Crash and Burn (1)

you're the only one

♚ ♛

THERE WAS NOTHING.

Nothing but a slight haze over the cool morning. A soft blue rose on the horizon, intertwining with that fading orange that warned of the approaching sunrise. I was dreading it.

"Fucking..." Soren droned off, turning around. "Fuck, Lacey, we waited too long."

Swallowing hard, I tried to meet his eyes, but they were darting all along the docks, as if he was waiting for something to pop out. "What was supposed to be here?"

Soren grunted, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I guess he didn't trust Carlos as much as we thought."

So he was back to avoiding questions. I heaved a sigh and turned to face the street, wincing when my knees burned slightly. "Damn it, Lacey, we should've been here last night!" Soren hissed. It made me flinch, but I didn't respond. "You...you convinced me to stay there. I should've never let you..." He broke off into a groan and then he grabbed my arm harshly.

"Soren, stop it!" I finally snapped, but he only tore forward with me in his grasp.

"I let you convince me to stay there when I told you that we had to act fast. We were one step ahead."

I shook my arm out of his grip, hissing, "You were hurt."

"Stop worrying about me, Lacey!" His words were so strained that I snapped my lips shut.

Soren let out a loud sigh before storming up to the street and into an empty bus stop. "Where are we going?" I asked meekly, watching the casual early traffic.

He didn't answer, only set his duffle bag between his feet and looked forward.

Breathe.

Why was he so angry at me?

Rolling my eyes, I sat down on the small bench in the bus station, cringing at the ache in my knees. As I kneeled over to brush my fingers against the dry blood, Soren groaned lowly. "Fuck, why do you do this to me?"

My eyes darted up to see him crouching down and pulling the first aid kit out of his bag. "Here, Lace." His tone was softer when he settled in front of me. "Does it hurt?"

I didn't say anything. "Lacey." When I still didn't respond, Soren chuckled half-heartedly. "You're going to give me the silent treatment?"

He brushed a cool swab against my knee and I winced in pain. "Can't ignore me forever, princesa." I couldn't contain my sigh when the wind whipped through the glass terminal and pushed his hood back. My fingers reached out to pull it back over his forehead before I could stop.

His eyes flashed up to meet mine tenderly. It was a simple movement, but he understood. I wouldn't stop worrying about him.

Breathe.

"Hold on." Soren said simply, standing up quickly to drag his duffle bag closer. He stayed above me, and when I finally looked up at him through my lashes, I caught his conflicted look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Soren."

Scraped knees were nothing.

Before I could tell him that, he was cupping my cheeks, ducking down to kiss me.

And then there was glass everywhere.

Cutting through the air with a loud sound, glass shattered around us and Soren ducked forward, pushing me back until we hit the concrete behind the bench. "Soren!"