The walk towards the Mallon household was a tense filled one. Niall was feeling more anxious the closer they got to his childhood home. In prison, a week wouldn't go by without him experiencing some form of night terrors or panic attack. This was common among many of his inmates, a lot of them having survived some kind horrible injury. He hadn't experienced any night terrors or panic attacks since his release, but he was now feeling one forming the closer they got.
But then that wave of comfort suddenly washed over the eldest Mallon child, soon realizing the cause. Orla McCool. As if sensing his plight, the quirky Derry Girl had gone from simply holding his hand to hugging his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. This simple gesture was all it took to calm his nerves.
This Golden Princess was such an enigma to Niall. She seemed clueless at times, but then could say the most profound and comforting things. She'd been friends with Michelle for as long as he could remember, but he'd only interacted with her maybe a couple times. He remembers those interactions being about as strange as they are now, but things were different this time. She still perplexed him at times (nearly all the time of he was being honest), but hated the thought of being separated from her.
Would they have ended up this way if he'd had a regular adolescence? Not getting caught up in all this inter turmoil shit? The circumstances that led to this bonding certainly weren't ideal, but, given all that'd happened in just these two days, he hated the idea of it never happening at all. Silver linings, he supposed.
"Are ye doin' alright there, Niall?" Orla suddenly asked him in a soft tone, looking up with those enchanting eyes.
"Aye," he replied simply. "Just lost in thought, I am."
"Ach! I know what that's like," she sighed.
Niall didn't doubt that, this girl was clearly more perceptive than others probably gave her credit for. He then saw Erin walking towards him.
"So... I just wanted to talk a moment," Erin began awkwardly, shaking a little. "Seein' as Michele mentioned us in her letters... which is how ye knew about me n' James. I was wonderin' if she also mentioned the terrible thing I said about how ye shouldn't be let out?"
"Aye, she did," he casually answered. "I don't blame ye for thinkin' that. I thought it plenty myself, I did."
"Really?" Erin and Orla asked in unison.
"Aye, I did," he said. "Not a day goes by I don't think about what happened. Takin' a life, intentional or not, it changes ye. I had so much anger b'fore prison. I didn't have a close group of friends like Michelle to keep me in check."
"Well... now ye do!" Erin said enthusiastically. "If ye're ok with that."
"Like I said, Erin, I don't blame ye for those feelin's," replied Niall. "Based on those letters, havin' ye and the others for friends is the best thing someone like me could ask for."
"Aye! Ye're a grand friend too, ye are!" Orla exclaimed, nuzzling her Champion's arm.
Michelle and the others could hear the conversation, it brought a smile to all their faces.
They were now at the front door of the Mallon household. Niall hadn't seen this house in a wee bit over 5 years. There was comfort in seeing it looked the same, but the dread was still there.
"Pretty sure Mammy and Daddy are on a day shift today," said Michelle. "Give us time to prepare for the shit storm."
"Grady home?" Niall asked.
"Should be," said Michelle. "Wee shite doesn't go out much. Kinda become a recluse. I think Dicko is his only friend. Fuckin' tragic, aye?"
"Thanks, Michelle," chuckled James.
"He's 16 now, aye?" Niall asked.
"Aye, that's correct," sighed Michelle. "Shot up like a weed, he did! Almost as tall as James!"
"Christ, did the time go," sighed Niall.
Walking in, Niall took note that his childhood home had looked like it always did. His Ma kept a clean house, even with hyper wains running about and her busy schedule.
"OI! GRADY!" Michelle shouted, making some of the others jump a bit.
"THE FUCK YE WANT MICHELLE!?" Grady's voice came from upstairs.
"SHIFT YER SHORT HOLE DOWN HERE!" Michelle shouted back. "GOT COMPANY WE DO!"
"I COULDN'T GIVE TWO SHITS 'BOUT YER FRIENDS OR YER FIDGETY GINGER FUCKER COMIN' OVER, MICHELLE!" Grady shouted back, which gave Niall a chuckle.
"ACH! GET YER ARSE DOWN HERE NOW!" she continued to shout. "OR I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL BE TELLIN' MA WHAT YE AND DICKO HIDE UNDER YER BEDS!"
"Why are you including me in that!?" James asked, Erin shooting him a look.
"Stuff it!" Michelle hissed. "GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE NOW, GRADY!"
"CHRIST, FINE!" Grady shouted in defeat. "CALM YER TITS!"
Grady let out a long sigh as he walked halfway down the stairs, seeing Michelle and company looking at him from the bottom. Like the older sister said, he was close to James's height, sporting the same wavy, dark brown hair and hazel eyes as Deirdre, with his being cut short. He noticed the unfamiliar face.
"Who's the Two-Face lookin' motherfucker?" Grady asked.
"Jesus, Grady, show some fuckin' manners," Michelle scoffed.
"Chip off the 'ol family block, he is," chuckled Niall.
"This a new cousin?" Grady asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Ach! Now that hurts!" Niall placed his free hand on his chest, feigning pain. "I know it's been 5 years, but ye weren't that little when I went away!"
"What the fuck is he on about, Michelle!? Grady asked with confusion.
"Come on now, Grady," Niall smirked at his little brother. "If Michelle of all people can put twos and twos together, surely ye can."
"Oi! Fuck off, Niall!" Michelle exclaimed, realizing she'd given it away immediately.
They saw Grady standing there in shock for a moment. He slowly walked to the bottom of the stats to get a closer look at the man smiling at him. The youngest Mallon child was 11 years of age when his older brother left home. His memories of him hadn't faded, thanks in part to Michelle talking about him when their parents weren't around, but he still looked so different in a short span than what he remembered from then.
"Is it really ye, Niall?" Grady asked quietly with a slight tremble in his voice.
"Aye, it is, Grady," Niall answered with a loving smile.
The youngest Mallon child and the oldest Mallon child immediately embraced each other.
"How long ye been back!" Grady asked, sniffling a little.
"Just a couple days now," Niall answered. "I only just properly revealed myself to Michelle today."
"Ye been back two fuckin' days, an' only now show up home!?" Grady asked in shock as he broke away from the hug.
"Let's not get into another shouting match," James chimed in. "Niall was nervous, given everything that's happened. At least he didn't take too long revealing himself."
"Ach! I fuckin' hate it when Dicko starts makin' sense!" Grady groaned with an eye roll.
"Jesus, this family," Erin sighed. "Overly dramatic, they are."
Nobody dared try to point out the extreme irony in Erin's statement.
"Any idea when Ma and Da'll be home?" Niall asked.
"Few hours, I s'pose," Grady shrugged. "They rarely give an exact time, what with their hectic schedules."
"Then we have plenty o' time to get reacquainted, we do," Niall smirked.
"By the way, Niall, what the fuck happened to yer face?" Grady asked nonchalantly.
They all spent the next few hours catching Grady up, showing Niall around the old house. Niall and Grady had shared a room when Niall lived there, now James shared the room with the youngest Mallon sibling. Grady showed off his comic book collection, he also seemed enthusiastic about film like James. Grady being in high school made Niall feel old, despite only being 20 years of age.
It was around sunset when Michelle spotted the family car. Everyone was sat in the living room taking and watching videos.
"Shit!" she exclaimed. "Mammy's 'bout to park the car!"
"Da with her?" Niall asked.
"Aye, I think so," answered Michelle. "Ye need to hide!"
"What the fuck for?" Grady asked.
"Cuz we can't just spring Niall on them so fuckin' casually, shithead!" Michelle hissed at her little brother. "It's gotta be fuckin' special! So shift yerself somewhere outta view till I give a signal."
"What's the signal?" Niall asked.
"Haven't thought that far ahead," she admitted. "Just get fuckin' shiftin'!"
"Fine," sighed Niall, getting off the couch and walking into a different room.
Deidre and Martin Mallon walked into their house, placing their coats on hooks and keys on side tables. Martin was slightly taller than Niall with a stocky frame. Michelle inherited his frizzy, dark brown hair that he kept short (along with a neatly trimmed beard), while Niall had inherited his bright blue eyes. The couple worked at the same hospital, Deirdre a nurse, and Martin was a porter. The two had met while working there. The two were surprised to see not only Michelle and friends, but also Grady down from his room, all sitting in the living room.
"Evenin', Ma! Da!" Michelle exclaimed. "Hope it wasn't too stressful a shift!"
"No more'n usual," Deirdre replied, unsure of the situation she was seeing. "What brings ye lot 'round here?"
"Am I forbidden from havin' company?" Michelle asked with faux surprise.
"Ye all usually congregate at the Quinn household, ye do," Martin pointed out.
"Aye, so they do," agreed Deirdre, arching an eyebrow in suspicion. "Ye even have Grady out of his room an' sittin' with ye. What have ye two done?"
"Ach! Catch yerself on, Mammy!" Michelle chuckled.
"The two of ye don't sit 'round each other so friendly like," retorted Deirdre. "So, my guess is one or both of ye are guilty of somethin'."
"We just wanted to surprise the both of ye," replied Michelle, putting some emphasis on surprise.
"Surprise us with what?" Deirdre asked, crossing her arms.
"I s'pose that's the signal then!" a gruff voice called out.
Niall casually walked out from hiding, smirking, hands in his pockets. The Mallon parents stood there completely gobsmacked.
"Ma, Da," Niall greeted. "Bout ye?"
The Mallon matriarch was already welling up, her hands over her mouth in shock.
"Niall?" Deirdre finally spoke. "Ye're home!"
"Aye, Mammy," Niall replied, tears forming in his own eyes.
What happened next surprised everyone, especially Niall. Deirdre and Martin rushed to their oldest son, wrapping their arms around him tightly. Neither parent were known for strong emotions, but they let their tears flow as freely as the River Foyle.
Michelle and the others stood there, watching her parents openly cry over the return of their eldest child.
"My beautiful boy is home!" Deirdre exclaimed, placing her hands on the sides of Niall's face. "By Jesus, ye look so much better than when I last saw ye!"
"The face is actually the least injured part of me, Ma," Niall chuckled, stroking his mother's hand with his right one.
Deirdre immediately took notice of his hand, holding it gently.
"Good God, son, I had no idea," she said, her mouth quivering. "I'm so sorry, I am!"
"I don't blame ye for not visitin' me, Ma," Niall shrugged, sniffling away some tears. "I know I brought shame to the family."
"Now ye listen here!" Deirdre exclaimed, here stare growing intense. "Ye could never bring shame to us! I... I handled all this so fuckin' poorly!"
Michelle was shocked, she didn't hear her Ma use language like that often.
"I need to sit," Deirdre sighed.
Space was made for Deirdre and Martin to sit in between Martin on the couch, while everyone else stood around closely. She had her hands over Niall, while Martin had an arm around his shoulder.
"I didn't visit ye in prison... not cuz I was ashamed of ye, Niall," Deirdre explained. "I was... scared. Christ, I was just so fuckin' scared. After seein' the state ye were in at hospital, all those bloodied bandages. I'm a nurse, I've seen me plenty of injured patients. But... when it's yer own wain... I wasn't prepared."
Grady handed his Ma a tissue box. She gave a nod and blew her nose.
"I didn't know when ye'd be out," she continued. "I didn't want Michelle or Grady to have a what I felt would be a tainted memory of your appearance. That's why I didn't let 'em visit ye. I just... locked my feelin's away. I couldn't bear to say yer name, cuz I didn't want to break down... and look weak. Ach! I know that's a shite excuse, so it is!"
"Nah, Ma, I understand," replied Niall, giving her a hug. "If it helps... Michelle sent me letters."
"Really?" Deirdre asked, eyeing Michelle.
"Aye," replied Niall. "They kept me goin' they did. Laughter really is cracker medicine, cuz some of the shit that lot got up to that she wrote about had me holdin' my sides, it did."
Deirdre gave her daughter a loving smile, glad to see she still loved her older brother. But then something occurred to her.
"Ye didn't write back... thinkin' I wouldn't let Michelle read them, aye?" she asked somberly.
"Aye," Niall replied softly.
The Mallon matriarch pulled her eldest child into another tight hug.
"I've been such a feckin' idiot, I have!" she exclaimed. "I kept everythin' bottled up, an' I didn't see how it was affectin' everyone else! I'm a shit mother!"
Michelle and Grady broke down and ran to their Ma, embracing her tightly. Deirdre hadn't seen this kind of emotion from her younger children in ages.
"Don't ye dare be sayin' that nasty shit about yerself, Mammy!" Michelle exclaimed.
"Aye! Ye're a cracker Mammy, ye are!" Grady exclaimed.
"It's just all been so fucked up for ages now over here!" Michelle sniffled.
The Mallon family was whole again. There were some cracks for sure, but those couldn't stop the bond they had for each other.
They all broke away from the hug, but remained seated on the couch.
"How long have ye been back, son?" Marin asked.
"Only arrived yesterday, Da," answered Niall.
"Where ye stayin'?" Deirdre asked.
"I'm actually rentin' a room at the house of the head groundskeeper at Brooke Park," explained Niall. "My parole officer got me a job there. I start Monday, doin' odd jobs and such."
"A job already? That's marvelous!" Deirdre exclaimed.
"Aye, an' the new boss, Seamus, is a real friendly fella," said Niall.
"I'm glad ye didn't hide yerself from us long," sighed Deirdre, resting her head on Niall's shoulder.
"Ye can actually thank Orla for that," Niall said with a warm smile and wink aimed towards her, making her blush.
"What did she do?" Deirdre asked.
"That there is a cracker of a story," began Niall.