In Bed With My Hockey Stepbrother

er life, was dangled in front of my fa

estate for attending a private school, I knew it couldn't be wor

y school, would be in my class at Tommen College. The principal, Mr. Twomey, had assured

with Mam taking extra cleaning shifts at the hospital to

were the ones men wore at mass on a Sunday, never on t

xam year-had caused a huge rift in our family, with my father furious to be spending t

star son, he shut me down, refusing to hear me out and letting me know in no uncertain terms that he w

far from rugby and prep schools you were reared," not to mention my favori

d hadn't worked a day since I was seven-fending for the family

had never been subjected to bullying a day in his whole life. I

bullied Mam a

I had spent most of my winter break holed up i

though his was much bigger than mine, having shared it with Darren until he moved out. Tadhg and Ol

house, with barely any room to swing a cat, I appreciated

om, kitchen, and one bathroom for the entire family. It was a semi-d, and sit

ed with crime, and I avoided

ouse-and street-full of bustle and madn

rowed time because Ma

rl, I would los

athroom door, dragging me from my impervious thoug

assessment of my appearance. "You can do this," I whis

on the rack and unlocked the door, eyes landing on my brother, who wa

g alert and surprised. He was sporting a roaster of a black eye from the hurling match h

myself for the jokes he would inevitably make at my expense, but they never came. "Lovely," he

I kept my voice low so I didn'

ld hear my father's loud snoring coming from behind their closed bedroom door, and

, it was jus

wo am

uld do that with Joey. He was the only one in our family I felt I could ta

d I knew he was up this early not because he was desperate to use

15 in the

05 a.m., but I had a bus to catch and the only

ut it was the only one that passed the school in time. Mam