Chapter 3: An Angel for the Saints
It seemed like I'd only just fallen asleep when I shot up and looked at the clock. 11:35. Dried blood was crusted onto my forehead. Murph was still asleep. Connor was up, and there was coffee on the table. He looked like he hadn't slept at all since last night.
Last Night…goosebumps formed, it was like he was still there. I could still feel his breath on my neck.
"G'mornin" Connor said as I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Y'feelin better?" I nodded as I put a hand onto the bump on my head. Connor looked at me, confused.
"He smashed my head against the wall." I explained
"Looks like he did a pretty good job at it too." Connor said as he brushed away my hair.
"We stayin here all day? Or are we goin' back to the apartment?" I asked him.
"I dunno yet." He looked at me, concerned. "Y'sure yer alright?"
"I'm fine Connor, I swear, D'ya want ta take me to the fuckin hospital?" I said sounding a bit annoyed, I hated when they worried about me.
"I think we should go back to the apartment, if it looks safe, we'll stay. We've got this room for another 2 days." I nodded. We both looked up as Murph gave a tremendous snore. I watched as Connor walked over to him and put his gun to Murphy's head. I choked down a laugh as Connor started yelling.
"GET UP! Right now! Don't move, or I'll kill'em!" Murphy shot up. He looked at the gun, then at Connor, then at me. And I burst out laughing.
"Since you're up, we're going to check the apartment. Oh! And we've got coffee!" Connor said, slightly smirking and trying so hard not to bust up laughing.
"The fuck was that for?" Murphy said a little irritated "You scared the bejesus outta me!"
"I dunno. But you shoulda seen the look on yer face! It was priceless!" Connor erupted into fits of laughter. I walked over to Murphy, giving him a hug and a kiss as well.
"I see your feeling better." He worry flashed through his eyes. My heart sank slightly.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." I said, thinking of a way to change the subject. A hasty knock at the door distracted all our attention. Connor peeked through the hole, and quickly opened the door.
"Da!" Murphy exclaimed, jumping up from the bed, hugging him, like a little boy who's been waiting for his dad all day.
"'Lo boys, Aideen." He nodded to me.
"Wha's brought you out of hiding?" Connor asked what I'd been thinking.
"I decided to come and check on you three, make sure everything was alright, and the apartment's completely destroyed."
"Wha? How long ago were you there?" Murphy asked.
"Not more'n 15 minutes ago." And so, we were out the door, driving like mad to the apartment. I ran towards the door, Connor grabbed me.
"Stop, ya dun't know what's in there." Murphy opened the door, slowly. I rushed in. The place was torn apart. The table and chairs had been thrown across the room. The couch turned almost upside down, the TV had been thrown against the wall, and the dishes had been thrown against the walls, leaving glass everywhere.
"Lord in 'evan!" I heard Connor whisper as he entered behind me. The door to the bedroom was open. I ran in. Clothes lay everywhere, mattresses leaning up against the wall, cut open. Every single box had been dumped out. I picked up the box that had held pictures of the boys and I, and our families.
"Look 'it this." Murphy held up a picture of what had been the three of us at the Empire State Building when we went last year. All of our faces had been ripped out. It was the same for almost every picture that we had.
"Do you think this had anything to do with last night?" Connor asked.
"What about last night? What happened?" Da demanded. I explained it to him.
"That was no coincidence, keep your eyes open and your guns at hand." Having the twins' dad there was strange. We'd only met him 4 months ago, and our first encounter with him, he tried to shoot us. Mrs. McManus hadn't made him out to be the best person in the world.
"So where are we staying tonight? I'm not spending another night at the hotel. And there's no way in hell I'm staying here." I refused.
"I dunno, we'll figure something out, but for now, we've got to figure out who put the note on the door." Suddenly, it clicked…Smecker.
"Smecker!" I said quietly. Murphy's eyes shone brightly, it hurt me to look at his eyes for some reason. I felt dirty from last night, I felt unclean, I need forgiveness, I needed church. My vision blurred slightly, my legs felt so weak, and I could hear my heart pounding in my head. I could feel Connor behind me, his hands tight around my waist as my body gave out. The last thing I saw was Connor's eyes, filled with worry and fear. I heard whispers as I slowly regained consciousness. I heard Murphy's familiar hum, and Connor's quiet whispers.
"She'll be alright, I'm sure she'll be alright…." He started mumbling. I could imagine his head bent down in prayer. I opened my eyes, looking around, worried.
I saw Murphy and Connor to the right of me, sitting in chairs. I'd been right, Connor had his head down, his lips moving quickly, clutching his rosaries tightly. I opened my mouth to say something just as Murph's eyes locked onto mine.
"Aideen!" He almost yelled. Connor's head shot up instantly.
"Where am I? Where's Da?" I asked, my voice weak and delicate.
"Da's fine, he's fine, you're in the hospital." Connor said, placing his hand on mine. I noticed Murphy's leg bouncing. For being twins, Murphy and Connor were so different. Connor was the calmer one, so oblivious to everything around him. He had this special gift of tuning out the world when he wanted to. Connor was the big brother that you knew would always be there for you no matter what you do. Murphy on the other hand was the ball of energy. You could often catch him bouncing a leg or repeatedly running a hand through his hair. He was the more attentive one, the more perceptive one. You didn't have to act around Murphy, he could see through any disguise you put up.
"The hospital? What the fuck am I in the hospital for?" I said, getting nervous, I always hated hospitals.
"Aideen, calm down, you're getting out soon, the doctors have gone to fill out the paper work." Murphy placed a hand on my arm. I sighed, looking at them both.
"Don't worry boys, I'll be fine…I'll be fine!" I said cheerily, trying to take the sadness out of their eyes.
"We'll always worry. You're family, and well…. we love you. It scared us, tha's all…" Murphy said as a doctor came into the room.
"Oh good, I see you're awake. Everything looks okay. You've got no internal bleeding and no concussions. So you're free to leave." He said, shaking Murphy's and Connor's hand, who thanked him profusely.
I ripped the I.V. out of my arm as soon as the doctor left the room, not bothering to stop the small trickle of blood. Connor handed me clothes.
"Grabbed'em from the house."
I threw on my favorite shirt, it was a vintage looking gray one with the leprechaun from Lucky Charms on it and a pair of my slightly ripped up jeans, along with a hoodie that I'd stolen from one of the boys years ago. It was an awkward silence as I slipped my feet into my work boots, worn from years of constant work and motion. I checked my head in the mirror. The swelling had gone down, but it'd left a nice bruise. I quickly let down my brown hair, trying to hide the bump beneath it.
"Where's my….." I trailed off. I felt strange and naked with out my guns and my knife. I'd grown strangely attached to them over the months. Quickly Murphy passed me my effects and we were off.