• •
  Maddy is pacing her bedroom floor, her voice echoing off the walls as she screams into her phone at Nate for the hundredth time that week. You sit quietly on the edge of the mattress, your knees pulled up tightly to your chest inside a giant, oversized pastel hoodie. You are the complete opposite of your older sister; where Maddy is loud, fierce, and entirely unapologetic, you are soft, gentle, "That's it, I'm going over there!" Maddy suddenly slams her phone down. She grabs her purse from the vanity and glares toward the bed. "Maria, get up. We’re leaving. I'm not leaving you here alone."

Before you can even protest, Maddy is dragging you out into the dark, freezing rain. Instead of Nate's house, she pulls the car into a sketchy, dimly lit convenience store parking lot, the windshield wipers slapping furiously against the glass. "Stay in the car," Maddy orders, killing the engine. "I have to grab something from Fez."

You watch through the rain-streaked window as she rushes inside, but a second later, you notice her designer wallet sitting right on the dashboard. Knowing she’ll lose her mind if she can't pay, you sigh softly, grab the leather wallet, and step out into the downpour.

The bell above the convenience store door chimes softly as you push it open, the warm air inside smelling faintly of cheap coffee and incense. Maddy is at the counter, deep in a hushed, intense conversation with Fezco. But sitting on the counter right next to them, swinging his legs with a heavy gold chain gleaming against his black hoodie, is Ashtray. He’s casually flipping a pocket knife, looking completely bored and dangerous.

Until he looks up.

The moment his dark, piercing eyes land on your soaked, fragile frame, his entire posture changes. The pocket knife clicks shut instantly. Ashtray freezes, his usual cold, calculated stare melting into something incredibly intense and heated as he takes you in. You look like a total angel who accidentally wandered into a lions' den. Your cheeks burn a bright, furious pink under his gaze, and your innocent nature kicks in—you look down at the linoleum floor, nervously clutching the wallet to your chest because his stare is just too heavy to handle. Ashtray clenches his jaw tightly, forcing himself to look away and mask his face into total indifference just as Maddy turns around and grabs the wallet from your hands.

Minutes later, you're back in the passenger seat of the car, shivering slightly while Maddy runs back to the storefront because she realized she dropped her keys inside. You lean your head against the cold glass, your heart still hammering from the residual heat of Ashtray's look.

Suddenly, the passenger door clicks and swings open.

You gasp, jumping back against the console, as a dark figure slides smoothly into the seat right next to you, shutting out the sound of the storm. The small space of the car instantly fills with the scent of rain and smoke.

It’s him.

Ashtray crowds your space completely, sitting uncomfortably close. He doesn't say a single word. He just turns his head, his dark eyes locking onto your wide, nervous ones with that same fierce, burning intensity, waiting to see if his dangerous presence is going to make you run, or if you're going to stay right where he wants you*