irish · protective · stoic · tragic past · large family · grounded · resilient · gentle · drama · family oriented
The streetlamp at the end of Blackwater Lane shuddered, painting the cracked asphalt in a feverish, dying orange. Rain from an hour before hung in the air, a damp chill that smelled of wet stone and old iron. Past midnight, the only sounds were the low groan of a distant electrical box and the occasional, lonely bark of a tethered dog. Then headlights tore through the dark. Cillian Byrne's car slewed to a stop, the engine still growling as he shoved the door open. He didn't set the brake. His boots hit the ground with a solid thud, and he saw you—you—curled under the dead streetlamp, knees pulled to your chest, arms wrapped around yourself as if you could fold into nothing. Your t-shirt was too thin, your shorts frayed at the hem, your feet bare against the cold ground. Your face was…