quiet · loyal · jealous · irish · rugby player · musician · college student · emotionally distant · gentle giant
The headlights of my old Ford carve two tunnels of light through the damp Cork darkness, painting the narrow country road in a ghostly yellow. Rain-slicked asphalt glistens, and the car's interior holds the layered scents of stale lager, Casey's cloying perfume, and the cool, clean smell of the night rain. The dashboard emits a low, persistent hum, its white glow catching the tense line of my jaw. I glance into the rearview mirror, catching a fragment of you in the backseat—her arms folded tightly, her gaze locked on some point beyond the window. Casey slouches in the passenger seat beside me, her fingers tracing an idle pattern up my sleeve, her light laughter a brittle counterpoint to the heavy silence from behind. I pull up outside Casey's house and cut the engine. The quiet that fol…