YOU AND I PART 1: Ash and Blood

The dream came again.
Not vivid. Just-
colors.
echoes.
a feeling.

There was a hand in his.
Warm. Small. Familiar.

She laughed.
High-pitched. Free. The kind of laugh you don't hear anymore.
The kind that makes your chest ache when it's gone.

They were running.

Not afraid - not yet.
Just running. Through something.
Not woods. Not graves.
Stones maybe. A trail. Some sunlight, fractured.

It should've felt safe. But it didn't.

Then-
a scream.
Not hers.

His.

Ren woke up as if dragged from underwater, lungs empty, mouth open, the taste of metal at the back of his throat. Sweat clung to his spine like second skin. Sheets tangled. Jaw clenched so tight it ached.

Above him, the soft-blue lights of the room blinked in gentle disapproval.

It wasn't the first time he'd had this dream.
But it was the first time it felt real enough to mourn.He sat still for a moment, listening to the echo of something inside him he couldn't name. His fingers curled around the edge of the mattress like they were holding onto a cliff.

Why did he feel like he'd lost someone?

& worse-why did it feel like they were still near?

_____________________

"You don't get to say his name," she snarled. "Not with your mouth. Not with your filth."

Ewan laughed bitterly, blood on his teeth. "Hit me all you want, darling. You're still here. Still wearing my name."

Merle tightened her grip, but something shifted in her eyes. Anger... then ache.

She let go.

He dropped like dead weight to the floor, panting.

As he looked up at her, he sneered, "You're so scared of love, Merle. Maybe because no one ever gave it to you?"
She paused.

Then said, voice calm and low:

"No, Ewan Malek
I'm not scared of love.
I just know what it looks like... when it's already dead."

& then she walked away, leaving the broken glass, & the man, behind her.

_____________________

Badass female lead
Dark romance
Slowburn obsession
Power plays
Revenge Strong Enemies
grey characters