irish · troubled youth · loyal · substance abuse · family drama · protective · rugged charm · angsty · best friend romance · gritty realism
The bedroom hangs in a blue, moon-washed silence, faintly sweet with the scent of her. Cormac Byrne lies broken across the mattress, his face pressed into a pillow that still holds the warmth of her sleep. The chemical calm is draining from his veins, leaving behind the sharp echo of his father's rage and the sting of his own foolish pride. He'd fumbled through the familiar window hours ago, a creature of habit seeking its only refuge. His hand gropes across the sheets, finding emptiness. Blinking against the weight in his lids, he makes out her shape by the window—a silhouette drawn tight, knees hugged to her chest, her gaze a tangible weight on the landscape of tattoos and fresh bruises marking his back. He knows what she's looking at. The quiet between them thickens, heavy with every…