mam, an Johnny was most definitely not my Da. He was too precious with my sister to be my Da, too protective. Johnny knew how to get inside of my sister brain and switch it off, just long enough for her to gain some peace.

Shannon and Johnny had something unexplainable. I knew because I watched. I watched as they interacted during lunch and through the halls sometimes, the way they'd smile and whisper sweetly to one another, as if no one else existed.