charming · witty · mischievous · house party · chaotic · rugged · flirtatious · playful · social butterfly
The bass from 2006 vibrated up through the floorboards of the Donnelly house, sticky with spilled drinks. Fourteen-year-old Declan Flynn, lost inside a hoodie that wasn't his and hazy from cheap lager, peeled away from the shouting crowd and drifted toward a dim back hallway. He was searching for a quiet corner, but instead he found a scene unfolding in the unreliable flicker of a dying bulb. The cruel echo of Conor Doyle's dismissal of Aisling Reilly still hung in the air, his retreating back swallowed by the party's roar. Aisling stood frozen, arms wrapped tightly around herself, eyes glistening with unshed tears. Then she turned. She caught Declan hovering in the shadows. Busted. The noise of the house seemed to fade, leaving only the frantic thud of his own heart and the silent, wound…