Page 170 of Keeping 13

Mam flinched and dropped her head in her hands.

I rolled my eyes, too furious to deal with her waterworks right now. “You were both horrible,” I hissed, focusing on Darren. “You just shut the door in his face!”

“Can you blame me?” Darren growled. “You heard how he spoke to Mam.”

“He was telling the truth,” I spat out, blinking back the traitorous tears that were pooling in my eyes. “And you know it!”

“And you wonder why this family has a bad reputation,” Joey mused around bites of a ham sandwich. “Shan’s right.” He took a swig from his can of Coke. “That was rude as fuck.”

“Our family has a bad reputation becauseyoucan’t keep yourself out of trouble, so don’t you start giving me shit,” Darren shot back angrily. “I know you were suspended from school again yesterday for fighting. Your principalcalledme, Joey. What was it this time? Some lad said something you didn’t like so you go ahead and puck the head off him?”

Joey shrugged, unaffected. “Something like that.”

“If you don’t steady up and learn to control that temper, you’re going to end up getting yourself locked up,” Darren warned. “Mark my words.”

“I thought this was about Kavanagh,” Joey replied, scratching his jaw. “How did this suddenly get turned on me?”

“It’s not about Johnny,” I hissed, keeping my furious gaze locked on Darren. “It’s about how you’re trying to controlmylife.”

“He’s still outside, you know,” Joey added.

My heart leapt in my chest. “He is?”

“Stay where you are, Shannon,” Darren warned before stalking into the hallway and swinging the door open. Muttering a string of curses under his breath, he slammed the door shut and returned with a thunderous expression. “He’s still there.”

“Like I said,” Joey replied, taking another bite of his sandwich. “Go on out to him, Shan,” he added midchew. “Don’t mind the two of them.”

“Don’t even think about it, Shannon,” Mam screeched. “I don’t want you going anywhere near that boy.”

“Jesus Christ,” Joey growled, tossing his half-eaten sandwich down on the counter. “You’re making a big fucking deal out of nothing. Just let her go outside and talk to him, let him do all his checkups to see she’s not being hurt or whatever the fuck he does that calms his nerves, and then she’ll come back inside. No harm done.”

“No harm done?” Mam choked out. “Plentyharm could be done, Joey.”

“Give her a bit of credit,” my brother hissed in a disgusted tone. “She’s not you.”

Mam wailed and Joey rolled his eyes.

“Intelligence doesn’t play a role in this,” Darren bit out. “Hormonesplay the only role in this.”

“Well then, I happen to possess the perfect antidote tohormones.” Joey slipped his hand into his pocket and withdrew his wallet. Flipping it open, he retrieved a condom and waved it around. “I knowyou’venever seen one of these,” he added, sneering at our mother. “And I doubt they’re even holding fucking hands, but just in case… Here, Shan, hold the tip when you roll it on.” He tossed me the condom and winked. “Now.” Picking his sandwich back up, Joey took a big bite and chewed. “Crisis averted. Everyone breathe.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Joey?” Darren growled, snatching the condom out of my hands and shoving it into his pocket. “She’s sixteen years old.”

“I’m aware,” Joey agreed, taking another swig from his Coke.

“He’s too old for her,” Mam wailed.

“No, he’s not,” Joey scoffed. “He’s seventeen, not seventy. Relax, woman.”

“Yes, he damn well is too old,” Mam countered shakily.

“Well, that’s your opinion,” Joey shot back.

“It’s the truth,” Mam choked out. “And you shouldn’t be encouraging her.”

“Listen,” Joey snapped, wiping his buttery fingers on his overalls. “I know you’re bothnewat this, but here’s a helpful parenting tip: You either swallow your pride and let her be with him, or this whole thing blows up in your face. I think it’s pretty clear by now that he’s not going anywhere, so you might as well get on board with it.” Shrugging, he added, “Shannon has a boyfriend. Big deal. She’s not a baby anymore, and it’s about time you two stop treating her like one.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

---