Redeeming 6

Aoife tries not to let her feelings about Joey show as she works behind the bar at a local pub. She is forced to serve Teddy Lynch, Joey’s abusive father, who insults her and makes a pass at her, even though she only just turned 18. Teddy also insults Joey, though Aoife knows that most of Joey’s problems come from his father’s abuse and addiction.

When she goes home after work, her mother Trish immediately asks Aoife if she is pregnant, shocking her. Aoife confirms that she is still taking the birth control pills she was prescribed at the age of 14 and just had a period, but her mother is still concerned about her recent mood swings. Her mother continues to worry about Aoife and Joey’s sexual relationship until Aoife admits that the two of them broke up.

Joey plays hurling with his friends Podge and Alec at Ballylaggin Community School (BCS). They are surprised to learn that he is sober, has been ignoring his drug dealer Shane Holland, and is taking a break with Aoife. His friends ask Joey if she is seeing anyone else, and Joey hopes she does.

The boys see a few people waiting on the other side of the hurling pitch, students from the prestigious Tommen College on the other side of town. When Joey approaches them, the leader, Hughie Biggs (brother of his sister Shannon’s friend), and his friend Gibsie asks Joey if he is dealing drugs or knows where to get them. Yet Joey changes his tune when he sees that he can swindle the rich boys out of money. Podge tries to dissuade him, but Joey knows he could use the money for his family.

After learning about Joey and Aoife’s breakup from her mother, her best friends Casey and Katie tell Aoife to get mad rather than sad. They invite Aoife to a house party that night, one that Joey was also invited to, by the Tommen boys.

At the Tommen boys’ party, Joey resists relapsing and talks with Shannon’s friend Lizzie about looking after his sister when she starts at Tommen College next week.

Aoife watches two Tommen students, Claire and Gibsie, flirt and dance with one another, and she is reminded of Joey. Katie sees Joey at the party talking to Lizzie, and Aoife panics. Casey, already drunk, wants to fight Joey and Lizzie, while Katie urges Aoife to talk to them.

Joey is still talking with Lizzie when Casey approaches. She calls Lizzie a “slut” and slaps Joey. Aoife pulls her away, trying to ignore Joey. As Aoife and Katie get Casey into a car to go home, Joey stops them. Katie says she will take Casey home so Aoife can talk with Joey.

Joey tries to reassure Aoife that Lizzie is just a friend of Shannon’s, but that doesn’t help how Aoife feels about the breakup. When he says he is trying to protect Aoife by breaking up with her, she gets angry with him. She insists that he doesn’t love her and says that she can’t keep seeing him. Then she returns to the party.

When Aoife returns to the party, she takes several shots and tries to ignore Joey as he lurks around the party. Katie returns, and she and Aoife watch as Joey continues to turn down the girls who flirt with him. When Katie urges Aoife to talk to Joey, Aoife suggests that Katie should talk to Lizzie, who has been flirting with Katie’s boyfriend Hughie.

Joey is smoking marijuana when Aoife approaches him, and they argue with Podge about whether Joey can be sober while still smoking. When Aoife takes a drag of the joint, Joey tries and fails to stop her.

Joey thinks about how he still loves Aoife as she tries to flirt with him to get him angry. Aoife gets him to admit he loves her, and Joey realizes that Aoife is his greatest addiction. They dance, and Aoife gives Joey an ultimatum to decide how he feels about her.

Joey confirms that he will always choose Aoife, and they admit they still want each other, but Joey is still concerned about hurting her. Aoife argues that she doesn’t need Joey’s protection. She tells him to walk away now if he won’t let her accept all of him.

They kiss, but then Joey admits he is at the party because he was selling Hughie weed from his personal stash to get money for his family. Aoife is angry until Joey admits that his father has spent all of his family’s money. Joey now gives most of his money to his mother to provide for the family. Joey promises not to give his money away again, but Aoife knows that is a lie since he will always provide for his family.

Several hours and drinks later, Joey and Aoife talk about their first kiss and their early feelings for each other.

Aoife and Joey have sex in the bathroom at the party, and when they leave the bathroom, several of the Tommen boys cheer them on.

Aoife wakes up the next morning in Joey’s bed with a massive hangover. Joey tells her about how he took care of her the previous night and takes Aoife downstairs, where they have a tense exchange with his mother, Marie. They argue about whether Joey should take care of his younger brother Sean while Marie takes a last-minute shift, but Aoife settles things by saying the two of them can watch Sean. They have sex again, and Aoife tells Joey he owns her.

Joey is nervous for Shannon as she gets ready to attend her first day at Tommen College. He worries that if he tries to defend her from any classmates who would bully her, he will end up in jail since he is 18. After sending Shannon to school and assuring her he is there for her, Joey gets his other siblings, Tadhg and Ollie, ready for school at BCS.

Aoife is happy as she watches Joey play hurling while he wears the number six jersey. She reconciles with Casey about the incident at the party as they watch the BCS team play, but Casey still fears Aoife will ultimately get her heart broken by Joey.

When Joey returns from work, Marie tells him that Shannon is in the hospital with a concussion because she accidentally got hit by a rugby ball. They both assume that Shannon is being bullied by the boy who hit her with the ball, as she has had to switch schools several times after being bullied. However, both Shannon and the boy, Johnny Kavanagh, say it was an accident.

Joey sneaks in through Aoife’s window that night. Aoife knows it is positive that he came to her rather than his dealer, Shane, when he is facing something hard. He tells her about what happened to Shannon and how he blames himself. Once Joey begins to feel better about himself, Aoife discusses her desire to ultimately marry him and have children, but Joey does not want to be a dad.

Aoife comes to Joey’s engineering class and manages to sneak him out so they can have sex.

When Joey gets to Aoife’s house later that night, Aoife is panicking because she has gained weight, but Joey believes it would make her angry if he commented on her weight at all. Aoife notes that she is about to start her period.

Though Joey’s home life gets worse over the next few weeks, his relationship with Aoife improves. He excitedly tells her that Shannon is starting to have a social life, and they are both proud of her.

Joey’s classmates gather together for a party at Podge’s family’s barn, where they see Aoife’s ex-boyfriend, Paul Rice, kissing his new girlfriend. Joey ignores repeated calls from his mother.

Casey catches Aoife and Joey having sex in a car at the garage where he works, and she warns them that Tony—Aoife’s father and Joey’s boss—has just returned to the garage. As Casey sneaks Aoife out of the garage, she comments on Joey’s attractiveness, and Aoife feels a little bit of jealousy—she knows Joey has had sex with many other girls at their school.

Joey feels embarrassed to invite Aoife to his house for dinner when his father is there.

Aoife thinks about how Joey’s love for his mother holds him back, as Marie is nearly as toxic as his father Teddy. At dinner, Joey threatens to fight his father before leaving the rest of his family to have dinner in his room. Aoife tries to assure him that his father’s abuse doesn’t have to break him.

Joey thinks about his future with Aoife after they graduate in a few months, and how he would be willing to sacrifice what he wants for a future with her. Aoife mentions she is starving and wants Joey to go to the store to pick up some ice cream and tampons because she is bloated and should be getting her period any minute.

Casey approaches Aoife in the gym locker room at school and says Aoife can tell her anything. Aoife doesn’t know what she is talking about, and Casey has to tell her that she thinks Aoife might be pregnant. They realize that Aoife didn’t have a period last month, but Aoife still denies that she is pregnant, saying she never forgets to take her birth control.

Aoife finally comes out of the locker room and joins her gym class with Joey, who thinks something is off with her. The class plays hurling, and Joey has to force himself not to fight Paul Rice when he is too rough with Aoife.

Aoife remembers the morning after the night of the party and thinks she would have been too distracted to remember taking her birth control. Casey tries to get her to take a pregnancy test, but Aoife doesn’t want to know if she’s pregnant. She is especially afraid to tell Joey, fearing what it could do to his sobriety.