Keeping 13

The first week that Shannon is home from the hospital, she begins to see the “cracks” forming in their new family arrangement. Her mother is quiet and withdrawn, spending most of her time smoking. No one has seen or heard from Joey; Ollie and Tadhg refuse to listen to Darren, insisting that he find Joey; and Sean won’t speak to anyone. Shannon feels partially bad for Darren but mostly feels “infallible allegiance toward Joey” (85).

Edel goes to Dublin to take paperwork to her husband, leaving Gibsie to come over and look after Johnny. Having not seen Shannon in a week, Johnny convinces Gibsie to take him to her house despite Gibsie’s resistance.

Johnny and Gibsie pick up Claire to make it more likely that Darren will let them see Shannon. At Shannon’s house, Darren answers the door. Despite his mother’s and Gibsie’s warnings to not get involved, Johnny immediately gets confrontational with Darren. He swears at him and demands to see Shannon, but Darren responds calmly, telling him that he needs to give Shannon “space.” Johnny gets increasingly angry, insisting that her family is what caused her pain to begin with. Even after Darren threatens to call the Gardaí, Johnny still refuses to leave. Shannon interrupts their argument. She darts out of the house, under Darren’s arm, and runs to Johnny.

Johnny demands that Darren ask Shannon what she wants. She speaks up and insists that she is going to be with her friends for a while. Darren hesitates, then warns Johnny to watch her because their father is still out there.

As Shannon, Johnny, Gibsie, and Claire go to leave, a car screeches to a stop in front of their house. The door opens, and Joey falls out of it onto the pavement. As the car drives away, Shannon recognizes it as belonging to Shane Holland.

Joey lies on the ground in the street. Shannon tries to get him to get up, but he is extremely high and keeps insisting that he “fucked up” and would be happy to be run over in the street. Johnny tries multiple times to help Joey sit up, but with his injury and Joey’s lack of help, Joey just keeps falling back onto the pavement. Finally, Gibsie steps in and lifts Joey into the car.

The five of them drive to Johnny’s house. Shannon notes the “tension” in the car, as everyone rides silently and she tries to talk to Joey, who is barely conscious.

Gibsie and Claire take Joey up to Johnny’s room. Shannon and Johnny talk, both of them confirming that they are struggling, but healing. Johnny admits to her that letting her go back to her house and not knowing what is going on with her is extremely difficult, and he wishes she could just stay with him.

Johnny and Gibsie give Joey a shower as he continues to vomit. Joey slowly comes back around, initially angry at them but lacking the strength to resist. When Gibsie leaves to take his own shower, Johnny stays and talks with Joey. Joey breaks down, sobbing as he tells him what it was like to see Shannon dying in their kitchen and not be able to help her. Johnny is heartbroken hearing Joey talk and considers how hard it must be for Joey. However, he insists that substances are not the answer. He compares it to playing rugby—he could use substances to make himself better or heal faster, but they are only temporary fixes. Joey thanks him, and the two sit in silence until Joey goes to call Aoife.

In the living room, Johnny finds Shannon worrying about her brother. She asks to go see him, and Johnny tells her that she does not need to ask permission to do so.

Shannon goes up to Joey’s room and finds him asleep on the bed. She thinks of how he used to be when he hung out with Shane—always using substances—until Aoife came into his life. Claire comes up to tell Shannon that she has to go, but Johnny offers to let Shannon and Joey stay over.

After Claire and Gibsie go, Johnny and Shannon have several uncomfortable moments. She thinks of how she wants to kiss him but doesn’t have the courage to tell him so. He tells her that she needs to tell him what she wants and take the lead, adamant that he wants her to be in charge.

The two sit on the couch, and Johnny orders a pizza. She tries to tell him not to buy her food, but he insists that he will always pay for her—not because she can’t afford it, but because it’s the type of person he is.

While watching a movie together, Johnny thinks to himself how much he likes Shannon, but doesn’t want to pressure her or “take advantage” of her situation. He realizes that he will be leaving in a few months for rugby if he recovers, but for the first time in his life, he isn’t sure that that’s what he wants.

Johnny asks Shannon how she feels about him. She tells him that he makes everything in her life better and makes her feel “safe.” However, she also admits that she feels awful for “derailing” his life. Johnny responds that she is there, and he is with her because he wants it that way, not because he feels obligated.

Shannon responds by asking Johnny to kiss her. He fumbles over his words and suggests that they keep talking, not wanting to push things with her. However, she is adamant that she wants to kiss him.

Shannon and Johnny kiss on the couch, with Johnny attempting to stop and talk a few times, but Shannon insists that they keep kissing. After several hours, they realize that it is after three in the morning.

The two lie together on the couch while Johnny asks her questions about her life. They talk for several more hours, with Shannon telling him about her family and the current situation with Darren and her mom. When Johnny asks about Joey, Shannon realizes how much she loves Johnny, as no one else bothers to ask about him.

When Edel comes home the next morning, she yells for Johnny, saying that Marie has been calling all night looking for Shannon. She is initially angry when she finds Shannon with Johnny in the living room, but she softens when she sees Shannon’s bruising for the first time. She makes them go into the kitchen for breakfast just as Joey comes downstairs.

As Johnny and Shannon enter the kitchen, they hear Joey and Edel talking. Joey seems surprised that Edel is interested in his life, as Edel expresses her pride in him for handling his family, managing to work, and going to school.

After breakfast, Shannon’s mother tells Joey and Shannon that she will take them home. She tells Johnny that he has to go to therapy, and he tries to argue, but Shannon says that they need to go home.

At Shannon’s house, Joey and Shannon hesitate to get out of the car, and Johnny thinks of how wrong it feels to leave them there. As Shannon goes to get out of the car, Johnny gives her his phone. She initially refuses, but he insists that he needs her to have it so that he does not worry whether she is safe. They hear Marie come out of the house, yelling.

Edel, Shannon, and Joey get out of the car. Edel tries to talk to Marie, but Marie yells at Shannon for staying out all night and then turns her anger on Edel. She tells Edel that she is “lucky” she didn’t call the police and tells her to keep Johnny away from Shannon. As the situation escalates, Johnny gets out of the car to try to calm down his mother. However, Edel yells at Marie to worry about her own family, as Marie tells her that she will have Johnny arrested for statutory rape if he goes near Shannon. Darren tries to intervene, but in response, Edel starts toward Marie. Johnny drags her back to the car, as she calls Marie a “bitch” and tells her to “take a good fucking look at [her] own family” before talking about Johnny (161-62).

Hours later, sitting in the kitchen, Shannon confronts her mother about how she treated Johnny. However, her mother responds that Johnny is not “safe” for Shannon. As Shannon angrily tells her that she hates her, Darren insists that their mother “knows she was wrong” (165), but when he tries to get her to admit it, she just stares into space and smokes her cigarette.

Joey interrupts them, telling Darren that she won’t answer and that she is “broken.” He then asks Darren if this is what he had in mind when he tried to protect their mother and restart their family, but he doesn’t answer. Joey starts dinner, then carries his mother upstairs to help her shower, as Shannon thinks of how things are going back to how they were.

Johnny goes to the doctor before school and is told that he is recovering well, but it will be four more weeks before he can practice. He tries to argue, but his father interrupts and insists that Johnny will be patient.

On the way to school—the first day back after break—Johnny’s father reminds him to be careful with Shannon and not to go over to her house. Johnny hasn’t spoken to Shannon in the week since the incident at her house, as she didn’t answer any of his calls or texts.

Before school, Joey talks with Shannon in her room. She tells him she is afraid to go to school because of what people will say to her and about her. He tells her that she has two choices: tell them the truth or tell them it’s none of their business. Regardless, he insists that they are no longer going to lie about their father.

Darren comes into their room and tells Joey that Aoife is outside. Joey is rude to Darren and brushes past him. Shannon thinks of how he is doing better, not hanging out with Shane, trying with Aoife, and staying at their house. However, she wonders how long it will last.