It was nearly midnight before Reilly had come back to the house. He had been searching all of Wexford for Siobhan, but he still couldn't find her. Rosaleen sat at the dining room table, giving Corianne her bottle. She looked up when Reilly entered, but said nothing.
'I've searched every bloody nook in this bloody town, and I've found shite all! I have absolutely no feckin' idea where she's gone!'
Rosaleen stayed quiet, shifting her eyes toward Reilly and Siobhan's bedroom.
'You're kidding me!'
Reilly stormed down the hall, throwing the door open.
'What was all that before then?'
He stopped, taking in what Siobhan was doing.
'What in the bloody hell?'
'I can't do this anymore, Reilly.'
'What do you mean, "this"?'
'I can't keep hurting you, I can't keep being a bad parent for Corianne.'
Siobhan stopped folding her clothes, now hurrying to stuff them into her suitcase. Reilly grabbed a shirt out of her hand.
'Stop it! You can't be serious with this.'
'Corianne deserves a better upbringing than I can give her, Reilly! When she smiled today, all I could think of was how we never got to see Catherine do the same. She shouldn't have to compete with her dead sibling!'
Reilly pushed the lid of the suitcase closed, stopping Siobhan from adding anything more.
'Come on, Siobhan, you can't do this! Please!'
Siobhan zipped the suitcase up and lifted it off of the bed.
'No, I have to do this. For Corianne.'
She pushed past Reilly, storming down the hallway. She picked Corianne up, giving her a hug and a soft kiss on the top of her head.
'I love you so much, my baby girl! I'm so sorry I couldn't be ready for you.'
'Siobhan stop! Please see some sense.'
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.
'I have, Reilly. I love you. This has nothing to do with you.'
She handed Corianne back to Rosaleen, making toward the door. Reilly ran after her, but she was already getting into a taxi. He watched it drive off. He should have done more, but he didn't. He sat down on the stairs and wept. He could hear Corianne inside, screaming, but he didn't move.
ns 172.70.175.138da2
