Dolly

Twenty-Five

N I A L L

          “Are you okay, Mary? You haven’t said a word since dinner last night.” I looked over in her direction then back at the road in front of me. As she looked at the kids in the back seat, she let out a long sigh before staring at me with eyes full of emotions that make it hard to know what she’s thinking.

“I’m scared Niall.”

“Of what, baby? You know I’ve got you. Always.”

“Of what we are going to go home to. Did Harry ever tell you how bad it was?”

I shrug and shake my head, “no.”

I laced my fingers with hers and kept my eyes on the road. I didn’t want to look at her because I knew that if I did, she might just break down and cry. It’s like when someone holds back tears and you hug them, causing them to just burst out in tears in your arms.

“I thought that after he got put in prison that I wouldn’t have to be afraid of him anymore but I was wrong.”

I squeezed her hand in response and rubbed my thumb across her knuckles. With how many times I’ve had to comfort Mary, I knew that this was one of things that did it. The feeling of my skin running across her knuckles slowly, she just seemed to relax a little bit.

“What do you think you’d be doing if you never helped me out?”

“I don’t know. The same thing I was doing before I helped you out. Keeping my brother off the streets and workin’ on cars with the gang.”

“and hating me.” She laughed quietly.

“I didn’t hate you.”

“You did to, don’t lie to me. You suck at it.”

“No, I really didn’t hate you, Mary.”

“Well you were kind of a dick to me, so I just assumed.” She laughed and scooted closer to me.

“No. I knew that if I kept talking to you that I would end up falling for you and I didn’t want that to happen. You’re a very convincing lady, Mary. People are putty in your hands, they do whatever you want.” I smirked as I glanced at her.

“If everyone did what I wanted, we wouldn’t be in this mess with my father.”

“Well, he’s a criminal, Mary. Way before you came along. You can’t expect him to listen to anybody. I mean think about it. If you were a murderer running from police, would you do what people said if it could get you put back in the slammer?”

She shrugged while letting out a long breath of air. “I guess not.”