Page 70 of Releasing 10
I arched a disbelieving brow and snorted.
“Got something to say, Hugo Boss-Man?”
“Yeah, Gibsie’s a child,” I told her. “Mark’s a bully.”
“A bully to who?”
“Gibsie.”
Caoimhe’s eyes met mine and I could see that she didn’t believe me. “You’re wrong about him. Mark’s really great once you get to know him.”
No fucking thanks.
“Do you love him?” Claire asked, dragging our babysitter’s attention back to her. “Does he hold the door for you?”
“Yep,” she told my sister with a smile. “He does lots of nice things for me.”
“Really?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What kinds of nice things?”
“Right, I’m off to bed,” I declared, standing up and waving them off.
If staying up late meant listening to my babysitter gush about her asshole boyfriend to my gullible sister, then I’d rather not.
When I reached my bedroom window, I looked across the street to Gibsie’s window. It was dark. The van parked in the driveway across the street made me glad he was at his dad’s house for the weekend.
Kneeling at my bedside, I blessed myself and quickly recited my prayers before climbing into bed. It took a lot longer than usual to fall asleep, and I thought about switching on my television but decided against it. If I did that, I’d be tempted to play on my Sega, and if that happened, I’d be up all night.
A little while later, the sound of the front door opening and closing filled my ears and I strained to hear the muffled voices.
There was a male voice.
This confused me because I knew my dad’s voice and that wasn’t him.
Rolling onto my side, I tried to drift off, feeling my eyes grow heavy, but a strange feeling in my stomach gnawed at me.
That’s when my mother’s words drifted into my mind.
Mark Allen.
He was coming over to watch a movie.
Goddammit!
Throwing off the covers, I climbed out of bed and stomped downstairs to check. When I reached the lounge and locked eyes on the familiar, dark-haired teenage boy sitting on my couch, with my sister on his lap, a wave of unease washed over me.
I couldn’t explain why I felt so uncomfortable or why the hairs on the back of my neck shot up whenever I laid eyes on him. But italwayshappened. I felt like Peter Parker with Spidey senses, and mine told me that Mark Allen wasnotgood. Not good at all.
“Claire!” I barked, stalking into the lounge. “No.” Not stopping until I was right in front of them, I grabbed my sister’s hand and yanked her off his lap. “You don’t sit on strangers’ laps.”
“It’s okay, though, because he’s going to be Gerard’s brother soon,” my sister explained, looking up at me with big, brown eyes. “So he’s not a stranger.”
“I don’t care.” Keeping ahold of her hand, I walked my sister to the other end of the couch and lifted her onto it before turning back around. “Don’t touch my sister again,” I warned, standing in front of her. “Not ever again.”
“Whoa, Hugh, it’s okay,” Caoimhe said from her perch beside Mark. “We were just watching a movie. Your mam said it was okay.” Smiling, she gestured to the bully with his arm around her. “Do you want to watch the film with us?”
