The First Man by A. S. Kelly

Author:A. S. Kelly [Kelly, A. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: A. S. Kelly

Chapter 32

Shane

Before we can make it to my car, Clodagh appears, laden with Tupperware boxes. She smiles at me as she hands them to me, then turns to Andy, handing a couple of containers to him, too.

“Clodagh, I—”

“I’ve put a few slices of dessert in there too – the one you didn’t get around to eating tonight.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

Clodagh reaches onto her tiptoes and plants a kiss onto his cheek. Andy stands there, shocked and a little embarrassed; I want to tell him that, when he isn’t so tough on himself and on the world, he’s even more beautiful. But I think that could earn me a fist to the face.

“Come back soon,” she tells him.

“Thanks.” He smiles at her, and clambers quickly into the car – this is already too much for him. I watch him close the door and take a deep breath before I say goodbye to Alex’s mother myself.

“Take care of that boy,” she says kindly, giving me a kiss on the cheek, too.

“I wish he’d let me,” I respond honestly – there’s no use pretending to her anymore.

“Oh, honey. He’s been alone for so long now that he doesn’t know how to do it.”

“How to do what?”

She strokes my cheek comfortingly. “How to love himself.”

“I don’t think he ever has, you know,” I say, resignation in my voice.

“Then you have to show him. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

“That’ll be hard. He won’t even let me go near him.”

“You’re much closer already than you think,” She smiles again, then turns and heads back towards the house.

I wave to Alex and Ellie, then walk around the car and open the driver door, sliding into the seat. Andy is sitting silently, the Tupperware on his lap and his hands holding so tightly onto them that his knuckles have whitened.

I think that this man has pushed himself so far away from everything that I’m scared he’ll never be found again.

I stick the key into the ignition and turn on the engine, pulling out of Brennan’s driveway and onto the road which separates us from another night apart, with a weight in my stomach and a tightness in my chest.

His words won’t stop floating around my mind. His story was so simple, but so laced with bitterness. And then there are Clodagh’s words, the way she looked at him, and the way he looked at her.

I’ve known Andy my entire life, but I never knew about his mother or his past. Brian’s words the other day, about how the pub has nothing to do with him, made me realise that there’s a lot I don’t know about this man. I don’t really know who Andy Veldons is.

I glance quickly across at him; his own gaze is fixed onto the road ahead, unreadable as always. But the lines around his eyes have grown deeper, the colour in them disappearing; they betray the way he really feels.

Maybe I’ll never know everything about him, about his past and his family; maybe I’ll never know how he feels about me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.