Could it really be? Could I have this?
“We’ll look into it when I get back.” Rory shovels a bite of his second bowl of cereal into his mouth.
“We’ll be home late. We have shit to deal with,” Tiernan says, my pulse jumping only to plummet because it’s not as if I’ll be a part of that.
“I want Shai to come.” Rory pushes his bowl away.
“No.” Tiernan doesn’t bother to say more than that.
“Why not? Dean does shit with us,” Rory argues, and asmuch as I agree with him, I don’t want him to fight with his family for me.
“Cherry…”
“Fuck you,” Dean tells him.
“Fuck you back,” Rory counters.
“Jesus.” Tiernan rubs a hand over his face, clearly frustrated. “You’re all like a bunch of kids sometimes.”
“Yeah, well, that’s coming from a fifty-year-old in a twenty-one-year-old’s body.” Cillian winks at him.
“He can do this,” Rory presses.
“He hasn’t proven himself yet.”
“How does he do that if you don’t give him a chance?” Rory shoves to his feet.
“Hey, it’s fine. Don’t argue over me.” I reach for Rory’s hand and try to pull him back to the chair.
“Leave it alone.” Tiernan stands too, bringing his bowl to the sink.
“Leave what alone?” Rory asks.
“Rory,” Cillian says but gets ignored.
“No. What is it? I want to know.” Rory follows him over.
Tiernan looks hesitant but also like he’s over this conversation. He sighs. “Last time the two of you were together, we had to come in and fix it. Shit happens. I get that. But I don’t know if you’re ready to be out there with him yet. If something goes wrong, if he’s in any danger, you’ll lose control.”
“And you wouldn’t if it was Dean?” I can hardly hear Rory over the blood rushing through my ears.
“No,” Tiernan answers simply. “I would worry, yes. I would do whatever I had to do to take care of him, and I would kill any fucking person who laid a hand on him, but I wouldn’t lose control.” The room goes silent. I’m not sure anyone is even breathing right now.
“Fuck you, Tiernan,” Rory says again.
“I’m not trying to be a dick.”
“So you’ve said.”
Tiernan rolls his eyes. “You can be mad at me all you want, but I’m saying this because you’re my brother. I won’t lie to you, I won’t sugarcoat shit for you, and I’ll always do what’s best for you. I want youandhim safe, and neither of you is ready.” Rory tries to turn away, but Tiernan stops him, his hand on Rory’s nape, holding him in place. “Are you hearing me? I want you both safe, and I know you want the same thing.”
“Yeah,” Rory replies. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“We good?” Tiernan loosens his hold.
“We’re good.”
Rory sits down, and I scoot closer, cheek against his, mouth close to his ear. “He’s right. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. I’m not as good at this shit as the rest of you, and I would fucking die if you were hurt because of me.” I hate speaking each and every word, but they’re true. I’m inexperienced, and Rory is a loose cannon, especially when it comes to me.
