Page 82 of Dirty Padraig: Dirty Dusters

“For now.”

“For now.”

We travel the rest of the journey in silence.

* * *

Sitting on the sofa,I stare across at the amber liquid. I’ve just been dropped off by Liam, the conversation with Sophia still ringing in my ears.

It’s clear she wants me to believe myself responsible for the failure of Eoin and Jaine’s relationship. That my covert rendezvous with Jaine was the final nail in the coffin.

It wasn’t.

Jaine, Dylan, and I know the truth and one day when Jaine finally reveals all of her secrets, everyone else will know the truth too. That she came here because she had nowhere else safe to go.

It all boils down to trust. If Jaine were mine and she told me that nothing had happened, then I would believe her one hundred percent. Does Eoin not trust her, or does he not trust me with her?

Either way that says more about him than her. What’s got him so worried? What she and I shared is in the past. Her future is with him, not me. Why would she want me when they’re already a family unit?

I haven’t spoken to him since the night of the attack. Maybe it’s time to change that rather than listening to hearsay. Maybe it’s time to be wrongly accused direct from the horse’s mouth.

I continue to stare at my liquid nemesis. For the first time in a while, I’m tempted to give in to its silent call. I pick up my phone instead.

“How’s it hanging, brother?” I smile as I speak. Dylan and I are slowly starting to repair our own fractured relationship. I had no idea how much my removing myself from the family affected him. We were joined at the hip. We did everything together before I abandoned him.

I realize now how selfish I was. That I could have and should have done things differently. Confronted my demons rather than running from them. Faced my problems head-on.

Maybe then I could have stopped the love of my life from marrying my own fucking brother.

“It’s hanging just fine, Paddy.”

He knows what I’m going to ask before I even say the words.

“How’s Jaine?” It’s been over a week since I spoke to her last.

“I’m not sure. She’s been speaking to Jessie, not me.”

“You sound a bit miffed about that.”

“I thought she and I were friends.”

“You are friends, but sometimes females just need to talk girly stuff.”

“It’s not just that.”

“No?”

“I reckon it’s partly because I kept telling her to do our Eoin’s bidding. In the end, she’d had enough of me and him.”

I chuckle. “She won’t hold a grudge against either of you. She almost died. She’ll just be taking time out and doing some reflection.”

“I guess.”

“You miss her?”

“Yes.”

“Join the club. So, has Jessie not given anything away about what they’ve been talking about?”

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