Page 42 of Ruck Me

Chapter12

AOIFE

It’d beena week since Eoin had broken up with me—seven whole days since I’d slunk out of his house with my proverbial tail tucked between my legs. Needless to say, it’d been a shitty fucking week and I was ready for it to be over so I could crawl back in bed to sleep and cry my way through the weekend.

The only bright spot had been a call from a woman who worked for one of Declan’s managers to schedule an interview for a paid internship. The job reported to the director of marketing, and I’d be responsible for monitoring the agency’s clients’ social media activity, something I was pretty sure a trained monkey could do, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea of going into sports marketing, but it was time to swallow my pride and take a job—any job. Graduation was a couple of weeks away and I didn’t want to think about what life would be like after if I didn’t have something linedup.

I loved my mother, but if I didn’t move out soon one of us was going to wind up murdered in her sleep. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t going to beme.)

Tanya: You coming to the match tonight? It’s a bigone.

Aoife: I hadn’t planned onit.

Tanya: Do you need me to drive out there and drag you out by yourhair?

Aoife: I’d like to see youtry.

Tanya: Don’t temptme.

Tanya and I had gone to every home match this season so it’d be shitty of me to ditch her, but I didn’t know if I could see Eoin again so soon after he’d kicked me out of his house. Not that I’d have to speak with him or anything, but even watching him would be too painful. I’d had to mute the team’s Twitter handle the other day when he’d participated in the pre-match interviews. If I couldn’t chance seeing his picture on my phone, how in the hell was I going to watch him sprinting across the field?

Tanya: I don’t know what happened between you and Eoin, but Aidan says he’s being a littleshit.

Aoife: That doesn’t sound likehim.

Tanya: No, it doesn’t. And don’t think I didn’t notice you dodge the subject.

Aoife: We broke up last Friday night.

Tanya: What? Why?

Aoife: It’s a long story.

My phone rang and I didn’t have to look down to see who was calling. Sliding my finger across the glass, I raised it to myear.

“It’s a good thing then that I’ve got all the time in the world,” Tanyasaid.

“No, you don’t. You have to get ready for the match.”

“So doyou.”

“I don’t think I’m going to go,” I said, staring at myself in the mirror. I had bruises under my eyes from all the crying I’d been doing and a giant pimple on my jaw was stress related since I wasn’t due for my period for another two weeks. The biggest change, however, was my hair. Last night I’d grabbed my ma’s sewing scissors and hacked off almost ten inches, leaving me with a ragged bob that barely skimmed my shoulders. I’d probably regret it later, but right now I couldn’t be bothered.

“I can’t believe you’re going to miss it. You’ve been to every home match since Declan was calledup.”

“Maybe I shouldn’thave.”

“But you love rugby.”

“Eh. It’sokay.”

Tanya laughed. “Come off it Aoife. You scream louder than anyone there.”

“Yeah, and I’m usually cheering for Eointoo.”

“So boo him instead,” she answered as if it was thateasy.

“I can’t. Eoin didn’t do anything wrong. It’d be so much easier if I could hate him, but it’s not likethat.”

---