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“A bed.”
“Were you in the bed?”
“No.” Liz shook her head. “She was.”
“Caoimhe?”
She offered me a stiff nod. “She was crying.”
“That sounds scary.” My heart started to gallop in my chest, but I didn’t dare let her know that. Instead, I kept my voice as soothing and relaxed as I could when I asked, “Was there anyone else in the room?”
She shook her head frantically before nodding.
“There was?”
She shook her head again and then nodded.
“There wasn’t?”
“I don’t know.” Clenching her eyes shut, Liz expelled a shaky breath. “I don’t want to think about it anymore.”
“Okay,” I replied when all I wanted to scream wasno, don’t stop now. I couldn’t do that to her, though. Not when I was going home tomorrow and wouldn’t be here to pick up the pieces. “We don’t have to talk about it tonight.” Draping an arm around her narrow waist, I pulled her close so that our chests were flush. “Try and get some sleep, okay?”
“What if the monster crawls out of my dreams?”
“I’ll be right here,” I promised, tightening my hold on her. “Watching over you.”
“And keeping me safe?”
“Yeah, Liz,” I croaked out, feeling my heart crack. “Keeping you safe.”
PART 16
New Horizons
THE BOYS OF TOMMEN
Hugh
AUGUST 30, 2000
“OH, MYJAYSUS, WHO LET YA OUT OF THE HOUSE LOOKING LIKE THAT?” JOHNNYKavanagh demanded in his thick Dublin accent, as he circled Gibsie in the car park of Tommen College on our first morning of secondary school. “There’s no bleeding way I’m letting you walk into school with that thing on ya, Gibs.” He turned his accusing, steel-blue eyes on me. “How could youallowthis to happen, Hughie?”
“I’m not his keeper, Cap,” I laughed, holding my hands up.
“No, but apparently he is,” Feely interjected with a chuckle.
“I beg all of your pardons,” Gibsie huffed, grabbing the lapels of his ultra-posh, navy blazer. “My mam said I look smart.”
“Yeah, and my ma said the same thing when she tried to wrestle me into one, but I wasn’t thick enough to believe her,” Kav countered, grimacing. “Take the bleeding thing off, will ya? Or you’ll be the laughingstock before first bell.”
“But all the other first years are wearing blazers,” Gibs complained, pointing to a group of fresh-faced first years hurrying past us before smoothing the sleeves of his tailored blazer. He then cast a disparaging glance at all three of us before huffing out a breath. “Don’t be jealous because I look beautiful while the three of ye look like dog shit in jumpers.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll take dog shit any day over Carlton bleeding Banks,” Kav grumbled before he proceeded to physically wrestlethe blazer off our friend. “No best friend of mine is walking around with a target on his back.”
“You just called me your best friend.”
“No, I didn’t.”
