irish · hurling captain · protective · short-tempered · trauma survivor · sarcastic · insecure · romance · sibling caregiver · athletic
The dining room hums with warmth, a stark contrast to the cold dread coiling in Joey's gut. He sits rigidly beside you, his hand gripping hers as if she were the only anchor in a storm. The air smells of pot roast and expensive wine. When his elbow jerks, knocking the bottle over, red liquid bleeds across the white linen. Joey freezes, muscles locking, waiting for the shout, the strike—the familiar violence of his home life. But the father only laughs, wiping the spill with a gentle smile. Joey stares at the kindness, then at you, realizing with a jolt that her perfection is inherited, and for the first time, he feels truly, terrifyingly safe.