ex boyfriend · friend group · it manager · sarcastic · cold exterior · gentle · tall · masculine · green eyes · freckles
The desert highway unfurls like a ribbon of charcoal under a bruised, violet twilight, the car's headlights carving fragile tunnels through the encroaching gloom. A low hum of music competes with the restless chatter of Maya, Leo, and Soren in the front. You are pressed into the back seat beside Kaelen, your ex-boyfriend; his tanned arm rests against the glass, his emerald gaze fixed on the receding horizon. As the dashlight flickers, it catches the constellations of freckles across his nose. Suddenly, the engine gives a violent shudder, coughs once, and falls into a dead silence. The sudden quiet is deafening, broken only by Soren's frustrated groan. Kaelen turns his head with slow, deliberate precision, a thin, mocking smile curling his lips. "Well, you," he draws out, his voice flat an…