I turn to look at them.“Out like babies.”
“Will you be able to carry them all on your shoulders?”
“Obviously.Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“What a stupid question.Are you theCaptainor not?”
When he says that word and looks at me again, the heartburn returns.
“Yeah,” I mutter under my breath before turning away and remaining silent until we reach our destination.
After droppingIan and Ryan off at Ryan’s, we take the family’s biggest dickhead, Nick, home.
“God, you’re heavy, Nick,” I say, struggling to hold him up.
“Don’t leave all the weight on me,” the Doctor complains.I try to lift him a little and load him over my shoulder — after all, I’m the one with the muscles.
We both slip into the house, holding Nick between us, and lean him against the wall to deactivate the alarm.He’s not unconscious, but he’s not quite aware of what’s happening, and he doesn’t have the strength to stand on his feet.
We carry him to the sofa.Nick drops like a sack of potatoes.I definitely won’t take him upstairs to his room to undress him.
“Where is Casey?”the Doctor asks, realising no one is home.
“At Riley’s.The girls are spending these two days there.”
The O’Connor women have bonded so much that they’re now inseparable.I think it’s a survival instinct: I can’t see any other way to deal with the O’Connors than to present a united front and hope they don’t kill each other at one of their family dinners.
“Well, I’ve done my job.Do you want me to take you home or…?”
“No, I’ll stay here tonight.Someone has to watch over him, and since Casey isn’t here…”
“Do you want me to help you take him upstairs?”
“He’s fine where he is.”
“You can’t leave him on the sofa.”
I shrug.
“Come on, just one more little effort.”
I snort, but I let the Doctor convince me to take Nick to his bedroom.
What a fucked-up situation!I knew it would end like this, but I didn’t think I’d end up babysitting the O’Connor brothers with the Doctor.
“If you’re going to undress him, I warn you I’ll leave you to it.”
“Such a fuss,” he comments as he helps me up the stairs, this mountain of stupidity slung over my back.We take a few clumsy steps towards the bed, and when we put him down, we both fall with him.
“What an idiot,” I say, trying to free myself from his arm looped around my neck.
The Doctor laughs as he tries to free himself from Nick’s grip, too.
We pick ourselves up at the same time and, for an instant, find ourselves close — too close — in the dark.It’s the kind of closeness you should never experience in a moment like this, especially when you’re drunk, your senses are numbed, and your mind lost in an unknown place.When you’re under pressure, and everyone around you seems to have found a way forward, while you stand still and watch them run past you.
We get up slowly and walk away in silence.The Doctor clears his throat and fixes his unruly hair.
“So, I’ll leave you with him,” he says, nodding towards Nick.
