AN: So sorry for the long wait! Thanks christianlovesme for the review.
By the way, I don't know The Black Donnellys.
Kevin held Brigit's hand as he walked her to the apartment. Walking her to and from work was the one sure time he had with her and he was going to take advantage of it.
They didn't even need to talk – they felt comfortable just being together. Then again, neither of them couldn't handle not talking for an extended amount of time.
"So what are you going to do all day?" Brigit asked, wanting to know what she would be put second for today.
Kevin didn't look her in the eyes, "You know, just stuff with Jimmy."
She smirked at him when he finally did look at her, "Yeah, just collecting money that isn't yours with Jimmy."
She continued despite Kevin's wide eyes, "You know when Tommy finds out, he might just kill you."
"Nah, he'll be as mad as hell but he won't kill us... well, at least not me."
"That's only because he doesn't want to deal with me."
Kevin stopped and faced her, "You seem to have this hold over Tommy, what's up with that?"
"He's like my brother, that's why. He doesn't want to see me upset, like any brother, but more importantly, he doesn't want me upset with him. It's no big deal."
"So if you see him like a brother... and I'm his brother, do you see me as your brother?" he had a disgusted expression on his face.
Brigit matched it, "That's gross Kevin! Tommy is the only one I see as a brother! I would never even think of doing the things I do with you with my brother! Way to start the day off!"
"So you'd do them with Sean? Or Jimmy?"
"Ew, no! There's my friends, Kev. Seriously, can we stop this conversation? Or you'll be just a friend too."
Kevin threw his hands up in his own defense, "I was just jokin' around, Bri, calm down."
Brigit punched him, to which he whined a little, but they walked the rest of the way with their arms around each other, as if nothing obscene had been discussed. When they finally got to the apartment, they stood outside the front door. Kevin didn't want to go in because he knew if he did, he'd probably never come back out – in a good way, at least for him.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her as close as he could, "So what are you gonna do all day?"
"My mom wants me to help her with the yard sale they're having this weekend. Then I'll probably come back here, get some sleep, and hope you can sneak away from Jimmy to come be with me."
He smiled and kissed her, "I'll see what I can do."
"Be careful today. Please don't get into trouble, you know I worry about you," she even pleaded with her eyes.
"I can't make any promises."
Brigit let her head fall against his chest in defeat. There was nothing she could do. With Jimmy anything was possible, but jail time was the most probable. She didn't want to fight though so she pulled herself even closer to him, relishing the moments she actually did have with Kevin.
He pulled her away so he could look at her face, "I'll try though, okay? Don't worry too much. Jimmy wouldn't let anything happen to me and vise versa. We'll be fine."
Brigit tried to ignore the doubt those words caused her so she simply nodded.
"I love you," Kevin added.
She finally looked up at him, "I love you too."
He kissed her one more time before heading down the stairs and off to Jimmy.
She went back into the apartment and grabbed a sheet of paper and some markers. Her mother had put her in charge of making signs. Once she made one she was satisfied with, she would simply bring it down to Eddie's place and run more off.
Brigit passed Eddie Maxwell on her way into his print shop. He said he was just getting some air and she said she was just getting a few copies done.
She was and she told his wife, Marianne, that too. The two were friends anyhow, they had grown up together. They never had problems since Marianne came too late in Tommy's love life for Brigit to have cared since she was set on Kevin since ninth grade.
Marianne simply let her into the back room to use the copier, which was free. She made about seventy-five copies, not sure how many her mother really wanted. She ignored the familiar voice outside since most of Eddie's customers were people from the neighborhood anyways.
She knew something was wrong though when she walked out of the back room to hear Eddie threaten, "Understand this: my hand is on a .38 automatic under the counter. We know each other a long time. Don't make me use it."
Marianne seemed to ignore it, probably trying to not get herself into trouble as well. No one Brigit knew from the neighborhood would scare Marianne and cause Eddie to become to aggressive. Unless it was...
Brigit stepped out from behind the wall and saw just who she expected. Jimmy Donnelly with Kevin in tow.
Kevin looked up and saw her. He, and Jimmy as well, watched her walk out, only saying thank yous to Marianne and Eddie – nothing to either of them. They followed her out the door, calling after her though it was mostly only Kevin yelling. Jimmy wasn't going to overstep his bounds too much today, not in front of Kevin.
Finally Brigit turned around and addressed Jimmy, "You bastard! You almost got him killed!"
Jimmy, as usual, tried to play it off, "Smooth move Brigit, screaming profanities when there are kids all around."
"Yeah, well they'll live! If you keep this up, one or both of you won't get the same privilege!"
Kevin reached out to calm her down only for her to quickly step back, "Bri, come on, nothin' happened. We're fine."
"For now. But I can safely bet that right now Jimmy is thinking how he can get back at Eddie and it won't be pretty. And knowing him, it won't be legal either!"
Jimmy and Kevin both tried to grab her now – Jimmy to try and persuade her the truth wasn't really true and Kevin to try and just calm her down and see if anything, he wasn't at fault. They both wanted her forgiveness.
They knew they wouldn't get it when she shrugged them both off and continued on her way.
After a few minutes of silence, Jimmy patted his younger brother on the back, "Come on, I need to get something at the Firecracker."
At the Lounge, Kevin was torn between Tommy and Jimmy. And, even more so, Brigit. He wanted to try and 'be careful' and not 'get into trouble' like she had asked; he wanted to go home to her. So he tried to do that while trying to not get either of his brothers mad at him.
"He embarrassed me, Tommy! Stuck a gun in my face. Me and Kevin had to run outta there with our tails between our legs, you think that's okay?!"
Tommy turned to Kevin, "Did he really do that?"
"What are you askin' him for?" Jimmy butted in.
Kevin tried to reason with them both, "He didn't actually shove it in our faces, he just kind of showed it to us. I mean he didn't even show it to us actually."
Kevin had thought he had done a decent job, trying to ease the tension in the room and between his two older brothers. But he knew he was wrong when Jimmy told him to shut up. Kevin had never really noticed until then that Jimmy, other than having a bad leg, was actually shorter than him, probably by a couple of inches. If necessary, Kevin could've taken Jimmy.
He then tuned out Tommy and Jimmy as they went on yelling at each other about how much Eddie really owed and who Tommy really believed.
Kevin came out of his daze when Jimmy reasoned, "Guy makes Kevin look lucky."
"What d'you have to say that for?"
That, and Jimmy threatening to make Marianne Maxwell into a widow, didn't make Kevin a very happy camper, even after taking a sip of beer.
So he sided with Tommy, and in a way, with Brigit, "I think Tommy's right, we should get rid of the phone."
In the end, Jimmy decided to ditch the phone and use the names and numbers to start his own book... with the help of a guy Kevin knew, a guy by the name of Whitey.
Brigit signed angrily into the phone, "No, Jimmy, I'm not letting you use my apartment for anything. Especially if it's illegal."
She pulled the covers over her head, trying to block out the sunlight that still somehow slipped through her drapes.
"No, not even for two hundred a week. I don't want you or your stolen money anywhere near me. Call someone high enough to take such a shitty deal."
She hung up the phone and went back to bed and Jimmy called his own 'girlfriend', Joanie, who was probably high enough to take 'such a shitty deal.'