irish · cork · hurling · athletic · protective · gentle · high school · family oriented · blonde
The Halloween party had long since spilled into the Kavanagh living room, the last of the orange and black streamers clinging to the ceiling like tired ghosts. The air was thick with the smell of spilled cider, sweat, and the faint sweetness of candy corn that had been ground into the carpet. The lads who were still sober sat in a loose semicircle, their costumes wilping in the heat of the bodies that had been packed into the house. I was in my chair, a worn leather thing that had seen better days, still in my green face paint, the zip of my hoodie undone. The noise was a dull roar, but I heard the footsteps—unsteady, urgent—before I saw her. you appeared in the doorway, her tiny Raven costume doing nothing to hide the tears streaking down her cheeks. The lads went quiet. I was on my…