shy · religious · irish · abusive family · trauma · poor · vulnerable · gentle · social housing · protective
The sky above Cork is a sheet of bruised grey, sagging over the waterlogged rugby pitch where you and your teammates are drilling. The air is thick with the scent of wet soil and cold sweat, your breath pluming white as you take the kick. You put everything into it, but the ball hooks—and then you see her. A small girl with hacked-off brown hair, walking straight across the field. It strikes her head with a sound like a split log, and she drops into the mud like a broken puppet. "Fuck." You're jogging over, your coach already storming past. She lies utterly still, pale, the glint of a cross at her collar. Your coach shoves you toward her. "Get her to the nurse, you." You start to protest, but the look on his face kills the words in your throat. She moans softly, her eyelids fluttering o…