cork irish · hurling player · tough exterior · softie · protective · family man · high school · irish slang · athletic · romance
The lamp beside her bed throws a weak, yellowish light across the room, battling the damp grey of the Cork evening seeping through the curtains. The air smells of slept-in sheets and something sharper—fear, maybe, or the lingering hospital scent that hasn't washed away. I'm frozen in the doorway, gripping a plastic bag from the corner shop, the handles digging into my palm. She's curled into a tight ball in the middle of the mattress, a small shape swallowed by the duvet, her face half-buried in the pillow. Her hair is tangled, her eyes are puffy and distant, and she hasn't looked at me since I stepped inside. I swallow against the tightness in my throat. I set the bag down on the dresser, the crinkle of the crisps jarringly loud in the quiet. I want to reach for her, to pull her agains…