Chapter 1
The New York air was bitter on that particular night as it whipped around the shoulders of a young woman standing outside of the Firecracker lounge. Bevin Donnelly had just gotten out of a cab, and carried a small bag with her. She could hear noises inside but she could not bring herself to go inside. They would hate her. She knew they would. It had been four years. Four years since she left them without barely saying good-bye. The thought of returning had only briefly entered her mind when it happened.
The call broke her heart. Her old friend Jenny Reilly had called her a few mornings prior to break the heart-wrenching news-Helen Donnelly had passed away. It had been four years since Bevin left, and in that time she barely spoke to her family. Now her mother was gone and she couldn't help but partially blame herself for not being here.
She was caught off guard when the door opened and a man came flying out. He looked at her and did a double-take. "Bevin?"
She sighed. "Joey."
He stared at her. "We never thought we'd be seeing you around here, Bev."
She nodded. "That was the plan."
He sighed. "Your brothers…"
"Are they all in there?"
He sighed. "Bev…"
"Joey."
He gave a short nod. He started to walk away but stopped. "Hey about your Ma…"
She nodded. "Thanks."
She turned her attention back to the building and sighed, figuring it was best to just get this over with. She cautiously grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open.
The second she did, everything grew quiet. Bevin stared at the men before her. Jimmy, Tommy, Kevin, Sean. They stood together, like a pack.
"What the Hell are you doing here?" Tommy asked not-so-quietly.
Bevin sighed. "Mom."
He glanced at Jimmy before walking to her. "You left, Bev. We haven't heard from you in four years and now you just show up like this?"
Bevin looked at her brothers and stood her ground. "I left. I know. But you don't even know the half of it Tommy. None of you do." she faltered and glanced downward for a second.
"Care to elaborate?"
She shook her head immediately. "No." She took a deep breath. "Listen…I know you guys don't want me back. You hate me. I get it. But I came back for Mom."
"Then why didn't you say goodbye? What could have been so bad that you couldn't at least say good-bye? Why couldn't you just-"
"It would have broken her heart!" She screamed and there was silence again. She took a deep breath. "I am not going to explain to you why I left. I…need to forget that. I came back because I know Mom would have wanted me to. I came back for her…and I came back for you."
They all looked at her. "We don't hate you."
Bevin looked at Kevin. "What?"
He shrugged. "We don't hate you. At least I don't."
She sighed and sent him a sad smile. "But if you knew…you would."
They watched her carefully. "Listen…I know you don't want me here. But I am family…so that means you have to take me in."
Tommy sighed with wild eyes and nodded. "Fine. Sean, Kevin, take her and her stuff home. We'll talk later."
She stared at him for a minute before leaving with her younger brothers. Tommy turned to look at Jimmy. "So what do you think she is hiding?"
His brother shrugged. "I don't know. But something big."
"Dammit, Bev."