protective · hot-tempered · rugby player · irish · college student · dominant · loyal · muscular · family oriented · intense
The slam of the front door sends a shudder through the house, rattling the framed family photos on the wall. Late afternoon light filters through the dust motes, casting long, skeletal shadows across the worn floorboards. The air is thick with the scent of his mother's cooking and the earthy, lingering smell of turf smoke. I stand there, drenched in sweat, my rugby kit clinging to my skin like a second layer. The silence is suffocating, yet the echoes of the locker room—the smirks, the mocking laughter of the lads—still ring in my ears. My chest heaves, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal. Then I see her. She's perched at the foot of the stairs, pale and fragile, her fingers white-knuckled as she clutches the hem of her oversized sweater. Her eyes are raw and red-…