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Tearing my eyes off the two eejits rolling around on the floor, I glanced over Robbie and Pierce’s heads just in time to catch a glimpse of Shannon as she hurried away.

Fromme?

Oh, hell fucking no.

Shoving my way past the lads, I stalked after her, feeling the burn shoot up my thighs as I moved, but too worked up to slow my pace or turn back for my crutch.

“Shannon?” My heart slammed against my chest bone so fucking hard that I thought it would leave a bruise, as I called after her, “Shannonlike the river, come back here!”

27

Are You with Me?

Shannon

When Darren pulled into the car park at Tommen a little after 8:45 a.m., I felt like a creepy stalker as I wordlessly sought out the familiar Audi A3 only to come up empty. My heart plummeted into my stomach and I felt myself shrinking into the seat, wishing for nothing more than to just vanish into thin air and float away.

“What do you think Tadhg would like for his birthday?” Darren asked as he drove around in circles, looking for a parking spot. “It’s this coming Friday, and I have no idea what to get him.”

“I don’t know.” Numb, I stared out my window and felt my anxiety grow with every Tommen student that filed into the main building. “Ask Tadhg.”

“I’m asking you,” he replied quietly.

“Football boots,” I mumbled, feeling too sick to pay attention. “It’s not like he’ll be expecting anything.” My stomach was roiling, my palms clammy. It almost felt like someone was holding an ice cube to the back of my neck.

“Good idea.”

Breathe, Shannon.

Just keep breathing…

“Do you want me to walk in with you?” Darren asked when he finally found a parking spot in the maze. Killing the engine, he unfastened his seat belt and turned to look at me. “Because I will, no problem.”

My head snapped back to him and my eyes widened in horror. “Do you remember secondary school?”

“I’m not that old,” he quipped.

“Then you would know that thelastthing anyone wants is their big brother walking them into school,” I choked out. “Like, ever.”

He smiled.

I eyed him warily. “What?”

“You called me your big brother.”

“Yeah, well.” I sighed and leaned my head back. “That’s what you are.”

“It was just nice to hear you say it.”

His words hung heavily in the air, like deadweight around my neck. I couldn’t do this with him. Not this morning. Not when I wasthisclose to begging him to turn the car around and take me home.

“I should go,” I whispered, feeling resigned, eyes still glued to the swarm of students all piling into various buildings.

You can do this.

You can absolutely do this!

“I’ll be here at four,” Darren said when I pushed the car door open and stepped into the rain. “I’ll try and get a parking spot close to this one, okay?”

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