Pah.
She spent her life studying. It was no wonder she liked to play with toys sometimes. It was the only way she had to de-stress.
She heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Then, without knocking, Conor and Finn walked in. Her two, blue-eyed, blond-haired, Irish heartthrobs.
‘Alright, Tam-Tam,’ said Conor. ‘How in the name o’ Jaysus are ya?’
Tammy smiled. These Irish guys, with their silly way of speaking. They always made her giggle.
‘I’m fine,’ she said. ‘Sorry I haven’t been able to meet up with you for a while. I’ve been busy studying.’ She could feel her cheeks burning red. Why did they always do that around these two?
‘Studying?’ asked Conor. ‘It’s the feckin’ school holidays!’
Finn flopped down on her bed without asking. She budged up slightly, her leg brushing against his. She felt a crackle in her nylon tights. Was it static, or was it actualelectricity? Conor was the one she’d kissed the most times, but she’d kissed Finn for the first time last week, and she’d liked it just as much.
There was no way she could choose between the two. Maybe she didn’t have to…
‘It’s so weird seeing our doctor when we come to your house, Tamster,’ Finn said. ‘Plus, I really get the feeling your dad hates us.’
‘Of course he doesn’t,’ Tammy lied. ‘He’s just kind of… overprotective of me. Doesn’t want anything interfering with my studies. You know how it is.’
‘Nah, we don’t really,’ said Conor, picking up Goldie, then throwing and catching her like a ball. ‘Can’t believe you still sleep with a cuddly toy in your bed, Tammy… You should be sleepin’ with me.’
Conor winked. He loved teasing her like this. She knew from the way his eyes twinkled mischievously that he didn’t mean it, but the brothersdidgently mock her about being childish from time to time. But then, they kinda teased her abouteverything.It was their way of showing affection.
‘We were hoping you could come and hang with us for a bit,’ said Finn. ‘Nice weather today. We could go down to the den. You could even bring your stuffed toy if you want.’ He stuck out his tongue at her, to show thathewas winding her up a little too.
Sheesh, these boys were two years older than her, but you wouldn’t know it. She might have liked playing with toys, but she was about a million times more mature than them when she needed to be. She planned to go to medical school, after all. You couldn’t go around acting like a kid if you wanted to be a doctor. As her father reminded her, like, constantly.
‘I don’t know…’ said Tammy. ‘I want to come, but I don’t think Dad would let me. There are only two weeks left of the school holidays, and I think he wants me to spend them studying. He’s made me a spreadsheet and everything.’
She pointed to a color-coded spreadsheet on her well. Her days were divided up into half-hour chunks, with labels like ‘endocrinology’, ‘toxicology’, ‘cytology’.
‘Holy feckin’ shite,’ said Conor. ‘That’s literally my idea of hell.’
‘Where are all the good subjects?’ said Finn. ‘Art and drama and literature?’
‘I’m sorry, boys,’ said Tammy. ‘It’s easy for you. You finished school this year. You don’t have any more exams to worry about ever again. But me… I’ll be studying for another thirteen years before I become a doctor…’ She sighed. ‘Well, maybe I could meet you for twenty minutes or so after dinner? I have to read a few pages of theMedical Encyclopediabefore bed, but—’
‘You’re working too hard,’ said Finn. ‘It’s gonna make you ill, Tamster. You need some mega fun. Come hang with us. Look, we can escape out your bedroom window if you don’t want to risk getting caught by your dad. Climb down the drainpipe.’ Finn mimed a funny climbing action.
Tammy couldn’t help but laugh. ‘That might actually work… but I can’t… My dad would kill me if he found out.’
Even as she was saying the words, she was kicking herself. The chance to spend time in the den with the guys of her dreams was so freaking tempting.
But she was serious about her dad. He frightened her. He never hit her or anything. It was more like… mind games. Giving her meals she hated on purpose. Adding things to her spreadsheet when she wasn’t looking. Locking her bedroom door at night so she couldn’t get out. And, most horrible of all, confiscating her toys. It was no way to live.
‘We won’t give up on you, Tam-Tam,’ said Conor, sitting on the other side of her. ‘One of these days, we’re just gonna scoop you up and, and, and... run off with you to Disney World!’ He squeezed her leg with his big palm.
Oh… shiitake mushrooms! One on each side. I can hardly take it…
‘Look guys,’ she said. ‘I’m flattered that you always seem to want to spend time with me, but isn’t there someone else you’d rather hang out with? Someone more… grown-up?’
The guys both frowned at her, then burst out laughing at the same time. They did that sometimes. Laughed in unison. Plus, sometimes they finished each other’s sentences. It was so cute.
‘Sorry,’ said Finn, ‘no can do. You’re the one we’ve latched onto, missy. You’re stuck with us.’ He tickled her now, his hands on her belly, sending jolts of that electricity around her again.
Conor, Finn, and Shay —where was Shay, by the way?— had come over from Ireland two years ago. They’d moved to Colebrook, Connecticut, which was basically as tiny and sleepy as you could get, and apparently, they’d been overwhelmed by how big it seemed. Their dad might be a big-shot movie producer, but apparently, they hadn’t been to many big places in their life.