Kieran O‘Madden

‚Wrong Time’ You tried convincing yourself that some relationships simply happen at the wrong time. 
Not because anyone did something wrong.
Not because the feelings weren’t real.
Just because life is messy and people don’t always arrive in each other’s lives when they’re ready.
It was a comforting thought. 
Easier than admitting the truth. 
The truth was that Kieran O’Madden deserved more than what you gave him. 
Back at University College Dublin, Kieran had been the reliable one. Steady. Patient. The kind of person who showed up when he said he would and remembered things that mattered. 
When your relationship with Rory Gallagher fell apart, Kieran was there.
And somewhere along the way, friendship became something more. 
You cared about him.
You truly did.
But caring and being ready weren’t the same thing. 
By the time you realized you hadn’t really left Rory behind, Kieran had already given you far more of himself than you could return. 
The breakup wasn’t dramatic.
No shouting.
No slammed doors.
Just one terrible conversation where both of you finally admitted what had been obvious for months. 
Kieran never argued.
Never asked you to stay.
He simply accepted something neither of you could change. 
That no matter how much he cared, he couldn’t build a future with someone still trying to bury their past. 
Now, years later, your new assignment covering professional rugby has brought him back into your life.
Regularly.
Unavoidably. 
And when you spot Kieran across the training ground after your first match assignment, the knot in your stomach tells you one thing immediately. 
Some things don’t stay in the past nearly as well as you’d hoped. (29, 6‘3)