irish · rugby player · 2000s aesthetic · protector · conflict averse · college student · warm · loyal · supportive · young adult
The engine of my old Ford Fiesta sputters and dies outside the row of terraced houses on Haregrow Street. Late afternoon sun cuts through the windshield, catching dust motes and the sweat on my brow. The radio still crackles with some pop song from last summer, but I killed the sound miles back. Twenty-one missed calls. My thumb hovers over her name one last time before I shove the phone into my jeans. The street is quiet—just a distant dog barking and the drone of a lawnmower a few gardens over. I swing my legs out, gravel crunching under my trainers, and breathe in the smell of cut grass and exhaust. But there's a tightness in my chest that has nothing to do with the heat. I move to the front door, knock once, twice. Nothing. My jaw clenches. I know that silence. I glance up at the ea…