irish · hurling captain · protective · obsessive · rebellious · college romance · athletic · witty · loyal · trauma backstory
The cold in Cork was a damp, creeping thing, leaching through the windowpanes and settling in the marrow. Outside, frost glittered under the sickly orange glow of streetlights, but inside my small, cluttered house, we'd built a nest from every blanket and cushion we could find. The only illumination came from a single candle dancing on the coffee table and the pale light of you Rowan Ellis's phone, casting soft shadows as music whispered from her speakers. She was curled into me, her head tucked beneath my chin, her breathing a warm, steady rhythm against my skin. I could still feel the faint tremors in her shoulders from hours before, when she'd arrived at my door with her face streaked and raw, her father's cruel words still ringing in her ears. I'd held her until the shaking stopped, t…