“Does this have anything to do with why you keyed your coach’s car?”
He nods. “Callan told me something about that man. He made me promise not to tell. But I was so angry. I keyed his car, and when the Garda took me down to the station, I told them what Callan had told me. I wanted them to lock the bastard up and throw away the key.”
“Did they?”
“No. They investigated, but I was the only one who spoke out, and well, I wasn’t a direct witness. Just a tattletale who’d been caught keying his car. They said I was making it up to get out of trouble. Rumours started up, though, and then he left.” He swirls the dregs of his coffee around.
“Want another?”
“Please.”
I finish my own and then grind up enough beans for one mug.
“Did I do the right thing?” Rory asks.
“The coach was hurting your friend?” I transfer the ground beans into the coffee maker.
“Ay.”
My mind goes into overdrive as I think of all the possible things the football coach could have been doing. They all leave a bad taste in my mouth.
“And because of you, he ended up leaving town?”
Rory nods.
“Which means he could no longer hurt your friend?”
He nods again.
“Then yes. I think you did the right thing.” I take the freshly filled mug of coffee to him. “Sometimes secrets can’t be kept.” I swallow, but it doesn’t dislodge the painful lump in my throat. “If you’d have kept Callan’s secret, bad things would have kept on happening to him. You did what you had to do to help him.”
“I lost my best friend.” Rory’s voice is rough and watery.
“Would you do it again?”
He presses his lips together and breathes deeply through his nose. “I think so. I miss him, but the price of keeping his friendship was too high. I couldn’t…” He shakes his head violently. “I couldn’t stay quiet.”
“I know.”
Rory rubs his eyes. “I’m sorry. You probably want to get to your bed.”
“I’m fine. I can stay with you for as long as you need me to.”
“I miss him. We had joint birthday parties every year until we were fourteen. We’d take it in turns to pick the theme.”
“What theme would you pick this year?”
“Fuck knows. I’m a bit old for aStar Warsparty.”
“Are you ever too old for aStar Warsparty?”
It’s good to hear Rory laugh. “I guess not.”
“How about takeaway with your housemates?”
“No. I told you. I don’t want anyone to make a fuss. No one else needs to know.”
“Are you sure?”
