“What the hell? But it’s not true. I don’t like her!” I stated.
Sean raised an eyebrow at me and grinned. “You’re possessive of her. You never let anyone pick on her growing up. You—”
I cut Sean off. “Because she was mine to torture.”
“You wouldn’t go to any parties unless she was in attendance. You—”
I jumped in and cut Sean off again. “Because they weren’t any fun unless she was there so I could wind her up!”
Sean lightly chortled. “You punched Kenny and Luke Spencer in the face because they said she was hot at her sixteenth birthday party. You—”
“Because I didn’t want to deal with a boyfriend when I was torturing her . . . How can you not see any of this?”
Sean shook his head, still not convinced.
“You admitted that seeing her makes your day.”
“Because I know I drive her mad every time I see her, and that makes me happy.”
Sean pinched the bridge of his nose. “You never shag brunettes, even though you told me they are your preference – you only get into blondes, redheads, or black-haired girls.”
“Because the only attractive girls in this bloody village happen to have blond, red, or black hair!”
Sean burst out laughing, “You’re so deep in denial you can’t see past it.”
I badly wanted to punch Sean in the face in that moment, but it wasn’t worth the wrath of my mother, or Sean’s, if I made him bruise at his engagement party, so I settled for punching him in the arm instead.
“You’re being a real bastard, you know that?”
Sean rubbed his arm. “I’m aware of it, yes.”
Arsehole.
I lifted my hands to my face and scrubbed. When I lowered them I looked around the pub again and grunted.
“Where is she? I know she’s biding her time to get back at me, and not being able to keep me eye on her is scaring me.”
Sean laughed. “You’re scared of Neala?”
I growled. “You’ll be scared too when it’s her turn to strike you. She thinks you aided me by getting me into her apartment; I’m sure of it.”
Sean opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it and nodded in agreement. “What are you going to do? Stand here all night and search for her?”
I sighed and shrugged.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Sean was about to say something when my mother appeared with two glasses filled with what looked to be an alcoholic liquid.
“These were meant to be vodkas and Coke, but the barman gave us whiskey instead. Do you both want them?” my mother asked.
Sean shook his head, but I took both drinks.
“Thanks, Ma,” I said, and downed them both.
I scrunched my face up as the liquid burned a pathway down my throat and to my chest. I hadn’t planned on drinking tonight. I needed to be on Neala Alert, but it was essential that I be relaxed for that, and that was exactly what the whiskey did.
“Why don’t you both go and see your fathers?”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why?”
My mother huffed, “I don’t really care where you go, Darcy; just stop standing here and glaring at our friends. You look . . . odd.”
Sean laughed. “He’s on Neala Alert.”
My mother smirked, and it caused me to roll my eyes.
“Don’t start, Ma.”
With that said I brushed by my mother and went in search of my father. Sitting with him was probably the safest thing for me to do right now. Neala loved my father and wouldn’t try to hurt me when I was in close proximity to him . . . I hoped not, anyway.
“Darcy, where are you going?” my father called out to me thirty minutes later.
“Bathroom,” I rasped.
I thought I heard laughter coming from my father, but I couldn’t be sure. I didn’t really care, though, because I needed to get to a bathroom as soon as possible. My stomach was absolutely killing me, and I felt like my insides were about to spill out from my arsehole.
If it sounds disgusting, you can only imagine how I felt.
“What the hell did I eat?” I groaned in pain as I stumbled down the small hallway of the pub.
I tried to think of anything I had eaten earlier in the day that could make me feel so ill, but the only thing out of the norm was the buffet of pub food that Sean and Jess had made for their party. I’m not fond of spices, and that was all the buffet consisted of. Spices and herbs.
Never, ever would I touch either one again; my stomach churned just at the thought.
I reached the men’s toilet and sighed out loud as I pushed the door open, only to stumble into the wall when I saw all three stalls had pieces of paper with ‘OUT OF ORDER’ on the door.
“This can’t be bleeding happening to me!”
I made a decision in a split second to use the ladies’ room. I would apologise to every woman who came in and heard or smelt me, but I couldn’t not go to the bathroom. I quickly moved to the right to go into the ladies’, but like the men’s room, the door wouldn’t open. I looked up and punched the door when I spotted the same ‘out of order’ sign hanging on the door.
“None of the toilets work?” I shouted.
Bollocks.
I had to leave.
I had to go home where I could go to the toilet, and die in peace.
I would never usually leave a party, especially a family one, but I had to, and I couldn’t stop to say goodbye to anyone. I ignored everyone around me and made a beeline for the pub exit.
Of course I wasn’t blessed with making a quick escape; the hand that clamped down on my shoulder made sure of that.
“Where the hell are you waddling off to?”
I turned to face Sean. “I need to go.”
“Go where? And seriously, you’re walking like a penguin. What’s up with that?”
I ignored his laughter and said, “I need to leave.”
“What do you mean, you have to leave?” Sean asked me.
I understood his annoyance. I was part of his wedding party, and here I was bailing on the long-awaited engagement celebration. Not only that, I was also his friend. But I couldn’t help it; I had to leave.
My arsehole demanded it.
“I have to, man,” I said, then hunched over as another horrible cramp somersaulted in my stomach.
I felt a hand on my back. “Darcy, are you okay?”
I really wasn’t.
“No,” I hissed in pain. “I think the food isn’t sitting well with me. Me stomach is killing me.”
Sean helped straighten me up and smiled and nodded at the punters of the pub, who gazed at me a little too long.
“You don’t think the food is bad, do you?” Sean asked, his tone worried.
I shook my head.
“No, no, it tasted delicious. I think the spices are just affecting me the wrong way tonight.”
Sean winced as he caught my meaning.
“Go on home, man. Make friends with your toilet. I’ll tell everyone your arse is on fire and you had to leave. They’ll all understand, trust me.”
“If I wasn’t hurting so bad, I’d knock you out.”
Sean laughed and patted me on the back, hard. “Lucky me then.”
“Aye,” I grumbled as he wished me well and trotted over to his beautiful soon-to-be bride. “Lucky you.”
I turned and waded through the group of familiar faces. I grew up in Tallaght Village, so there wasn’t a face I didn’t know, or a name I didn’t recognise. Right now I hated it more than anything, because multiple people tried to stop me for a quick chat or a picture along my way out of the pub, but I had to turn them all down.
I heard a familiar laugh from somewhere to my left, and when my eyes caught hers I narrowed them. Neala was perched upon a stool at the bar. For a moment I found myself staring at her legs, but I shook myself out of it and growled in her direction. She was looking right at me and she was smirking.