“I had nothing to do with this,” I try to justify.
“I’m sick, not stupid,” he shuts me up. “It’s okay. You’re here now, and Karen is much happier than she’s been in a very long time. She’s been so worried about me, I can’t let you give her any more stress. If you want to stay here, you’ll have to get along as civilised human beings, like brothers. You need to bury the hatchet, at least as long as you’re in this house. You can do what you please once you leave, but not in front of your mother, is that clear?”
My brothers nod.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Yes, Dad,” they reply in unison.
“Do it for her, she deserves it with everything she’s going through.”
“Dad,” Ryan says, putting his arms around my father’s neck. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again, I promise.”
“That’s fine.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick says, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I’ll try my best.”
Dad nods.
“Let’s go back inside and try to act like a family.”
Nick and Ryan go back into the house with their heads hung low, but carrying on their idiotic routine, pushing each other to race through the door first.
I shake my head and follow them, but my father takes me by the arm.
“I’m sorry about the other day,” he says in a whisper. “You’re my son, Ian, as much as they are.”
“No, Dad, you don’t have to—”
“I want you to know that I loved you from the first day you came through this door. When you showed up on this doorstep with all of your rage, needing to be loved. I loved you instantly. For me, you became an O’Connor in that moment, and always will be.”
I can barely hold in a sob.
“Now come here and give your dad a hug. Don’t squeeze me too much though, go slow.”
I laugh as the first tear falls down my face. “You’re the pillar of this family, Ian. I don’t know what we’d have done without you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. You’re strong and giving and we were very lucky. Thanks for letting us in to your heart.”
“It was you guys who gave me this home.”
“And you’re the one holding it together. You’re the one who continues to be there even if not everyone deserves it. You’re the one who stopped your brothers from killing each other. You’re the one who brought them all home. You, Ian, are this family. And I’ll never thank you enough for that.”
