Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
My laughter stopped.
“Sit down,” I ordered Cian.
“What?” He looked between me and Richie. “No. What the fuck is going on?”
“Where are the rest of the kids?”
“Ronan’s outside,” Cian replied slowly. “Saoirse and Aisling are upstairs.”
“Good. Sit.”
Our staring contest only lasted a moment.
“She’s dead, isn’t she?” he asked roughly.
I clenched my jaw and nodded.
“Fuck,” he whispered painfully, his eyes still on mine.
“We drove by the wreck on our way home,” I said quietly. “The car was—” I shook my head. “There was a body bag, and the ambulance was just sitting there.”
“Maybe it wasn’t her,” he said quickly. “If the car was messed up, maybe it wasn’t hers.”
“It was.”
Richie’s hand wrapped gently around the back of my neck.
“How do you know?” Cian argued. “It might not be—”
“The bumper sticker,” I ground out. “The Irish flag one that Dad got her.”
I’d never forget the sight of that perfect bumper sticker on the back of her mangled-beyond-recognition car.
Cian just stood there. “What the fuck are we going to do?”
I looked at my brother with his messy hair and his blue eyes that were just like mine, the slight sunburn on his cheeks and the freckles that were barely visible across the bridge of his nose. When we were little I used to sit on him and point out those freckles while he struggled and bellowed at me.
They’d take him from me over my dead body.
“We’re leaving,” I said, straightening. “Right now. Tonight.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Richie asked in disbelief.
Cian just nodded. He was with me.
“I just bought all this fucking food,” I said with a scoff. “Grab a cooler out of the garage.”
“On it,” Cian said instantly, hurrying for the door.
“Aoife,” Richie said, leaning down a little to look in my eyes. “What are you doing?”
“We have an aunt in Oregon,” I replied, already headed toward my mom’s room. “If we go there, I’m sure she’ll let us stay for a while.”
“That’s nuts.”
“It’ll work.”
It only took a few minutes to find my little box of keepsakes that Mom kept on the top shelf of her closet. The bedroom was trashed and smelled like cigarette smoke and ass, but those keepsake boxes never moved. I thought about it for a second and then pulled down the other kids’ boxes, too.
“I’m pretty sure that’s considered kidnapping,” Richie said angrily, following me around the house. “You’ll be crossing state lines.”
I dropped the boxes on the kitchen table and searched through mine. I’d been adding birthday cards to all the boxes for the past couple of years, and the one from my aunt was right on top.
With a return address on the back of the envelope.
“Bingo,” I muttered, shutting the box again.
“Jesus Christ,” Richie barked, swinging me around to face him. “This is fucking ridiculous. Slow down.”
“No,” I responded instantly.
“You’ll go to jail, Aoife.”
“No, she won’t,” Cian said, carrying two small coolers into the kitchen. He set them on the counter. “Mom was just talking to Aunt Ashley earlier, confirming that Aoife was planning on driving us out there for my birthday.”
“Jesus, you’re smart,” I said in disbelief, pulling away from Richie. “Start getting ice from the freezer.”
“That never happened,” Richie ground out, glaring at both of us.
“You weren’t here,” Cian said with a shrug. “I was. Plus, I’m sure there are phone records to prove it.”
We quickly packed the coolers and stood staring at everything on the kitchen table.
“I took out the cake stuff, but the rest of it should last us until we get there,” Cian said, glancing at me. “Fewer stops.”
“Yeah.”
Richie just stood there scowling.
“We need to get packed.” I gestured toward the unopened bag on the table. “Open it.”
Cian’s lips tipped into a small grin as he poured the new clothes out of the bag.
“Try them on before you pack them,” I said hoarsely as he held the jeans up to his waist. “Make sure they fit.”
“They’ll fit.”
“Try them on anyway.”
He looked back at me. “Thanks, sis.”
“You’re welcome.” I braced my hand against the table, suddenly exhausted. “Sorry your birthday turned into a fucking nightmare.”
Cian just shook his head. “What are we going to tell them?”
“I’ll tell Saoirse so she knows what to pack,” I replied softly. “We can tell Ro and Ash once we’re on the road.”
“Good call.”
“Go pack,” I ordered.
As soon as Cian had disappeared up the stairs, I turned to Richie. I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so angry.
“Try to understand,” I murmured.
“What happens if they show up to tell you about the accident, and you’re packing the car?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Or you get pulled over?”
“Her purse is on the coffee table,” I replied, swallowing tightly. “They won’t know who to notify for a while.”
“Then why don’t you wait?” he exploded. “You have time, right? Call your aunt and—”
“I don’t have her number,” I cut in. “Only Mom had it. I have an address. That’s it. We’re just hoping she’ll even let us stay! We haven’t even seen her since my dad’s funeral.”