salem blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes fully adjusted to the light. she patted her nightstand, trying to find her phone so she could turn off her alarm. she sat up and rubbed her eyes, staring at the floor for about 30 seconds before getting up.
she got up too fast, though, since her legs were wobbling and the room started spinning. after the stars she saw cleared up, and she didn't have to rest her arm on the wall to steady herself, she walked into her bathroom.
she took one glance at herself in the mirror and her nose wrinkled up out of disgust. why did she look so bad this morning? was it because she had way too much fun last night?
she shrugged, deciding she would take a shower, since she would be in a car for extended periods of time.
showers gave her time to think, and right now, she would've been thinking about last night's events regarding ciarán, but she figured it was best she didn't think about him. today and the next few days were for her to ignore her problems and strictly for her to enjoy herself.
she knew that if she thought about him, she'd start crying again, but she had cried over that boy too much already. she didn't really like crying over boys. she had told herself this in high school, and she knew better than that.
along with that, she didn't have time to think about ciarán. for the past few days, her anticipation was growing unbearable.
once she got out the shower, she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped into her room, deciding what to wear.
something comfortable would be nice, so she just found a crop top and a pair of shorts that could pass as sleepwear and casual wear.
she had packed some essentials for their trip in advance, such as extra clothes, a towel and a toothbrush.
they planned on heading down to long beach for a bit, and then they planned on heading north.
where they were going? they didn't know. they were just planning as they went.
"we need to stop by the gas station before we offically start our road trip." tavia said, mentally checking if she had everything. "do you have everything you need?"
salem nodded, "let's go."
☻☻☻
ciarán had run out of cigarettes, so he set out to buy more. the nearest gas station wasn't a long walk, so he went by himself.
he whistled to himself as he walked, trying to past the time.
he pulled open the door, his eyes immediately shooting toward the counter. then, his face screwed up, while the cashier's brows knitted together.
ciarán's eyes scanned over his nametag.
ryan.
he decided to ignore this, "can i get a pack of marlboro reds?"
"salem doesn't like smokers." ryan mumbled under his breath.
ciarán knew this, so he never smoked when he was around her or when he was about to see her. despite this, he said, "but she seems to like me."
tavia had walked in, but the both of them were too busy glaring at each other to even notice.
before walking into the gas station, tavia had to deal with salem's protests. once they were pulling up to the gas station, salem instantly started complaining.
"i am not going in there." she said, crossing her arms.
"you don't have to. i'll buy some snacks and i'll have a little talk with ryan."
salem had told tavia about everything that happened the previous night. before going to bed, tavia had mentally promised herself and salem that she would confront ryan.
salem grabbed tavia's wrist, "no! you don't have to. i can deal with ryan all by myself."
tavia scoffed, "i'll have a mature conversation with him, like the adults we are."
salem hesitated before slowly letting go of tavia's wrist. now, it was her duty to fill up the gas tank.
back inside the gas station, ryan had asked, "so how's salem?" his attitude was obviously bitter, and ciarán mentally noted this.
ciarán smirked, handing him his debit card, "she's great, now that she's out of a toxic relationship and with me." he said, deciding to go along with a plan he had just created.
ciarán was mad at salem, but the least he could do for her was piss off her ex.
ryan slammed the pack of cigarettes down on the counter. "what would you know about our relationship?"
then, out of nowhere, tavia seemed to chime in. "enough, boys. ciarán, let me talk to ryan, yeah?"
ciarán was relieved, because in all honesty, he knew nothing about their relationship. then, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but ryan asked the question for him.
"since when did you get here?"
"two minutes ago." tavia chuckled, turning toward ciarán. "salem's outside." she whispered.
ryan handed him his card and his cigarettes, and was about to give him a death glare, but ciarán was already out the door. he didn't take his eyes off of ciarán once.
"now listen here you little shit." tavia started, but he wasn't paying attention. he was too focused on what was happening outside.
once tavia's tank was full, salem put the gas pump back. when she looked up, she saw ciarán walking out of the gas station.
without thinking, she sprinted toward him. "ciarán." she called out breathlessly.
"your fucking ex works in there." he hissed, pointing back at the store.
salem rubbed the back of her neck, looking down at her feet sheepishly. she bounced back and forth on her heels, trying to muster up the courage to respond. "yeah, about that—"
ciarán put one finger under salem's chin, lifting her head. she looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
he tilted his head and pressed his lips onto hers, sending tingles down salem's spine.
she was taken aback, yet her hand found its way to the back of ciarán's head, desperately trying to pull him closer.
but this kiss was different.
even though there was no space between their lips, ciarán still felt distant. he wasn't kissing her like that one time after they ran in the rain. there was no passion. hell, there didn't seem to be any emotion.
ciarán pulled away, looking at her coldly. "i only did that because i knew he was watching."
and with that, he walked away, leaving salem standing helplessly alone.
