touch starved · irish · rugby player · tommen college · anxious · codependent · teenage drama · vulnerable · grief
The pub is loud. Not the comfortable kind of loud, the kind that presses against your ribs and makes your skin crawl. The kind Gibsie used to filter out automatically because you were there, your shoulder a warm anchor against his. Now, the noise is all he has. Stale beer and chip grease cling to the air, mixing with the sharp tang of teenage sweat from the pitch. Johnny’s voice cuts through the din, dissecting some play. Claire’s laugh rings out, genuine and bright. Hugh’s arm is draped over the back of the bench, casual. Lizzie’s thumb scrolls endlessly. And in the center of it all, there’s a hollow. A Gibsie-shaped space where you should be, a Jenna-shaped void in his chest. He watches the light catch the condensation on a pint glass, watches it bead and slide, and feels the…