it hadn’t been easy to keep her distance from him, but it felt like necessary and while she heard plenty of rumors about him, she tried her best not to concentrate on him anymore. he was apparently having the time of his life without her and to forget about him, she decided it would be a good idea to go on dates. though it wasn’t easy to find someone to replace ryder. every other guy seemed to be filled with flaws, but after a few terrible and awkward dates she finally found someone who wasn’t a complete lost cause, so she tried to make it work. now attending their first party together, which would be their fourth date. she had made sure she looked at her best and as she entered the room with the other male by her side, she was praying that ryder wouldn’t show up. it was in vain though. once her date left to get them some drinks, her eyes met those of a familiar person and she clenched her jaws, taking a deep breath as he walked up to her. ❝ none of your business. ❞ she bitched, avoiding eye contact with him because she hated how one look could already make her feel weak. while pursing her lips together, she brushed her hair back, moving her weight from one heel to another as she crossed her arms over her chest. she usually didn’t look this fancy; wearing a little black dress and all. it just wasn’t quite like her. ❝ heard you’ve been having a great time yourself too. ❞ she mumbled, eyes still not meeting his.

for some weird, unexplainable reason he felt like drinking a good amount of alcohol to not feel as shitty as he did right now. it was like this night was doomed to end badly no matter what, so the best thing he thought he could do was to make sure he wouldn’t remember it all the next morning. her words pained him more than he liked to admit, but at the same time it put all the puzzle pieces into place, about why she left the gang, left riley and in the end left him. she never cared about him and he was a fool to ever think she did. ❝ i saved your life once before against an entire gang, lucy. ❞ the male reminded her, though he doesn’t like to think about that. he killed a guy for it after all. it didn’t matter no more though, it didn’t seem like it was even possible to convince her at this point and he shouldn’t be wanting to. ❝ riley ain’t here no more. he’s been mia ever since you left. — but don’t worry, i get the point. you don’t care. ❞ it sounded so harshly put like that, yet reality sometimes was harsh and asher knew that best out of anyone. he wished it were all different though. he wished she did care and they would make it all work for once. clear out her name or find a piece of leverage in order to calm everything down, but it was hard to remain optimistic now. ❝ well fine, i won’t bother you any longer then. you best find your way out of here before they’ll find you. i didn’t come alone. you’re lucky i recognized you first. ❞ asher told her, his disappointment visible in his features and he wasn’t looking at her directly anymore. his hand had slipped off of her shoulder and he had created a certain distance between them again, both literally in figuratively. ❝ take care, luce. ❞