Page 157 of Releasing 10
“You’restillferal,” I countered, laughing. “It’s grand, though. I’ve grown fond of your wild streak.”
“Jesus,” I exclaimed when we stepped foot inside Old Hall House and were greeted by the sound of loud screaming. “What’s that about?”
Mike’s voice thundered through the air, joined by Caoimhe’s hysterical wailing, and then the sound of Catherine, who was clearly trying to calm everyone down.
“No clue,” Liz replied with a sigh, edging closer to the closed kitchen door. “But I’m sure we’re about to find out.”
“How could you do this?” Mike demanded from the other side of the door. “You’ve ruined your whole future, Caoimhe!”
“Michael, please calm down.”
“Calm down? How the fuck do you propose I do that, Catherine, when our daughter swanned off to England with her boyfriend instead of sitting her leaving cert exams?”
Holy crap.
Caoimhe skipped her leaving cert exams?
I turned to look at Liz, but she seemed as bewildered as I was, with a wide-eyed expression etched on her face.
“It was one exam, Dad,” Caoimhe tried to plead, though it was muffled from the sheer height of her crying. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry, Daddy. I swear I’ll sit the rest of my exams. It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll ace the rest of my subjects.”
“No, it won’t be fine, Caoimhe,” Catherine chimed in, sounding pissed now. “English is a core subject, and you skipped the exam. Without English, you automatically fail the leaving cert, regardless of how well you do in your other exams!”
“I didn’t know that!” Her screams and wails grew louder. “I didn’t know, I swear!”
“You knew you were supposed to be at Tommen this morning at nine o’clock sharp,” Mike interjected. “Youknewthat much, Caoimhe, but oh no, you couldn’t do that one simple thing, could ya? No, because instead, you decided to flush your future down the drain for a dirty weekend with that prick Mark Allen!”
Well, shit…
Go Mike.
“I said I’m sorry!” Caoimhe screamed, and the sound of a chair scraping on tiles filled my ears. “But I had to go, Dad, I was running out of time—”
“Don’t you dare say it!” her father roared. “I’m already fully aware why he took you over on the boat to England. I don’t need you verbalizing my worst fucking nightmare out loud!”
“Why, Caoimhe?” Catherine sobbed. “Why didn’t you come to me, love?”
“Because of him!” Caoimhe screamed. “Look at his reaction, Mam. How could I talk to you about what was happening when all he ever does is lose the head and pass judgment? I did the right thing forme, and I thought I was doing what was best for the—”
“Don’t fucking say it!”
“Michael, please try to calm down.”
“How are we going to show our faces at mass, Catherine? She’s brought shame down on the whole family.”
“Nobody knows, Dad, I promise.”
“God knows, Caoimhe!”
“Are you fucking serious, Dad?” Caoimhe screamed. “You’re worried about your God in the sky when your flesh and blood is standing right in front of you, begging for help?”
“No daughter of mine would do what you did,” Mike shouted back. “Don’t you ever bring that prick around here again. Do ya hear me? He’s not to step foot through the front door of this house ever again!”
“Dad, please!”
“No, don’t try to hug me! I can’t stand to look at you right now.”
“Dad, I’m begging you to understand—”
