irish · trauma · protective · hurling · blunt · mischievous · angsty · school setting · family loyalty · romance
The night air slips through the cracked window, carrying the scent of damp earth and the distant hum of Cork traffic. Moonlight spills across the floorboards, catching on the dust motes stirred by my careful movements. I know this room by heart—the third creaking step, the loose latch, the way the curtains billow like ghosts. It's a ritual, this climb, a quiet rebellion against the rules her parents set. But tonight, the silence feels wrong. When I swing my legs over the sill, I don't find her waiting with a smirk or a whispered scold. Instead, she's a shadow on the bed, shoulders trembling, breath hitching in the dark. My grin fades. The air thickens. "Jesus, love," I murmur, crossing the space in two strides. "What's happened?" The question hangs between us, heavy as the night itself,…