Binding 13

"I repeated a class in primary school."

"Yeah?" I straightened up, a sliver of hope sparking to life inside of me. "So that makes you how old?"

Please be seventeen.

Please fucking throw me a bone and tell me you're seventeen.

"I'm fifteen."

Fuck my luck.

"I can't think what the fractions are for turning sixteen in March." She frowned for a moment before she added, "I'm bad at math, and my head hurts."

"Ten-twelfths," I reeled off glumly.

Ugh.

Just fucking ugh.

I would turn eighteen in May and she'd still be sixteen for another ten months.

Nope.

No way in hell.

Not happening.

Bad fucking plan, Joh

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Now why in the holy hell did I have to ask that?

You are almost two years older than this girl, asshole!

She's too young for you.

You know the rules.

Stand the fuck down.

"No," she replied slowly, cheeks turning pink. "Do you?"

"No, Sha

"I didn’t mean –" Pausing, she exhaled a sigh and gnawed on her bottom lip, clearly flustered. "I meant –"

"I know what you meant," I filled in, unable to stop my smile from spreading, as I re-tucked that wandering curl behind her ear. "I was just messing with you."

"Oh."

"Yeah," I teased. "Oh."

"Well?" she pressed, voice small. She glanced down at her lap before returning her attention to my face. "Do you –"

"Sha

I swung my gaze to the tall, dark-haired woman hurrying down the corridor towards us, sporting a small baby bump.

"Sha

"Mam," Sha

Highly uncomfortable at the sight of her mother's protruding stomach, I took this as my que to get the fuck away from her minor daughter.

Pregnant women made me nervous, but not nearly as much as Sha

I stood up and made to move away, only to be cornered by what I could only describe as a deranged mother bear.

"What did you do to my daughter?" she demanded, prodding my shoulder with her finger. "Well? Did you think it was fu

"What– No!" I shot back, hands up in retreat. "It was an accident. I didn’t mean to hurt her."

"Mrs. Lynch," the principal coaxed, stepping between the woman and me. "I'm sure if we all just sit down and talk about this –"

"No," Mrs. Lynch barked, voice thick with emotion. "You assured me this kind of thing wouldn’t happen at this school and look what happened on her first day!" She turned to look at Sha

"Mam, he didn’t mean to hurt me," Sha

"And how many times have you spun me that line?" her mother asked wearily. "You don’t need to cover for him, Sha

"I'm not," I protested at the same time Sha

"Shut up, you," her mother hissed, shoving me hard in the chest. "My daughter can speak for herself."

Gritting my teeth, I did, in fact, shut up.

I wasn’t going to win any verbal disputes with her mother.

"It was a complete accident," Sha

That gave the woman pause for thought.

"No," she finally admitted. "No, I don’t suppose he would – what in god's name are you wearing?"

Sha

"Uh, yeah, here," I mumbled as I pulled the scrap of grey fabric from the waistband of my shorts and held it out for her mother. "I, uh, broke that, too."

Her mother snatched the skirt from me, and I took a safe step back.

"Let me get this straight," her mother demanded, her gaze flickering between Sha

I muttered a string of curses and ran a hand through my hair.

It sounded so fucking bad when she said it like that. "I didn’t –"

"He helped me, Mam," Sha

She moved to stand up, and like the asshole I was, I moved to help her, catching a narrowing glare from her mother.

I went to her anyway.

Fuck them all.

I'd seen this girl half mindless an hour ago.

I wasn’t taking any chances with her.

"Mam," Sha

"Rugby," Mr. Twomey interjected proudly. "Our Joh

I rolled my eyes.

This was not the time to be talking me up – or the company.

"It was an honest mistake," I added with a helpless shrug. "And I'll pay for her uniform."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" her mother demanded.

I frowned.

"It means I'll pay for her uniform," I repeated slowly. "Her skirt –"

"And tights," Sha

"And her tights." I flashed her an indulgent smile then quickly sobered my features when I was met with a death glare from her mother. "I'll replace everything."

"Because we have no money?" Mrs. Lynch barked. "Because I can't afford to clothe my own child?"

"No," I said slowly, confused as fuck by the human incubator declaring silent war on me. "Because it's my fault they're ruined."

"Well, no thank you, Joh

Christ.

This woman was something else.

I tried again, "I never said she was, Mrs. Lynch –"

"Stop, Mam," Sha

"The nice thing to do would have been to not assault you on your first day," Mrs. Lynch huffed.

I stifled groan.

I wasn’t going to be wi

"I'm sorry," I rolled off the word for the hundredth fucking time.

"Joh

I sagged in relief, delighted at the prospect of getting away from this crazy fucking woman.

I took a few steps in the direction of the front entrance, then paused, hesitating.

Should I leave her?

Should I stay?

Walking away didn’t feel like the right thing to do.

Unsure, I moved to turn back but was shot down with a barking order.

"Keep walking, Joh

So I did.