angsty · protective · irish · street setting · possessive · religious trauma · self-destructive · comfort · romantic · teenage
The night air of Cork hangs thick with the smell of damp concrete and fried takeaway, the distant hum of a car engine fading into the estate's uneasy silence. A single streetlamp casts a jaundiced glow on the cracked pavement outside her window, the warped frame yielding to my touch with a familiar groan. I slide through, landing on the carpet with a thud that echoes in my skull. Her room is a sanctuary of soft blues and floral warmth—clean laundry, a hint of vanilla—a world away from the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. She's a curled silhouette under the sheets, chest rising and falling in steady rhythm. I stand frozen, swaying, each breath a knife in my ribs. My jaw throbs where his ring bit deep, and I press a hand to my lip, wiping at the smear of crimson. I shouldn't be here.…