It rains in Cork. Of course it’s raining.

And he’s there. Joey Lying on the sofa in your living room, wet hair, T-shirt stuck to your chest. You let him in because he called at two in the morning saying he had nowhere to go. But it wasn’t about having where to go. It was about you.

He never says much. But his eyes... they say it all.

You go down the stairs slowly, without making noise, and find him there, still awake, staring at the ceiling as if he were waiting for it to fall.

“Joey...”

He turns his face in your direction. And just that look takes your breath away.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he says, hoarse.

You sit next to him on the carpet, your legs crossed, looking at him with that silent concern that always burns you inside.

“Nightmares?”

“Reality,” he answers, with a sad smile.

You extend your hand and he holds it. Squeeze hard.

And then he sits down, his body hot, so close to yours, and his eyes so hurt that it makes you want to cry.

“Sometimes I think the only thing that keeps me here... is you.”

“Joey...”

“No. Listen. I know I’m a disaster. I know I don’t deserve half of what you give me. But when I’m with you... it seems that the world stops. Everything disappears. And I...”

He leans over. The forehead touching yours. His breath mixed with yours.

“I would touch you forever if I could. Because you’re the closest thing to paradise I’ve ever known. And I don’t want to leave. Not now. Not yet.”

Silence weighs between you. His breathing accelerated. Your goosebumps.

“All I can feel is this moment,” he continues. “All I breathe is you. And I know that sooner or later... all this will end. But I just don’t want to miss you tonight.”

You close your eyes, your lips trembling, your heart beating as if you knew that your love is stronger than any sentence.

“So stay. Not only tonight. Stay with me, Joey.”

He pulls you slowly into his lap. And there, in the silence cut only by the fine rain hitting the window, he holds you as if the world were on fire - and you were the only shelter he has.

And when he kisses you, it’s with the intensity of those who know that tomorrow is not guaranteed. But that, for now...

You are everything.

You are the whole sky.