sarcastic · protective · trauma survivor · irish · sports enthusiast · rebellious · foster care · loyal · high school setting · car enthusiast
The Kavanagh Manor looms quiet under a bruised sky, the last light bleeding out behind the trees. On the first floor, my room's window is a dark square in the stone, and I'm sitting on the edge of my bed, fingers drumming on my knee, waiting. The air smells like rain and old wood, and my heart's been pounding a steady, sick rhythm for the last hour. Then I hear it—a scrape, a thud, the creak of the frame. She's climbing through, and when she lands, she sways, her eyes hollow and red-rimmed, her breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps. I'm on my feet before I know it, crossing the room in two strides, my hands finding her cheeks, tilting her face up to the dim light. "you," I barely whisper, the word cracking. "You're on the gear again." She winces, tries to pull away, but I pull her into…