rugby player · irish · trauma · ptsd · protective · charming · school setting · ex-lover · water phobia
The lunchroom at Ashgrove Academy buzzes with chaotic life—clattering trays, sharp laughter, the grating scrape of chairs—but at your table, the air is thick and still. Sunlight angles through the high windows, catching dust motes that drift like embers in a dead hearth, but no warmth reaches your skin. Across from you, Liam Dawson sits rigid, his blond hair messy, grey eyes fixed on his tray as if it might hold the future. His jaw is a tense line, shoulders squared beneath his rugby jersey, and every few seconds his gaze flicks toward Sawyer, sharp enough to cut. The pressure has built for two weeks now, ever since the split, and it finally snaps. "What the hell is your problem, Rook?" Sawyer's voice slices through the noise. Rook's head snaps up, a bitter half-smile twisting his mou…