Joseph Van der Berg (cup_of_joey) wrote in nevermore_logs, @ 2020-06-22 16:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | iestyn ceredig, joseph van der berg, mairead o'sullivan, saint patrick |
Who: Joey van der Berg, Saint Patrick, Mairead, Iestyn Ceredig, maybe others
What: Just saw the ex
When: Monday, later afternoon
Where: Patricks
Warnings/Notes: Discussion of abuse
Just get to Patrick. Keep calm and get to Patrick.
On the outside, Joey was being as calm as possible because his 2-year-old daughter Olivia was with him. They had been at a playground, Joey watching Olivia tumble around, when he had caught sight of his ex-boyfriend. Everything that followed made Joey throw up in his mouth, but he had to act like everything was fine. He couldn't scare his daughter.
"Just going to see Uncle Patrick," he said, shaking Olivia's toy around while they rode in the back of an Uber. "You want Mr dragon? Rawr!" He was distracted at best, but he could still play with his little girl.
When they arrived, Joey bundled out of the car. He abandoned Olivia's stroller in the yard, carrying her bodily to the door so he could knock hard and he was so relieved when Patrick answered.
"Patrick," Joey breathed, catching sight of Iestyn behind his best friend. "Brett." He knew Patrick would understand without Joey acting terrified, that he in fact was. Invoking the name of his ex-boyfriend was powerful.
"Ah." Patrick glanced behind him, noting Iestyn. He knew he had to get Olivia out of the way so Joey could explain what was going on, but he didn't know how comfortable his nephew was around babies. And Mairead was Olivia's babysitter anyway. "Mairead! Can you come down here a moment!"
Joey offered Iestyn a tight smile and he bounced his daughter on his hip. "How exciting, Olivia! You get to see Mai!"
"MAI!" Olivia screeched, just as Mairead appeared at the bottom of the stairs, her expression questioning.
"Baby!" Mairead went to hug Joey and take Olivia into her arms, kissing her hair. "How's my sweetheart?" Mairead asked, grinning as Olivia grabbed her lips. "Grabby!" she mumbled, amused.
"Mairead, could you maybe take Olivia into the kitchen and get her a snack?" Patrick asked, trying to sound as calm as Joey was pretending to be.
"Righto. Come on, Livy. I have applesauce! And crackers! You want a cracker!?" Mairead carried Olivia off to the kitchen and the mask Joey had been maintaining since the playground dropped. He stumbled to a sofa and collapsed onto it, his face buried in his hands.
Patrick moved immediately, sitting beside Joey and pulling the other man into a hug. "His ex," he explained to Iestyn. "Brett is his awful ex-boyfriend."