Page 7 of Dylan
Ciara’s cheeks were heated with a pretty blush beneath her brown skin. Her lips formed a surprisedOshape as her green-gray eyes stared back at me, looking like giant saucers.
“I’m going to marry ya someday, Ciara,” I murmured and blushed myself.
“Ya’ll have to fight my da, and he’ll beat ya to a pulp, but if ya survive, I promise, I’ll marry ya, Dylan O’Brien,” she replied with a small, shy smile of her own.
I puffed out my scrawny little chest and smiled. “I’m going to hold ya to that promise, Ciara Walsh. I’ll fight the world if I have to. Nothing can keep us apart. I promise ya that.”
I haven’t forgotten that day. It’s been seared in my brain, embedded in my dreams, just like the day that would crush my world forever. Two months passed and still the Walsh family hadn’t returned.
At first, I thought nothing of it. It wouldn’t have been the first time Ciara’s da won a fight and they had to stay in the States a little longer. I thought that was the case until two more months went by, and they still weren’t back.
Ciara hadn’t even sent a postcard, since a month and a half after they left. She always sent postcards at least once a week when in the States. I knew she would be back.
I knew in my heart that last day on her farm couldn’t be our last day together. All I had to do was wait, be patient, and ignore the sinking feeling in my gut. Then that day came when everything turned on its head.
“Will ye all settle down?” my ma called across the dining room table.
My ma was the voice in our home, but our da was the enforcer. Everyone knew if Ma said be quiet, we were quiet unless we wanted the wrath of my da.
With our lot, it had to be this way. If all six of us were together, we could make a ruckus. However, with Logan, Cole, and Connie all in the States, Kate, Jamie, and I were still a handful.
“Yer da has some big news he needs to tell ye.”
My mom is beautiful with her fair skin and dark hair. I took after her, mostly unlike the rest of my siblings. Their green eyes came from Da, although they have Ma’s dark hair.
Most I got from Da was his tanned skin and blond hair. Ma swears I have his temper too. She says I’m too sweet at heart to let it get the best of me.
“I think it’s best ya tell them, hon,” my da murmured, once again proving my ma is the voice.
“Yer father’s company is giving him a promotion,” Ma started, giving Da a small smile. Bullshit. Da works for my grandda. I learned a long time ago he doesn’t work for some company, as my ma tries to play it. “They’re sending him to the States to manage one of the offices there.”
“Wow, Da, that’s great,” Kate, the youngest of my two sisters, said.
Da grunted and nodded his head. I sat with my stomach churning. If he was going to the States, what did that mean for us?
I felt all the blood rush out of my face and could hear my heart in my ears so loudly I almost didn’t hear what my ma said next.
“We’ll all be together again. Your brothers and sister are waiting for us to arrive. We’ll start packing this weekend. We’ll all be moving with yer da in two weeks,” she chirped proudly. “This is big for yer da and we’re going to support him however we can.”
My dinner turned sour in my mouth. What if Ciara doesn’t get back in time? How will she find me?
I couldn’t leave and not tell her where I was going. She was the only real friend I ever had.
I pushed from the table, knocking my chair over and ran for the front door. My ma called for me, but I refused to stop. I had to get away. I couldn’t leave, not without knowing what happened to Ciara and letting her know what was happening with me.
I pushed my legs as fast as they could go until I passed the Walshes’ fence and stood on the front porch of the old, massive house. The house was dark. It was clear no one was home.
There was an eerie feeling as if they would never return. I racked my brain for all the reasons Ciara wasn’t back yet.
She made me a promise, and I made her one too. My da taught me and all my brothers that a man should be a keeper of his word. I vowed right there on the porch of the Walsh manor I would keep my promise someday, no matter what.
I haven’t forgotten my promise or the girl I made it to. For eleven years, I’ve been wondering what happened, waiting for the chance to return home.
If I can go home, she’ll return to me. The problem is my grandda. The old bastard is a miserable piece of shit. The old bigot hates for me and my siblings to make friends or connections with anyone who isn’t pure Irish.
It’s sick and fucking stupid. We shouldn’t have to hide our friends and relationships from him, but that’s exactly what we’ve learned to do to keep our friends safe. What was once a punishment for my da worked out in all our favor.
Moving so far away from Oland O’Brien was a godsend. This is New York, for Christ’s sake. The melting pot. I have friends from all over.
