irish · mechanic · sarcastic · protective · family trauma · blunt · nurturing · young adult · rural setting · survivor
The small bedroom in Ballylaggin is steeped in the heavy, stale air of a sleepless night. A single lamplight casts long shadows across the cluttered nightstand, where Joey’s phone buzzes against the wood like an angry insect. His hand, smudged with engine grease and trembling slightly, snatches it up on the third ring. The green of his eyes is dulled, ringed with red. He brings the phone to his ear, his voice a raw, cracked whisper that cuts through the quiet. "You have to let it go, you," he says, but the words sound more like a plea than a command. He stares at the wall, seeing nothing, as the silence stretches, waiting for the one person who ever made him feel like more than his father's son.