“What happened?” I asked, concerned.
Alannah may not be dating any of my brothers, but she was part of our family, and we all loved her.
“Some arsehole rear ended me and I’ve to fork out a fortune to get me car fixed. It’s the last thing I need. Shit has just been goin’ from bad to worse for me lately. I just can’t catch a break,” she said and shrugged her shoulders.
Bronagh looked crestfallen with Alannah’s announcement.
“Talk to me.” She stood and rounded the chair until she was in front of Alannah. “What’s wrong?”
Alannah looked at Bronagh, then out of nowhere she burst into tears. “Me da,” she cried. “He is havin’ an affair, and me ma has no clue about it.”
“Oh, fuck,” Alec whispered when Bronagh folded her arms around Alannah.
“What am I goin’ to do, Bee?” she sobbed. “If I tell me ma, it’s goin’ to break ‘er heart, and if I don’t, I’ll be the worst daughter for keepin’ it from ‘er.”
Bronagh hugged Alannah tightly.
“Are ye’ sure he is havin’ an affair?” she quizzed. “Maybe you’re mistaken, babe.”
“I’m not,” Alannah sniffled. “I went into town yesterday evenin’ to get some ink cartridges for me printer, and as I was passin’ by a restaurant, somethin’ told me to look through the window. I did, and there he was, sittin’ with a woman half his age at the table near the window where anyone could see them. I think she might be the same age as me! At first, I didn’t even consider anythin’, then he reached out and took ‘er hand in his. One second, they were holdin’ hands, and the next, he leaned over, and they kissed!”
“Double fuck,” Alec whispered.
“I didn’t know what do,” she said, her lower lip wobbling. “I was scared he would see me, so I just ran back to me car and drove back to me apartment. I rang me ma to see what she was doin’ and she said she was preparin’ dinner for me da, his favourite because he had been workin’ such long hours lately. She doesn’t know, Bronagh ... How could he do this to ‘er? To our family? I hate ‘im.”
My heart broke for her and for her unknowing mother.
“We’ll figure this out,” Bronagh said, consoling her friend.
I knew Bronagh was saying what she thought was necessary, but I could see from her face that she had no clue how to help Alannah through this, but I knew she’d do everything possible to help her. We all would.
“About your car,” Aideen added, shifting the attention onto her. “I’ll ring me da and have ‘im book your car into his garage. Me brothers love you. Dante thinks you’re, and I quote ‘im, a goddess, so I’m sure he will work on it free of charge.”
Alannah pulled back from Bronagh’s hold and looked at Aideen.
“I’ll pay. I don’t want them to help me with no charge, but if it could be in instalments, that’d be perfect.”
Aideen said, “We’ll work it out. Just don’t worry about it.”
Alannah nodded, but she wore her heart on her sleeve, and I could see worrying was all she would be doing. When I looked at her, the urge to protect her was something fierce.
“Lana.” Branna moved away from me and towards her. “Come with me. I want to talk to ye’.”
They both left the room, leaving us to wait in silence. No one knew what to say, not even Alec tried to filled the void with a joke. Minutes went by, and when Branna returned to the room, she frowned.
“She’s in denial,” she told us. “She thinks she can make ‘er da stop cheatin’ on her ma. She is puttin’ pressure on ‘erself to keep ’er family together.”
Bronagh rubbed her face with her hands. “What are we goin’ to do?”
“All we can do,” Branna replied. “Just be there for ‘er. Tellin’ ‘er what to do will only result in a fight because right now, what she has decided is the only thing that makes sense to ‘er.”
Silence fell upon the room until Damien said, “I have to fix shit with her. I heard what she said to Dominic, and I need to fix it. I hate what I’ve done to her.”
“I understand you better than anyone,” I said, “and my advice is baby steps. You’ve said you’re sorry multiple times, and you give her space whenever she is around, but what you need to do now is let her know you’re here, you’re staying, and that you will earn her trust back.”
“How the fuck am I going to do that?” Damien asked on a groan. “She barely looks at me.”
“I can’t answer that. It’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself, kid, but it’s obvious you do care for her, so just stick to your guns.”