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Joey sits in his room at two o’clock in the morning, bloody and bruised, after getting into a fight with his father. It occurs regularly in their home, with his father getting drunk and beating both his wife and Joey, usually when Joey tries to defend her.

After Darren dropped Joey off at the first day of school, he left their home. Joey is angry and bitter toward him for it, especially since it has made their father even more physically violent toward Joey. However, he vows to stay home and protect his two younger brothers—Tadhg and Ollie—and his younger sister—Shannon—from their father. He also refuses to contact the authorities for help, as it would cause him to be separated from his siblings. Joey has also started using drugs, particularly marijuana, which helps him cope with his home situation.

Joey works in a mechanic shop with the owner, Tony Molloy. Tony is Aoife’s father, and Joey began avoiding her when Tony gave him a lecture about not dating Aoife. However, she comes into the shop and asks her father for a ride home. Tony has a few more hours of work, so he suggests that Joey walk her instead.

Outside her home, Aoife confronts Joey about why he always avoids her, insisting that he has feelings for her. Joey denies it and then brings up Aoife’s boyfriend—Paul—and how she must not care about Joey too much if she’s with him. Joey thinks of how he got suspended from school for fighting with Paul after he told the entire gym class about his sexual relationship with Aoife; however, he doesn’t want Aoife to know what happened.

Aoife then grabs Joey’s hand, and he pulls away, commenting on how her hands have touched Paul. She jokingly touches his chest, ruffles his hair, and pulls on his hands. She tells Joey that he needs to escort her inside, joking about how Tony would be upset if he found out Joey left her at the gate.

Aoife sits in the kitchen with Joey. She gives him cereal and then realizes that he won’t eat without her, so she grabs a bowl. She notes how quickly he eats, like he is starving. She asks him questions about his family. Joey tells her that he has three siblings and that he had a fourth, but he’s “dead” as far as Joey is concerned.

As Joey talks, Aoife thinks about how she has strong feelings of “familiarity, lust, and camaraderie” when she is around Joey (35). She is convinced that he feels it, too, and is only avoiding it because of her father. She thinks of how different Paul is, especially after she heard rumors about him talking about their relationship.

Joey asks why she seems so angry, and she admits that she was thinking about Paul. Joey assures her that he won’t be talking about her anymore. Aoife realizes that Joey beat up Paul to defend her, but when she tries to ask, Joey insists that he has to go.

At home, Joey cares for his mother, Marie, who is covered in fresh bruises. He feels conflicted about her, as she makes him both sad and angry. Her husband, Teddy, repeatedly abuses her, but she keeps taking him back. When Joey starts to yell, Marie tells him that he is “shouting and ordering and laying down the law just like—” and then stops herself (41). Joey demands to know what she was going to say, and she tearfully admits that Joey reminds her of Teddy.

Joey realizes that her words “cut [him] deeper and more viciously than [his] father ever had” (42). He decides at that moment that he is done caring about her. Joey takes out his phone and calls Shane, an older boy in school that he gets drugs from, and asks to meet up with him.

Aoife sits on the wall surrounding her home, watching as the Gardaí arrest several boys at a home across the street. One of them is Joey. Aoife watches as he argues with a cop but then is let go because he is so young.

After the police are gone, leaving only Joey behind, he finds Aoife watching and comes over. She asks why he is hanging around with Shane. Joey dismisses her, telling her that it’s none of her business and that she should go inside. Her father comes out and interrupts them. He yells at Aoife for being outside while the police are around. He sees Joey and assumes that Joey was with the boys who got arrested, but Aoife defends him. She lies and says that he was walking their neighbor, Katie, home.

After Tony is gone, Joey expresses his shock that Aoife lied to her father. However, she insists that she wants answers in return. She asks why Joey goes out of his way to ignore her and never followed up after they talked in September, yet beat up Paul to defend her. She tells Joey that she knows it’s because of her father, but Joey angrily tells her that he is not interested in her. He insists that he beat up Paul to defend her father—not her. He insults her, calling her “easy” for how quickly she let Paul touch her and saying that it makes her “incredibly uninteresting” (52). In response, Aoife slaps him across the face. She expects him to retaliate, but instead, he walks away.

Joey plays in a hurling match where his team is winning by a “landslide.” He realizes that there is no point in embarrassing the other team, so he puts in less effort than he normally would. He passes the ball to Paul, who scores and celebrates as Joey thinks of how ignorant he looks.

After the game, Teddy yells at him, berating him for going easy on the opponent. Joey tries to defend himself, but his father ignores him and continues to yell at him. Joey then stops listening, instead spotting Aoife arguing with Paul. He sees Paul walk away, leaving Aoife standing alone.

As Joey walks to the locker room, Aoife stops him. He can tell that she is embarrassed after her altercation with Paul. She asks Joey to walk her home, and although he doesn’t want to, he agrees because he is angry that Paul left her alone.

Joey is cold to Aoife when he comes out of the locker room. She assumes he is mad he has to walk her home, but he tells her that he is angry that Paul left her there and that she continues to date him. He angrily calls her Paul’s “mannequin” that he shows off and then treats poorly. The insult devastates Aoife, and she stops walking and insists that Joey apologize. Joey admits that he didn’t really mean it but stops short of apologizing.

She invites Joey inside her home, but he is hesitant. She insists that they are just friends and then drags him into her home, telling him that she can cook for them.

After eating, Joey sits with Aoife on the couch. He decides that he has to stay for a little while so that he doesn’t seem rude. However, she rests her head on his shoulder and insists that he stay to watch a movie. Joey argues with her, but she tells him there’s nothing wrong with “snuggling” as friends. Joey tries to resist, but she makes him put his arm around her. She then demands that Joey say they are friends, and they playfully bicker until Joey finally agrees that they are friends.

Joey plays in a hurling game on a Sunday. He plays terribly, largely because he had been using cocaine with Shane and his friends that morning. Frustrated and angry, he goes into the locker room when the game ends.

Paul tries to be nice to Joey, but Joey dismisses him. Their argument escalates, with Paul insisting that Joey is only jealous of his relationship with Aoife. He calls Joey a “pathetic scumbag,” and Joey tries to fight him, but their trainer breaks up the altercation.

Outside, Joey angrily paces. Aoife spots him and tries to invite him to hang out with her and Paul, but Joey declines. His younger brothers run over, with Ollie introducing himself to Aoife. To get them to go away, Joey gives them money to buy chocolate.

At home, Joey hears his parents arguing in the kitchen. They are discussing Shannon, who has been getting bullied relentlessly. Marie wants to send her to a private school, Tommen College, but Teddy insists they can’t afford it. Joey tells his father that he should get a job, intentionally provoking Teddy until he punches Joey in the face. Joey doesn’t even try to avoid it.

Teddy then tells Joey that Marie is pregnant. Teddy hasn’t drunk in three weeks, and Marie is adamant that he is better; however, Joey knows that he will start again eventually—just like every other time. Joey leaves the house, ignoring his mother’s pleas that things are going to be different.

At work, Joey is annoyed to find Aoife and Paul there. However, he distracts himself with work and thinking about his family. He had always planned to stay at home until he graduated school and was 18 and then get a second job. He would get an apartment and allow Shannon to live with him and eventually, after a few years, let Ollie and Tadhg move in. Now, the thought of a toddler being in the picture makes him feel guilty for wanting to leave his family.