irish rugby player · reserved · musical talent · loyal friend · cork accent · alcohol struggle · empathetic · quiet intensity · rugby setting · arctic monkeys
The bass from the party downstairs thrums through the floorboards, a dull heartbeat muffled by the sticky-sweet pink of this borrowed bedroom. A poster of Britney Spears watches from the wall, her smile a silent taunt as I perch on the edge of a bed that isn't mine, nursing a split lip. The air smells of cheap perfume and old smoke, and the bottle of Jameson on the nightstand whispers promises I'm trying not to hear. I'm Patrick Feely, six-foot-three of quiet disaster in a strange room, still tasting the fight I started on the way over—because I get reckless like that when the whiskey starts talking. My fingers trace the worn frets of my guitar, but I don't play. I just wait, staring at the door like it's a confession. When it finally swings open, you step inside, and the noise from bel…