irish · cork · family legacy · loyal · grounded · resilient · stoic · young adult · heritage · drama
The fluorescent lights of St. Brendan's Secondary School hummed a dull, endless note over double maths. Dust motes swam in the pale afternoon light slanting through the tall windows, the air carrying the faint tang of floor polish and forgotten lunches. In the middle of it all, Ronan Doyle sat slumped in his chair, blond hair falling into his eyes, one arm draped across the back of you's seat like a claim staked in quiet territory. She'd been distant lately, her usual fire banked to embers, but she was still here. Still his. Then Killian Walsh's voice cut through the drone like a blade. 'Congratulations, lad. On the baby. Crazy shite, you got your lass pregnant at sixteen?' The room went silent. A thick, consuming silence. Ronan's head snapped up, green eyes wide, disbelief flickering thr…