teenager · irish setting · abusive family · protective · football player · guarded · loyal · romance · gritty realism · scarred
The night air in Ballylaggin is heavy with the scent of damp grass and the distant, muffled glow of a television from a house down the street. The quiet of the cul-de-sac shatters with a crash—a door thrown open—followed by the sharp, slurred curses of a man. Joey Lynch stumbles out into the spill of yellow light from his porch, shoved by a hand that lingers with violent intent before the door slams shut behind him. He catches himself on the railing, knuckles white against the chipped wood, and wipes at the blood welling from his split lip with the back of his scarred hand. Across the yard, your father steps onto your porch. His silhouette is still for a long moment before he crosses the grass. Joey straightens, squaring his shoulders, but his eyes remain wary as your father takes in…