I don’t even have time to pray for a miracle.
Because of course, Rebecca and Zoe immediately abandon ship, laughing as they skip toward Tyler’s car.
Because why not.
Tyler tosses the keys at Asher.
“You drive?”
Asher catches them one-handed, effortless.
“Sure.”
Short. Sharp.
Like he doesn’t care either way if we live or die on this drive.
Tyler’s already moving, opening the passenger door for me with a bright grin.
“After you, Pen.*
I duck in, cheeks heating at the casual endearment.
And then – because my life is a sitcom apparently – Tyler slaps my butt lightly as I slide in.
I almost launch myself into the dashboard.
He just laughs and climbs into the backseat behind me, completely unbothered.
Zoe and Rebecca pile in after him, Zoe practically on Tyler’s lap before her seatbelt’s even clicked.
Asher gets behind the wheel, adjusting the seat once, sharp and efficient, before turning the key.
The engine hums to life immediately – of course it does.
‘Where to?” he asks, voice low, glancing briefly into the rearview mirror.
Rebecca rattles off her address first, and Zoe tacks hers on after.
Asher nods once, pulling out of the lot with smooth, steady movements.
The car falls into an awkward, sticky silence.
Tyler breaks it almost immediately, nudging Zoe’s knee with his and laughing about some dumb story from practice.
I stare out the window, pretending to be fascinated by streetlights.
Next to me, Asher feels huge.
Not just physically though he is.
But in that way he takes up all the air, all the space, without even trying.
He’s like a personal space heater cranked to max.
The heat radiates off him in slow, steady waves, seeping into the cabin, making the cool night outside feel like a distant memory.
I shift slightly, pressing closer to the door, but it doesn’t help.
He’s still there.
Still burning.
“So, Asher,” Rebecca says suddenly, leaning/forward between the seats like a golden retriever with an agenda. “You coming to Jason’s party next week? Everyone’s gonna be there.”
Asher doesn’t even glance at her.
“No,”
Flat, Final.
I press my lips together, fighting a smile.
Rebecca pouts dramatically. Don’t be a buzzkill.”
Zoe giggles.
“Yeah, even Penny’s coming.”
I blink.
Excuse me?
“Um, I don’t know about that,” I mumble, but no one’s listening.
Tyler laughs, reaching forward to ruffle my hair affectionately.
“Yeah, but Pen’s way more fun than she looks.”
Rebecca fake-laughs like he just said something hilarious.
I want to melt into the seat.
The drive stretches on.
The girls keep talking – clothes, parties, who’s hooking up with who and Tyler laughs along, easy and warm.
I stay quiet, hands folded tightly in my lap, letting the city lights smear past the window in long gold streaks.
Asher’s steady presence beside me never falters.
Solid. Heavy.
A silent, impossible wall.
The kind you could lean on if you weren’t careful.
Or maybe the kind that crushes you if you get too close.
Hard to say.
Probably both.
When we finally turn onto Rebecca’s street, the tension in the car ratchets up
The girls start gathering their bags, chattering louder to fill the space.
Tyler climbs out first, helping Zoe out with exaggerated gallantry.
Rebecca follows, tossing a wink at Asher before disappearing into the dark.
The door slams shut behind them.
And just like that without anyone acknowledging it. the car feels different.
Cleaner.
Quieter.
Sharper.
It’s just me, Tyler, and Asher now.
If I’d known tonight would end with me stuck in a car full of people I’d gladly leave stranded in the middle of nowhere, I might’ve just set Tyler’s engine on fire instead of fixing it.
I hate people. Always have.
Tonight just reminded me why.
The restaurant, the fake smiles, the empty laughter it all scraped against my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
The way they talked around Penny like she wasn’t even there made it worse.
Made it personal.
And Tyler-
He’s not the kid I remembered.
Sixteen-year-old Tyler had a little bite to him, sure, but he still cared what people thought. He still looked up to me.
This Tyler, the one grinning and joking in the backseat now, texting away like he’s got nothing heavier than his phone weighing on him-
This Tyler feels like a stranger.
Outgoing. Charming. Careless in a way that digs under my skin and stays there.
And Penny-
I glance to the side at a red light.
Can’t help it.
She’s asleep.
Slumped against the window, head resting against the cold glass, mouth slightly open.
One hand loose in her lap, the other curled awkwardly against her side.
She looks wrecked.
Not just tired exhausted.
The kind of exhaustion you feel in your bones, the kind that sleep doesn’t fix.
The streetlights throw shadows across her face highlighting the gentle slope of her nose, the faint freckles across her cheeks, the soft part of her bottom lip slightly parted as she breathes.
Her hair’s a mess, falling across her face and sticking to the corner of her mouth with every small exhale.
Something shifts low in my gut.
Hard. Sharp.
It would be so easy to reach over.
Push the hair back.
Run my fingers along the line of her jaw.
Touch something soft, something breakable, just to prove it’s real.
The light turns green.
I jerk my gaze back to the road, fists clenching around the steering wheel until my knuckles go white.
From the backseat, Tyler breaks the silence.
“Hey,” he says, voice easy and bright. “Thanks again for fixing the car, man.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.