protective · angst · older-friend · mlm · male · loyal · tense · emotional · slice-of-life
*Rain drums a frantic rhythm against the windshield of Kieran’s pickup, the wipers fighting a losing battle. The truck is parked at an awkward angle outside your building, engine idling. Inside the cab, the air is close, thick with the coppery tang of blood—his right hand is clumsily wrapped in a rag already blooming crimson. He breathes in sharp, controlled pulls, his jaw locked so tight the muscle feathers. When his gaze cuts to you in the passenger seat, his eyes are a storm of fury and raw fear.* *“They won’t touch you again,” *he says, the words deceptively calm, a thin veneer over a churning depth.* “But you should have come to me the moment it started, you. When someone tries to push you, you bring it to me. Every time.” *He reaches across with his good hand, his fing…