Page 121 of Redeeming 6

I had nothing to say to that.

She released a shuddering breath before whispering, “Shannon. The boys. Are they okay?”

“They’re grand,” I was quick to soothe. “They’re all grand, Mam.”

“And you’re here,” she said weakly, still clutching me. “How are you here?”

“Dad phoned,” I explained, slowly peeling her hands off my hoodie and taking a seat beside her on the bed. “He asked me to come and see you.”

“He did?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, he did.”

“Where’s your father now?”

The pub, probably. “He had to leave.” I inhaled a deep breath before adding, “Dad says the doctors have discharged you, Mam. I’m here to take you home.”

“No, no, no.” Her eyes widened with fear. “I can’t leave him here. He doesn’t even have a name! Just baby boy Lynch. That’s what they called him.”

“Mam.” I sighed, trying and failing to come up with the right thing to say. I could hardly tell her that she had to. “You can’t stay here,” I settled on. “The boys need you at home with them.”

“I don’t want to,” she wailed, dropping her head in her hands and reminding me of a child trapped in a woman’s body. “Please don’t make me.”

“I’m not going to make you do anything,” I coaxed, eyeing the small pill dispenser on her tray, containing what I instantly knew was a fucking fabulous combination of Valium and diamorphine. “Is this for you?” I asked, reaching for the tiny plastic dispenser with shaky hands. “Are you meant to take these, Mam?”

She nodded weakly. “But I get so sleepy.”

“That’s the point.” I thrust the pills into one of her hands and then placed the small Styrofoam cup filled with water in the other. “Swallow them down and it’ll take the edge off.”

“Joey, I don’t—”

“Take them or I will,” I cut her off and warned. “And then we’ll both be fucked.”

Sniffling, she gave me a pained look before popping the pills into her mouth and flushing them down with a gulp of water.

A mixture of devastation and relief flooded me and I sagged forward. “Good girl.”

“I want to see him one more time,” she whispered, sagging heavily against my body. “Before we go.”

“Okay,” I replied, reluctantly slipping an arm around her frail shoulders. “I’m sure one of the midwives can organize that for you.”

“Will you stay with me when they bring him back?”

I stiffened.

“Please, Joey,” she sniffled. “Don’t leave me alone.”

“Fine.” I choked out a resigned sigh. “I’ll stay with you, Mam.”

42

Get Me Out of This House

AOIFE

It was a little after eight when Ollie had somehow managed to coax Sean upstairs, only to end up falling asleep beside him on Joey’s bed. Downstairs in the kitchen, I washed the dishes from dinner earlier, while Tadhg played a game of Snake on my phone in his bedroom.

All in all, I was pretty damn proud of how well I had managed to handle today, but that didn’t stem the anxiety steadily rising in my chest at the lack of contact from Joey. He hadn’t come home and he hadn’t called or texted, either.

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