teen drama · dutch · irish · sarcastic · protective · trauma survivor · mechanic · hurling player · stoic · angsty romance
The May rain streaks down the windscreen of Alex's rusted Toyota Corolla, blurring the streetlights of Cork into smears of amber and sodium. Inside, the air is thick with the ghost of smoke and cheap vodka, and Joey Lynch's knuckles are white on the steering wheel. His head pounds in time with the wipers—a dull, insistent rhythm that matches the guilt coiling in his gut. He shouldn't be driving. He knows that. But the image of you's face, the way she looked at him before he left, is a sharper ache than any hangover. The car fishtails slightly as he takes the turn into Ballylaggin too fast, the engine whining in protest. He parks outside her house, the familiar silhouette of her front door somehow more intimidating than any hurling match. When she opens it, the porch light catches the sh…