Page 39 of Steadfast

“Tell me you see that I have no other choice,” I replied, staring into his eyes.

He was silent for a long time before his eyes closed and his chin dropped to his chest in defeat. “Fuck,” he whispered. “Give me an hour. I’ll go pack some shit and—”

My head jerked back in surprise. “What? No. What?”

“You’re not going without me.”

“You’renotgoing,” I argued.

“I am.”

“You have a life here!”

“So do you.”

“Ihaveto go.” I threw my arms out in frustration. “You don’t!”

“You can’t stop me.”

“Richie, you have a job! A career! You can’t just bail. You’ve been working so hard. Plus, yourparents.”

“I’ll be back in an hour,” he replied stubbornly. Stepping forward, he cupped my cheeks in his hands and pulled my face to his. “I love you.” The kiss was wild and desperate and wet.

The moment he walked out the front door, I was racing up the stairs with Aisling’s bottle of pain reliever in my hand.

“Hey, girlies,” I called, walking into the room. Ailing looked miserable on her bed, a coloring book in her lap.

“Hey, E,” Saoirse called from her bed.

“I brought some medicine.” I sat on the edge of Aisling’s bed. “Let’s see if this helps a little.”

Saoirse sat up in bed and watched me, and I wondered if I looked as crazy as I felt.

“The doctor sent me some medicine,” Aisling said, taking the chewable tablets from my hand. “Did you get it?”

“No, we’ll go get it in a little bit, though.” I stood and looked at Saoirse. “Help me real quick?”

“Sure.” The word was drawn out and suspicious.

She followed me to my room, and Cian was already there, sitting on the end of my bed, his elbows to his knees.

“What’s going on?” Saoirse asked nervously.

“Mom’s dead, Sersh,” I said quietly, not making her wait. “Me and Richie saw the car accident on our way home.”

“You’re sure?” she asked. When I nodded, it was like she slowly melted to the ground, her legs going out beneath her.

“Shit,” I blurted, reaching for her.

“I’m fine,” she cried quietly, pressing her forehead against my shoulder.

“Shoulda told Sersh to sit,” Cian said dryly from the bed.

“Not helpful,” I shot back.

“Saoirse, we’re leaving,” he announced, ignoring me. “Remember that call Mom had with Ashley earlier, confirming that we’d be leaving when Aoife got off work?”

They looked at each other. Saoirse nodded. “Yeah,” she rasped. “Road trip for your birthday.”

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