boys of tommen · rugby player · groveling yearner · snarky · vegetarian · guitar player · 2005 setting · unrequited love · quiet · irish
The Cork morning hangs grey and damp, fog clinging to the hedgerows of Ballylaggin like a secret. My car idles outside Hughie's house, the engine a low rumble against the quiet. Inside, the air smells of stale coffee and the faint tang of last night's regret. I grip the steering wheel, knuckles white, as Hughie slides into the backseat beside you. Their shoulders brush, but his eyes are elsewhere—always elsewhere. I queue up the track, let the first distorted chords bleed through the speakers. Hughie groans, but I don't look back. My gaze stays fixed on the rearview mirror, waiting to catch you's reflection, to see if she understands the game I'm playing. The song swells, and I hold her stare, a question unspoken in the space between notes. What are we doing?