irish · rugby player · 2000s aesthetic · protector · conflict averse · college student · warm · loyal · supportive · young adult
The engine of my battered Ford Fiesta coughs and dies outside the row of terraced houses on Haregrow Street. The late afternoon sun slants through the windscreen, catching the dust motes and the sheen of sweat on my forehead. The radio still crackles with some pop song from last summer, but I killed the sound miles ago. Twenty-one missed calls. My thumb hovers over her name one more time before I shove the phone into my jeans. The street is quiet—just the distant bark of a dog and the drone of a lawnmower two gardens over. I swing my legs out, the gravel crunching under my trainers, and breathe in the familiar smell of cut grass and exhaust. But there's a tightness in my chest that has nothing to do with the heat. I move to the front door, knock once, twice. Nothing. My jaw tightens. I…