Breathe Me // n.horan au *Completed*

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[Eight Months Later]

20th of October, 2014

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the slight pitter patter of the rain against my window began to pick up pace. I watched the lightening illuminate the sky through my thin curtains as I lay in my bed.

I got to sleep in, after many days, before I started my shift at the pub outside the campus of Trinity College Dublin. It was always busy- day and night- so I get overtime shifts almost every night.

Some people may say that working all the time is like an addiction but it isn't really when your family barely has an income. Greg and I make ends meet but we almost never have enough money in the account to buy something we desire. I wasn't able to pay for a few college early-bird applications. Even if I did pay for a handful before the accident, I wasn't able to pay the tuition fees and the books. I know I'll be able to further my studies in the future but I needed to earn right now.

Greg is working two jobs. I used to work two jobs in the summer until I turned nineteen. I was legal to work at a pub. It pays eighteen Euros an hour; a little over double the minimum wage.

After my parents passed away, Greg and I were sucked into a black hole of debt. The funeral cost us a lot of money.

Then we have Kerrigan. Our little angel. In the past eight months, she has had a total of five surgeries. They cost a lot of money and her doctor's say that she needs them to stay alive until her body starts doing it for herself. The surgeons can only do a certain amount of treatment with the money we make. Even having an in-house nurse is a bit costly. As soon as we have a boosted income, Kerrigan won't have to have surgery on top of surgery. She just needs one major surgery to get better.

It gets harder and harder to see her in this state. No big brother wants to see his little sister in any sort of pain.

But her suffering will come to an end when I find a job that pays a lot more than the pub. I mean, it's a good job but I barely get any sleep and I smell like booze all the time.

I rubbed my tired eyes and forced myself out of bed. The rain was coming down therapeutically harsh and the thunder rumbled ferociously.

I sighed and pushed my duvet to the side. My feet hung over the side of my bed before they touched the soft carpet. I padded over to my closet and picked out the pieces of clothing that fit my uniform. I lay them on my bed before grabbing a towel and a pair of my briefs.

After brushing my teeth, I jumped into the shower. When I was completely sure that I didn't reek of alcohol, I stepped out and dried my body

I dressed myself and went to see my sister in her room. The door is always open but my mum taught me to always knock before entering a lady's room. I leaned against the door frame and watched her look out the window. Thunderstorms have always fascinated her.

I gently knocked and saw her carefully turn her head towards my direction. "Good morning, pumpkin. How is my angel feeling today?" I smiled.

"Afternoon, actually, Nialler," she shrugged, "I'm tired and sad."

My smile turned into an instant frown when I heard that. I promised myself that I'd never let her feel sad. I promised to keep her smiling all the time. I took a seat on the chair next to her bed and gently grabbed a hold of her hand. Her in-house nurse, Lucy, gave me a smile and left the room. "And may I know the reason behind why my princess is sad?"

"Ni, I want to go outside and play," she pouted, "I want to wear my rain boots and jump into puddles and splash around."

"I know, sweetie. But look at it this way. Once you get all better, I'll let you play outside as long as you want. Heck, I'll get a day off from work and we can both splash around in the puddles. How does that sound?"