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Aoife sits at dinner with Paul and his family, annoyed at how pretentious they are. She tries to get Paul to let her leave, but he makes a snarky comment about how she should enjoy eating in a restaurant her “family could never afford to eat at” (197). She thinks of how much energy she has put into their relationship over the last several months, doing her best to make it work but still not being happy.

Joey gets to work and is shocked that his father is there. His dad tells him that Granda Murphy—his mother’s grandfather—is at the hospital and dying. His dad offers to take Joey to the hospital but asks for money in exchange, so Joey angrily dismisses him.

Tony steps in and offers to give Joey a ride. Joey declines, saying that he should get to work, but Tony insists that he has to go to the hospital.

Aoife goes to the funeral of Joey’s great-grandfather. She notes how Joey is there with his siblings, but his parents are not. Afterward, she kisses Joey on the cheek, and although Joey initially responds stiffly, he pulls her into a hug.

Back at home, Aoife overhears her parents talking about the way Joey’s father treated him at work, asking him for money in exchange for a ride to the hospital. Flabbergasted, Aoife asks her parents what they know about Joey’s father. They tell him that Teddy Lynch was in their grade in school. In his last year, he got Marie pregnant, and she was only 14 at the time.

Joey is at Aoife’s house putting in a new closet for her, which Aoife notes is a result of her father’s latest infidelity. They joke with each other as Joey complains about how much clothing she has.

Kevin comes into Aoife’s room and makes fun of her for a pair of shorts she has, which are too small for her. He and Aoife playfully fight with each other as Kevin takes her shorts and drops them out the window. When Aoife tackles him, Kevin sits on her and makes Aoife hit herself with her own hands.

Misunderstanding their playfighting, Joey grabs Kevin and pushes him against the wall. Joey begins to choke him as he yells at him for putting his hands on Aoife. Aoife desperately tries to get Joey to stop, insisting that they were just joking around until Joey finally lets Kevin go. Kevin falls to the ground, choking, and then yells at Joey and leaves to tell his father.

Aoife tries to get Joey to explain why he did that, but Joey struggles to articulate it. Joey starts to leave, adamant that he will lose his job and no longer be welcome there when their dad finds out what happened. However, Aoife pushes him back against her bed, insisting that he needs to calm down. She explains to him that they were only messing around and that they can still fix what happened. She pulls Joey to her stomach, hugging him, and then strokes his head. Slowly, she feels Joey calm down until he hugs her back.

Joey wakes up to the smell of urine and Ollie touching his face. He looks over at the dresser in front of the door and remembers the fight from last night with his father, which ended with him barricading himself in his room with his siblings.

At school, Joey’s principal talks about their new year of school. Joey sees Kevin sitting with his friends. He thinks of how grateful he is that Kevin never said anything to Tony about their fight and then wonders how much Aoife had to do with it.

After work, Aoife goes to her father’s shop, but it is already closed. She contemplates her choices—drive the car she got for her 17th birthday, something she has so far refused to do, or walk home. However, Joey appears, having stayed behind to lock up. Joey offers to walk her home, and she instead suggests that he drive.

At two o’clock in the morning, Joey sits with Aoife and listens to music in her car. He thinks of how he should be at home, where his father is likely drunk, but can’t bring himself to leave her. She plays the song “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls, insisting that it is their song.

Aoife and Joey talk about Paul. She admits that she is only with him because it is “comfortable,” while Joey argues that she should not settle. She then scolds Joey for not doing anything about his feelings for her. She repeatedly tries to get him to admit that he likes her, but he won’t, so she shoves him. Joey grabs her arms and pins them above her head. He tells her that her “desperation” is a “turnoff” and that she has no problem being “on the flat of [her] back for [him] like a slut” (237). Aoife shoves Joey off her and then gets out of the car and walks away.

Joey follows her across the street, yelling for her to stop. He catches up to her and wraps his arms around her, apologizing. He tells her that he will probably hurt her again but then repeatedly admits that he cares for her. She hugs him back, saying that “that’s all [she] wanted to hear” (238).

On New Year’s Eve, Joey and Aoife lay together on Danielle’s trampoline, intoxicated. Aoife confesses that Joey has become her best friend, and Joey reluctantly agrees that she is also his. As Joey thinks they might kiss, Paul interrupts them, angrily telling Aoife that she needs to come inside to celebrate the new year.

In a spare bedroom in Danielle’s house, Aoife and Paul kiss on the bed. He talks about wanting to have sex with her, but she tells him she’s not ready. He gets angry, insulting her and telling her that she can leave and walk home alone. As she gets dressed, the bedroom door opens, and Joey comes in, kissing Danielle. Aoife can tell that he’s on drugs. Danielle apologizes for coming into the room, but Aoife leaves the room.

When Danielle comes back downstairs, Aoife debates with herself whether to leave or check on Joey. She decides to sneak upstairs to Danielle’s bedroom, where she finds Joey on the bed. Joey struggles to remain conscious, recognizing Aoife but complaining about how high he is. As she starts to cry, she comforts him and then encourages him to get up and leave.

Joey and Aoife walk back to Aoife’s house in silence. When they get there, Aoife thanks Joey for walking her home. Before he leaves, Joey tells Aoife that when he woke up high and saw Aoife there, he thought they had had sex. Although he’s relieved they didn’t, it has made him confused as to why she looks so “disappointed.” Aoife tries to explain, but Joey turns and leaves.

At school, Joey learns that Ciara Maloney has been bullying Shannon. He angrily storms into the bathroom and finds Shannon crying in the last stall. She holds her ponytail, which was cut off, in her hands. Through tears, she tells Joey that she doesn’t want to exist anymore, as she is miserable and only makes Joey’s life more difficult. However, Joey tells her that he is going to protect her as their mother comes into the bathroom with the principal. Joey angrily yells at the principal, asking him what he’s going to do about Shannon being bullied, but instead, he is scolded for swearing. He leaves the restroom and finds Ciara’s brother, Mike, outside. He punches Mike repeatedly, telling him that it’s a “warning” for his sister.

In class, Aoife, Casey, and Paul discuss the fight. Mike and Shannon went to the hospital, and no one has found Joey. Paul complains about Joey’s aggression, while Aoife argues in defense of him. However, Podge overhears them and angrily scolds them all for judging Joey when his life is so difficult. He leaves the classroom, and Aoife follows him into the hall.

Aoife asks Podge what he meant about Joey’s life, and Podge thinks Aoife is pretending not to have noticed Joey’s bruises. However, when he realizes that Aoife has no idea what he’s talking about, Podge tells her that Joey’s dad regularly abuses him at home. Aoife is shocked, but as she thinks about it, she realizes how many signs she has ignored.

Aoife can’t find Joey anywhere around the school, so she goes to his house. She notes how much more rundown his estate is than hers, with several boarded-up homes and graffiti everywhere. She knocks on his door, and Shannon answers, who insists that Joey isn’t home. However, Ollie pushes the door open and excitedly tells Aoife to come inside and see Joey.

Aoife talks with Tadhg and Ollie in the living room. Through the kitchen door, she can hear Teddy yelling at Joey about how he is suspended from school and the hurling team. Joey argues back while Marie yells at them not to fight. After a few moments, Marie comes through the door and is shocked to find Aoife there. She awkwardly apologizes to her and greets her while Teddy and Joey follow her out of the kitchen. Joey quickly ushers Aoife out of the house.

As it rains down on them, Joey angrily tells Aoife to leave him alone. However, she tells him that she knows what is going on in his house and that she is not going anywhere. Joey tries to tell her that he is dangerous and will ruin their friendship, but Aoife insists that Joey is not his father. When he tries to continue to argue, she kisses him. As Joey kisses her back, she realizes “how epically right” it feels (271).

As Joey kisses Aoife, he forgets about everything that had happened that day. He realizes that “Aoife Molloy consume[s] [him] to the point that [he] didn’t feel like everything was completely fucked up in the world anymore” (273). However, two girls talking about them interrupt their kiss, and Joey realizes that Danielle and her friend Rebecca are walking by.

Danielle confronts Joey about how he is cheating on her, but Joey insists that nothing was ever going on between them. Before Aoife can stop Rebecca, Rebecca calls Paul and tells him about Aoife and Joey. Aoife is devastated but realizes that she made a mistake by not breaking up with Paul before kissing Joey.

Paul shows up with his brother, Billy. Before anyone can react, Paul punches Joey in the face, and then Billy repeatedly kicks him in the stomach. Aoife tries to get them to stop, but Joey doesn’t even defend himself, instead egging Paul and Billy on.

Tadhg comes out of the house with a floor brush, yells at Billy, and then hits him in the nose. Before Billy can react, Tadhg hits him again as Paul continues to hit Joey. The sound of police sirens breaks up their fight. Aoife tries to get them all to leave, but instead, Billy and Paul immediately go to the police car and start telling them that Joey is responsible for everything. They tell them to call their father, a Garda Superintendent. Aoife and Tadhg argue that Paul started it, but the officers ignore them. Meanwhile, Joey does nothing to defend himself.

Joey works in Tony’s garage. He was initially suspended from school for a week, but after the school learned of his arrest, he was suspended until after February break. He has avoided Aoife, not wanting to start something with her after the drama their first kiss caused. However, Aoife shows up at the garage and confronts him, demanding to know why he hasn’t called her. He tries to say that he has been busy and acts nonchalant, but she insists that he likes her, and she likes him back. She kisses him. He protests, saying that it is a bad idea for her to get involved with him, but she tells him that she doesn’t care. She insists that she knows him for who he is, likes him for it, and is not afraid of what their relationship would mean.

As Aoife lies naked in Joey’s bed, she tells him that she is still bothered by something that Paul said. Paul told her that Joey would have sex with her within a week and then get rid of her and move on to another girl. However, Joey points out that they haven’t had sex yet, and they’ve been together for three weeks. It helps Aoife’s feelings, but she still thinks of how “dangerous” it is to be with Joey.

Aoife goes downstairs to her mother, father, and Kevin in the kitchen. Kevin mentions that Paul and Aoife have broken up, which surprises her parents. He then makes comments about Joey, forcing Aoife to talk about him. She tells them about the fight between Paul and Joey but leaves out the part where she and Joey were kissing. Instead, she tells them that Paul was insulting her for not sleeping with him, and Joey fought him because he cares so much about Tony. She also lies and says that it started rumors about her and Joey being together, which are untrue. Although Kevin laughs and assumes she’s lying, her father is pleased to think of Joey “defending [his] daughter’s honor” (298).

At work, Joey feels guilty for not telling Tony about being with Aoife but can’t bring himself to tell the truth. When he gets off work, he starts to text Aoife, but a phone call from Shannon asking him to come home interrupts him.

When Joey gets home, he finds Shannon outside with a swollen eye. Unable to control himself, he goes inside and confronts his father, punching him in the face and then tackling him to the ground. However, Teddy gets on top of him and then starts choking him. Joey passes out from a lack of oxygen.

When Joey regains consciousness, Shannon is sitting next to him. She tells him that their mother is upstairs with Teddy in their bedroom. Joey angrily leaves the house, unable to put up with a night of hearing them together in bed.

Aoife gets home from work, angry and annoyed at Joey. He was supposed to walk her home, but he never showed up and never answered any of her messages or calls. She goes to bed, thinking how big of a mistake she made by giving so much “power” to Joey.

In the middle of the night, Joey knocking on her window wakes her up. She realizes immediately that he is high and drunk and yells at him for forgetting about her. However, Joey doesn’t even realize what he did wrong. He lays on the floor, and Aoife refuses to speak to him, instead getting in bed.

In the morning, Joey apologizes for last night but refuses to tell her where he was. She yells at him and then stops when she sees his new bruises. Joey insists he can’t tell her about it because he needs to protect the people in his life. Aoife accepts that, but in return, she asks Joey to stay off drugs. He is hesitant at first but then agrees as he hugs her.

Joey sits in a pub drinking vodka, thinking of how he wished he had drugs to take. However, he hasn’t smoked in weeks and is doing his best to keep his promise to Aoife. Podge and Alec are with him. They point out a table of rugby players from Tommen College, one of which is Johnny Kavanagh, and talk about how good he is at rugby.

Joey gets distracted from the conversation when Aoife walks in. She and Casey sit at their table, telling the boys that they are celebrating Casey’s birthday. Podge asks Aoife if it’s true that she broke up with Paul and then asks about the rumors of her and Joey kissing. However, both Joey and Aoife deny them. When Aoife gets up, Joey follows her to smoke as Alec makes a joke about the rumors being true.

Joey and Aoife kiss in the bathroom, and then Joey moves his hand into her pants. As they kiss, Aoife asks him never to be “like [her] dad” (318), and Joey promises that he won’t ever cheat on her.

A rugby player from Tommen, Gerard “Gibsie” Gibson, interrupts them, pulls out a condom, and offers it to Joey. Furious, Joey threatens him, but then Johnny comes into the restroom. He apologizes and pulls Gibsie back out of the bathroom as Aoife laughs at them.

Joey thinks of how far he has come with Aoife. They still aren’t in a relationship or open about what they’re doing, but he has realized how much he has grown to care about her. He knows it’s a bad idea because he’s allowing “another person to depend on him” (320), but he can’t help how he feels about her.

As things get worse at home—Teddy drinks more than normal, and Joey learns that his mother is taking more and more Valium—Joey realizes that he can’t handle what it is doing to his head and his body. He goes to Shane and gets oxycodone.

Aoife goes to her father’s garage, where Joey is working. When Tony leaves, she teases Joey, convincing him to come back to her house, where they’ll be alone for an hour.

On Aoife’s bed, they take off their clothes, and then Aoife stops to ask Joey what he wants. He tells her that he will do whatever she wants to do and that she is in charge. Aoife tells him she wants to have sex, and Joey agrees. However, just before Joey is about to start, Aoife panics and stops him. She expects him to be angry or annoyed, but instead, he stops immediately and reassures her that it’s okay. She thinks of how “refreshing” it is that he took “the word no […] without complaint or confrontation” (332). He reassures her that he cares about her and only wants to make her happy.

Casey and Aoife discuss Aoife’s relationship with Joey in class. Danielle overhears them and tells Aoife that she made a mistake by throwing away Paul’s bright future for a “junkie.” Danielle is dating Paul now and is grateful to have gotten away from Joey. However, Aoife shuts her down, telling her that she will never be anything more than “a pretty face and a nice pair of boobs” to Paul (337).

One of Aoife’s classmates comments about Shane being in the parking lot. Aoife storms outside to his car, where she finds Joey in the back. She yells at him, demanding he get out of the car, and then kicks Shane’s license plate. Joey gets out and pins her arm, telling her that she needs to be careful. However, she tells him that she doesn’t care about Shane’s threats. Joey then says that he doesn’t “answer” to Aoife and that what he does “is not [her] business” (340). However, Aoife insists that Joey is her business and that if he cares about her, he will walk away from Shane’s car. After several moments, he says something to Shane and then gets into Aoife’s car.

Joey drives away from the school, too angry to speak. He thinks of how furious he is that Aoife attacked Shane’s car and confronted him publicly—but also how he went along with her. Eventually, he parks the car and calms himself down. He tells Aoife that she doesn’t have the right to control his life, but she repeatedly insists that she does. She tells him that because he left with her, that proves how much he loves her. Joey argues that he isn’t in love with her, but then Aoife takes off her school jumper. Joey takes off his shirt, too, and then they both undress as Aoife keeps insisting that Joey loves her, and Joey refuses to say it.

Joey performs oral sex on Aoife in the back of the car. She begs him to have sex with her and then is shocked when Joey laughs. He tells her that she is just “high” from the physical pleasure, as she realizes, embarrassed, that she doesn’t want to have sex with him in the back of a car.

Joey and Aoife talk on the phone while Joey works at the garage. He tries to focus on her but gives up and tells her that he needs to work. She tells him that she loves him and tries to make him say it back, but he resists. He jokingly asks what he’s gotten himself into, and she tells him it’s “the best relationship of [his] life” (347), while Joey thinks that she is right.

Joey tries to potty train Sean, who is now three. Ollie—who’s nine—comes into the bathroom and talks about learning sex education in school, while Tadhg swears and makes fun of all three of them. Joey is initially hesitant because of everything he is dealing with at home, but eventually, he texts Aoife and agrees to go to a music festival with her overnight.

On Sunday morning, Aoife and Joey lay in their bed and breakfast room, hungover. Joey goes into the bathroom, and Aoife sees a new tattoo on his chest of her name. She is shocked but makes fun of him for it until she realizes that she has a tattoo of his name on her butt.

On the drive home, Aoife and Joey continue to joke about their tattoos. Aoife talks to her dad on the phone, lying and saying that she is with Casey.

Aoife meets Joey at his house. He is annoyed that she went near his house instead of waiting down the road, but she brushes off his bad mood. Instead, she suggests that he come over for dinner with her parents. She calls him her “boyfriend,” but he insists that they aren’t dating. He adamantly tells her no. However, she has already asked her parents, and they are expecting them that afternoon.

At Aoife’s house, Joey is extremely uncomfortable. However, Tony immediately brings up that Joey and Aoife have something to “discuss” with him. Joey asks Tony to go outside alone with him. Joey tells him that he cares about Aoife and that he did everything to fight his feelings, but she has become his best friend. He rambles, but Tony interrupts him to say that he only has two questions. He asks Joey if he loves her, and Joey says that he does “entirely.” Then, he asks if Joey sees a future with her, but Joey tells him no because he doesn’t “see a future for [himself], period” (361).

Joey then offers to quit his job at the shop because he went behind Tony’s back. However, Tony is adamant that he is happy. He didn’t tell Joey to stay away from Aoife because Joey isn’t good enough for her, which is what Joey assumed; rather, he told Joey that if their relationship ended, he would lose Joey as a worker. He firmly tells Joey that he is a “good lad” and that he is “damn proud of” him (361), despite Joey’s protests.

After dinner, Joey sits with Aoife’s family, and they talk about their futures. When Aoife’s mother, Trish, asks Joey what his plans are, Tony interrupts to say that Joey is going to work full-time at his shop. Joey tentatively says that he was hoping to do an apprenticeship there, and Tony adamantly agrees that he can, as long as he stays out of trouble and finishes school.